The absence of security in Camila's life was beginning to take its toll not just on her but everyone around her. Friends, lovers and families alike? Nobody could tell what was to come next in her broken world of gross misfortune
Lauren couldn't decide on what to do with herself either, she begged for Camila to show up to class, even just for a minute so that she could know she was ok. Sadly however, she failed to return for the fourth day in a row
Part of her wanted to walk right up to her door and knock until she answered, but logic stated that if anyone was to see her, the job she loved so much could very quickly become a memory. Instead she continued to text and call, remaining consistent with her efforts until one morning when all began to change
Nova bursted into the classroom with a grunt and stormed all the way towards the woman's desk "I give up!" She bleated, forcing Lauren to place down her pencil "She's impossible right now! No matter what I do or say, she's just not budging!"
"You spoke to her?" Asked Lauren in surprise "What did she say?"
Nova rolled her eyes, more than making herself at home as she dumped her bag against the hard wood desk "Just the same old garbage, we don't understand and she's too far gone to be fixed?"
Lauren gulped, pulling at the collar of her turtle neck as she pondered a thought "She's in pain right now Nova" she tried to reassure, despite being greatly worried herself "She just needs a while to feel better"
"Sure!" The girl barked "She looks fucking awful Lauren!" The elder sat straighter within her chair, imagining just how bad things may have become since last seeing her "Glazed eyes and messy hair! She looks homeless!"
"What do you expect me to do about it huh?" The woman hissed "Go over there and scoop her up?" Clearly the intensity of their situation had left both in a spot of distress "I could loose my job Nova! Not to mention my relationship with her!"
"So we do nothing!" The younger girl laughed "Sit here and pretend that she's not in trouble!"
"I didn't say that!" Lauren rose from her chair with a scowling grin the girl now swallowed hard against "If you think I can go a second without worrying about her you're wrong! It's consuming me! But frankly, I have no fucking clue what to do right now!"
"Do anything!" Nova now spat, raising her voice with a long pause "She is dying inside because nobody is doing anything! She won't listen to me and she's going out to the club almost every night! I can't take this anymore!"
"Ok ok!" Lauren walked around her desk to pull the girl into a tight hug, realising their upset was mutual and no amount of arguing would solve the issue "I'm sorry, I'm just as lost as you are Nova, if I could fix this I would but I just don't know how"
Nova pulled away with a tear against her hot cheek "Neither"
Suddenly, the class began to fill with students. Nova returned to her desk with a shaking head and Lauren slid to sit back within her chair. She couldn't help but feel useless right now, Sam had warned her of the consequences in speaking out and she despised the thought of making anything worse
She set the class off on a task and tried best to distract her chaotic mind. After ten or so minutes however, the urge to text Camila struck once again. She sent at least 5 paragraphs before feeling a bag fall against her ankle. Looking down it was her laptop bag with the girls file poking precariously out of the top
For the first time since receiving it she bent down and tugged at the corner. It was strange to hold it, overwhelming to imagine the contents. She didn't want to look, but found herself taking a breath before peeling open the cover
The room fell falsely silent as she began scanning the first page. Camila was the middle of seven children, the youngest being Sofi who appeared to be the only sibling left living in the same country. Lauren held her breath as she continued, discovering that her mother was an addict and her father a drunk
When Camila was a young child she was often left to wonder the streets late at night with Sofi in tow, no food nor place to stay after being deliberately locked out of their disgusting home. Lauren felt a lump forming in her throat at the mention of such suffering
Somehow however, things only got worse. Camila was forced to do many things no child should ever have to face. A stand out detail was the girls use for running drugs at age 10, going into streets and corners late at night with a backpack full of illegal substance
The system had failed her, allowing her to live with a mother who would beat her for being hungry and a father who would lock her in the yard during winter. Lauren almost couldn't take it, she didn't want to know, right now however she knew that knowledge was power
Camila eventually was pulled from public school at age 13, her mother careless and stubborn only wanting her for profit. The elder siblings had little mention in the girls file, their existence seemingly dull. Sofi however was a common theme, noted to have experienced a lot of the girls hardship
Lauren turned to the next page and widened her eyes at contents. At age 14 Camila was hospitalised after an overdose, the kind couple that had found her wondering the street noticed her eyes and jaw to be working in overdrive. Doctors were shocked, arriving at the conclusion that Camila had been abusing substance
When social services arrived at the families door, both parents admit to training the girl in their stock. Young Camila was groomed to be an addict before puberty and her sister not far behind. Thankfully she never saw the pair again, restarting her life in care where she met an older girl named Summer
Lauren choked when reading Summer's name, the girl she'd been told to watch the girl that would shock her the most. Summer and Camila developed an unhealthy relationship, coping with life via the same drug that had led to Camila being thrown into the system
Grooming once again fell into the context, Summer seemed to be quite the bully and no matter how many conversations were had, Camila learned for the second time to love the idea of substance. When arriving to the hospital with yet another near fatal overdose, the girl was moved further across country and further from her sister
The newest pair of carers were friendly and calm, they loved Camila and wanted only the best for her. Thankfully they gave her a good couple of years before college where she now found herself to be living. Camila had been torn apart by the system and ripped away from the one person she loved, Sofi
The final page was simply a warning, if things ever got tough for Camila, her coping mechanisms may pose danger for her life. Bad habits could return and bad influence could lead to catastrophic consequences
Lauren closed the cover and found herself returning to reality. The tears on her cheeks quickly wiped away as she cast her gaze across the class in front, thankfully they were too busy talking to even notice her upset
She shoved the document back within her bag and sighed. Sofi was the only thing she wanted and the only thing she needed, someone somewhere decided however that her return would never be possible due to Camila and her patterns created by her parents
"I can't wait!" Olivia hummed from across the room "We're meeting at the club at around 10 so Summer will meet us there!" Lauren felt her throat tighten, knowing Camila would probably be attending whatever plans they had
"It's a date!" She hissed to herself "I'm done with this shit!"
YOU ARE READING
MY LITTLE ARTIST
Fanfiction*Extreme Smut Warning* Camila had always resented her chaotic upbringing, living on the edge of everything a constant battle between exhaustion and fear. When she starts her new college journey she wanders if maybe things could be different, better...
