Visitor (Normila / Laurmani)

Chapter 22

A/N: Watch my "Camren: Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui are Cousins" video above."

Machines could be heard beeping all around. The curtain to the window was opened just enough to allow in a sliver of sunlight. A nurse came into the room to check on her patient and was delighted to see that her eyes were opening.

"We almost thought you weren't going to make it," the nurse commented.

Her vision still blurry, Camila stared at the nurse and then looked at her surroundings. The setting was familiar. It reminded her of the hospital room Normani was in. Feeling discomfort in her arm, she looked at it and noticed a line coming out of it. Once it dawned on her that she had been hospitalized, she shot up from her reclining position in a panic causing the monitors to sound loudly. The nurse quickly ran to her side and tried to coax her into lying back down, but Camila had started to pull the line out of her arm.

"I can't be here," said Camila.

"It's okay, honey," replied the nurse. "You're safe here."

But, Camila continued to fight and rip off everything that was attached to her. The nurse was a strong woman, but struggled to keep Camila in bed. She finally resorted to buzzing for help. Less than a minute later, a doctor came into the room.

"Dr. Reid!" called Camila. "Please get me out of here."

Dr. Reid saw the aftermath of the commotion and knew why the nurse buzzed for him without having to ask. He knew that Camila was afraid of being in a hospital because the medical staff would come to the conclusion that she's not quite like other humans. However, Dr. Reid had taken precautions when he brought her there.

"You're not in any danger here," he informed his patient. "I'm responsible for your care, and Nurse Sumpter is one of my former students. She assisted Dr. Cowell and me on one of our astrobiology projects."

Camila finally relaxed, and the nurse was able to reconnect everything. Dr. Reid told her that he received her call, but didn't hear anything. He figured that there might be an emergency and rushed to her apartment. After convincing the apartment staff that she had a serious medical condition and that he was her friend and doctor, they went inside Camila's unit while Dr. Reid waited outside. They found her unresponsive on her bed. That's when they allowed Dr. Reid to enter. He quickly lifted Camila's limp body, carried her to his vehicle, and drove her to the hospital. Mrs. Reid called Normani to inform her of what happened.

"Is she here?" asked Camila.

"Yes," answered Dr. Reid. "She's in the waiting room with...Lauren. We need to have a serious discussion."

"Can't this wait?" Camila pleaded.

"I'm not leaving this room until we talk," Dr. Reid asserted. "You're going to die if you stay on this planet. There is no question about it now. You need to start preparing to go home."

"But, I've built a life here. I can't just take off and leave Normani," Camila stated.

"Do you want your girlfriend to bury you because that's what's going to happen?" Dr. Reid pointed out.

Camila didn't continue to argue with him. She knew that he was right. There was no way that she could stay on Earth, and the last thing she wanted to happen was for Normani to have to deal with her death. By her request, Dr. Reid went to the waiting room. He stood in front of Normani and Lauren as they sat in their chairs and updated them on Camila's status. Normani was understandably anxious to go visit her girlfriend, but Dr. Reid quickly crushed that hope.