thin walls (are calling me home)

Chapter 26

Lauren stood still while she heard the door close behind her, her shoulders sagging and letting out a tired breath as soon as Camila disappeared around the corner of the street. Lauren wished she could say she didn't follow the girl with her eyes through the big glass windows of the café, but alas, she did. She guessed that she should be glad she'd at least managed to not litteraly go out and follow the girl.

Taking a deep breath, Lauren lifted her head and turned to meet Ally's worried eyes from behind the counter. Forcing her feet to move when she'd rather just let herself fall from how tired she suddenly felt, the girl went in the direction of her friend, leaning against the counter. Ally's waitress, whose name Lauren couldn't remember, made herself scarce even though there was no one to serve right now, clearly feeling the tension in the atmosphere, especially with Camila's escape not a minute ago.

"Hi." She said simply, giving her best friend a half smile.

"Hey, sweetie." Ally replied in her softest voice, taking hold of one of Lauren's hands atop the counter and squeezing it. "How're you feeling?"

"Like shit." Lauren chuckled out bitterly, to which Ally's eyebrows knit together in concern. The green eyed girl looked at the floor, away from her friend's worried gaze.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, until, "Camila didn't wanna talk?" Ally asked, and really, Lauren barely heard her from how soft her voice was.

"No." Lauren sighed. "And I don't blame her. I fucked up, Ally." Lauren's voice broke at the sentence, feeling a lump forming in her throat. But she wouldn't cry now, she'd will the tears back to her eyes if they threatened to fall.

"Oh, Laur..."

"I asked a detective from the precinct to reopen the case of her parents' murder. And now she hates me for it and I can't even hold that against her." Lauren's voice wavered.

Her face was still dry.

"I know." Ally said, quietly, making Lauren gasp, from the shock of hearing Ally confirm that Camila hated her, even if she had been the one to state that in the first place. "No, not that Mila hates you!" Ally corrected, seeming to read Lauren's mind, or maybe her ashen face. "It's just- Mani told me, today. That you opened the case. But don't be mad at her!" Ally quickly added once more, just as Lauren's heart skipped a beat in surprise and something that felt a little like betrayal, even though that didn't make sense, since she didn't mind that Ally knew. Hell, she'd just told Ally herself, and still...

She ignored the small pang in her chest, for it certainly wasn't important right now. It wasn't a really difficult thing to do, either, with the way her mind was still all over the place from the fear that Ally had inadvertently fueled. Did Camila hate her? Lauren remembered how she had looked five minutes ago, sad and tired but not hateful, not at all. That couldn't be her own wishful thinking, could it? Lauren's heartbeat picked up and she felt the lump in her throat growing as the fear grew on her, irrational though she knew it to be.

"Lauren." Ally called her, touching her arm to make her look at her. Lauren's eyes met Ally's for the first time in what felt like ages, but had probably been a minute or so. "Camila doesn't hate you for that." She said it so simply, so knowingly, that Lauren froze, unable to look away from her.

"How... how can you know that for sure?" Lauren asked, her voice smaller than usual.

"She could never hate you, Laur, she loves you. The conversation I had with her five minutes ago was proof enough of that, not that you should need any more than she's already given, you know? She's just hurt. But she'll forgive you, just give her some time." Ally said, gentle in her voice and in the way she gave Lauren's upper arm a little squeeze.