A Simple Folded Paper

24

Lauren was able to convince Camila to sleep at her house and not in the hospital like Camila wanted. The girl's family joined them in the hospital not a lot after and Lauren could see why Camila despised them. From the few conversations that she heard, none of them was concerning Camila's parents' well-being, it was all about how much they were going to leave from inheritance to Camila, or with who the girl would stay, or how much they drank and couldn't drive themselves.

Upon hearing an old lady say that Camila's uncles died because probably they were distracted talking about the ridiculous TV program they used to see, Lauren woke up Camila that was sleeping with her head on Lauren's shoulder and said that they were going to sleep at her house. Camila protested a bit but due to her tiredness, it was not very hard for Lauren to fight back and win the discussion.

The poor girl was tired as never, the day itself was exhausting and with what happened, Camila just couldn't stay awake and feel those kinds of things. Lauren's speech was still very much present in her mind, she knew she had the right to be sad but Camila just didn't want it - so she slept.

When both girls entered the house Lauren's family was already asleep, since it was past midnight already, so they tried to go to Lauren's room as quiet as possible. Lauren gave Camila her pajamas from the night before, dressed her own and they both entered the bed and buried themselves under the covers.

"I'll stay with you tomorrow, alright?", Lauren whispered and evolved Camila in a hug when the girl cuddled to her side.

Camila whispered a "Thank you" back and kissed Lauren's collarbone since she couldn't reach her cheek. She knew that Lauren meant that she would be skipping school to be with her, and Camila was just thankful that she would have her girlfriend's support.

They stayed in silence for some minutes, Lauren thought that Camila was already asleep so she closed her eyes and tried to sleep as well. But she was wrong. Camila was awake and made that clear when she called in a low and raspy voice, "Lauren?".

"Yeah?", Lauren answered, opening her eyes and trying her best to come back from her almost asleep state.

"They know about us."

"Who?"

"My parents."

Lauren was surprised, she was not expecting it at all. She thought that the only person who knew besides them were the people at school that saw them in the hallways and her sister. "They do?".

"Yeah", Camila sighed and cuddled more into Lauren's torso. "3 years ago, when I first saw you, I told them at dinner. I had a girlfriend at the time and they already knew I was gay. A few days after that one, I decided to break up with my girlfriend because you were the one that I thought about and my mom told me that I should talk to you since I broke up with Jade basically because of you. My parents spent 3 years telling me that I should talk to you and they always heard me when I rant about you at dinner."

"That's cute, you know?", Lauren said and kissed the top of Camila's head after.

Camila ignored the comment and continued the story. "When I told them about the notes, my mom was so happy that I had finally made some kind of move and she got even happier when I told her we met. She looked like a 16-year-old teenager squealing 'What was it like? What did you say? Did you two kissed?'". Camila let out a small laugh and Lauren joined in.

"I thought you two were not very close."

"And we're not. I didn't talk very much with her, but when I did it was because she asked me about you."

Lauren didn't respond, instead, she just combed Camila's hair for a while and then said, "You should sleep."

But she didn't receive any answer. She looked down at Camila and laughed softly when she saw that she was a sleeping already. Lauren continued to caress her hair until she succumbed to sleep herself.

~

The next morning was spent at the hospital. Both girls made their way there and a nurse promptly told them they could go see Camila's parents, but that they were still in a coma.

Lauren let Camila enter the room alone, she figured the girl needed some time alone with her family, while Lauren stayed in the waiting room. Speaking of family, Camila's family were absent all morning. Nobody was there to visit Camila's parents, expect for Lauren and Camila. Eventually, near lunch time, an old couple appeared and Lauren heard them ask for Camila's parents in the reception.

She approached the couple, presented herself and got to know that they were Camila's grandparents. Lauren told them that Camila was inside of the room and offered to accompany them there. Once they reached the bedroom, they saw Camila sat in a plastic chair beside her mother's bed, holding her hand.

"Camila?", Lauren called since Camila didn't seem to notice their presence in the room. 

Camila looked at Lauren through glassy eyes. She wasn't crying anymore but sure wanted to. Then, she noticed her grandparents and got up from the uncomfortable chair to greet them. They exchanged a few words and Lauren was able to convince Camila in getting some lunch, using the excuse that the old couple needed their alone time with their son and daughter in law too. 

They went to a McDonalds on the other side of the street, contradicting Camila's will. She wasn't in the mood to eat, but Lauren knew she had to or else she would probably pass out in a few hours. Lauren bought what she wanted while Camila stayed on the table, and ordered some nuggets to the girl who claimed she wasn't hungry. Lauren knew she wasn't because she once had been in a worst state when she lost her sister. She remembered all the times she refused to eat, but now she knew that that was not the right decision, so she wouldn't let Camila make the same mistakes she did in the past.

Lauren ate her hamburger in silence, the only time she spoke was to insist with Camila for the girl to eat at least one nugget, which Camila did begrudgingly. When they finished eating, Lauren assumed that she should vocalize her thoughts.

"Camila, we should go home."

"No", Camila almost shouted but lowered her voice when she realized what she had just done. "I'm sorry, I don't want to go, I want to stay with them."

Lauren got up from her seat and sat next to Camila on the other side of the table. She grabbed Camila's hands and gave a kiss in both of them. "The doctor said that they could be in a coma for a really long time babe, you don't have to be there every second. I promise you that I'll come with you tomorrow, alright?"

"But-"

Lauren interrupted her, holding her index finger in the air and adopting a British accent. "No buts my lady, now finish the damn nuggets or you don't get a kiss for the rest of the day!". Although Camila was tremendously sad, she chuckled lightly at her girlfriend's antics. She didn't protest but she didn't eat her nuggets either. "Babe, I'm serious now", Lauren continued, now with a normal and serious tone. "I know what it is like to be in the place where you are right now, but not eating won't get you anywhere, okay?"

Camila nodded and ate half of a nugget. She was loving the way Lauren was taking care of her without being annoying to the point where people ask "Are you okay?" every 5 seconds. Camila hated those kinds of chitchat and bullshit. Of course, she was not okay, her parents were in a freaking coma! But Lauren was different, with Lauren she could cry and she could feel, and Lauren had a special talent in calming her. Without a word, Lauren was always there to catch Camila when her legs didn't have enough strength and Lauren was always there when Camila just needed to cry without answering questions. With that, she gave Lauren reason and let herself be guided to her house, she needed comfort and she knew she was not getting that in the hospital.

~

A/N: Late update, but today nonetheless. I have a pretty busy day, so I'm sorry for being updating this late. I mean, in here is late but I bet for y'all is still like, afternoon, but whatever, IT IS LATE FOR ME. It's 00:45 and I just want to go to sleep, so I apologize for any grammar mistakes.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.