A Light in the Dark

Chapter 31

Camila bit her lip and looked between the two doors. Should she go to Lauren's or to her own apartment? She wanted to check up on Lauren, but did the other girl even want to see her? Hadn't she practically thrown her out?

She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced to her own door, playing with her keys. She could go in there, right? It didn't matter what happened yesterday... she could do this... right?

Slowly, she slid the key into the lock and turned it around. When she heard the soft click, she pushed the door open and stepped anxiously into her apartment and into her living room.

Everything was still how she had left it. Obviously. No one else had a key besides herself and her landlord.

She looked at the notepad and her new phone on the floor before picking them both up. Reading through her notes, she let out a scoff. It was ridiculous how much time she had spent with the details of her day with Lauren, but she had wanted it to be perfect. Only to ruin it before it even started. Which reminded her that she still needed to apologize to Lauren for... yes, for what? Asking a simple question? For thinking that they had built some sort of trust?

Frowning, she put the phone into her pocket and stared at the pages of notes. Instead of working on her song, she had done something as stupid as this. The time and energy was completely wasted. Lauren would laugh at her, if she saw how desperate she was to hang out with her. But she couldn't help it, she wanted to impress Lauren. And she wanted Lauren to stop thinking about her as the instable girl... which really turned out great.

She put the notepad down on the table in front of her couch and glanced to the bookshelf, shivering slightly. They were still there. She knew exactly where she had placed them. Did she want to get rid of them? Not really...

Camila closed her eyes. She could vividly remember how Lauren had looked when she had found her that second time. She remembered her exact words. Could she do this to Lauren? To Sofi? What if she lost her chance to reconnect with her sister, if Lauren was right? Did what her father thought of her really matter? Shouldn't the opinions of others matter too?

She furrowed her brows and slowly blinked her eyes open, staring at the shelf. It was comforting to know that they were still there. But it was also unsettling in a way.

Lauren had promised to be there for her... but she was angry at her right now. Did she still mean it?

She glanced to the side of the wall where she knew Lauren's living room was. Maybe it was time to let her help her... if she still meant it.

Before she could change her mind, Camila turned around and quickly walked out of her apartment. She didn't realize how often she rang Lauren's doorbell until aggravated green eyes glared at her, though they softened almost immediately when they met her own.

"Camz? What's wrong?" Lauren asked concerned and opened the door further. "Did something happen? Are you okay? Where's DJ?"

For a moment she only looked at the girl in front of her. It was now clear to her that Lauren wasn't mad. Whatever Lauren's behavior had been about, it wasn't because she was angry with her.

"I'm okay." Lauren relaxed slowly at her answer and leaned against the door frame. "But, um... could you help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it? Have you already packed some of your stuff? I wanted to help you with that..." Lauren looked disappointed and frowned. "I thought you would spend more time with Dinah before you came home..."

Why did they just assume that she would pack her belongings and do as she was told? She was nineteen! She was an adult! She could decide for herself! But this wasn't the time to talk about it.