Keep Me Alive • Camren

Twenty One

Thanksgiving Day - 9:42 A.M

Loud cluttering and music filled the Cuban household. It awoke Lauren, and she was sure it was only a matter of time before the neighbors decided to complain as well.

Standing at the doorframe, she couldn't help but just watch the  rest of her family bustle around the relatively large apartment. It was like a scene in a movie where the character is frozen, while the rest of the world continued despite their evident presence.

It wasn't until her brother, Chris, stopped dead in his tracks to comment on Lauren's appearance. "Woah!" The younger sibling's eyes enlarge. "What's up with your face?" He gives her a grossed out look, causing the whole family to stop and stare at her. "What?" Lauren scoffs as she speed walks to the bathroom.

On her face lie three, very large red bumps filled with puss.

Pimples.

She could easily pass them
off as a general breakout that every teenager got. An allergic reaction even, but she would only be kidding herself. Lauren knew exactly what caused the acne.

She frowns, gently touching the pustules. They were the only physically visible side effects, besides the bags under her eyes.

The insomnia was constant, accompanied by the less frequent symptom of memory loss. Those were things Lauren could pass of due to stress or sickness. Pimples are still easily passable for just about anything, but she knows that it could only go downhill from here.

Taking a deep breath, Lauren looks in the mirror one more time. She groans, slamming her hands on the iron sink. "Damnit." She mumbles, placing a hand on her irritated face.

She sits on the closed toilet seat, taking a minute to recompose herself before going out to deal with her family.

"It's just acne," she informs more herself than anyone else, stepping into the kitchen full of ingredients, pots and pans....Cubans....

Not once did they attempt to acknowledge Lauren. At least, not until she spoke again. "So, I invited Camila and her mom over for dinner." Lauren notifies, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

That got their attention.

"What?" Her mother asks. "You invited strangers over to our house, without telling us?" She asks passively, causing Lauren to scoff. "Má, they're not strangers."

"Yes, they are." Her father agrees.

"Camila is here all the time an..."

"Yeah, but we know nothing about them." Clara protests, causing Lauren to roll her eyes. "So, this is a great way to get to know them!" She suggests with a smile, and before they can object any more, Lauren announces that she will be back later and hurries out the door.

She subconsciously makes her way to Camila's apartment, but doesn't knock. Simply stands outside, a couple of times even going back to her own home, but somehow still finding herself at the other's door.

It was like this every time she decided to visit her friend. Thirty minutes of pacing back and forth between the two apartments, never actually going into either of them.

It always filled Lauren with anxiety. Visiting Camila. Even the night before. All she wanted was to be somewhere that wasn't her home. She was exhausted, but still managed to stall knocking on the wooden door.

The door creeks open, and although she can not see because her back is turned, Lauren knows all to well who it is.

"I've literally watched you walk back and forth in the hallway for an hour." Camila exaggerates.