Broken

Prologue

One year ago

"Fuck," Lauren hissed as her fist collided with the tile wall of her bathroom.

She wasn't angry. She wasn't even sad. She was numb. She was always numb.

Why couldn't she feel anything?

She looked down at the pills in front of her, blankly staring at the dozens of white tablets on the counter. Normally she would be crying at this point, regretting even getting this far. She would be cleaning up her mess by now and kicking herself for even thinking about it.

But this wasn't normal.

She thought about her family. Mike, Clara, Chris, and Taylor. She thought about how much better off they would be without her. She thought about how Taylor would get the bigger room, like she always wanted. She thought about how happy Chris would be to get her car and how her parents wouldn't have to worry about putting her through college.

She thought about her friends. She thought about how much easier it would be for them if she were gone. They wouldn't have to worry about her. They wouldn't have to check up on her all the time. They would be happier.

She thought about Camila.

Lauren shook her head and slammed her hand onto the counter, grabbing as many pills as she could. She had made her decision.

This was goodbye.

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Camila walked up the porch steps to Lauren's house, cursing herself for leaving her phone there for the millionth time. She knew Lauren was home since her car was in the driveway, so she didn't bother knocking as she walked right through the front door and headed upstairs to Lauren's room.

"Hey Lauren!" Camila called out. "I know you're going to think I'm a total idiot but I forgot my phone here again, I would have texted you but, you know..."

When Camila didn't get a response, she started to get nervous. Lauren was always there to greet her when she came over, even when it was unannounced. Shaking her head, she opens up the door to Lauren's room and slowly makes her way inside.

"Lauren?" Camila called out timidly.

Still no response.

Camila was about to call out again when she heard a slam come from the bathroom.

"Lauren, are you in there?" Camila asked, knocking on the door lightly. "It's me, I forgot my..."

The door opened slightly and Camila saw the scene inside the bathroom. Pills were scattered everywhere, the tiles on the bathroom wall were cracked, and Lauren was sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the tablets in her hand.

"Lauren... What's going on?" Camila said, her voice just above a whisper.

Lauren didn't even look at her.

Camila moved into the bathroom and inched closer to her friend. "Lauren, please talk to me. Please tell me this isn't what it looks like... That you're not..."

Lauren laughed bitterly. "That I'm not what, Camila? Trying to kill myself?" She looked up, meeting Camila's eyes and seeing the tears brimming there.

Lauren still couldn't bring herself to feel anything.

"We could get you help you know, you... you could even just talk to us if you want," Camila stammered, at a loss for words. "This isn't what you want, it can't be...", the younger girl said quietly, reaching out to take her friends hand.

Lauren jumped away from her touch, scattering pills everywhere in the process. "And how the hell would you know what I want Camila? You don't even care! You never cared! Don't feed me your bullshit now," she growled.

"Lauren, don't do this," Camila pleaded, her voice thick with tears. "You can get better, you just need some help..."

"Better?" Lauren scoffed. "I'll never be better Camila. I'm broken." She turned so her back was facing the brunette, refusing to let her see her tears. "And I don't want to be fixed", she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Camila knew she couldn't get through to Lauren. She knew that she wouldn't listen to whatever the smaller girl had to say.

And as hard as it was, Camila knew what she had to do.

She stood up straight and took a deep breath, knowing what would come next could end their friendship forever.

"I'm getting you help."

Lauren whipped around, staring Camila dead in the eye. Her breathing was heavy and the younger girl knew this was going to be harder than she thought.

But she was going to save her friend.

"If you even think about telling my parents," Lauren growled, "I will never speak to you again."

Camila looked down, tears falling freely from her eyes now.

"Camila! Don't you dare think about telling them! You can't... You won't...," Lauren sank to her knees and started crying. "Please don't send me away."

Camila looked away from her friend, knowing that if she did, she would change her mind in a heartbeat.

"This is for the best Lauren," Camila said, clenching her fists to prevent her from reaching out and touching the green-eyed girl. She had to be strong.

Lauren stood up and looked at Camila, tears streaming down her face.

"Fuck you," Lauren said, her voice full of hate. "I never want to see you again."

Camila sighed, turning her back to the girl and closing her eyes. She knew things between them would never be the same.

She picked up the phone and dialed Mike's number, preparing herself for what she was about to do.

And then, Camila took one last look at her friend before speaking the last words she thought she would ever speak to her.

"Then you won't."

A/N

hi guys! so this is my first fic. i'm not the best writer but i'm really excited about the ideas i have for this story and i think you guys will be too :) if you want you can follow me on twitter at @jaureguihellyes, other than that i hope you all have a lovely day and thanks for reading!!!