Wait For Me To Come Home

Chapter 37

"No!"

The yell tore Lauren from her sleep, and she shot up in bed, quickly turning to face Camila who was sat next to her, breathing heavily. Lauren's hands fluttered nervously over Camila, but she was hesitant to touch her, unsure whether Camila wanted her to or not.

"Hey, you're okay, you're home," Lauren murmured, looking at Camila with concern. After a few moments, Camila turned to face Lauren and gave her a small smile.

"Good morning," Camila said, leaning over to give Lauren a slow kiss before she flopped back down on the bed. Lauren frowned slightly as she looked at Camila, who was smiling and holding her arms open.

"Camila-" Lauren started but was cut off before she could continue.

"I'm fine, Lauren. It was just a bad dream," Camila said, giving her a half-smile.

With a small sigh, Lauren cuddled up next to Camila and threw one arm across her, holding her tightly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Lauren asked.

"No," Camila whispered. "Not right now."

After a quick pause, Lauren decided not to push her. Camila always told her what was bothering her when she was ready. Instead, they both lay there in each other's arms, and Lauren listened to Camila's steady heartbeat while Camila trailed her fingers in swirling patterns over Lauren's back.

They stayed that way until the sky started to lighten outside, and the weak early morning sun started shining through a gap in the curtains. Camila was running her fingers through Lauren's hair, and Lauren felt her take a deep breath as if to steady herself.

"So, we, uh, we need to talk ... about me re-enlisting," Camila said slowly. Lauren carefully extracted herself from Camila's arms and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and pushing herself up.

"Can't we just have breakfast first?" Lauren asked, running a hand through her hair as she turned to look at Camila with a grim look on her face.

Camila sighed as she reached out for Lauren, before letting her arm flop back down on the bed when Lauren didn't make a move to get back into the bed. "Lauren, you can't just keep avoiding the conversation," Camila told her.

"I'm not avoiding it. I'd just prefer to not have it right now," Lauren replied.

"Lauren, please," Camila said, giving her a pained look.

"Camila, I-" Lauren started.

"I'm not re-enlisting, you donut!" Camila exclaimed, cutting Lauren off with a laugh as she rolled her eyes.

Lauren's brain took a moment to register Camila's words and she blinked in surprise. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to make sense of what she'd just heard. "Wha-, I don't understand. Y-you're not re-enlisting? Ever?" Lauren said slowly, tilting her head to the side as she frowned.

"Never ever," Camila said, grinning up at Lauren as she sat huddled in the blankets.

All the air rushed out of Lauren's lungs and she let out a breathless laugh, before jumping on the bed. She tackled Camila and pinned her down beneath her, smiling widely as her eyes welled up with tears. Leaning down, Lauren pressed kisses all over Camila's face as they both laughed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Lauren squealed excitedly, bouncing on the bed as she smiled at Camila. Laughing, Camila struggled into an upright position and wiped away the tears of joy streaming down Lauren's face, before leaning in and giving her a kiss.