A Light in the Dark

Chapter 23

"Mila, calm down! You're talking a mile per minute, I didn't understand a single thing you just said," Dinah called out, exasperated.

Camila stopped and took a second to breathe. She had run directly to Dinah's apartment after she left the café. It was quite an accomplishment for her that she was still alive. Her condition wasn't the best.

"Alright, have you cooled down a bit?" Dinah asked skeptically and Camila nodded. "Okay. Then what did you just say?"

"I think I have a date with Lauren," Camila burst out.

"You what?" Dinah screeched, staring at her in disbelief. "You have a what with Lauren?! Our Lauren? Lauren Jauregui? Dark hair, mesmerizing green eyes? Acts like a badass but is a total dork? That Lauren?"

Camila nodded and started to pace in the small living room. "A date. On Saturday. At least it could be one. I don't know! What am I even doing? Dinah, I'm not ready for this! Yes, I really, really like her and we already get along so well, but I've only known her for three weeks, Dinah! Three! Do you have any idea how long it usually takes me to trust someone? I have serious trust issues, but then suddenly Lauren knocks on that damn door and she sneaks her way past my carefully built walls as if they were nothing and then she brings you all along and you somehow manage it too, but what the hell! She's only single for one week! I mean, one! A little more than seven days, I suppose, but still! She told him she loved him when we were in Miami! I had to stand there and watch them make out and say lovey-dovey stuff to each other or more hearing Lauren say lovey-dovey stuff to Luis, and now this?! Dinah, I don't want to be some sort of... what's it called? Rebound? I don't want that! I want her to date me because she likes me, not because she wants to get over Luis... I thought we were just getting to know each other and, you know, testing the waters or something... this is the first time I had any real interest in someone, this could be my first relationship, my first kiss, I don't want it to be meaningless and get my heart broken because Lauren tries to get over her own heartbreak..."

"Whoa, Mila..." Dinah walked up to her and gently grabbed her arms, bringing her effortlessly to a stop. "Breathe, okay? Don't panic."

"How can I not panic?! Dinah, this is gonna end badly... I know I shouldn't be taking this so seriously since I've only known her for three weeks, but she already means so much to me," Camila whispered brokenly and felt tears prick her eyes as Dinah rubbed her upper arms soothingly. "I was so lonely and miserable without her... I don't want to be alone again..."

"Hey," Dinah softly whispered and carefully pulled her into her arms. "First and foremost, you won't ever be lonely again, you hear me? Even if – and only if – your friendship or maybe your future relationship with Lauren doesn't last, you will always have me. And I would bet all of my money that this goes for Ally and Mani as well."

Camila closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist. She didn't know what she had done to deserve friends like them in her life. If someone had told her a month ago that she would have four amazing girls by her side, she wouldn't have believed them. It was still surreal that someone cared about her. Sometimes she wondered if everything was just a dream and she would wake up to find herself alone again.

"And secondly... well, I've known Lauren now for a long time and... she's not someone who just jumps so quickly into another relationship like that," Dinah explained slowly and in deep thought. "I don't know if you remember, but in the forest, Luis said something to Lauren as we were about to leave..."

"That Lauren still wants him?" Camila grimaced. "Yeah, I remember."

"No, not that... he said that if she falls, she falls hard. As much as I hate to say this, Lauren felt really strongly about Luis. She loved him. She spent the last three years loving him and it's not easy to move on from something like this. Luis was her first serious boyfriend," Dinah told her and Camila listened with a heavy heart. "I met Lauren for the first time about half a year before she started dating him. I've seen the relationship forming and growing stronger. And he's right. Lauren met him at a party and let me tell you, you couldn't get her to shut up about him..."