Beneath The Waves

The Bay

I wrote myself in circles with this chapter, which is why it took longer than I wanted it to. But here you go: as much camren as you could ever want.

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Lauren

Her eyes haven't left the horizon where she saw the ship disappear into the midnight sky. She feels her heart dissolving into her stomach, shutting her eyes once again, letting a gush of tears fall down her cheeks. Maybe it's for the best, maybe this is how it was supposed to be. Maybe—

There's a sound, a movement near the end of the dock—a figure Lauren completely overlooked in midst of her grief. She can't quite make out who is it because their face is pointed away from her, standing up from where they were sitting at the edge of the dock. They blow a kiss to where the boat used to be before turning around.

Lauren feels her heart jump and tremble at the faint glow upon her face, illuminating her nose and cheeks faintly, like fireflies in the dark sky. Her eyes shimmer with tears reflected from the moonlight, and while Lauren is too far away to see her eyelashes, she knows they're dotted with dewy tears, too. And while her beauty leaves Lauren speechless, her heart jumps and trembles because it's Camila.

"Is it you?" Camila calls out from across the dock, stopping in her tracks. She looks kind of cold, hugging herself while her shoulders stay tense.

Lauren's breath catches in her sigh of relief, letting her arms go slack by her sides. "Yeah, it's me."

Footsteps hammer and then echo against the wooden dock as Camila runs to the older girl. Her small, cold body collides with Lauren's, her arms and fingers immediately finding their way around her waist, grasping at the material of her shirt desperately. Taken back by the amount of force Camila brought into her, she staggers back slightly, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck. She can feel Camila's face pressed into her neck, her lips and breath gentle against her skin.

"You came to see me?" Camila mumbles, her words coming out muffled. Being so close, her scent clings to Lauren's body and Lauren remembers how much she loved the smell of the ocean on her—it kind of resembles rain in a way.

Gently letting out a chuckle, Lauren fully allows herself to relax into Camila's embrace. She feels safe for the first time in two years. "Actually, I came thinking I'd have to win you back."

"Oh, Lauren," Camila hums, pushing back slightly to look up and down her face with her eyes, cupping her jaw with her hands. "You wouldn't have had to win me back. I'm right here."

The way Camila's eyes twinkle softly at the sight of Lauren's smile makes the green eyed girl want to push away. It feels too real. Too close. But then there's Camila. And she didn't leave even though Lauren told her to. She's here and her eyes are dark and soft, gazing up at Lauren only inches from her face.

She can't pull away.

"I can't believe you exist," Camila murmurs lowly. Lauren isn't sure whether she means in general or that she still exists after everything, but by the look she's giving her, she's certain existing is becoming more and more worth her while.

"I thought you left." Lauren says, still being gushed over by Camila, her fingertips fixing her hair and eyebrows.

Camila stops tending to the older girl, looking her dead in the eye, "that would be a dumb mistake to make again, wouldn't it?"

The green eyed girl doesn't respond, she just hums and wraps an arm around Camila while they head back to Lauren's place. "Let's get you home. It's cold out here."