the truth about tomorrow ➸ camren

eleven

Friday came quicker than Camila expected. Everything carried on as normal. Wake up, go to school, and sneak away from everyone so she could spend lunch in Lauren's room. Camila enjoyed spending time around her. Lauren had a way of making her feel normal, even for a little bit.

Dinah had gotten out of surgery the day prior. They hadn't been allowed back to visit with her, but she had texted everyone to let them know she was okay. All Camila knew was that the device was implanted and that her friend was currently on a ventilator to aid her breathing.

It was now Friday afternoon, and Camila sat quietly in Room 305, watching as Lauren and Normani studied their hand of cards intently. Camila had given up on beating any of them at cards long ago, so she settled on watching. Lauren would occasionally slip her one of the skittles they had set in the middle of the table.

"Fold," Normani mumbled, tossing her cards down on the table and rolling her eyes. Lauren laughed triumphantly, collecting the jackpot of skittle from the middle of the table. Camila quickly swiped one, popping it into her mouth and laughing softly.

"I like this method," Camila ran a hand through her hair and grabbing another piece of candy. "You do all the work, and I get all the rewards," she laughed, glancing over at Lauren. The green eyed girl just rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Well on that note, I have somewhere I need to be," Normani nodded, grabbing the cards and tossing her things into her backpack. She practically disappeared out of the room before either girl could question her.

"Y'know, we never finished 20 questions," Lauren remembered, turning to face Camila, who sat on the edge of her bed. The small girl nodded hesitantly.

"Death," Camila blurted out, quickly breaking eye contact with the older girl.

"What?" Lauren laughed in confusion, looking at Camila questioningly.

"Last time you asked me what my biggest fear was," the small girl looked up shyly. "Death. That's what I'm most afraid of."

"Why?" Lauren tilted her head to the side.

"Hey, it's my question now," Camila laughed nervously, running a hand through her hair. Lauren rolled her eyes playfully but signaled for her to go on. Camila furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"If your cancer is gone, why are you still here?" Camila blurted out, not even realizing what she had said if it was too late. She watched as Lauren's face dropped slightly.

"I-I'm sorry," Camila shook her head, quickly taking back her question. "You don't have to answer that."

"It's okay," Lauren laughed softly. "When... well, when they took it off..." she started, motioning to her leg, which was currently covered by her blanket. "They had an estimated recovery time. I still haven't met it."

"What do you mean?" Camila furrowed her eyebrows.

"I should be able to walk perfectly fine by now, but I can barely manage to use crutches," Lauren muttered, pointing to the pair of crutches leaning against the wall by the door.

"How can you walk if you don't have a l—?"

"Prosthetic," Lauren answered her question before she could even finish her sentence.

"Oh," Camila whispered, hanging her head down and thinking for a moment. "Is there a reason why y—?"

"Did you know there's this thing called the 'phantom limb'?" Lauren blurted out, laughing nervously as she tried to change the topic of conversation. "They told me about it before my surgery and I didn't have a clue what they meant, but then after I—,"