Kiss Me ⇒ Camren

• 4 •

Lauren

I pull into the driveway and turn off the car before unbuckling my seat belt and getting out. Quickly making my way to the front door, I fumble with my keys, jamming them inside the door until it's finally unlocked.

After Camila called me crying and didn't explain what happened, I can't help but feel more than worried about what I'm going to find when I enter the house.

"Camila, I'm home!" I call as I walk through the front door, but she doesn't answer.

"Camz?!" I call out after shutting the front door. Still no response.

I walk to the kitchen and it's empty. I hang up my keys on the little hook on the wall. Turning around, I notice that the pizza the girls saved for her is out and there's a bite taken out of it. She's obviously here somewhere.

"Camila?!" I shout again, making my way to the stairs that lead to Camila's room.

I begin to climb them but then I hear movement coming from the other direction. Wait what if there's an intruder in the house? I think to myself, suddenly beginning to panic.

Hesitating at first, I walk back down the stairs, stopping when my feet hit the last stair. I see a fragile figure at the end of the hall wrapped in a blanket, slowly dragging their feet closer to me.

It's Camz.

She's wearing one of my oversized sweaters, it's her favorite one, and she's holding her beat up stuffed monkey, which she named Bananas, in her right hand. Her eyes are red and the skin beneath them is puffy, tear stains visible on her cheeks.

Without thinking twice, I run over to her and pull her into my arms, holding her tightly as if someone will take her away from me at any second.

A minute or so passes by before I lean back just enough to look at her.

"Hey." I whisper softly, lifting my hand and wiping a tear off her face. "What happened? Is anyone else home yet?"

Instead of answering, she pulls me back into her arms tightly and begins sobbing into my chest. Shocked, I soothingly start to rub her back in hopes to calm her down.

"Okay Camz you're really starting to worry me now." I tell her anxiously because she hasn't spoken in the last five minutes, but instead kept her arms securely around me, holding on for dear life.

I unlatch Camila's arms from behind me and push her back a little, holding her arms down to her side for a moment and then letting go.

"Seriously, what's going on? Are you hurt?" I ask the small girl nervously and she shakes her from side to side in the negative.

"Then what is it? You have to talk Camz. I know we're best friends, but I can't read your mind." I remind her in a soft voice.

She sighs and I see tears filling her eyes. She looks overwhelmed and I can tell she's going to break down again. She lifts her arms up, about to latch onto me again.

"If I let you hug me again, you've gotta talk." I tell her sternly before she can wrap her arms around my waist and she nods.

"Let's go to my room, yeah?" I ask in hopes that she'll say yes.

"Yeah." She says quietly in a hoarse voice and I take her free hand, bringing her upstairs like she's a child.

We get to my room and just as yesterday, she hops up on my bed and wraps herself in my comforter, cuddling with Bananas The Monkey.

Crawling in next to her, she cuddles right up into my side, still holding Bananas close to her. I move around a little getting into a comfortable position. My right arm ends up behind her head so she's using it as a type of pillow and my right hand finds hers, interlacing our fingers.