Love Me at a Distance

"Sorry I'm late."

Lauren was out with her friend Alexa. They had gotten off of a 12 hour shift and went to the bar near the hospital. They had a few drinks and just chatted about their patients and work. A couple of hours later they parted ways and Lauren drove back home. She parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the house. She walked inside and set her bag down before taking off her shoes.

"Hey, babe. I'm home." It was quiet. Camila usually was at the door greeting her when she same it. She looked around and saw the table all set up with candles.

Oh fuck. She forgot. Lauren looked over to the living room and saw Camila on the couch with a beer in her hand. "Hey.." Lauren said hesitantly.

Camila was upset. Lauren was hanging out with Alexa, that fucking bitch... Lauren was completely naive. Couldn't she see that the woman wanted her? She took a sip of her beer when she heard Lauren shut the car door. She closed her eyes and curled up on the couch, keeping her eyes trained on the TV.

When she heard Lauren's voice... Camila clenched her jaw. Lauren went out to the bar on their 6 month. They made plans for it a month ago. Dinner at home, then dancing at the bar, then coming back home for dessert. They had planned everything. Camila spent all day on the damn plans. She closed her eyes. "Hi."

Lauren sighed. She knew that she fucked up. Camila was so mad at her. Lauren just walked over to the couch and sat on the coffee table in front of Camila. "Um. How was your day?" She said nervously. She didn't want to say anything until Camila blew up at her and got mad.

Camila got tense when Lauren sat in front of her. She leaned back. "My day? It was fine." 

"Sorry I'm late." The intern said sincerely. Lauren looked at her hands and began to pick at her nails. It was a nervous habit.

Camila scoffed. "Late? You're almost three hours late. Dinner's cold. So yeah, you're late." She shook her head. Dinner was ruined. Nothing tasted good after being left out. hell, it didn't taste good in the fridge either.

Everything that Camila did, she did from scratch. She cooked Lauren a good dinner, like she usually did. If Lauren loved her... then she wouldn't have forgotten about this. They always celebrated their 6 month. Hell, without the breakup it would technically 2 years and 6 months but hey, who's counting? Obviously not Lauren... "You smell like the bar. I'm gonna just go to bed."

Lauren cringed at the tone in Camila's voice. She was going to have to do a lot of groveling. "I'm sorry. I got out of work late...and then I went out with Alexa." She said as she looked at her girlfriend "I'm sorry...I just forgot. It was a really long day." Lauren reached her hand out to touch Camila. "Baby, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you." She said, sadness evident in her voice.

Camila scoffed. "Alexa... You chose Alexa over spending our 6 month together? Boy, what are you gonna do on our one year?" She stood up and away from Lauren's touch. "Just... I'm gonna go clean up." She said frustratedly as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed the two plates of Lauren's favorite meal, throwing the food, and the plates, in the trash. She'd just buy new ones. She was hurt.

Lauren knew how insecure Camila got, but it wasn't even the insecurity. It was the fact that Lauren was blind. Alexa wanted to sleep with Lauren. Hell, everytime Camila saw Alexa and Lauren at the hospital, Alexa would look at Camila with that... look that Camila wanted to punch right off of her face. It was that look of 'I'm gonna get the girl,' and Camila did not appreciate it.

Lauren looked down at the ground as Camila stood up and stormed into the kitchen. "I didn't choose anything, Camila." Lauren said firmly. "I honestly just forgot. I worked a 12 hour shift on barely any sleep because of what we did the night before. What more do you want from me?" Lauren asked frustrated. She knew this was her fault, but she didn't think that it was fair for Camila to be getting so mad. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm sorry I forgot, okay?!"

Camila slammed her hands down on the table in frustration. "You did! We've been planning this for a month, Lauren! It doesn't matter what I want. It never has." At least not anymore. "Alexa wants you, you know? The subtle touches, the lingering gazes. She wants more than just friends with you and she's not going to let up. She knew about our 6 month, didn't she? You must've told her about our plans. And she took you out for some drinks. On our 6 month. I know that 6 months might not mean a lot to many people, but it meant the world to me. I don't consider this our 6 month. I consider this our two and a half years. I was kind of hoping that you would too..." She felt a tear fall from her face and laughed bitterly.

Lauren was confused. She had no idea where any of this was coming from. "I honestly forgot.." She said quietly. She didn't mean to hurt Camila by forgetting. She was just so busy that day that it slipped her mind. "What?" Lauren said confused. "Alexa doesn't want me...what are you talking about? She knew nothing about tonight...at least I don't think I said anything to her about it." 

"Just," Camila started and sighed, "Whatever. I'm going to clean up..." She grabbed the long jewelry box and handed it to Lauren. Happy anniversary." She said as she walked over to the sink to clean up. She was jealous. Yeah. That was a fact. And she couldn't help it. But she felt like she was losing Lauren and she hated it.

Lauren took the box from Camila and watched her head over to the sink. She opened it and saw a gorgeous necklace. Lauren quickly closed it and set it on the table, walking over to Camila. She rested a hand on her girlfriend's hip. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Camila swallowed thickly when she felt a hand on her hip. "She does, by the way...Alexa wants you." She just continued to wash the dishes. She wanted tonight to be perfect because Lauren deserved it, but she didn't want to be the only one to put any effort in. She wanted an equal amount. "She's pretty. And normal. And you're beautiful. She wants you. And you're a fool if you think otherwise..." She put the final dish on the rack and grabbed the hand towel to dry her hands.

Lauren sighed and stepped back some, watching Camila do the dishes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned Camila around to look at her. "I don't even know what you're talking about." Lauren said honestly. "I don't think of Alexa in that way.." Lauren said. She looked Camila directly in the eye. "You're all I can think about...when I see other people...all I do is think about you and compare them to you...and every time I realize how much better you are than everyone else out there." She said as she looked away. "You are my everything...you're the only one I ever think about."

Camila let out a soft laugh. "She does want you and maybe it's my jealously issue. I don't know. You know that I'm over that. I don't care if you hang out with your other friends but when I see Alexa..." She took a deep breath. "I even let you hang out with Lucy for crying out loud, your ex. But Alexa...? She's pushing me too fucking far." She took a step away from Lauren.

"I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight. Love you." Camila stepped a little to the left and walked passed Lauren before heading down the hallway and into her room. She was already in her pajama's. She changed about 15, maybe 20 minutes before Lauren came home. She had given up on waiting. All she wanted was more effort.

Lauren looked down as Camila walked away. She fucked up. "I love you, too." She said sadly as Camila went into their bedroom. Lauren contemplated following her, but she knew that Camila needed her space. She didn't want to be near Lauren right now. She knew that had to make it up to Camila, and she knew exactly how she was going to do that.

AN: Trouble in paradise? Dun, dun, dun.

Hope you enjoyed! -Amanda