Together

Chapter 9

The elevator doors shake open and Camila and I hurry out of them. We plan on walking to the park and back, as long as the weather holds up. We walk through the lobby, avoiding the gaze of other people. I open the door for Camila and she smiles at me.

"Such a gentleman." Camila jokes, nudging me with her elbow.

"I've always been a gentleman," I smile, taking Camila's hand in my own. Our arms swing gently as we walk through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk.

"A better gentleman than Chris was." Camila crinkles her nose at the sound of my brother's name. "Have you heard from him in awhile?"

"No," I sigh, my smile fading. "I haven't talk to him in four years."

Chris is my brother. He moved out way before me, as he got a job and a girl before me as well. But his girlfriend didn't disappear, as far as I know, as mine did. I stopped talking to him and my sister, Taylor, a year after Camila left. My mom sometimes fills me in on their lives, but I don't really care anymore.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Camila suggests, squeezing my hand. "I mean, he was such a jerk to us. I can't believe he thought he had the nerve."

Camila and I walk up the sidewalk, trees lining our path and cars rushing past us. It's freezing outside, which is strange because we are in Vegas. Even though I've never lived in Nevada, I know that it's rarely cold, let alone cloudy. All I've heard is people either complaining about the heat or praising it.

"Yeah," I sigh, turning around the corner with Camila. "He was a huge homophobe."

"Your sister too." Camila points out, causing me to sigh again.

"True," I admit, trying not to remember the horrible memories. "I'm just glad that my mom and dad were so supportive of us and our relationship."

"Same here." Camila nods, letting go of my hand and wrapping her arm around my waist. I drape an arm across her shoulders and pull her closer.

"Have you ever been to Vegas?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Nope," Camila grins, glancing around. "But it sure is beautiful."

"Then what have you been doing for Austin and Shawn for five years?"

"Stealing random knick-knacks and whatever." Camila shrugs. I can feel her fingers tugging at the seam of my jacket, making my body shiver randomly as we walk. "Whatever they find pretty."

"How have they been treating you?" I question, looking at the side of Camila's face. She turns her head to look at me as well, our eyes connect and we both smile.

"Fine, I mean, if you consider keeping me away from my girlfriend 'fine', then completely and totally fine." Camila shrugs again, changing our direction so we are walking towards a bench.

"You still consider us girlfriends?" I ask suddenly, causing Camila to shoot me a strange glance.

"We never broke up, did we?"

"I guess we didn't." I reply, looking down.

"Do you not want us to be or..." Camila's voice trails off. We sit down on a bench, our arms still entangled with each other.

"No, no!" I exclaim, looking up at the brunette's face. "I do. It was just a surprise, that's all."

"Why was it a surprise?" Camila asks, her voice and facial features confused.

"I mean, we haven't talked or seen each other in years. Plus I've believed you've been dead." I explain, exhaling. My breath is visible, which means we shouldn't stay in the cold for long.