yellow ➸ camren

twenty three

"Laur."

"Lauren."

"Jauregui!"

Lauren woke with a start when her blanket was tugged from overtop of her, causing her to fly off of the edge of her bed and land on the ground with a thud. She groaned, still half asleep, and glared at Dinah and Normani standing above her.

"You brought it upon yourself," Dinah tossed the blanket on the floor. "Today's the day, get dressed and get your ass downstairs for breakfast."

The green eyed girl waited until her roommates were gone to untangle herself from the blankets and stumble up to her feet. Today was the day. Camila's trial. The day where things could suddenly become 100% more real for her.

Telling herself not to think about it, Lauren blasted music from her speakers to keep her mind occupied. She got changed into leggings and a band t-shirt, throwing her leather jacket overtop of it to accommodate the declining temperature.

She looked at herself in the mirror, realizing just how exhausted she looked. It matched the way she felt. Sighing, she splashed cold water on her face to try and wake herself up. It didn't help much.

The moment she set foot in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal was shoved into her hands. Ally gave her a soft smile and nodded towards their other roommates in the living room. Lauren sat down on the carpet since the couches were full, realizing she was sitting in Camila's usual spot. She swallowed the lump in her throat and glanced up at her roommates.

"Nervous?" Normani asked her. Lauren nodded, taking a bite of her food and picking at a loose strand of carpet.

"You're not the only one," the dark skinned girl responded, motioning to the other two girls on the couch as well as herself. "None of us know what to expect."

Lauren bit her lip. At least she wasn't alone in this. She didn't know what she would do if she had been handling this by herself. "Thank you guys," she whispered, nodding once. "I dunno what I'd do without you."

"We were thrown into this together, it's only fair that we stick it out together," Ally nodded, giving the girl on the floor a soft smile. Lauren returned the gesture and finished the rest of her breakfast in silence. This was a bad thing, though, because it only allowed her thoughts to race.

Regardless of what happened that day, she would be in the same room as Camila. She would see her face, and she kept trying to hold onto that one simple blessing. And maybe, just maybe, she'd get to hug her.

The car ride to the courthouse was dead silent aside from Dinah's occasional complaints about traffic. All four girls were on edge. Lauren picked anxiously at her nails, a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child.

"Here we are," Dinah breathed out. Parking the car, the Polynesian girl gazed at the building in front of them and took a deep breath. The minute Lauren saw the name of the building, she felt sick to her stomach. This was really happening, this wasn't just a dream.

The three other girls slid out of the car, but Lauren sat frozen, running over everything in her mind. This was real. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to find Dinah holding out a hand to help her out of the car. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lauren allowed the other girl to lead her out of the car and up the steps to the courthouse.

Ten minutes later, the four friends sat on an uncomfortable wooden bench, all scanning the room nervously. Lauren bit her lip.

"I feel sick to my stomach," she mumbled. Ally, who was sitting next to her, placed a hand on her knee and gave her a supportive smile. Lauren just sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap.