All Of Me | Camren

six

After a week, it's clear Camila won't be leaving any time soon. She's no closer to the answers she so desperately seeks, and memory lapses mean she doesn't know how much time has passed. She only has what Billie tells her, how many times she remembers her family visiting, and the fact that her pale pink nail polish is chipped almost entirely from her fingers, as if deliberate, to show more than just a few days have passed.

She visits Dr. Kiyoko daily, which has gotten her a lot of unwanted attention from the other patients. Thankfully, Billie began joining her for the first half of lunch after the first few days and she'd send purposeful snarls to anyone who'd leer at Camila, and that was enough to scare them off for a day or two.

Camila can only recall two of her meetings with Dr. Kiyoko, out of the six of them. On both occasions, Dr. Kiyoko asked for her name before s. Camila apologised for whatever happened in the meetings between, and the doctor denies forgiveness, claiming she has no need to apologise for things she can't control. Camila knows this isn't true, because if she apologised to her friends, perhaps they'd have visited her by now. She told her parents they may as well let management inform the girls of where she is, knowing she won't get out for a while and they won't accept the weak excuse they'd been given, whatever it was.

"You're the new girl, right?" A boy asks, bringing her mind back to the present and away from the image of Lauren cowering from her. She shivers, and nods, looking up to find he is vaguely familiar. In the moment it takes her to recognise him as the boy from the first group therapy session, he sits beside her on the bench, setting his tray of food neatly on his lap, letting his left hand lie loosely beside hers. She glances down at their nearly-touching hands and inches her own beneath her thigh, looking around the outdoor space for the inevitable prying eyes of a nurse.

"Shawn," He states, gaze glued to his tray as he takes a bite of the tomato pasta.

"I'm Camila."

"So, how much longer are you on watch?"

Her eyes widen, but he only chuckles when he finally looks over to her.

"I saw your hand move." He curls his fingers around the edge of the tray as his leg begins to bounce, "You're either on watch or don't like touching people. By the way you move your feet dangerously close to your family when they visit, I'd say it's the first one."

She relaxes, shoulders dropping, and looks down to her cold food before replying, "It was supposed to be today."

He nods again. "And how long are you here?"

"I don't-" Coughs interrupt her. Pain spreads through her dry throat and she realises she can't remember how long it's been since she'd drank something. Bringing a hand to her neck, she attempts to soothe the pain from the outside as she strains, "I don't know. It was supposed to be two weeks."

He seems to hesitate before taking the small water bottle from his tray and holding it out to her. "You know, the water here isn't poisoned. You can drink it."

A small snort escapes her and she gratefully takes the offering, drinking half and attempting to hand it back. He gently pushes it away, however, so she sets it down on her tray and utters a small "Thank you," and looks across the yard to the fence, tall and painted with the same gleeful colors as the building's mural. It seems ironic to her now that such a place could so easily disguise itself with happiness.

"Mendes, what did I tell you about distance?" A nurse with a rather large hairstyle sighs exasperatedly.

"But Dr. Kiyoko said-"

"No buts, Mendes."

Camila looks to Shawn in time to see his near-joyful expression fall as he slides to the other end of the bench.

"This is bull." He huffs, stabbing at his food and tapping his other foot against the ground.

Camila turns back to her lap. "I'm sorry."

His brows furrow as he turns to her, though she doesn't meet his gaze. After a moment, realisation passes over his features. He shakes his head and explains, "It's about me, not you."

Nothing but a feeble "oh" leaves Camila as she finishes off the water bottle. Her food remains untouched, she isn't hungry anyhow. A silence lays heavy between them, each distracted by their own thoughts. Camila feels herself drifting, feels her mind grow loud with thoughts as it does, and doesn't bother fighting to stay in control. Someone will take her back to her room after lunch. They always do.

—
This is shorter but I had to get something out to you guys. Sorry about missing last week's update.