Getaway Car

chapter twenty

Camila's P.O.V.

"Camila, hey!" Lauren greeted as she opened the door for me. She had texted me to come to their apartment earlier and, given the fact that we were told to hold back with the interview process, I had some free time. "Come on in." She stepped aside to allow me entrance. I looked around awkwardly when I saw Dinah leaning on the counter, her eyes locked on me.

"So...what did you want me here for?" I asked them.

"That's a good question." Dinah piped up.

Lauren rolled her eyes, ignoring Dinah. "We're discussing ways to get Y/N out. I figured you would be a good asset to this conversation."

"Even though you're the reason she's there." Another comment from Dinah.

"Dinah, shut it!" Lauren snapped. "Anyways, we were thinking of trading information. Since we never stopped looking into the Red Mamba and their leader, we could trade what we have so far. What do you think?"

I took a deep breath and sat at the kitchen island. "We'd have to get Y/N to give the information herself. So we'd have to get her the information and then convince her to make a deal. And, judging by how she's been acting, she won't want to do that." Lauren and Dinah looked at each other, the latter rolling her eyes, not wanting to vocally admit that Camila is right. "Is that all you had thought of?"

"Better than the nothing that you had planned." Dinah muttered.

"Okay, what is your problem with me?" I snapped. "I have done nothing but help you guys out. Hell, I got fucking stabbed for you guys! And for some reason, you have some weird thing against me."

"Seriously? Are you dense?" Dinah asked. "What's my problem with you? You're the reason she's locked up in the first place! If you never went snooping through her shit, she'd never have turned herself in!" Her voice kept rising as she went, stepping towards me. I held my ground, not wanting to look weak in front of her. "You found out and she felt some weird obligation to 'do the right thing'. And, while you may have helped us, you only found out because you snuck over and listened in!"

I stayed quiet, chewing the inside of my lip. She had a point. I showed up and now look, Y/N is facing life in prison, and possibly the death penalty. "Let me help you get her out of there. After that, I'll leave you guys alone. We'll go our separate ways."

"Deal." She agreed so quickly that I was taken aback. Honestly, even though she hated me, I assumed she'd want me to stay since she just admitted I have helped them.

"Okay then..." I nodded, growing quiet. While I said I would help, I honestly had no idea how. Y/N had dug herself quite a deep hole between her notebook and newspaper clippings, and her confessions. I wasn't sure I knew how to pull her out.

"I'm just gonna say it," Lauren started, breaking the heavy silence around us. "Insanity plea."

"But she's not insane..." I said slowly. "Why would you even say that?" I was offended that Lauren, Y/N's best friend, would think of her as insane. Sure, she was different, but not insane.

"I know that and you know that, but we both know that she could easily pass as insane." I glanced at Dinah who seemed to be deep in thought, her eyes trained on the floor. Was I the only one who thought this was crazy? "She's been acting so indifferent towards this that a jury could easily agree that she's insane."

Okay, so, she may have a tiny sliver of a point. "So, what? She avoids the death penalty and jail but has to spend her life in an institution? That's arguably worse." As silence settled around us again, we all slowly realized we had nothing. There was no feasible way, besides physically breaking her out, we could free her. Sighing, Lauren walked to the couch, plopping down on one end. She was followed shortly after by Dinah, who sat on the opposite end. Lauren waved me over, directing me to the center of the couch. I tried to ignore the way Dinah seemed to inch away from me.