Phantasm (Phantasm, #1) - Camila/You

Chapter 14 [📱]

The moment I woke up, it took a while for the fact that it was my birthday to sink in. My manager told me that he was gonna throw a huge party for me in his mansion in LA and all the A-listers were invited. I didn't stop him because frankly, I never really had a big birthday party before. Maybe I had one when I was a small girl but nothing noteworthy that everyone wanted to go to.

So hearing my sister crying on the other end of the phone first thing in the morning should've been my first sign that this day would be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

"Sam, no you need to listen to me," I pleaded.

I heard her sniffle on the other end. "I want you here. Promise me you'll come here."

I winced at the desperation on her voice. Sam was angry at me because I wasn't going to spend my birthday with them. This was the first time I wasn't gonna spend it with my family and I knew what Sam was feeling. However, a lot of people were already invited to the party—lots of important people.

"Only this time I promise. Only this time. Next year I'll be with you," I reasoned.

"No!" she yelled on the other side. "If you do it once, you'll do it again."

"Sam, I'm not—"

"Just forget about us then!"

And with that the line cut off. I gripped the phone tight on my hand, avoiding the urge to throw it against the wall. When I'm sure my anger was contained, I dropped to the bed and let out a scream muffled by my bed. The last thing I expected was for the two lives I've led colliding with one another.

It took extreme effort for me to stand from the bed and get ready for recording. I didn't talk until I got to the studio and even then, I would only talk in monotone, one syllable grunts. The guilt deep inside was eating me up and I wondered if there would be some way to salvage this day—my birthday—from sinking into despair.

My phone vibrated and once I pulled it out, I saw Camila requesting to FaceTime with me. I had to admit, seeing her name made my lips curve into a smile. After that day in Acapulco, Lauren hasn't approached me as much as she did before. Camila acted like nothing happened and continued to joke with Lauren and I. It was definitely peculiar but I decided to just let it slide instead of making it a bigger issue than what it really was.

I moved outside the studio and accepted the request. Immediately, Camila's smiling face popped on my screen. "Oh my god, Y/N!"

"Hey, babe. What's up?"

She giggled. "Nothing much, I just wanted to see your face before our performance. I miss you a lot, you know," she added with a pout.

It's been almost a month since Camila and I have seen each other in person. Ever since I got done with the production on their album, I started production on my own. The girls on the other hand, released their first single from their album and needed to do performances and guestings everywhere. Since that time, we contented ourselves with talking on the phone.

"I miss you too, Camila," I said. "You girls are coming later, right?"

I watched her face light up. "Of course! We're so excited and Dinah is practically—"

"Hey, why'd I hear my name? Who's that?" I heard Dinah shout. Soon enough she poked her head from behind Camila and saw me. "Hey, Y/N!"

"Dinah, you taking good care of my girl?"

She grinned and dropped her weight on Camila's back. "You know it."

"Huh? Y/N's here?" I heard again and in a few seconds, the girls of Fifth Harmony were squeezing themselves in so I can see their faces.