weak ➸ camren

chapter 15 ➸ it's okay to be scared

Lauren had woken up the next morning to find Camila gone from the bed. She tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn’t sleep not knowing what the other girl was up to. Just as she was about to get up, she heard a crash from downstairs. Lauren quickly got to her feet.

“What was that?” she called, wiping her eyes and hurrying down the stairs. No answer. “Camila!?” she yelled even louder, jogging into the kitchen. Her heart stopped when she saw the small girl’s figure on the ground.

“Camila!” she gasped, dropping to her knees next to the shaking girl. “Camila, oh my god,” Lauren breathed. What was she supposed to do? Her eyes landed on Camila’s phone a few feet away from them and she quickly grabbed it. Out of instinct, she slid one hand under the convulsing girl’s head to keep her from hurting herself. Lauren gasped when she realized Camila’s arm was bent underneath her back, in a way that didn’t look natural. She moved her arm slightly, not wanting to hurt her even more.

Then she dialed 911, breathing heavily.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

Lauren glanced at the girl on the ground and fought back tears. “I-I need an ambulance, I think my friend’s having a seizure,” Lauren bit her lip.

“You’re on Nottingham Way, correct?” the operator asked, and Lauren confirmed. “Does she have any existing medical conditions?”

“I—uh, yeah,” Lauren took a deep breath. “She’s anorexic.”

“Can you get her on her side?” the woman typed something down.

“I-I think so, but her arm looks… I don’t know, broken,” Lauren’s voice cracked.

“Sweetie, try and calm down, okay? Take a deep breath and roll her on her side so there’s not any weight on her bad arm, can you do that for me?” the operator asked, trying to calm Lauren.

“Y-yeah,” Lauren inhaled slowly and put the phone on speaker. She crawled around Camila, carefully sliding one arm under her torso and gently rolling her over on her side. “She’s—uh, she’s not shaking anymore, is that a bad thing?” Lauren asked worriedly, smoothing out Camila’s hair so she could see her face.

“No, honey, just keep her on her side until the ambulance gets there, okay? And stay on the line with me,” the operator said. Lauren just nodded and looked down at Camila, whose eyes were half opened.

“C-Camz…?” Lauren swallowed hard and felt tears brimming her eyes. She should’ve gotten up earlier, she could’ve been with Camila. Shaking her head, Lauren took a deep breath and tried not to cry.

“Wh-what?”

Lauren’s eyed widened when Camila spoke. “Camila? A-are you okay?” she asked, ignoring the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What?” Camila’s voice was slurred, and she was staring blankly in front of them. “W-what?”

“She’s talking,” Lauren grabbed the phone and pressed it to her ear. “She’s talking, she keeps saying the same word over and over,” Lauren’s voice cracked and she held her breath to hold in her tears.

“That’s normal after a seizure, honey, just try and make sure she’s comfortable, th—“

Lauren was interrupted by the doorbell. “It’s open!” she yelled. Moments later, two men appeared in the kitchen and Lauren was immediately shoved out of the way. She stood a few steps back, cupping her hands over her mouth and wiping her eyes.

“H-her arm,” Lauren said quickly when they lifted her onto a stretcher. “I think she hurt it,” Lauren took a step forward to help them but she was pulled back by another one of the paramedics.