Temporary {Camren}

Chapter 31

"Lauren your phone went off!" Camila called out. "Who is it?" Lauren called back so Camila smiled and picked it up. Her wife was so open with her, Camila found it admirable. "Naomi, who's that love?" Lauren poked her head in the door with a worried expression on her face as she dried her hands from washing up their dinner plates. "A friend, is she okay?" Camila looked back at the message, "I don't know, it just says; I really need to see you." Lauren held her hand out for her phone. "I'm gonna call her." "Sure, but how come I've never heard of her before?" Camila questioned awkwardly. "She's from the cancer ward babe, she's sick." "Oh..is she a terminal?" Camila mumbled. "Mhm." Lauren replied sadly, dialling the number. "Hey Naoms..it's me, no I'm not busy today.." Camila listened. "Why can't you tell me now?" Lauren asked shakily so Camila reached for her hand for support, Lauren grasped it thankfully. "I can come in..can my wife come in with me?" Camila smiled at her, Lauren had always made her feel included, in every situation she came across. "Okay, sure, we'll be there in a bit." Lauren said in a low voice before she hung up. Lauren sat down on the bed, running her hand through her hair, a nervous habit. "Is she okay, Lo?" Camila asked, tilting her head to the side. Lauren always found that cute of her. "I don't know Camz, you don't mind coming along, do you?" Camila shook her head and sat on her wife's lap. "Of course not, I'd be happy to baby." "Let's go then." Lauren said with a smile. When they both got to the hospital, Lauren stopped just outside of her friend's room. "Uhm, I'll go in first and then call you in, is that okay babe?" Lauren asked Camila, Camila couldn't place Lauren's emotion like she usually could. "Yeah of course, take your time babygirl." Lauren kissed her lips and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I love you." Camila smiled at her widely, showing her teeth. "Aw, I love you too." Lauren kissed her nose before she went in the room. Naomi's eyes brightened when she saw her friend, and made a move to sit up. "You don't have to, it's fine Naomi." Lauren lay a hand on her shoulder. Naomi shot her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Emily was just here. She went to get a drink." "Ah, how is she?" "She's good.." Lauren gave her a look, that knowing one. "Okay, she's pretty upset, and she's a little off with me. I can't really expect anything less, since Effy told her and not me." "She'll come around, you were just trying to protect her." Lauren reassured the girl. "How are you doing?" She asked gently. The girl stiffened. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about..I don't have long..I'm dying." Lauren felt a tear slowly falling down her cheek. "Don't say that, you're a fighter. Just hang on." Naomi shook her head. "Let's not talk anymore about me, now, let me meet this new wife of yours." She smirked. "Camz!" Lauren called out, wiping her cheek of the lone tear. Camila timidly opened the door. "Hi." Lauren opened her arm and made a small gesture for her wife to come in. "This is Camila, Camila, this is Naomi." "Naomi Campbell, it's nice to finally get to meet you." Camila blushed. "Lauren told you about me?" "Oh fuck yeah girl, she never stops." Lauren giggled. "Well what can I say? I mean there's a lot to say." Lauren said as she pulled Camila into her lap. "I like her." Naomi winked at the girl, then there was another girl coming in. "Oh sorry, am I interrupting you?" The brown haired girl asked. "No Em, you're fine, come in." Emily sat on the bed next to her and smiled shyly at Lauren. "Hello Emily." She mumbled. "Hello Lauren." The girl muttered. "Am I missing something here? Helloooo?" Naomi teased. "No it's fine babe, now, aren't you going to actually introduce me to your new friend?" Camila looked up from playing with Lauren's fingers. "This is Camila." Naomi smiled at the girl reassuringly. "Emily." The brown haired girl smiled softly, reaching out her hand to her. Camila stared at it. "I don't bite." She scoffed lightly. "Em." Naomi shook her head. "Right." Camila mumbled quietly, and shook her hand tentatively. "I'm gonna go, I said I'd be downstairs about now. Cook is picking me up, my mum wouldn't bring me in, for obvious reasons." Naomi smiled at her sadly but nodded in understanding. "See you soon, okay?" Naomi nodded again and kissed the girl, smiling into their kiss, while Emily didn't. Lauren could see she was clearly still mad, but hiding it. "Oh. It was nice to meet you Camila." Camila smiled awkwardly and watched as Emily left. "I'm gonna call Normani, she wanted me to but I forgot I was supposed to. Will you be okay?" Camila asked worriedly. "Yes babe, call her." Camila smiled and proceeded to kiss Lauren's cheek before she left the room. Lauren and Naomi just started talking again about politics when the girl fell unconscious. Lauren tried hard as hell to wake her up desperately, but to no avail. She slammed her fist on the red emergency button and soon nurses rushed in. Lauren outright refused to leave the room, Naomi wouldn't want to be alone. Lauren was gasping for air when she saw the nurses doing CPR on her friend. "Oh God. Please Naomi..not now, do not do this now." Lauren begged. "Time of death..." It was all a blur. Lauren fell to the floor with her knees to her chest. The next thing she knew Camila was in the room and carrying her out. "Baby I'm so sorry." Camila whispered while Lauren shook frantically. "She-she's-I, no, no!!" Lauren sobbed. "I'm sorry Lolo." Camila