Chance and Reason

Chapter Five

A/N: And it's the fifth chapter! Again, please don't hesitate to give me your thoughts, and, as always, enjoy!

Turning up the shower temperature until it was almost too hot to bear, Agent Jauregui allowed the scalding water to cascade down over her shoulders. Her skin turned red where the burning jets met her body, and she hissed a little at the sensation. Steam filled the bathroom, clinging to the cold tiles and mirror.

Running her hands through her hair, she coaxed out the shampoo suds from her tresses, shutting her eyes to protect them from the soap. She only kept them shut for a second though. Any longer and she would inevitably be forced to witness some awful recollection being projected into her mind's eye. Nightmares had become all the more frequent recently, and right now that was the last thing that she needed.

Shutting the shower off, she stepped out, grabbed a towel and wandered into the main room. Her temporary apartment was significantly smaller than Camila's, and she had not bothered to unpack. Her belongings remained stuffed into her kit bag, which sat at the foot of her bed.

She found a pair of sweatpants and hoodie and pulled them on. Her towel hung about her shoulders, keeping her clothes separate from her damp hair. For a while she sat quite content to just stare at the opposite wall. It was peaceful, with the distant noise of traffic creating a somewhat soothing atmosphere... until the phone rang.

She grasped the handset and picked it up.

"Hello?" she answered.

There was a muffled noise at the end and she frowned.

"Is anybody there?" she spoke more loudly than before.

When there was still no proper reply so she checked the number on the caller ID, and recognised it at once. The call was coming from inside the building.

"Miss Cabello?"

"Camila," came the breathy reply.

"What?"

"Call me, Camila,"

Agent Jauregui felt a small smile inexplicably creep onto her face.

"Oh, right... can I help you, Camila? Do you need something?"

There was another pause.

"I... I was... I realised that I don't know your name," Camila burst out suddenly.

"My name?"

"I mean; you know my name. I just don't know yours,"

The girl at the other end of the line was blabbering, each word tripping over her tongue as she rushed to try and get the sentence out. Her anxieties had left her speech almost incomprehensible.

"My name is Lauren,"

It was a name that suited her perfectly. A name that beautifully encompassed her haunting green eyes, wicked smirk and the grace and confidence with which she moved. It was a name that Camila felt she already knew.

"Hi Lauren,"

"Hi Camila,"

"Do you... I mean, you don't have to... but would you want to eat your dinner in my apartment? I don't really want to be alone, and it could give us a chance to get to know each other,"

Lauren exhaled slowly. Small talk and socialising had never appealed to her, especially not now. She preferred keeping herself to herself; there was no part of her that she wished to share with anybody else. Yet the way Camila was tentatively holding her breath at the other end of the line while she waited for a response left her feeling unable to decline.