End of the Day

7:27 pm (day 630)

Lauren glances up lazily as Camila enters the room, not caring to bother with whatever her new roommate is up to. She only does a double take when she takes in Camila's clean state; she's toweling her wet hair dry, and the dirt has vanished from her soft, caramel skin. Lauren thinks she smells a hint of lavender, putting two and two together. She sits up quickly, straining against the handcuffs and looking at Camila with a look of pure desperation, "You have a shower? Please, let me use it. Please."

Camila doesn't miss a beat, "I'm not un-cuffing you."

"Why?" Lauren whines, "I haven't had a shower in seven months!"

"I'm not letting you run away."

Lauren is dumbfounded, "You think I'm gonna—I'm not gonna run away!"

"I can't fucking trust you—"

"Camila, I don't want to run away. Do you know how long it's been since I've talked to another human? Almost two years. And it doesn't even matter that you hate me, because at least you talk to me. At least I'm not alone anymore," Lauren pauses to take a breath, swallowing back tears. She refuses to cry over a shower.

(It's not just the shower.)

"So please," Lauren continues once she pulls herself back together, "just trust me enough to take a shower. I'll let you cuff me again when I'm done. I promise."

Camila stares at Lauren for a long time, her face unreadable. Lauren is sure she looks like a complete disaster with her knotted hair and dirty face, but she honestly couldn't care less in this moment. Silently, she approaches where Lauren is sat on the mattress, pulling the key from her pocket and unlocking the cuff. Lauren runs her hand over the irritated skin around her wrist, flinching away. She opens her mouth to speak, but Camila holds up a finger and reaches into her pack. She pulls out some spare clothes she picked up on a supply run, handing them over to Lauren.

"The showers are through the first door on the left. It leads into the store next door. The showers are just inside; I think it was some karate place or something," Lauren nods gratefully and stumbles towards the door, pausing when Camila speaks again, "And for the record, I don't hate you. You're just irritating."

-

When Lauren returns from her shower, she takes a seat on her mattress with a sigh. She'd never felt more refreshed in her entire life. That shower was exactly what she needed. And the stretch of her legs was nice, too. But, all good things must come to an end...

She reaches blindly for the cuffs, feeling her hand hit nothing but air. Confused, she turns to look for it and finds the area void of the metal object.

"I'm not putting them back on you," Camila's voice cuts through the air, startling Lauren. She turns to see Camila carrying in wood for the small fire pit she had dug into the floor for the upcoming winter (Lauren had advised against it, but the ceilings were high enough that she supposes it'll be okay), "The only reason I had it on you in the first place was 'cause I didn't want you to leave."

Lauren smiles to herself while Camila's back is to her, though she wipes it off before the other girl can see. Scoffing playfully, she rests her permanently free arms in her lap, "And this whole time I thought you despised me."

Camila considers this, "That's a rather... strong word for how I feel about you."

"Hmm..." Lauren hums, "So what I'm understanding is... you don't dislike me?"

Camila rolls her eyes, dusting her hands off and motioning for Lauren to follow, "I've got something to show you."

Lauren happily follows the brown-eyed girl through the store and into an old stairwell. They pass by the second floor (which is just an empty office anyway) and continue up to the roof. Camila goes ahead of Lauren, who is too busy admiring the view to worry about taking the final steps forward to join Camila by the edge.

"Huh," Lauren can't help the angry feeling that hits her when she realizes she'd been trapped downstairs while Camila had free reign to this beautiful sight. The sunset is visible over the city horizon, untainted by the sound of car horns and angry pedestrians as it always had been. Gorgeous hues of orange tinted red glisten in Lauren's eyes, "So this is where you always disappear off to..."

"Yeah," Camila rests her hands on the ledge, leaning forward and sighing, "It's nice, isn't it? You could never see the sunset from my house, there were too many things in the way."

Lauren joins her, keeping her gaze locked on the blended colors in the sky, "What kind of things?"

"Responsibilities."

Lauren chuckles, "Deep."

"Wasn't it? I was going for that," Lauren releases a full-on laugh now, unable to hold back any amusement, "No, but seriously, our house was surrounded by trees. And I was always busy doing schoolwork."

Lauren nods a few times, unsure if she's nodding along to Camila's words or nodding to herself as a thought crosses her mind, "I never did my homework."

"What?" Camila seems disgusted by the idea, "Why not?"

"Does it matter now?"

Camila opens and closes her mouth several times, looking down at her hands, "No, I guess not."

Lauren glances at Camila before giving in with a sigh, "My mother could barely make enough to support my sister, let alone me. Most of my time was spent working to make a living for all three of us. I never had time for school, I mostly just went for the distraction."

"Oh..."

"Who knows where I'd be without the apocalypse," Lauren waves her hands around, trying to add a splash of humor, "Probably living in a box on the side of the road. Or working as a stripper."

"I cannot picture you working a pole."

"So... what you're saying is... you've tried to imagine me on a pole?"

Camila shoves her arm playfully, "Shut up."

"I didn't hear a 'no'," Lauren smirks, trying her hand at flirting now that she knows the smaller girl doesn't hate her guts.

"You're attractive and I can't help but notice, sue me," Camila holds her hands up in defense, "I don't exactly have anyone else to admire."

Lauren flips her hair over her shoulder in a joking manner, "Well, I did get all the ladies back when they were still alive."

"I can't tell if that's morbid or fuck-girlish."

"A little of both," Lauren shrugs.

"I see."

Lauren can't remember the last time she's genuinely laughed this much in one sitting. And despite the circumstances, it's nice to get to relax for a bit. She feels connected to Camila in a way she can't describe, and while they had a rough start, she knows it was necessary for them to get to this point.

"Hey, uh..." Lauren feels herself get shy, "Even though the entire time I've known you you've been kind of cold and have kept me chained to an old chair, it's been really nice having someone other than myself to talk to. Basically what I'm trying to say is... thanks for knocking me in the head with that brick."

Camila lets out a laugh, the beautiful sound echoing through Lauren's head as she admires Camila's side profile, "You're welcome. Thank you for letting me knock you in the head with that brick."

"What are friends for?"

-

Edited 6/14/19