Intertwined

Chapter 25

Camila's POV

I'm running. They're chasing me and are starting to catch up. I run into an alley and hide behind some crates next to the trash bin. Footsteps get louder and the voices begin to yell, "WHERE IS SHE? FIND HER NOW!"

I hold in my breath so they won't hear it in the uncomfortable silence. They scatter throughout the alleyway. The crates I was once hiding behind were kicked down and the man grabs the collar of my shirt tightly, dragging me off to the man standing there just watching the scene unfold. "Ah, there you are! Come here!" he says a little too cheerfully. I walk over to him, the stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol on him is strong. He grabs my waist and pulls me closer to him, putting his mouth right next to my ear. "There's nowhere to run now." he says before shoving me away, right into one of his men who grabs my wrists and pushes me down onto my knees. He ties my hands together and then ties another rope from my hands to my feet. He ties my feet and makes sure all the ropes are secure. I'm left to face the man before me. He's the leader. There's no doubt about that.

"BRING HER IN!" He yells. The men at the end of the alley go to the van waiting by the curb and grab a girl from inside. They drag her over since she was not making any effort to walk. Her head was slumped down and her dark hair hanged over her face like a curtain. She's put onto her knees just like me. The leader walks over to her and grabs her hair, pulling her head back. She lets out a whimper from the pain. Looking at her face closer, I see that is the same dark haired, green eyed girl I had been hopelessly in love with. Lauren.

Her face and body was badly abused. She had bruises all over her, especially to her face. There were dark bags under her eyes and she was skinnier than when I had last seen her. Like, WAY skinnier, if that is even possible. On her arms I can see the deep, self-inflicted cuts lining her arms and legs. But what disturbed me was the little dots on her inner elbow and on her forearm. They look...they....they look like heroin needle marks. 

"Look at your beloved Camila. Remember how much you talked about her? She's here now, but for all the wrong reasons." The leader says, smirking. I swear to God I would smack that smirk off his goddamned face if I weren't tied up. 

He grabs his pocketknife and pulls back Lauren's head so her neck is exposed. "NO!!! STOP!!! I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!!! PLEASE, DON'T DO IT!!!" My screams echo throughout the alleyway. All the streets are empty and no one can hear my pleads. 

The knife slices through her neck with one swift move. Time seems to slow down as her body falls helplessly onto the ground and blood gushes out of her neck. She coughs and coughs but only seems to be choking on more and more blood. I watch as her mouth starts dripping with blood and she begins to calm down. 

For the first time since she arrived, she makes eye contact with me. She shivers and coughs a bit more. It doesn't sound like she's breathing at all. Her body relaxes a little more, "This is all your fault." she says quickly as she coughs up more blood. Her eyes shut and her body lets go. The blood keeps coming out of her neck and mouth and flowing over to me. I can feel the warm blood under my knees and between my toes. 

I look up, numb, to the leader. He's on the verge of cracking up. I, at this point, am beyond pissed. "WHY DON'T YOU FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY, HUH? KILL ME! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT FOR ME ANYMORE! KILL ME!" 

"Because 'this is all your fault'. And I rather you have to live with it. It makes this plenty more enjoyable."  The smile on his face sickens me.

"Fuck you. You stupid piece of shit. Maybe this is why your parents probably don't give a shit about you. You're sick. Whoever has ever fucking loved you probably regrets every moment of it. You're a fucking idiot." I say, hatred oozing out of my every word. The content that was once in his face now disappears and is replaced by anger. I have, clearly, touched a sensitive subject. 

"DON'T FUCKING SAY THAT! YOU ARE THE ONE THAT WAS JUST BLAMED BY THE PERSON YOU LOVED MOST! I WIN AND YOU LOSE! ANYONE WHO HAS EVER LOVED ME STILL LOVES ME!" I just laugh in his face. He storms over to me, just in the exact place I wanted him to be in.

"Yeah? Is that right? Look who's standing here laughing at someone dying. Look who has men working for him, pretending to be his friend because he's lonely. No one cares about you. You were probably one of those accidents that no one wanted and you just HAPPENED to survive your abortion. No one loves you. At least Lauren loved me at some point and I still have people that care about me in this world. So in reality, I win and YOU lose." I laugh in his face. Every word that comes out of my mouth, comes out with attitude dripping off each and every one of them. His fists begin to clench and I can see his face turning red with anger, even in these dim lights. He reaches into his pocket and grabs something. I look down, waiting.

I shot rings out and I feel unbearable pain on the crown of my head, just before I black out with a smile on my face. 

I'm dead.

~

With a jolt, I wake up. My lungs burn and I feel like I'm choking on something. I immediately begin to cough violently. Tears stream down my face from both the nightmare and the pain in my chest. My lungs feel like they're literally on fire. Loud beeping begins to ring and the lights above me only seem to get brighter in my eyes so I shut them. I hear running and frantic voices. "Calm down. hold your breath for a moment." someone's voice instructs me. I do as I am told, tears are still streaming down my cheeks. It feels as though my lungs are going to explode but I also feel some relief. I slowly open my eyes to see a bunch of nurses surrounding me and behind them I see the girls and Mike and Clara. All of them have worried faces on. "Now breathe lightly and slowly. This breathing machine is here to breathe for you. Right now you aren't even holding your breath. If you want you can try to breathe but it'll feel uncomfortable. Don't panic. It'll only bring more pain upon yourself. Calm down." A nurse says. I just look at them, startled and frightened. I must look like a deer caught in the headlights. All the nurses start to exit but one stays. She takes my hand in hers, "You're fine. Calm down. You're doing great, okay? I'll be back in a bit to check up on you. If you feel any strong pain or anything, just press the alert button on the side of your bed." Then she exits the room as well. The girls, Mike, and Clara just stand there not knowing what to do. 

"How do you feel?" Dinah asks after a couple seconds. I just raise my eyebrows and point at the tubes in my mouth. I can't necessarily talk. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, I forgot." She says with a hint of embarrassment in her voice. Mike leaves the room without saying a word. I watch Clara roll her eyes and sigh. "We're just going to sit down and let you rest for a while." Normani says. I shake my head, trying to tell them that it's fine and I'm not going back to sleep but I don't think they got the memo. So I just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

Mike comes back after about 10 minutes. He has a bag in his hand. Clara stands up angrily, "Where did you go? Why would you just leave like that?" Mike just shakes his head.

"If we want to get something out of this it's communication. Which we can't really do. So I went across the street and bought a whiteboard and dry erase markers." He replies, taking out the markers and the dry erase board and handing them to me. "Please tell me what happened last night." He says in desperation. I nod slightly and begin to write. By the time I finish 5 minutes have passed and my words have only gotten smaller and smaller on the whiteboard. 

I hand it over to Mike when I'm done. Everyone stands up and surrounds my bed as he begins to read it aloud. When he's done, pure horror has taken over every single one of their faces. "It was probably what has been going on over here. There hasn't been any kidnappings here lately that haven't had to do with...THAT business," Clara says. No one else was strong enough to admit it. I just now realized what she meant. The prostitution and human trafficking that has been all over the news. No, this can't be it. Lauren can't- ugh. Shit, this can't be real.