Phantasm (Phantasm, #1) - Camila/You

Chapter 15 [📱]

The orange specks of sunrise slowly rose in tandem with the bright morning sunlight.

I reclined on my seat and tried my best not to shield my eyes from the intense light. It seemed so long since I just took the time and admired the beauty of nature. I was always immersed in the bustling city landscape that I often forgot to look up. Now that I watched through the night to see the waking of the sun, I finally realized people's fascination with the sun and the moon.

Last night's events seemed so distant now as I lay on the balcony, basking in the early morning breeze. After I talked with Shawn, I made my way back to Camila, visibly shaken after his revelation. She must've noticed because she immediately came to my aid, asking what happened or if I was feeling well. I waved away her concern and tried to focus on the party.

And yet, the thoughts of her in another's arms continued to permeate my mind.

This was the reason why I couldn't sleep and decided to keep to myself tonight. There were still concerns in my mind and I still held to some semblance of hope that Shawn was wrong. I wouldn't believe until I talked to Camila or the person she was supposedly secretly dating and they confirmed it. But deep inside I knew Shawn had no reason to lie.

"Don't tell me you've been here all night."

I didn't need to look to know who it was. The sun was almost all the way up the sky, only about an eighth of its whole was still behind the towering buildings in the distance.

"It was my birthday yesterday," I quietly said.

"I know and I gave you free wishes as a gift but you didn't even use them."

I chuckled at the thought. "I didn't need it at the time."

I heard her sigh while I was still watching the sunrise. "Yeah well you're not getting them back, buddy. No more freebies."

"Camila's dating someone." I turned towards Phantasm when she didn't reply immediately. She looked confused for a second before I heard her laugh.

"Well, no duh she's dating you. Nice joke there, cactus."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, it's actually a joke on me. Because it turns out she was rejecting me the first time because she was dating someone else." I laughed, noting the bitterness coating every syllable. "Isn't that just hilarious?"

The smile disappeared from Phantasm's face. "What? How'd you know that?"

The sun was finally free from the shadows of the buildings and was shining atop the sky in all its majesty. I always thought finding Camila was the same as me finding respite from the darkness around my life but it turns out, she was just another shadow.

"Shawn told me."

"Mendes? He likes Camila, he's just lying."

"Why would he lie?" I said, standing up. "If Camila rejected him even before I met her, why would keeping us apart help his chances?"

"You can't seriously believe this, can you?"

I grabbed my phone and entered my room. "There's only one way to find out."

Before I could tell Phantasm my idea, I heard a knock on the door. It was peculiar to have anyone meet me at this hour since I wouldn't need to be in the studio until three hours from now. Phantasm shrugged and closed the app while I walked towards the door. I didn't even bother to check who it was and just opened it.

"Lauren?" She stood in the hallway, smiling, with a paper bag in her hands. "How—what are you doing here?"

"I just needed to give you something," she answered, handing me the bag in her hands.