In My Life

Chapter 16: Changing times

"What?" Camila asked Lauren as she sat up on the grass and shoved Sofi away, both sisters still laughing.

"Camila, your video has over 2 million hits since the podcast," Lauren said, furiously tapping on her phone. "You're trending on YouTube and Twitter."

"Oh gosh, really?" Camila said, excited, "let me see!"

Lauren handed Camila her phone and Camila flipped through the open apps. She watched as the number below her video on YouTube continued to climb.

"This is amazing," Sofi said, watching over Camila's shoulder.

"We need to go," Lauren said, standing quickly.

"Lauren, what's wrong?" Camila asked.

"Camz, I haven't prepared you for this," Lauren said, sounding concerned, "Honestly, I've never had a response like this to any artist so quickly."

"What do I need to prepare for?" Camila asked.

"All kinds of things come with fame," Lauren sighed, "And not all of them are good. Darling, you live in an apartment with absolutely no security. Anyone with a smart phone could find out where you live. I expect very quickly you'll begin getting unsolicited texts on your phone. You're completely unprotected."

"She's right, Mila," Sofi said, concern clear in her voice, "I've dealt with a lot of crazies at work."

"What do I need to do?" Camila asked.

"I think we should go get my car," Lauren said, "Sofi, Kelly can you grab your cars and meet us at Camila's place?"

"Of course," Kelly answered quickly.

"We'll grab your clothes and toiletries and any other necessities," Lauren said.

"And do what?" Camila asked, begin to feel panicked.

"You can stay with us," Sof answered immediately.

"Kelly just moved in, I don't want to intrude," Camila said, feeling overwhelmed.

"Camz, darling, look at me," Lauren said, taking Camila's hands in hers and squeezing them, "Come to my place. I have two empty bedrooms and plenty of room. We can find you a secure apartment this week. Plus, we are going to be working like crazy. Jade is gonna have you on every talk show she can get, promoting this while it's hot. Things are going to get hectic and we'll be spending all of our time together anyway."

"Are you sure?" Camila asked softly.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lauren said, leaning in and giving Camila a soft kiss.

"Okay, don't need to see this," Sofi said loudly, making both Camila and Lauren giggle.

"Let's go," Lauren said, "We'll meet at Camila's place."

*******************

Three hours later all of Camila's clothes and necessities were loaded into the cars. Kelly had brought a large plastic packing box and the women were grabbing some framed pictures and other sentimental items. Sofi was shoving a few things in a large plastic bag.

"Okay, I think that's it," Camila said.

"Lock up and let's get going," Lauren answered.

Lauren gave Sofi and Kelly directions to her apartment and a visitor code so that they could get into the garage. Camila got into the car with Lauren and they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Lo, I kind of feel sick," Camila said quietly.

"Do you need me to pull over?" Lauren asked, her voice worried.