Summer Nights (Camren)

Chapter 17

Camila's POV

"Lauren!' I screamed, chasing her down the steps of our cabin, not caring if I fell or broke my leg. Austin didn't bother to come explain what happened, but I never expected him too either.

She walked quickly as I struggled to keep up until she couldn't go any further and came to an abrupt stop. Her body swung around quickly, revealing the tears streaming down her face and hurt in her eyes. Everything about her looked broken and I knew that what she saw must have torn her apart, even though it was nothing like it looked.

"What?! I thought you a-actually cared....what the hell is wrong with you? You know how much I love you....I always think about you and tell you how much you mean to me and then you do that! How long has it been going on for? Oh my god...I can't believe this. I was about to show you something I made for you...you know what? Forget it..." she whimpered, wiping her tears and continuing to walk away without any plan in stopping to listen to what I had to say.

My heart shattered and tears formed in my eyes at the sound of her words.

"Lauren, stop! Let me explain!" I yelled, trying to move next to her.

"Let me guess...you're sorry?" she asked sarcastically, shaking her head and pushing me away. I could see how much this was hurting her and I didn't blame her for feeling that way. It wasn't my fault...but all she knew was what she had seen. 

"Yes...but I was never cheating with Austin. He shoved himself on me and kissed me! It was only for a second before I could push him off and you came in...I swear! I would never cheat on you Lauren...believe me," I pleaded, staring into her eyes as she stopped dead in her tracks to face me.

"Come on, Camila! I love you too...but how am I supposed to believe that? Austin....Austin friggin Mahone forced himself on you?! I think every straight girl at this camp wants to hookup with him and he knows you're dating me...why would he do that?" she asked annoyed. I could tell that she wanted to believe me, but something was holding her back. 

I took a deep breath and kicked around the dirt by my feet while I tried to think about how to prove it that I was telling the truth. She shrugged and took a seat down on a bench.

"I want you to believe me and I know that I'm telling you the truth. I know it's hard to understand, so I'm going to explain to you the whole story from the beginning. Ok... I was in my cabin getting things ready for a date I had planned with you...and Austin walked in. He started talking to Brittney and then he started acting weird around me. He basically cornered me and I tried to shove him away, but he forced himself on me and kissed me. I shoved him off and that's when you opened the door," I explained fully, taking a seat next to her.

She ran her hand through her hair nervously and then placed both of her hands on her forehead. Her eyes were forced shut and I could tell that she was really concentrating on what I had said. I knew that she needed a moment to process everything, so I stayed silent and waited for a response.

"Look...I want to believe you and I'm not going to break up with you because I do believe that you weren't cheating. I'm just not positive...and I'm sorry, but I need some sort of proof in order to move on and trust you again. I love you and want to get through this as long as you're telling the truth," she replied with a sad smile. The usual bright green color in her eyes was faded and almost dull.

"I love you too. I don't know if Brittney saw what happened, but I'm going to ask her and even Austin to explain. I'm so sorry," I whispered, placing my hand on her knee gently.

She didn't push it away, but she was still in deep thought. Her eyes were focused on the ground and I had no idea what to say or do. I knew that the date wouldn't be the same at this point, so I decided to move it to another day after this hopefully got fixed.

She shifted nervously and suddenly got up.

"I'm going for a walk...I'll be back before curfew. Guess I'll see you later, Camila," she mumbled, stepping away from me to leave. I leaned against a skinny palm tree and suddenly realized how serious this was.

Whether I had pushed Austin away or not, he had kissed me and Lauren saw. My heart sank imagining how she must how felt and the fact that she was probably second guessing everything. I cared about our relationship more than anything...and I needed to fix this. I took one last look at the beach before sprinting back to our cabin. On my way, I ran into Rob, one of Austin's friends, and instantly stopped.

My hair was a mess of brown waves and he looked at me strangely.

"Rob! You better tell Austin that he's going to be sorry if he doesn't tell Lauren the truth about what happened. I don't like him and never will. I'm going to kick his ass!' I screamed, storming away from him to finish my walk to the cabin.

I threw the door open angrily and looked around for Brittney. I found her fixing her bun in the mirror by her bunk and immediately ran over to her. She looked at me very confused and motioned for me to take a seat in her bunk while she stood up.

"What's wrong? You look like a mess, no offense. How long have you been crying?" she asked.

"D-did you see what happened with Austin?" 

"Yeah...you threw him off. He's disgusting....just when I thought he was a decent guy that was also hot. I was so wrong...he flirts with everyone," she groaned, shaking her head in frustration. She shifted her shirt so that it fully covered her stomach.

I knew that she was concerned about her weight, although she didn't need to be. She wasn't super skinny, but wasn't fat either. She looked like the typical white girl and she happily accepted that. Her go to complaint was always "I need some Starbucks".

I stared at her with my mouth open, realizing what she had just said.

"Wait a minute...you heard and saw everything?" I asked with a sense of hope.

"Yeah...you got mad and he wouldn't let you move...then you shoved him off as Lauren walked in. I tried to go around him, but he was totally blocking you in that corner. Why?"

"Oh...because Lauren only saw the kiss and doesn't fully believe that I had nothing to do with it. Would you be able to explain it to her? Please!!" I begged, putting my hands together.

"Um...I don't usually like getting involved in relationships, but I guess," she shrugged.

"Thank you!! I love her so much Brit...you have no idea. I just can't lose her...she is everything to me," I smiled, giving her a small hug.

"Aw that's cute...ehhh not a big fan of hugs," she whined as I giggled and moved away.

"Sorry sorry," I replied, pacing around the room, preparing for Lauren to come back.