mumbled as she pulled the girl into a hug, Lauren fought against it. She refused to accept it. "She's gone." Lauren cried, fighting herself away from Camila desperately. "Shh stop it." Camila sighed, receiving the blows of grief. "No! No!" Lauren whimpered as she stopped fighting and Camila had to lower them to the floor. Lauren gave in and tightly wrapped her arms around Camila. "I'm really sorry babygirl. She was a lovely girl." "I just watched her die!" Lauren cried into her shoulder. "I know you did babe." Camila sniffled, holding Lauren's head to her chest. "I-I didn't want her to die alone." Lauren hiccuped helplessly. "I know and you were really brave." Camila praised the heartbroken girl. "I-I just n-need to go home, can we go?" Lauren sniffled as Camila wiped her wife's tears, smiling sadly. "Sure thing babygirl." Lauren was quiet on their journey home, only calling Emily to tell her the news. She didn't answer, so she was simply left with a short, to-the-point voicemail, not that she deserved much more, Lauren decided. "Lauren-" Camila tried to halt her movements but her wife tugged her arm out of her grip and ran upstairs, nearly tripping over her feet. Camila slumped down in the couch seat and sighed. Lauren was so upset, and who could blame her? She'd lost a friend, she'd seen them die before her eyes. Anyone would be. Camila was hesitant to leave her be, so she went up to check on her wife. "Lauren?" Camila knocked on the door softly. Lauren's uncontrollable sobs and coughs could be heard from on the other side of the locked door. Camila eyes filled with tears at the sounds. "Lauren! Baby let me in, I don't want you alone." Camila called out shakily, it was so horrible to hear the pain of the girl she loved. She heard footsteps come towards the door and it unlocked, revealing a broken Lauren, with tears streaming down her cheeks and sobs never failing to escape her trembling lips. Camila pulled the girl into her arms and stroked her hair calmly. Lauren, in between her gut wrenching cries, let out a squeak of pain, agonising emotional pain, as she continued to cry heartbrokenly into Camila's shoulder. Camila squeezed her wife tightly in the hug and closed her eyes, her large intake of breath shuddering at Lauren's cries. "S-She was my b-b-best f-friend th-there." Lauren whimpered. Camila rocked the girl in her arms and kissed her head more times than she could count. She couldn't even bring herself to say the words 'I know' because she didn't. She didn't know. She had no idea what it was like to stand there and watch the life drain from someone's body. "S-She got me through e-everything in there, besides y-you." Lauren said, gasping out for breath as she clung to Camila with all her little amount of strength. Camila was happy if she could be that Lauren still thought of her, but she supposed it was natural as she was in her arms. Then a thought ran through Camila's head. What if this would be her in a year's time? What if Lauren really did die?..and she felt the same, if not even more of the pain than Lauren currently felt now. Apparently Lauren could read her mind because she pulled back from their tight hug to look at her thoughtful wife. "Don't." Lauren said simply, reaching out to stroke her tears away. Camila didn't even know she was crying until Lauren smoothed them off her cheeks. "I-I'm not d-dying on you Camz." Lauren said as seriously as she could manage to in her grief stricken state. Camila shook her head. "But my Dad died.." She croaked, Lauren had forgotten, and in all honesty so had Camila until now. The Cuban's eyes filled with tears again, Lauren watched with her own tears in her green eyes as she brought them both over to the bed and pulled Camila into her lap. Camila let everything go in that moment, all the pain and all the anger that she felt wracked through her shaking body through sobs into Lauren's shoulder, while she did the same over Naomi. Lauren calmed herself down enough to hold Camila and comfort her, she'd had her short window of time to grief. Right now, Camila needed her to be strong for her, and that was what she'd do. It's what she would always do, it's what she always had done. In every situation, it was always Lauren who was the strong one. Somehow she'd reverted that, and she didn't like being vulnerable, she never did, and she never will. So now it was time to change that, Lauren's strong persona was fighting it's way back, even if it was far from the truth. Losing a father was much, much harder than losing a friend, even if he did some awful things in the past, Camila still loved him, she couldn't not. Camila hadn't cried it out until now, it was a time bomb and Lauren knew. Grief can be delayed, it can strike you at anytime, even years down the line. Camila just happened to come to terms with it now, it was a mixture of emotions. Sadness, hurt and anger, she was angry at how it happened, she was angry at everything he'd said and done to her over the years and Lauren was too. Personally, Lauren hated the man from the moment she'd met him. But for Camila's sake, she still acted like she could tolerate him at the family social occasions, not that where were many that he could find, or rather bother to make time for. Camila stopped sobbing, Lauren realised, and nuzzled her head in her neck as she seemed to have wore herself out enough to fall asleep. She couldn't help but find it cute, sad, but very cute. "I love you Camz." Lauren whispered in a soft voice as she gently lay her down on top of her body. Pulling the covers over them, Camila's head