what now? // camren

chapter thirty

"is she waking up?" lauren heard but her eyes refused to open. where was she? heaven? hell?

"do you think she can hear us?"

"she's not dead," lauren heard a smack.

but it was all still black. was she dying? where was the light? she didn't see her life flash before her eyes. maybe you don't get those things when you're on your way to hell.

"hey hey, shut up." camila shushed her friends. "she's waking up." she watched lauren's eyes start to flutter open. "lauren?"

so she wasn't dying. "where am i?" lauren asked, looking around. she stared hard at camila. "who are you?"

the three girls each shared worried glances as no one said a word. they gave a look of confusion when lauren started laughing.

"i'm kidding!" she laughed, siting up.

"don't do that!" camila smacked her arm. "you scared the shit out of me!"

"what happened lauren?" dinah questioned making the room go silence.

"it was probably the drink i had." lauren lied. she didn't want to tell them what she was thinking about and that possibly the voices were back.

"lauren!" normani kept shaking the unconscious girl. "help! someone!" no one heard her.

"mani?" dinah rushed over, noticing lauren. "what the hell happened?!"

"i don't know!" normani wiped at her tears . "she told me she needed to sit down!"

"mani? dinah?" camila soon came trailing behind. "what's going on?" her body froze when she saw lauren. she pushed dinah out her way. "what's wrong with her?" camila lifted lauren's head up but that didn't seem to do anything. she patted her cheeks, "hey baby, wake up. please, please wake up."

normani amd dinah looked at each other not sure what to do.

"i'm so sorry," camila apologized, sniffing. she didn't care that her crying would mess up her makeup. "baby please wake up." she turned to look at her two friends behind her. "do something!" she yelled at them.

"uh uh, lets take her back to her place." dinah suggested nodding.

"we need to take her to the hospital!" camila shook her head at the idea. "she could be dying dinah!"

"she's okay camila, see?" she pointed. "she's breathing." dinah picked up the assumed sleeping girl, "mani help me." normani obeyed and picked up lauren's feet, carrying her to dinah's car, camila following closely behind.

"normani, take camila. make sure she doesn't freak out anymore." dinah said, laying lauren down in the backseat of her car.

normani nodded and grabbed ahold of camila's wrist. camila refused to go with normani. "i want to be with lauren!" she would yell.

"dinah's taking her. just get in the car." a frustrated mani demanded.

camila groaned, getting in.

the whole ride lauren never left camila's mind. what if this was the last time she would be able to see lauren? she hated herself for ending things on a bad note.

"so let me get this straight, you had time to go to a club but not enough to be with me?" lauren asked, raising her eyebrow.

camila sighed and turned around to the two girls standing behind her. "i think i got it from here guys."

they both nodded. "call us if you need anything." they said on their way out.

camila looked back at lauren. she sighed. "i thought i lost you lauren."

"well you didn't so you can go now." lauren averted her eyes somewhere camila's weren't.

"the voices are back huh?"

lauren quickly looked at camila but then she looked away again.

the no response told camila 'yes'.

"how'd you know?" lauren finally said.

"this happened last year remember? they got inside your head and broke you down. i was there for you." camila said running her fingers through lauren's hair.

lauren closed her eyes at the memory of camila rushing to her apartment after she found out. she cringed when she remember that was the day she slapped her- and confessed her love for her.

"i'm tired of always fighting lauren." camila confessed.

"i am too." lauren agreed.

"but i rather work on this with you instead of someone new." she told her.

lauren raised her eyebrow and chuckled. "did you just quote a justin bieber song?"

"maybe i did," camila shrugged, smiling. "sue me."

the two shared a moment filled with laughter, but it soon became silent after that.

"tell me what happened." camila said.

"i'm a murderer." lauren picked at her fingernails, looking down.

"this again?" camila sighed. she already knew the answer even when lauren didn't reply. camila kneeled down in front of lauren and cupped her face in her hands. "you are not a murderer lauren. you did what you had to do. most importantly you protected me and ally."

"i killed them camila." lauren ignored camila's words. "i killed my best friend! i'm a monster!"

camila struggled to wipe the tears off lauren's cheeks without having to wipe her own. she hated seeing the girl she loved in pain. "how about we get away for a while huh?"

"but graduation..."

"it's still gonna be here when we come back. i want to get away from all this shit lauren, run away with me." camila stared deep into her oceanic eyes, searching for answers.

a grin grew on lauren's face. she kissed the other girl's lips as if it were a way of telling her yes.