Paper Scars || camren

Chapter Twenty Eight

Lauren felt someone shaking her awake, whispering loudly in her ear. "Lauren." The voice huffed, shaking her more intensely.

"What?" She muffled into her pillow.

"They found Camila."

She shot up. "They? Who's they?" Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she looked at Dinah in front of her. She noticed a sleeping Ally next to her, soft snores filling the room.

"Get dressed." Dinah sighed. "Meet me outside." She started walking away, suddenly turning on her heels to face Lauren again. "And don't wake up Ally."

-

As they approached the hospital, Lauren got restless. "She's in here? What the fuck happened?" Dinah stayed silent as Lauren continued to ask questions. "What the hell, Dinah?"

"I'm not going to go in with you." She spoke as the car came to a halt in front of the entrance.

"What?" Lauren gritted through her teeth.

Dinah turned to her and shrugged. "This is way bigger than me. It's getting out of control. All of these secrets everyone has toward each other—I'm done with them. Camila found out from Normani, who is not in her right mind—and look where that got her. We've had to cancel our performance for the show and I think we let Demi down a little." She rubbed Lauren's shoulder. "So, you need to go in there and talk with her, work some of the Camren magic." She gave a sad smile. "I can't do that for you right now. It's between you and her."

Lauren reluctantly agreed, quickly getting out of the car and walking inside of the white building. She was met with a tired-eyed receptionist, who led her to the second floor, where she met another tired-eyed nurse.

"I'm looking for Karla Cabello's room." Lauren spoke, her voice scared.

A doctor who was passing by came to a stop, looking at Lauren. He dismissed the nurse and pulled her aside. "Karla Cabello?" Lauren nodded. "You're the girlfriend, yes?" Lauren nodded again. "Her mother told me there would be another friend accompanying?"

"She's in the car, waiting." Lauren looked at him confused. Did doctors normally do this?

"Karla was brought in to us." He began, Lauren's eyebrows furrowing. "A passerby found her, she was on all fours, just on some random sidewalk. She was heaving, trying to calm herself down—all signs of a panic attack. Her mother told us she's had these before, they aren't new, so I assume you knew about them." Lauren agreed, her heart racing. "She was unresponsive in speech when she was brought in, she wouldn't look at us, just kind of in a trance. We admitted her overnight, just as a caution. If you'd like to see her, I can show you to her room." Lauren nodded once again and followed the doctor who led her to the room Camila was supposed to be in. He smiled with sympathy as he walked away, leaving her to stand outside of the door for what felt like forever. She finally let out a large sigh and went in the room, closing the door behind her with a small click. She rounded the corner to see Camila, who looked so small in that giant hospital bed.

She slowly made her way over, sitting down in the chair next to Camila. Lauren grasped her hand when Camila refused to look at her, bringing it up to her mouth to kiss it lightly, as she rested her elbows on the bed. "You haven't had one of those in a while." She spoke softly.

"Why were you in here?" Camila replied, her eyes locked on the door, hoping someone else would walk in.

Lauren sighed, rubbing Camila's hand a little. "You know what I did. I wish you didn't, but you do." She repeated.

"I feel sick." Camila said, a tear rolling down her face.

"Sick with what?" She reached up to press a hand to her forehead. "You don't have a fever."