Lauren woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She frowned at the lost contact. She wasn't expecting Camila to be there, but there was that tiny part of her that couldn't help hit hope.
She ran a hand through her hair before getting up and making her way down the hall to her own bedroom.
After she had changed and brushed her teeth, Lauren made her way downstairs. The house was quiet, so she assumed everyone else was still asleep apart from Camila.
She could hear the tv softly playing from the living room, and poked her head around the doorway. Camila was sitting on the small leather couch, her legs curled up under her and a book perched on her lap.
Lauren took a moment to admire her side profile.
Camila was apparently so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even notice Lauren was there until she crossed room and sat down on the couch, a few inches away from her.
Great. Now she definitely wasn't going to be getting any reading done.
As much as Camila tried to concentrate on the words in front of her, she could practically feel Lauren's eyes burning holes into the side of her head.
She huffed; turning to face Lauren.
"You know it's pretty hard to concentrate when you're constantly staring at me."
Camila spat, the words coming off a little harsher than she had intended.
Lauren looked away, hanging her head to try and hide how much she was blushing. Camila thought it was adorable, but she could never tell her that.
"I-I wa-s....I wasn't" Lauren finally managed to get out.
"Jesus christ that's annoying, they not teach you how to speak at retard school?"
Camila shot back, but instantly regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The look of embarrassment on Lauren's face was replaced with one of hurt, and her eyes filled up with tears.
She tried to come up with a comeback, but nothing was coming back. Her chest felt tight and the lump in it was making it physically impossible to speak.
"Girls we're g-....Lauren? What's wrong kiddo?" Alejandro's voice filled the room and Lauren snapped her head up. She really hated people seeing her cry.
When neither of the girls responded, Alejandro looked back and forth between the two until apparently something clicked. He gave Camila a look before gesturing for her to go into the other room.
Lauren knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but the curiosity was too much for her and she got up from the couch, tiptoeing across the room as quietly as she could.
She pressed her ear up against the door, straining to hear the conversation taking place on the other side.
"I don't care Camila. She is out guest and more importantly my patient so I don't give a damn how much you don't like it, you will be nice to her."
"But papa she's a freak! She can't even speak how do you expect me to get on with her"
"Don't you dare. You know first hand what it's like to go through a hard time, and she's had it a hundred times worse than you could ever dream of. That girl has been through hell and back the past couple of years and the last thing she needs is you making her life worse."
There was a shuffling of chairs and Lauren heard footsteps moving over to the other side of the room. She assumed Alejandro was moving closer to Camila because he spoke in a more hushed voice now.
"I know your mom doesn't know about you self harming again but I do, mila. I know and it kills me because I'm your father and I'm meant to protect you from the world but I'm failing. I don't know what's going on right now but I'm here for you, I don't care what time it is or how stupid you feel I want you to talk to me okay?"
