For the past year, 18 year old Camille has been getting away with four hours of sleep, a nine hour school day and an eight hour work day overnight. That is until her three teachers and a mystery guy walk into her diner one night.
NOTE: THIS IS A 'W...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I take the first shift to sit with Camille as she works, but something feels off with her.
Instead of tending to me with a smile, she looks nervous and her eyes dart around when she interacts with me.
Luckily the diner is pretty much empty so she can't avoid me for long.
"Darling, come here," I call her over, narrowing my eyes when I see her reluctantly walking to me. She shifts awkwardly, wincing when I take her hand and make her sit down next to me.
"What's going on, baby? You seem distracted," I go to push a piece of her hair out of her face but she pulls away.
"N-nothing. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind with finals and stuff..." she says unconvincingly. Her voice wavers and I see tears prick in her eyes, making my heart drop.
I'm not good at this sort of thing.
Where's your friendly neighbourhood Gabriel when you need him?
"Finals are at least two months away, baby. And you have four devoted teachers to help you through," I tell her, "It's something else, I know it is. Talk to me, love."
She looks at me for the first time tonight, her hurt eyes meeting my concerned ones.
"I can't tell you," her voice breaks as a tear falls. I wipe it away, pulling her to my chest for a hug. I wrap my arms around her as she sobs into me, her tears wetting my shirt.
I pull my phone out.
Me: I need your help with Camille at the diner.
Gabriella: I'm on my way.
I hold her as she cries, rubbing her back soothingly until Gabriel arrives.
His eyes soften as soon as he sees Camille and he slides into the booth next to her.
She pulls up from my chest and looks at him before hugging to him.
I smile at Gabriel and he gives me a nod, letting me know he's got her.
Sliding out of the booth, I dial the owner of the diner's number and wait for them to pick up.
"I'm giving you £5000 to shut down the diner tonight so I can take Camille home," I say as soon as they answer.
"Okay," the raspy voice of the owner answers and I hang up.
Giving Gabriel a nod, I grab the keys from behind the counter and lock up as Gabriel helps Camille into his car.
We decide to leave my car in the parking lot and just take Gabriel's, meaning I can sit in the backseat and hold Camille whilst she drives.
"Should we take her back to ours?" he asks me as he pulls away from the diner. I nod, keeping my eyes on Camille as I brush her hair softly with my hand as she lies her head on my lap.
