A Light in the Dark

Chapter 69

"This is useless, Lauren! I'm going to fail all of my classes, I have to drop out..." Camila tore her hair as she stared at the piles of paper around her on the bed. It was getting harder too breathe... and was it always so warm in here? "I only missed a week... a week! How can... what even..."

Lauren rubbed her back. "Calm down, babe. It's not as bad as you think... I'll help you with your English classes and Dinah already said that she'll help you with your music ones. The girls come by tomorrow, I'm sure she would love to –"

But Camila waved her off. "I can't calm down!  Do you see this? This is my failure, how am I supposed to catch up? Dinah said on the phone that we need –"

"A break. Right now you need a break. This is getting ridiculous, Camz..."

"I can't!  Don't you see how much I have to do?" She gestured widely around her. "And don't even get me started on English Lit! I need to –"

"You need to take a break," Lauren cut her off, her voice more adamant than before. "And you need to check your temperature. You have enough time to get caught up with your studies, but your health is our number one priority, got it?"

Huffing, she crossed her arms and gave Lauren a sideways glance. "I'm feeling fine and if I see that stupid thermometer again, I'll –"

"You're missing an organ," she was interrupted for the umpteenth time and Camila could barely control the urge to roll her eyes. Lauren cared for her and that was nice, but she would have thought that her girlfriend understood the importance of learning. "I know you're frustrated, but this is not like getting your tonsils or appendix removed. If you get a fever and it's not getting treated, you could get pneumonia, you could get –"

Camila groaned loudly and buried her head in her hands. "Alright, get that damn thermometer... but please, not another lecture..."

She felt Lauren's lips on her cheek and tried to stay annoyed at the girl, but how could she? Especially when she did nothing but look out for her? It was not fair...

"Thanks, babe. Already have it right here. Open up?"

With a deep sigh, she let her hands sink and turned to Lauren. "I'm still not forgiving you for creating the diet plan... you know that, right?"

"It's good for your immune system!" Lauren pouted and lowered her hand with the thermometer. "Vegetables are yummy and healthy."

"Says the one who counts french fries  as vegetables. You took away my pizza!" This time she couldn't hold back the glare, although Lauren's imitation of a scolded puppy made it difficult for her. "The only food I had for a week was this damn hospital stuff, and then I come back, already looking forward to some good New York pizza and... and..." Camila trailed off, still not over the betrayal from yesterday. It was hard to overcome. "You just... what did the Hawaiian pizza ever do to you?"

The corners of Lauren's mouth twitched slightly. "I'm really sorry, babe, but your mom gave me clear instructions..."

"It – was – pizza!"

"Your mom said, you have to eat extra healthy since you're more at risk for getting infections in the first two years after your spleen removal and that  means more fruits, vegetables and grain," Lauren stoically told her and Camila sighed in defeat. If her girlfriend stayed this motivated, the next two years would not be very pleasant. "By the way, how much water did you drink today?"

"I don't know... enough?"

"You know how important it is to drink water, Camz. Your mom said that you could get constipa–"