Her Light

XV

The past week has been pretty good. On the ship, crew mates are either watching for Lauren's ship or doing tasks around the boat. Lauren's drawn picture of her vessel is held up against the ship via a knife, so everyone can constantly reference back to it whenever ships are spotted.

Camila likes being out on deck; it's better than being cramped in the cabin with everyone, or even worse, living alone in a lighthouse. She likes it better when it's daytime because then she doesn't have to fight sleep.

It's been rough. Camila hasn't been getting a lot of sleep since her flashback last week. She's too afraid to sleep, and when she actually does, she wakes up drenched in sweat, painful memories being awoke with her.

It's just not worth it.

So that's why Camila is laying here on her back, hands clasped on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling. Gentle breathing surrounds her as the other girls in the cabin sleep soundly.

She's exhausted but she doesn't want to dream. Not when she's been so happy recently. It leaves Camila remembering and Camila hates remembering things her brain purposely blacked out.

Lauren stirs beside her, lifting her torso up with her elbow groggily. Her face is suddenly over Camila's, checking whether if she's asleep or not. When their eyes meet—Camila's awake but tired, and Lauren's watery from sleep—Lauren sighs and plops back down.

"You have to sleep, Camz." Lauren whispers, burying her face into the crook of her arm.

"No."

Another sigh. Lauren props herself up on her elbows once more, looking down at Camila. Her face is creased with worry as her eyes glitter in the dark.

"Please. Please, get some rest. Okay?"

Normally Camila would huff and turn to her side, adamant on staying awake. But Lauren's voice is soft and sweet and...

"Okay." Camila shuts her eyes in defeat, furrowing her eyebrows naturally.

She relaxes into the bed, her body turning slightly toward Lauren as she feels herself falling into the clutches of slumber. Desperate to keep her dreams from becoming nightmares, she decides to try to think about good things before she falls asleep.

Lauren's head slumps down onto Camila's upper arm, causing her to tense before realizing it's just Lauren. Hmm, that's what she'll think about... Lauren! Lauren makes her happy and laugh all the time so what better thing to think about.

Thoughts of Lauren fill Camila's mind as she exhales into the night.

-

Camila is laying on her bed, curled on her side. With one glance around the room she's in, she can easily tell she's back at the lighthouse. Everything seems normal; the silence and solemn feeling hanging in the air. Until—

"Mi amor," mi amor? Lauren comes bounding into the room, her face bright and beaming. "Are you ready to tuck in? We have a big day of ship searching tomorrow."

Unsure of why they'd be back at the lighthouse if they're still ship searching, Camila agrees regardless. It makes sense in some miraculous way, like a plan suddenly resolves in her head.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Are the first words out of her mouth before she's struck with a thought. "You know, after everything with the ship..."

Lauren lays down beside her, keeping her head up to actively listen. "What're you worried about?"

Camila feels rather stupid all of sudden. Shrugging it off, Camila rolls onto her back to let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter."

But Lauren seems to already know.