Framed

The End - Part One.

Camila and Lauren didn't say goodbye when Zayn arrived at Lauren's house, dropping her off. In fact, they barely exchanged glances, with Camila's eyes still drifting to whatever was past the window, trying to forget. Lauren didn't want to push her.

Camila is the last person that Ellie drops off, who waits to see that Camila's in her bedroom before pulling out of the driveway for the night.

-

She doesn't speak to them for all of the next day, muting the notifications on their newly made group-chat, Ally's idea of checking up on everyone as best she can, even though they haven't been all together since the night of Dinah's murder.

Their school releases yet another email, finally considering the case over, and letting students know that they are all collectively invited to the three upcoming funerals - Cameron's, Dua's, and Dinah's.

Although her gut tells her to do otherwise, Camila clicks on the GoFundMe link for Dua, and donates twenty dollars anonymously. She glances at the group-chat and sees that everyone's planning to go to all three funerals, which are in a span of three consecutive days.

When Mani sends Camila a text, asking if she's going to make it to the funerals, she doesn't respond, leaving Mani on read. She figures they wouldn't want her there anyways.

-

She spends the rest of the day trying to sleep, not succeeding in any of her attempts, just watching Netflix and wondering what the others are doing now. Ally texted her, asking if she wanted to go to In-N-Out with them, but she never responded. Ally was such a nice person. She probably sent the invite out of pity.

Her mind keeps her awake, and Camila thinks that so many people marvel at how wonderful the mind is, but never mention how vicious of a device it can be. Camila can't put Netflix on, her mind is already playing a movie for her, churning through the past few days like a hamster stuck on a wheel. She keeps thinking, until any look at the color red makes her see blood.

She tells Mani she's not going to any of the funerals, including Dinah's.

-

The next day, Cameron's funeral date, Camila's doorbell rings. When Camila swings the door open, Ally is standing there in a black dress and sunglasses. Based on her clothing, it's evident where she's been this day, and she invites herself in, moving past Camila and Sinu (who is in the kitchen) to sit on the couch in the living room.

"So Mani showed me your text."

"Look, Ally." Camila stands up, legs shaking a bit as she gets to her feet. Ally notices how weak the Cuban girl looks, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, weight lost from the stress of it all. The murders took a toll on all of them, but in the span of a day, Camila seems to have aged another fifteen years. She looks haggard, like a cornered cat in a street alley. She won't look Ally in the eyes anymore, eyes darting from the left side of the room to the other. Her hair is tangled, and she just looks weak. Camila pauses once she's stood up, trying to find the right words to say to the person who's sitting expectantly in front of her.

"You're here for no reason. You can't convince me. Ally - I just can't do that. I can't go to their funerals."

"Dua's, I understand." Ally replies, staying seated on the plush cushions of Camila's sofa. "But go to Dinah's. We're all going, and I know she'd want you to go too."

"I killed her, Ally. Don't come in here and tell me to go to the funeral when you all know - yeah, not just you - that I'm the reason she's fucking dead!" Camila shouted, the echo of the word dead resonating throughout the whole house. She jerks her head back to Ally, eyes wild with something like melancholy. Ally just stares, trying to take in the information.