Soluna (Camren)

Chapter Eight

Camila knocked on Sam's door and ran a hand through her hair as she waited for him to open the door. Sam opened the door and smiled tightly. "Hey." He greeted softly.

Camila nodded to him. "Hi." She whispered.

Sam rubbed his neck as he moved back to give Camila space to step inside. He closed the door behind them when she was inside and leaned against the door. "Gabe's taking a nap." He told her. "So you'll have to wait for him to wake up." Sam said.

Camila nodded as she sat down on the couch. "That's fine."

Sam nodded. "So...how did it go?"

Camila looked up at Sam. "Do you really want to know, Samuel?" she asked.

"Well, I rather hear it from you than someone else. Besides, I know you're dying to tell someone. You always bounce your knee when you have something to say or something's troubling you. And I'm wondering which one it is." Sam answered.

Camila looked down at her bouncing knee and chuckled. "You've always known me well."

Sam shrugged. "I've had nine years of experience." he smiled softly. "So?"

Camila smiled softly. "It went okay."

Sam gave her a knowing look that said "I know there's more to it than that."

Camila continued. "We kinda talked...kinda did more than talk..." she mumbled with a blush.

Sam chuckled awkwardly. "Well you're quick to catch up." He said.

Camila pushed him playfully before looking down at her bouncing knee again. "She's broken." She whispered.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"There's so much...sadness. And anger. I can tell she carries a lot on her shoulders." Camila observed. "And she's been carrying that since we first met." She frowned. "The thing is, she only shared to me a portion of what she felt. But I feel like there's more that she's not telling me. I want to help her, but...she told me I'm not enough to fix her. That's a punch in the face." She chuckled as she shook her head. "I love her still, Samuel, I do. But...I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That..." Camila sighed as she ran a hand through her. "That I love Lauren from the past and not the present. And that as much as I try, I won't be able to find myself loving this new version of Lauren in comparison to the old one." She chuckled bitterly. "That's fucked up."

Sam raised his hand slightly as he lifted up the sleeves of his button up shirt. "Can I put in my own input on this?"

Camila hummed as she crossed her arms and looked over at him. "Well I am sharing this all to you in hopes of input, so yes." She chuckled.

Sam smiled at Camila before nodding. "All right, well, I still love you. That's obvious, right?" he asked.

Camila raised an eyebrow before nodding. "I'm not in the mood to discuss our failed marriage, Samuel."

Samuel nodded before continuing. "Yes, well I'm not either. That's not the point. What I mean by that is that, despite all the changes you went through, I managed to find bits of the old you and continue to love those and find bits of the new you and learn to love those." He chewed on his lip before continuing. "My perspective of love is learning to love your partner's growth. You're never the same person forever, you are constantly learning and changing and developing parts of you that were meant to unfold in those moments."