Never Let Me Go (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 17: I Will Never Let You Go

There are moments when we all wish to step back and change the past. Only a few of us are given the chance to do so. Wind whipping around her, Camila was suddenly made aware of how rock solid the front porch of their Michigan home happened to be. It was loud, the unnaturally strong summer wind carrying waves against the shore in manner so deafening it effectively blocked out every other sound in the area. Terrified, Camila struggled into as best a sitting position as she could, trying to squint through the moonlight.

"Stop, please." She pleaded, the silver gleam of her brother's weapon hovering directly in her line of sight.

"Camila!" Sofi's tiny, terrified voice nearly screamed from the open frame of the front door. A shadow passed across her line of sight, crouching down in front of the girl and shielding her from the scene. Twisting around, Camila reached out and caught her brother's wrist as he lunged down at her, the blade inching closer to her exposed ribcage.

"You lied to me." She rasped, looking up at the icy blue in his eyes. "You told me you were going to change, that if you stayed here things would be different this time."

"Shut up." The boy growled, narrowing his gaze. "Making fun of me, taunting me over my fucking choices even though you know nothing about them, you're a stranger! Who are you to judge?!" The lost look in Daniel's eye suggested to Camila he wasn't truly speaking to her, there was something foreign happening in his head that she had no control over.

"Know nothing about— what the hell?" Camila tried to turn around and get on her feet, but the boy had her completely pinned down to the hardwood. "Daniel I swear to god get that damn thing away from me."

When the blade didn't move, Camila summoned every ounce of strength that remained to reach up and dig her nails into the boy's wrists, seemingly aggravating an old injury as he pulled back in shock. The girl took the chance to wrench the handle of the blade out from his palm and spin it around.

"Fuck you." He spat, closing his fists. The brunette caught sight of the gleaming set of rings he wore on his left hand and shifted to the side just in time for them to land with a sick thud in the wood nearby her head. The girl then brought the newly wielded weapon up and in a moment of self-defence, drove it directly into her brother's side, thrusting it directly upwards to skim his ribcage. Shocked at how easily the blade slid through his body, Camila yanked it backwards with the flood of iron-scented warmth that covered the porch.

"Camz!" Lauren's voice was filled with terror, and just behind her, Sofi looked no different. Both girls were frozen where they stood, as Daniel's body fell limp at Camila's feet. Scrambling into a crouched position, Camila sent the knife flying away in the garden and staggered backwards, trying to catch her breath. Blood was pooling around her feet, seeping through the cracks in the porch and layering the wood in a purely sickening manner.

"I... I was just—"

"Sofi, get inside." Lauren demanded, moving the eight year old backwards so she was inside the house. "Camila, what the fuck did you do?"

"It was self defence... what was I supposed to—" Camila reached out, yearning for some kind of contact to assure her it was yet another dream. The moment she made a move however, Lauren reeled backwards.

"Don't touch me." The Latina hissed, the fire in her eyes blazing a new kind of heat. The vision faded away again, and Camila found herself wrapped up and twisted in a mess of sheets and blankets. Recalibrating her surroundings, she sighed in relief at the cool basement air and Lauren's cuddly presence only a few centimetres away. Snuggling up next to her, the brunette then spent the rest of the night awake, watching the green eyed girl's chest rise and fall in time with her breathing.