Chance and Reason

Chapter Seventeen

A/N: Hello, back again! This chapter has got a bit of swearing in it, so apologies for that. I know I say it a lot, but seriously, thank you so much for reading. You are all amazing people and I am very grateful.

With a defeated sigh, Camila rolled onto her side and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. It dismayed her to see the time: almost 3am. Had she really been lying awake like this for almost four hours?

Sleep just refused to come. Her mind was racing, utterly taken over by endless thoughts and worries that never ceased to plague her. No matter what she tried, they would not stop swirling around her head, and it was infuriating.

This was the last night that she would have with Ally as her close protection officer. From tomorrow onwards, she would be on her own. Although she knew it was not the police's fault, she could not help but feel abandoned. She just had to remind herself that they were effectively as much the victims as she was.

It was too warm in her bedroom. She kicked the covers away from her, pushing them into a cushiony mountain at the end of her bed. That brought a little relief, but not quite enough.

Should she open the window?

Ally had mentioned that leaving the windows open could potentially put her at risk, but she was just too uncomfortable to keep it closed.

Swinging her legs off mattress, she crept across the carpet and located the key on the windowsill. Turning it in the lock, she heard the click and then felt the catch release. As soon as she pushed it open, a refreshing breeze entered the room, and she hummed contentedly.

"Much better," she muttered to herself.

Grabbing her pillows, she pummelled them into a more comfortable shape before settling down, determined to finally drift off. Her peace did not last long though.

A scratching noise from outside instantly roused her from the half slumber. She was alert and upright in seconds. Part of her was already screaming to run straight to Ally's apartment, but she was too frightened to move. Her limbs would just not budge.

The scratching noise had become a persistent scrabbling, and it was undoubtedly getting nearer. Camila was shaking violently as she sat staring at the fluttering curtains. Unless it was her imagination, she could have sworn that the sound of heavy breathing was now also palpable.

There was somebody trying to climb into her apartment.

Bile rose in her throat as the she managed to summon the strength to rummage around for some sort of weapon. Nothing of much use came to hand and so she resorted to wrenching the table lamp out of the plug socket. It felt relatively weighty in her hand, but still pretty pathetic.

All of a sudden, the left-hand curtain twitched open and a muffled grunt of exertion followed as a figure heaved themselves up and through the window. Despite their largely ungraceful entrance, they turned and landed so lightly on the floor that there was virtually no noise.

Petrified, Camila flattened herself up against the far wall, biting down on her arm to keep herself quiet. The intruder was dressed fully in black, with their hood up. It only took a brief sweep of the room for them to lay eyes on the terrified journalist. Knowing that this was her last chance to defend herself, Camila began to run at them, raising the lamp over her head in readiness to strike.

With feline-like agility, the intruder side-stepped Camila and wrapped their arms around her waist, holding her still.

"Camz! Camz! It's me! It's Lauren!"

"What the fuck?!"

The journalist wriggled desperately, thrashing to get free until Lauren pushed her away, putting a couple of metres between them.