The Girl Nextdoor

Chapter 40

Camila's POV

The rest of the day had been quite uneventful. Lauren and the preps ditched class after lunch and have not been seen since. I had a feeling that they would leave. I mean I don't blame them, they're were soaking wet. I just hope that they didn't mistake our prank as warfare like they did last time. But knowing them, they probably have a few more tricks up their sleeves before they let us get away with this. Either way, now we have to be cautions because we aren't the only targets anymore. The outcasts from different groups helped us this time and have now risked their chances of getting hurt because of it. But with more people on our side, we should be fine. Wait. Why the heck am I talking as if were at war? Hypothetically I guess you can assume that. But these simple pranks haven't gotten out of hand yet. And I hope that they don't anytime soon.

At home, Dinah had come over to work on homework together. Just like we had been doing a few months ago, we had been talking about the girl next door.

"So she held you captive in the janitor's closet?" Dinah queered.

"No...she saved me. Again." I said in slight annoyance.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing really wrong with it, it's just..." I paused trying to formulate my words, "she always seems to be the one who's saving me. Why can't I ever save her?" I asked Dinah as if she knew the answer.

Dinah furrowed her brows in confusion, in response to my sudden distress. I took a deep breath before I continued "All I want to do is help, and when I try, it's as if all my efforts are in vain. I feel so helpless when I'm around her." I admitted.

"Maybe it's because Lauren's mentally strong. I mean I've never seen the girl cry before. Actually, I've never seen her laugh either. She's as tuff as nails."

"That's not true. She's sensitive too. She just acts like she's not."

"Wait you've seen her cry before?"

"Yeah... But I mean everyone cries. She's just going through a few things right now."

"And you feel like you can't help her?"

"Yeah...ever since I bumped into her, she had saved my life. And she kept saving me over and over again. And she keeps doing it. Whether it's from the preps pranks or their wrath, she always seems to be the one saving me. But the other day, I tried to help her but she was so stubborn. She didn't listen to anything I said. She really refused to talk or even listen to what I had to say. I just feel like I can't get through to her and that makes me feel so helpless. Maybe she is made of steel." I defeatedly shrugged.

"No, I just think that she has a hard time talking about things. You did mention that she mostly shows you how she feels physically right?" Dinah asked recalling a previous conversation that we had.

"Yeah, but she's getting better at expressing herself. I'm just very worried about her you know..." I said furrowing my brows, "I just really don't want her to do something stupid."

"I don't think Lauren would you know..." Dinah hesitated unsure if she should bring up what had almost happened to me. "Lauren's life is too perfect." She continued anyway, "She has everything. Why would she feel the need to do that to herself?"

"Because, even though her life seems perfect now, it wasn't always. Certain things happened in her life that she doesn't even like to mention."

"Like what?" Dinah asked fully intrigued by my last statement.

"It's not really my business to speak."

"Just give me a general idea, I promise I won't tell anyone."