still found its way into her neck. "I love you more Lolo." Camila mumbled in a hoarse voice. "Always." Lauren smiled softly before she left herself fall asleep too, securely holding her wife in her arms. When Camila woke up later, Lauren was gone so she sat up rubbing her eyes. "Laur?" She called out groggily. Lauren came in yawning. "Sorry." She mumbled before getting into bed. "Where did you go?" Camila asked, making room for her in the bed. "I was sick." Lauren muttered. Camila felt her forehead and sighed. "I can get you some water-" "No it's fine, go back to sleep Camz." Camila nodded and turned over tiredly, sighing as her wife wrapped her arms gently around her waist. Lauren only closed her eyes and she felt undeniably dizzy, stupid treatment side effects. She hated it, she hated it all. Lauren felt hot tears burn her cheeks and she wiped them away in a fury. "For fucks sake, get a fucking grip." Lauren growled to herself. She couldn't sleep for the life of her. Then her phone rang, she picked it up to see it was Dinah. "What's up Di?" Lauren asked sleepily. "Mani and I had a fight." She sniffled. "What happened?" Lauren asked her best friend worriedly. "Can I please sleep over at yours? I just can't be here right now." Lauren was about to answer when her wife summoned her. "Lauren." Camila groaned as she cuddled up to her. "What is it baby?" Lauren asked sweetly. "Who's on the phone?" "Dinah, her and Mani had a fight. Can she stay here tonight?" "Yeah sure." Camila mumbled tiredly. "You can come over Di, drive safe." "Thanks Lauren." Dinah said quietly before she hung up. "Is she okay?" Camila asked. "She was crying, so no." Lauren sighed as she sat up. "Dinah never cries." The Cuban frowned. "I know, so whatever happened between her and Mani must have been bad." "Go wait for Dinah, I'll make her a drink." Camila offered her a small smile. "You don't have to do that babe, you were upset." Lauren said but Camila interrupted her. "Okay yes, we lost people in our lives. But we can't sit around and mourn my Dad and Naomi, leaving our alive friend upset. Come on Laur, let's just go take care of Dinah for now and worry about the rest later." Lauren leant back in Camila's arms and closed her eyes. "I know that Camz but I do miss her." "I know you do, I feel pretty shitty to say I don't miss my Dad." "No Camila, after everything he did to you, I don't think I would either." "Are you gonna be okay?" Camila asked as she pressed a kiss to Lauren's temple. "My best friend needs me, I have to be." She breathed before she got up. "Babe you don't have to act like you're okay all the time, I thought we'd been over this." Camila sighed. "We have, Camz, we have it's just..I want to get back to normal." "Well none of this is normal Lauren." Camila groaned. "Babe just leave it okay?" Lauren said, walking away from Camila. "No I will not leave it! Why can't you-" "Dinah's here." Lauren said, cutting her off and answering the door. "Fine. I'll get the drinks." Camila mumbled, skulking off to the kitchen. Lauren opened the door revealing a whimpering Dinah on the other side. Lauren opened her arms for her, Dinah gladly going into the girl's arms into a hug. "Shh, don't cry. Come inside and tell us what happened." Lauren soothed as she guided her best friend inside. "Here Cheechee." Camila gave her friend a glass of water and sat next to Lauren. "Start from the beginning." Lauren instructed, laying a hand on her knee. "Mani and I went for a dinner tonight and we bumped into my boss. I got upset, Mani noticed and then when we got home she just.." Camila frowned at the girl. "What Dinah?" "She..blew up? I'm not sure, she got all possessive over me and when I told her no, she went mad, saying that she wasn't my boss and she yelled at me and stormed out." "That doesn't sound like Mani, where is she now?" Lauren sighed. "Home, I found her outside, she'd beat him up bad so now I've lost my job and he's reporting her to the police and now I have to tell the police what he did and-" "Okay Dinah you need calm down, it's gonna be fine. It'll work out fine, just, we'll help you. Right, Camila?" Camila nodded and tried to ignore the fact her wife hadn't said Camz. "Yeah of course." She swallowed her words. "You stay here, Camila and I will grab you some blankets and stuff." Lauren said before pulling Camila up the stairs. "What are you going to do?" Camila asked accusingly. "I'm going to sort it. But right now, I'm going to say sorry for how I acted towards you. I'm sorry Camz." Camila smiled slightly. "It's fine Laur, kiss?" Lauren smiled and connected their lips. "I sowwie." "Okie." Camila mimicked her baby voice. "Now, you, go look after your best friend. I'll go get the blankets." Camila said and Lauren smiled, kissing her forehead. "Thank you." Camila gave her a small nod before they went their separate ways. Lauren went back and saw Dinah curled up, head in her knees crying to herself. Lauren padded over to her and sat down, guiding her into her arms as she was. "It's okay." Lauren mumbled as Dinah crawled into her lap timidly, this submissive behaviour being totally unlike herself. "I'll sort it all out, I promise." "I hate him." Dinah whimpered. "I know." Lauren rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him-" Dinah cried as she fought against Lauren's hold. "Hey, no stop. Dinah it's okay sweetheart, I've got you-" "No! I hate him!" She whined helplessly, burying her head in her best friend's neck in contradiction. "I know Di," Lauren breathed, cradling the girl as Camila threw a blanket over them. "I know."