Before Dawn (On Hiatus)

Chapter 1: Fresh Start

Camila's POV
I grabbed onto each side of my bed desperately, my nails digging deep into the old wood until I could feel them breaking. Boiling blood rushed through my veins as my heartbeat was increasing rapidly. I had warm drops of sweat running down my temples and when I slung my feet over the bedside to stand up, my head threatened to explode.

Ironically, it was the same nightmare every single night and yet it didn't make me any more prepared. Watching my parents lying in a pool of blood while screaming for help, my help, was no less than excruciating. The details may differ each time, but the concept was always the same. Sometimes my feet were like jelly, but at the same time they were too heavy to lift and I could just watch it happen, trying to shout at it to stop all I wanted, but it was always in vein. Other times I could run, but I was never fast enough. No matter what I did, they ended up dead. My parents weren't even alive in my dreams.

The wind braced in my window, shudders running down my warm skin. I stepped over to it begrudgingly, pneumonia was the last thing I needed right now.

At the moment, I could swear I saw someone staring at me from the other side of the street, but in one blink they were gone. Just an empty sidewalk lit up by one lonely lamppost stared back at me. My eyes grazed the house on the other side, also partially made visible by the weak light.

It was probably as old as Ebony's, however, it had a clear modern architecture which made it stand out from the rest of the neighborhood. All the things around here were old and the kind of worn out that happen over a long period of time.

I closed the curtains and went back to bed, still not getting rid of the feeling of being preyed.

"Are you okay?"

I jumped at the voice, my head turning around to meet my aunt's worried look. "Sorry for waking you, I just had to close the window."

My aunt nodded, her lips forming a soft smile. "That's okay. Goodnight Camila."

**

"Camila, Darling. You've to wake up if you're going to make it to school today." My aunt said while sitting at the edge of my bed, a cup of tea in her hand.

I felt bad for pretending to be asleep, but I wanted her to leave. I loved her for taking my sister and me in, but she wasn't like my mother. And maybe it was unfair to hold it against her, but I didn't owe it to anyone to be fair.

Aunt Ebony had thought that dragging us out here, into this godforsaken city would help us move on. When the truth was that this town was nothing but good old-fashioned hell.

No kindness or tea cups in the morning could fix that. After sulking to myself for another minute I opened my eyes. Ebony might not have been my mom, but she sure had the stubborness coming along with being a Cabello.

I sat myself up and feigned a yawn. "Thank you." I smiled to her for actually showing me some care, accepting the cup.

Her features immediately glowed and she placed a kiss on forehead. "You're welcome. But hurry up, you don't want to be late for your first day!" She hummed enthusiastically.

If only I'd had the same amount of joy. I kept on the content facade until she was out of sight. I could finally let out the relieved breath I was holding in. I looking down at my wrist, at the parts where my skin carried different shades. The marks were still visible, and they probably would never go away. Somehow, they were permanent, comparable to the scars left on my heart.

**

Lauren's POV

We were back in this stupid city. We'd been her once before, but because of certain complications we'd had to leave it all behind. I couldn't be more indifferent to be back though.

I was living in my own world with my cousins - Ally, Normani and Dinah. Till this day nothing had managed to tear us apart. But now I had to be a regular teenager again, which meant going back to school.

I'd already been to the school around here, and the only thing that could make it worth it, was if someone sat it on fire.

That'd be a nice sight, watching the school burn down in flames with all the annoying teachers inside.

Things had changed the last years, and I was not the same innocent girl that worked her ass off to reach the teacher's unattainable expectations.

My thoughts were disrupted when I heard a car honk as I walked down the stairs, that was Ally's way of telling us she wanted us to get our asses down so she could leave.

I ran out and climbed into the backseat with Normani.

«Why do Dinah get to sit in the front? I'm the second oldest.» Normani whined.

«Because your fat ass wouldn't fit.» Dinah quipped back nonchalantly.

«Oh really? Surprised it's enough space for you and your humongous ego!» Normani sneered back, glaring at the girl as if she was mentally stabbing her.

I looked out my car window, ignoring their everyday bickering when I suddenly spotted something that caught my eye. There she was again, the new girl. She was breathtaking with a cute pink bow in her dark hair.

I locked eyes with her for a vague second as we passed her. All of a sudden I felt warmness, like someone had literally lit me on fire. Most people would claim it impossible, but somehow I felt like I already knew her.

With the backpack on her back and the young face I concluded with myself that she had to be around my age, which meant that due to our small city she probably attended the same school as myself. It was strange to feel such an attraction to a stranger. I couldn't explain the magnetism she had, but wasn't aware of herself.

All I knew was that I had to get to know her.

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