Should've Been Us (Camren)

XIV

Camila's POV

*Flashback*

I was supposed to hang out with Dinah today, but she was purposely ignoring me. Every time I sent a text, she'd read it and not reply. After the sixth text she'd deliberately dodged, that little read receipt sent me over the edge. Once again, I found myself stationed in front of my liquor cabinet, prepared to pick my poison. Today it was a bottle of tequila. I needed something strong if I wanted to make it through the day. Pressing the bottle to my lips, I tipped the bottle back, sending a large amount of the beverage down my throat. I ignored the intense burning sensation and began thinking of what to do with my day.

The tequila hit me quickly, not very surprising since I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten. My weight would also be concerning to most, as I dropped down to eighty pounds in the last month. No one seemed to have noticed, or maybe they had noticed, but never brought it up to avoid the inevitable confrontation. In the past few weeks I'd grown more agitated and considerably less friendly. I would've thought Lauren would say something to me, but as usual she had her head so far up her own ass that she only cares about herself. "Fucking Lauren..." I muttered aloud to no one in particular. Somehow I came to the conclusion that I'd follow Lauren around tonight. Lately, I've had a sneaking suspicion that she was up to no good. And I was bound to find out.

For the first time in my life, I'd managed to finish an entire bottle of tequila by myself. Not in one sitting of course, I managed to milk it most of the day. It's definitely not the best accomplishment in the world, but when you're a loser like I am, it feels like an amazing feat. I sloppily got dressed in some ripped blue jeans, a red v-neck shirt, a black zip up hoodie, and some tattered black vans. I didn't bother to do anything with my hair, besides running a bony hand through it multiple times. Before I left my apartment, I caught a glimpse of my blurred reflection in the mirror. I looked like a walking corpse with my sunken in cheekbones, dark circles, and bloodshot eyes. My skin looked gray in comparison to my usually tan complexion.

Clumsily, I searched for my keys and purse to make the short walk to Lauren's place. Once I located them in the last place I left them, tossed on the floor of the kitchen, I picked them up and vacated my apartment. The walk to Lauren's felt much longer due to my level of intoxication. I shouldn't have been meandering about the city at this time of night on my own. But I didn't give a single fuck what could happen to me. "HEY!" I heard someone yell in the darkness behind me. My footsteps quickened, and I heard the owner of the voice start running to catch up to me. The only thing I could think to do was to start running myself.

Just my luck, I tripped over a slab of raised cement, and fell, sliding across the ground in the process. "Holy shit, are you okay?" The stranger dropped to one knee to examine my injury. My elbow was trickling with blood but I ignored it, fear instantly returning when I remembered I was supposed to be getting away from this possible killer. He must've noticed the fear on my face and spoke up again. "You dropped this outside your apartment, I wanted to return it to you. There are a lot of sketchy people around here." The man extended his hand, which was holding my debit card. Relief washed over me when I realized he wasn't trying to do any harm.

"Thank you!" I breathed out. The man winced, obviously inhaling the heavy stench of tequila on my breath. "A-are you sure you're okay?" He questioned, clearly trying not to be rude. "Yeah, uh, thanks again." I said before swiftly turning around and stalking off. Just as I approached Lauren's apartment complex, I saw her and jumped behind a nearby dumpster to watch. She was walking towards her Jeep, holding hands with fucking Normani. "That bitch!" I seethed quietly from afar. I wanted to trust her. I wanted to believe she'd never do something like this to me. Boy, was I dead wrong. The tears came in a steady stream. All I could do was lean my back against that dumpster and let the tears fall. The sound of her Jeep pulling away filled my ears as I continued to sit on the cold cement.