A Light in the Dark

Chapter 12

"If you need anything at all, call me. I mean it, Camz. I'll be there in a heartbeat, okay?"

"Lauren, you don't have to..."

"But I want to. Are you sure, you don't want me to come with you?"

Camila glanced out of the car window to the fair-sized house on the right. It had been a year since she had seen it. She looked wistfully to the long driveway where she had learned how to ride a bike. One day, Sofi and she had drawn a huge rainbow with chalk on it, starting from the street and ending at their doorstep. She had told Sofi the story about the pot of gold and her little sister had been really disappointed that she couldn't reach the end of the rainbow. So Camila told her, they would make their own that would end at their doorstep because the real pot of gold was living right there.

She frowned at the end of the memory. It had been an amazing day, until her parents had come home from work and saw their masterpiece. They hadn't been pleased at all and after an hour of getting screamed at, she had to take a bucket of water and a broom to 'get rid of that nonsense'. She didn't know how long it had taken to clean the driveway, but after that day neither she nor Sofi had ever picked up a piece of crayola chalkagain.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Lauren who was watching her concerned. "Yeah, I'll be fine. And I promise to call should anything happen, okay? Don't worry too much and enjoy that bonding time with your sister. I know you've been looking forward to this all day."

Lauren sighed. "I think that I should be the one to tell you not to worry..."

"Well, what do I have to lose?" she replied, shrugging. "I already think that Sofi hates me and I know that my parents hate me... I don't have any expectations. I'll just show up there and try my best to explain to Sofi why I haven't spoken to her in over a year and then go from there."

It wasn't really the truth. She was a nervous wreck, but she couldn't think about all the possibilities that could go wrong. She had to try and at least act confident. With another deep breath, she opened the passenger door. "I'll probably walk back, is that alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Just call if you get lost or something," Lauren answered and shot her a look. "I don't care if I'm still with my sister. I don't want you walking around Miami in the evening."

"It's not even that late, yet," she said and chuckled.

"Not the point."

"Alright. If I get lost, which I won't," Camila added while lifting her eyebrows, "I'll call you to save me."

Lauren nodded satisfied. "That's all I asked. Good luck!"

She gave the green-eyed girl a last smile, before getting out of the car. She stood another minute, watching how Lauren drove away, andthen slowly turned to her old home.

It felt strange to be back. The last time, she had seen this place, had been disastrous and hopefully today it would be different. She didn't have her hopes up and didn't expect anything from her parents, other than snide remarks and obscenities. They had never been close. But Sofi? That little girl was her everything. She was her rock.

Slowly, Camila walked up to her childhood home. With every step she took, a new memory surfaced. Good ones and bad ones. She remembered how lonely she had been before Sofi's birth. She had become more than just a sister to her. She became her best friend.

She stared at the heavy wooden door in front of her. If she put a little pressure on the button to her right, she would know for sure. One year. Could a child forget someone in a year? What if she didn't remember her and looked at her as if she were a stranger?