Chance and Reason

Chapter Thirty-Two

A/N: I am genuinely in a state of shock! I remember first publishing this story, and being ridiculously excited about seeing a single read, let alone a vote, pop up on my notifications. Seeing it pass 8000 reads is unbelievable - thank you so much! Once again, sorry for delayed updates; no rest for the wicked, it seems! As a heads up, this chapter contains some sensitive themes.

Camila hurried away in search of Dinah; legs stumbling in front of one another blindly. When she found her, they exchanged brief greetings, and hugs, but the meeting was short-lived. Her heart wasn't into being cheerful and chatty right now; there was too much else on her mind. The whirlwind of thoughts processing inside her brain left her feeling woozy, and she couldn't focus on casual conversation.

Disappearing to see her friend had just been the quickest escape that Camila had been able to think of from the awkward situation with Shawn. It was embarrassing: she knew that Lauren would have seen through the poorly considered evasion of a sensitive topic. She felt childish for having to run away from it, but the word 'girlfriend' had taken her completely off-guard.

"I think Lauren and I are heading off now," she excused herself, "Call soon, yeah?"

Dinah raised her eyebrows, but let her go without asking any questions. She was so well accustomed to Camila's traits and quirks, that even the slightest twitch in her smile, or change in speech speed, would alert her to something being wrong. Judging by her quick blabbering, and red face, there was an issue, but now was not the right time to intrude and begin to interrogate her about it.

"Okay. Laters, Mila,"

Camila dragged her feet as she walked back into the corridor. Shawn had since left, but Lauren was still there. Her car keys hung from her hand; swinging back and forth, with the harsh, white hospital lights reflected on the metal.

"Lauren..."

The agent ran a hand into her black locks, and flipped them over to one side. Those tangles of hair usually partially covered her face, but now it was pushed back, leaving her expression available to be seen,"

"Did you find Dinah?" she mumbled.

"Yeah,"

"Do you want to go home now?"

"Yes please,"

"Okay,"

Lauren stood, and started to walk. Camila's arm jerked forward, instinctively reaching to hold the agent's hand, but she withdrew it glumly. This new problem needed to be addressed first before they could pick up their usual habits. They moved through the hospital; Camila trailing a little behind.

Even with it coming up to dusk, the hospital seemed to remain fairly busy. Day patients had gone, but the staff remained; preparing to battle on into the night. Inside this sterile building, time seemed to barely exist. Morning, afternoon, and evening passed by unnoticed; no form of sunrise or sunset could penetrate the wards, halls, rooms or operating theatres.

No matter how many times Camila went to hospital, she would never stop appreciating that first breath of fresh air that rushed into her lungs upon exiting through the front doors. It was like iced water to a desert wanderer.

"The car's just over here," Lauren muttered, shuffling away towards it.

"Whereabouts?"

It was clear that Lauren had heard the query, but she chose to ignore it, deciding to lead by example rather than waste oxygen in explaining. In that moment, Camila was so strikingly reminded of the way Lauren had been when they had first met. That frustrating attitude of "why use words when a shrug and point will do?" had driven her half mad then, but now it incensed her. Unlike last time, she knew that Lauren was capable of better communication than this, and if they needed anything right now, it was communication.