Missed Calls

Chapter 1

March 15 2014

8:37 a.m.

It was only after the slow patter of rain began to hit the roof that I woke up. I opened my eyes slowly and shivered at the loss of contact with the bedsheets that must have fallen off during some point in the night. The queen sized bed felt much too empty for my liking. My feet hit the cold floor as I groaned at the soreness in my body. I reached the closet where I pulled out a fluffy white sweater- her fluffy white sweater, a black muscle tank, and a pair of ripped jeans.

Saturday mornings like this were mostly uneventful for me. The apartment was empty and I was alone, like every weekend. Camila was off on a business trip again. I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair and took a sip of coffee. I unplugged my phone from the wall to check on any missed messages. "Two missed calls and one voicemail from Camila" the screen read. I pressed the phone up to my ear as I listened to the message.

"Hey Lauren. I know it's late back at the apartment so I'm figuring you're asleep. Look, I've been feeling bad about being away from you so much, so I thought when I get back in a couple days I could make it up to you. I have a little something planned, so get excited, and try not to miss me too much--" she added sarcastically but was interrupted, "Ah, I have to go, my manager is rushing me off to another meeting. I miss you a lot. I'll call you when my plane lands."

The message came to an abrupt end and I felt my heart aching. How could words so simple have such an earth shattering effect on me? Camila, my roommate, my best friend- was away much too often. It was honestly hard to believe how much I could miss her.

However, I couldn't shake something that had been nagging at me for the past couple of weeks. We've become closer. I mean, of course we had been friends all throughout college but it was different now. Lately she had insisted on sleeping in my bed with me, and she always wanted to do things together. I remember the night when it all started...

. . .

The thunder groaned as I could feel the window panes shaking. I covered my head with a pillow as I tried to fall back asleep. Another loud clap of thunder caused me to jump, and I peeked out to look at the clock. 2:53 a.m. I squeezed my eyes shut and was about to drift off when I heard a whimpering noise at my door. My eyes shot open as I saw my friend standing there. Her long dark hair fell in messy waves around her face and she was holding her stuffed unicorn toy that she always slept with.

"Camila? Why are you up?" I asked groggily.

"Same reason you are," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well I was sleeping, or at least trying to," I said teasingly.

"Sorry about that," she said with a soft smile, "The thunder just scares me. Can I sleep in here tonight?" Camila mumbled, playing with the sleeves of her shirt. My heart fluttered at her shy request.

"Yeah sure," I said, peeling back the covers and making room for her.

"Thanks," she smiled and slid under the sheets. "Y'know Lauren, I'm not really that tired anymore."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup, I'm wiiiide awake!" she whispered, wiggling her fingers at me, causing me to giggle.

"You've always been such a night owl, haven't you?" I recalled.

"I guess so," she replied, as I thought back to our days as college roommates where we would stay up to all hours of the night.

"Well unlike you, I'm beat right now. I'm gonna try to go back to sleep," I informed her, and began to curl up under the blankets.

"Fair enough," she agreed, glancing at the clock on my dresser. "Goodnight Laur," she whispered, scooting closer to me.