Paper Scars || camren

Chapter Thirty

After an hour of processing, Lauren made her way into the hotel. She didn't know where to begin in processing this information. It seemed like nothing was ever going to be calm again. There was always something the girls were having to deal with and Lauren was sick of it.

She decided to try to talk to Normani. She herself knew what it was like to swallow pills you felt like you didn't need. She made her way to Normani's hotel room and knocked on it quietly. The sight of a teary-eyed Normani didn't surprise her, but she couldn't say the same about the teary-eyed Camila on Normani's bed.

Normani quickly stepped aside as Camila stood up. "Hey," Camila forced a smile, wiping at her eyes. She gave Lauren a quick peck on the lips. "We were just talking."

"Is everything... okay?" Lauren asked, her eyes never leaving Normani's. As Normani heard Lauren ask that with a tone of sympathy in her voice, her face dropped. She knows.

Camila looked at Normani for an answer but was met with silence. "I'll just leave you two to talk." The two girls flinched when they heard the small click of the door being shut behind Camila.

They stood in silence for a while before Normani finally spoke up. "I don't even know where to start." She took a shaky breath. "I'm so... I'm so sorry I broke your trust in me. I know that doesn't fix anything and that it doesn't change the fact that I broke a promise, but I just wanted you to know that."

"Normani..." Lauren began. "I was so selfish." Normani looked at her, confused. "I put you through all of that and expected you to be okay. I expected you to be strong for me and that was wrong. I was sick and I was only thinking of myself, of my own misery, and I should have thought more about you. I should have considered how you were doing, how you were dealing with it."

She sighed. "I can't believe they told you."

Lauren frowned. "Why didn't you want me to know?"

"The same reasons you didn't want Camila to know. I didn't want you to blame yourself, like you're doing right now." She huffed. "You did the right thing, Lauren. You got better. It might've taken a while, but you did. That's the only thing that matters to me."

"You should matter to you." Lauren replied. "You're so busy worrying about me that you don't take the time to deal with what you went through."

Normani nodded. "I know." She stated simply. "I didn't take care of myself and look where it got me. I've lost everyone's trust and I've made a fool out of myself. I never meant to hurt anyone, Lauren. Not Camila, and especially not you. But I'm going to do better, you know? It's going to be easier now."

"Easier? Why is that?" Lauren asked.

Normani gave her a light smile. "Well, I can see that you're happy now. I mean, I know you'll always have things to deal with... personal things, but I can see a real smile on your face that I haven't seen in over a year." She chuckled. "I don't know if that's because of your rehab, your pills, or Camila, but whatever it is, I'm glad to see it making a smile on your face. That's going to make it easier on me. I can see you're getting better."

"It's your turn now." Lauren replied. "To get better."

"Well, I've already started." Normani smiled sadly. "I've made amends with your better half."

"Is that so?" Lauren beamed.

Normani nodded. "I, um—Well, I told her about you." She shook her head. "Wait, I mean, I know I told her about you in the hospital but I've just now told her about you in the hospital." She fiddled with her hands. "What it was like, I mean. What you were like."