The RoomMate (Camren)

Chapter 18

"I love you,"

It felt right to Lauren, even though Camila didn't hear the words, it felt right. Maybe Lauren knew she wasn't ready to say it to the younger girl yet, or maybe she didn't want to say it in case Camila didn't feel the same way, but she knew her feelings. We're soul mates. Lauren thought, glancing one last time at the peaceful figure of Camila then allowing sleep to take over her body.

Waking up in the morning was bitter sweet. It was early and Lauren was never used to waking up early as she didn't sleep much and when she did, she would sleep until late. However much the green eyed girl begged Camila to stay in bed a little longer and cuddle, the younger girl knew that she had to get to her interview.

"Would you like me to go with you?" Lauren asked, standing up slowly and stretching, walking towards Camila who was looking out of Lauren's bedroom window.

"No, I should be okay, thanks. Just make sure that your pretty face is here when I get back," The brown eyed girl grinned, quickly kissing Lauren then realising the time.

"8:45?! Great!" Camila exclaimed sarcastically.

"Go get ready babe, I'll make you coffee to go," Lauren said, spinning the younger girl around and walking towards the door.

"I don't like coffee, ew," Camila giggled, kissing Lauren once more before disappearing into the bathroom to shower quickly. After just under twenty minutes, Camila reemerged wearing blue skinny jeans, a red and black chequered shirt and white Adidas trainers with her hair hanging loosely round her face.

"God, you look beautiful," Lauren breathed, placing her hands on Camila's waist and kissing her deeply, inhaling the scent of the younger girls hair.

"Hot chocolate," Lauren presented proudly, holding out a flask with bananas on it which Camila took graciously. "And... a banana," The older girl gave Camila a banana wrapped in tin foil.

"Why is it in foil?" The younger girl asked, slightly confused.

"Try it," The green eyed girl pestered as Camila opened the foil and took a bite of the banana.

"Nutella!" The brown eyed girl laughed happily, licking her lips.

"Thank you, babe," Camila said, kissing Lauren again before leaving for her interview, leaving the older girl alone in the apartment once again.

"What to do? What to do?" Lauren asked into the empty apartment.
"Sleep? Sleep." She said, laughing to herself as she walked back into her bedroom and burrowed herself under the covers, missing Camila's presence.
Meanwhile, Camila was racing down the street at top speed, after missing her bus, she decided to walk as the next bus was due in twenty minutes. Finally, the brown eyed girl came into view of Hernandez Dogs and Cats Home, letting a deep breath in relief that it had only just approached 9:30. Smoothing her hair out, Camila entered the blue building, admiring the array of plants set outside.

"Hi, I have an interview with... Ally Hernandez today," Camila spoke to the man seated behind the desk, her hands growing slightly sweaty as she had nearly forgotten the name of the person she was here to see.

"Ah, Camila," He smiled, "Just have a seat and she'll be out soon," He said, nodding towards the seats. Camila instantly liked him because he had pronounced her name correctly and also liked his blue chequered shirt and glasses. Just as Camila was about to pull out her phone, she heard her voice being called cheerily.

"You must be Camila, I'm Ally," The woman said holding her hand out to Camila and ushering her into a small office. Camila sat down in the large chair, looking at the small woman. She wore a green button up blouse, grey trousers, thin framed glasses and had a single flower in her hair.

"Welcome to Hernandez Dogs and Cats Home, I'm going to get straight into it. Have you had any previous experience in working with animals before? Keeping in mind that most of the animals that we receive and take care of have been neglected in some way and can be quite difficult to handle,"

Normally in any other situation, Camila would be freaking out by now, but she was prepared.

"My abuela, my nan sorry," Camila corrected herself, "used to have an animal home, similar to this and I would help out since I was about six, everyday after school I would run there and play with the animals and feed them. It was like that pretty much until I was about eighteen, she passed away..." Camila had to take a deep breath before carrying on, "and my parents couldn't afford to keep the place anymore so the animals were distributed to other homes and that was it, I guess, but I've always had an interest in animals," The brown eyed girl concluded, smiling at her potential new boss.

The interview seemed to flow smoothly, Camila staying calm and Ally being very friendly, it was almost like they were old friends.

"I think you're fantastic, Camila. Your background in animal care and interests in music are in fact very admirable. You seem like a lovely, genuine person, you'll fit right in," The smaller woman said, clapping her hands theatrically and standing up making Camila smile at her kind words.

"I just want to take you through to a small part of where the animals are kept, but I think I can say that I'd be very happy to give you the job," Ally explained, leading Camila back through the reception area and through a door with a picture of a puppy and a kitten cuddling on it.

"This room is for animals who have broken bones as it leads right out into the garden area and has facilities for strengthening their bones again. There's one little guy in here," Ally said, walking over to one of the white sections, homed by a Shih Tzu puppy.

"This is Malin, it means little warrior. When we found him, both of his front legs were broken and three of his ribs. We don't know how it happened to the little guy," Ally explained, lifting the small dog out of his home. He was a cream colour with light brown patches and huge brown eyes.

"He's adorable," Camila cooed, gently stroking Malin's head.

"It's actually time for him to do his exercises, you can help," Ally said, unlocking a glass door and settling Malin down on the grass. His front legs still had small red casts on them so his balance was off, meaning that he fell over a lot. Ally taught Camila how to support the puppy, how to guide him and what exercises to do to strengthen him. After half an hour, the two girls returned inside, placing Malin back and finishing in the reception area.

"So Camila," Ally began, "I think you've got the job!" She beamed, clasping her hands together. "You'll start next week but then you're off for Christmas anyway. It's been a pleasure meeting you and I'll look forward to seeing you next week," Ally concluded, shaking the younger girls hand and walking her to the door.

"Thank you so much, see you next week," Camila smiled, giving one last wave to Ally before disappearing around corner. The brown eyed girl was so excited to get home and tell Lauren the great news.

"Lauren!" Camila called as soon as she set foot in the apartment. Walking towards the older girls bedroom, Camila opened the door, and watched Lauren's peaceful figure for a moment, taking in her beauty. Perching at the end of the bed, Camila began to stroke the older girls hair, deciding whether she should wake the girl up or let her sleep. It was already approaching midday so Camila thought it would be best to let Lauren sleep as she would wake up soon for lunch. Watching the green eyed girl sleeping made Camila smile, though she did not know why, it just did. Planting a kiss on Lauren's forehead, the brown eyed girl leant next to the sleeping girls ear.

"I love you,"