Intertwined

Chapter 15

Camila's POV

The nurse had wrapped up my hand because I fractured my wrist and had very bruised knuckles. She left soon after because I kept insisting on being alone. In this moment I just wanted to be able to think and calm down. I gotta figure stuff out. 

I was only able to have about ten minutes to myself before a group of people walked through the door. It was the girls and Lauren's parents and they all had gifts for Lauren. When they saw the terrible state I was in and an empty hospital bed beside me their smiles pretty much dropped. I could see how scared they were, their eyes held this look that I couldn't quite explain. It's like when you raise a child's hopes and spirits because they believe good will come but then rip it out from underneath them and leave them in a cold, dark room to be terrified of what might come. 

"W-where's Lauren?" Ally whispers with a shaky voice. I just shake my head trying to get rid of all my negative thoughts. The tears burning in my eyes made all of them even more scared to know what happened. But I know that I have to tell them. They are family too and deserve to know what happened to the dark haired, green eyed girl. 

"When I g-got h-here the nurse told m-me she was missing. I-I was looking for her when I realized that she likes the roof. When I went up to the roof I-I found her laying th-there, wrapped up in a sweater, her beanie, and her blanket. I-It was really hot outside but she was still shivering and her lips were a very light purple color although she was also sweating. She was burning up and was paler than she usually was with some of her skin looking light purple. She was barely breathing. When the nurses arrived t-they took her back downstairs onto this floor and the last I saw of her was when they rolled her away from me down the hall." I said in tears trying to explain to them clearly but choking up a few times. They all stood there in shock not knowing what to do. Lauren's parents were frozen in place.

"Have you heard from any of the nurses or a doctor?" Dinah's voice spoke up. I just shook my head. They were all trying to process the information. Ally went and stood by the window, looking out at the city, Normani and Dinah sat on Lauren's hospital bed and Lauren's parents sat on the couch with me, Mike supporting Clara, who was clearly unstable. In this moment, no one could really say or think that everything was going to be alright because we knew that Lauren was not in good shape at all.

~

Lauren's POV 

I'm stuck between what I think is a dream and reality. Or maybe it is between the past and the present. I'm not sure but what I am sure of is the voices circling around me. They are rushed and loud. Frantic questions being thrown here and there with quick answers. I black out and fall back into a blank dream state. Time doesn't seem to exist anymore, I'm stuck in a void. I'm trapped. The voices fade away and everything turns into silence, I cannot feel anything and my conscious mind begins to disappear. I can no longer think clearly, and soon enough...everything disappears and I black out completely.

~

Dinah's POV

After a couple hours a doctor walks into the room. Camila and Ally are asleep, and Normani had gone out with Lauren's mom to get some food for everyone, Mani wanted to keep her mind off the whole Lauren situation. Lauren's dad had just stepped out a couple minutes earlier to make a phone call back to Miami to check on Lauren's little brother and sister. 

I stood up and walked out into the hallway with the doctor. "Is she okay? How is she?" I immediately say once we are outside the room. "She is stable. Her heart stopped and nearly gave out completely while she was getting blood tests done. It took a couple minutes but we got her heart beat back up and she will be fine as long as she does not move a lot or gets too upset or overwhelmed. The nurses will bring her in shortly, just make sure she does not do too much or gets too emotionally unstable, that affects her physical health as well and will cause her breathing to become uneven and her heart to have a lot of palpitations. This will put her into the same state she was in earlier and will probably be even worse. So just please don't overwhelm her." 

I nodded and with that the doctor walked away and I walked back into the room. When I walked in I saw Camila sitting up with wide, tired eyes and a worried face. "They're bringing her in in just a little bit. We can't overwhelm her or it'll cause what happened to her earlier to happen again, but even worse. She can't move too much or get emotionally unstable. She'll be fine Mila, don't worry okay? We're all worried about her but right now we just need to support her and help her. She'll be okay." I went and sat next to her, pulling her into my embrace. She was shaking slightly, after a moment I feel my shirt start to get wet and her shaking even harder as soft sobs start to emerge. I hug her even tighter, rubbing her back and holding her head onto my chest. "Shhhhh. It'll be okay. Mila, don't cry. Everything will be okay." I can't help the shakiness in my voice as the lump in my throat grows bigger and my breathing hitches and the tears start to burn in my eyes. It hurts me to see her like this. It hurts me to know that Lauren it not at all okay and might not ever be. The pain this brings all of us is unimaginable. 

Soon it hurts to much to hold everything in. The hot tears finally fall down my face as Camila's sobs grow louder and her grip on my shirt begins to feel as though she is grasping it for her life. As though if she let go, everything would finally fall apart and nothing would be able to stop it. Ally stirs a little, I look to where she is and see she is waking up. Realization hits her and she sits up quickly to comfort Mila. "Hey, hey, baby, look at me." Camila shakes her head and holds on to my shirt even tighter as her sobs die down and silent tears get soaked up by my shirt. "Mila, hey, look at me." She touched her back. Mila slowly lets go of my shirt, I let go of her and she turns to Ally, leaning into her for support. "Camila, take deep breaths. Everything will be okay, we're here for you." I saw Camila nod her head and grab Ally's shirt. 

Ally leans back with Camila laying her head on Ally's chest, hiding her face. She looked so small and fragile at that moment. It hurt me so bad to see her like this. She has been here everyday since Lauren was admitted. She leaves early every morning and stays til late on the days she HAS to come home. If she wasn't forced to she would basically live here. Day in and day out she is with Lauren. Even late at night when she gets home she is in Lauren's room. Just sitting there staring at her quote covered wall. Sometimes she is just replacing some quotes or writing more and putting them on her walls. Or cleaning Lauren's room and searching for anything harmful that Lauren might have hidden. She's found about 8 blades in Lauren's room. There might still be more. Camila has slept in Lauren's room, just hugging the pillow and crying. I've heard her late at night. Camila thinks she can put on a brave face but she can't. I see those dark circles under her eyes. I hear her crying at 3 in the morning. I'm even seeing her lose weight and it is worrying me. I was thinking about talking to a doctor today or call her parents. I can't have two of my best friends in the hospital. She's starting to look sick. She's gonna fall apart soon. Even now she is crying her eyes out because of all the pain.

I stand up and signal to Ally that I'm gonna go outside for a moment. She nods but mouths, "Are you okay?" and I nod, wiping off the tears. As I walk out I see nurses rolling someone in a bed towards our room. In the bed sit a very pale and hollow cheeked Lauren and even through the hospital gown I can see her collar bones jutting out and her arms looking like sticks. Only then did I truly see how bad her case really was. She always had jackets, sweaters, and hoodies on, hiding these features. Hiding the cuts and the bones. Hiding the pain and hiding the truth. Only then did I see how close to death Lauren was. Maybe everything won't be okay...