A Light in the Dark

Chapter 64

Camila looked thoughtfully at the sleeping girl, carefully avoiding to move her right hand. Lauren had apparently chosen it as a substitute for a pillow when she had fallen asleep. Not that she minded. It was actually really cute to see her like this. She knew that her girlfriend had probably not been sleeping much since... since it happened.

When she had first awoken, she had attempted to sit up in the hospital bed, but that had been proven to be a horrible mistake. The pain coming from her stomach had taken her completely by surprise. She didn't know how she got injured, but a little peek under the sheets had shown her the bandage that covered pretty much her entire stomach.

"School's not cool... don't wanna..."

Camila's eyebrows shot up in amusement as Lauren continued to mumble in her sleep. It was adorable, but she knew that she had to wake her up sooner or later. Her hand was falling asleep and she would really appreciate some water since her throat felt as if it was on fire.

But her first priority remained to find out what the hell happened to her stomach. Had she... had she been shot? Did Gabriel actually shoot her? Camila bit her lip and carefully placed her other hand on the tender spot. If that was true... why hadn't she felt any pain afterwards? She remembered the officer – the paramedics – the chaos... but no pain. She needed answers and she wouldn't get any if she didn't tell anyone that she was awake. Lauren had to know something.

With a soft sigh, Camila slowly turned her hand around so that she was able to stroke Lauren's cheek. She looked so tired...

"Lauren?" she whispered.

"Shhh, sleepy..."

A smile tugged at her lips as she watched how a small wrinkle appeared between Lauren's eyebrows. She was waking up. "Baby? I sort of need my hand back... it's all tingly..."

The frown deepened, but for a moment nothing happened. Camila continued to caress her cheek with her thumb, patiently waiting for the penny to drop. And she didn't have to wait long. In a quick movement Lauren raised her head and Camila was able to stare into her green eyes once more.

"Morning, sleepyhead... or whatever time of day it is." Camila tried not to grimace, her throat was sore as hell. Why wasn't there any water?

"Oh my God, you're awake!" Lauren breathed out and the smile on her face was brighter than anything Camila had ever seen before, it even put Ally's to shame – and that meant something. She couldn't help but grin shyly as Lauren carefully brought her right hand to her lips and placed a kiss on its back. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"I'm a little... woozy... and my stomach feels kinda weird," she explained, wincing at the burning in her throat and her dry mouth. "And I'd really love some water..."

Lauren nodded and stood up. "One water, coming right up. And I'll get your doctor and your parents too, okay? Probably the other way around, now that I think about it..."

"My parents? Aren't they working?" she asked confused. "Wait – what time is it anyway?"

"Um..." Lauren scratched her head and looked around the room. "Late afternoon? Evening? I'm not sure... I think  I only took a little nap... but anyway, your parents, yes. They're still here, in your mom's office. At least that was the last time I saw them. Now if you'll excuse me..." Lauren leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll be right back."

Camila tiredly closed her eyes as Lauren slipped out of the room. Her thoughts drifted back to what happened.

Gabriel with the gun in his hand, aiming it at her... the police... the shots that sounded like explosions... was he – was he dead? She didn't know which answer she preferred. He had murdered Hailee... he had tried to do the same to her... should she be relieved if he was dead? She opened her eyes again and stared blankly at the white wall. How was she supposed to feel?