Calamity

Chapter 25

"Y-Yeah," Lauren spluttered, quickly changing into some of her sneakers that were by the door.

She waited for Camila to head to the elevator first before following closely behind. Her perfume permeated the small box of transportation they were in, leaving Lauren's head reeling.

Her hair was shorter—just past her shoulders and flowing like ocean waves under a steady breeze. Her shoulders seemed much more muscular and broad along with her arms, as if she had been working out wherever she disappeared off to.

Camila crossed her arms against her chest, her leather jacket making a noise as it rubbed against the elevator wall. "Are you having a good time tonight?"

"Um," Lauren looked down at her hands and nodded. "Yeah, I am,"

The elevator doors parted and outside their once shared apartment lobby was a parked black and white motorcycle that Lauren presumed belonged to Camila.

Camila handed her the helmet. "Get on. Unless you're too scared?" She swung on leg over the bike and started it up.

Lauren glanced at the helmet and then once at Camila before putting it on and sitting behind the dark-haired woman.

"Might want to hold on," Camila said teasingly. "Don't need you falling off now, do we?"

-

They easily sped through the streets of New Haven, swerving past all the traffic and honking cars that weren't too pleased with Camila's dangerous ways of maneuvering her motorcycle.

Lauren wrapped her arms tighter around her waist, enjoying the feel of Camila's toned muscles beneath her thin T-Shirt. They rode in silence for another few minutes until they arrived at a local park with benches scattered all over.

Camila put the kickstand down and turned off the engine, helping Lauren off the motorcycle before gesturing to a particular bench a few feet from them.

"The stars look nice out tonight,"

Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat and left a reasonable distance between them as they sat down on the bench. "I didn't know you were coming,"

"I ended up getting a ticket last minute,"

"Where were you before?"

Camila looked at her and lulled her head to the side, smirking. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"No!" Lauren quickly said. "I mean, yes... Ugh, I don't know,"

"I've been at Oxford for the past few months. I have an apartment over there and plan to stay year round until I graduate."

"Oh," the defeatness in her voice made Camila want to laugh. "Oxford, huh?"

"It's a great school. You would've loved it there. Your mom seemed to like it there as well when she tracked me down."

Lauren could feel her cheeks heating up. "I asked her to leave you alone. But I guess she got too tired of my whining."

"She told me about Caitlin," Camila said quietly. "It... Wasn't much. Just brief details; like how much she loved Caitlin and wished she'd done right by her sooner. How she'd do everything again if it meant getting her the justice she deserved. That part, she told me all about."

"I didn't want to be apart of it," Lauren croaked. "I kept telling her that it was too much pressure but when she brought up how Caitlin would've done the same for me in a heartbeat, I finally understood it. Or, I think I did, at least."

"Did you only apply to Yale for this?"

After a brief moment of silence, Lauren smiled sadly. "Yes and no. I always wanted to become a lawyer. Just like Caitlin."