Me Without You

"Don't ever try to beat a psychopath at her own game."

It's amazing what a frantic mind comes up with under the weight of pressure. It's as if all rationality leaves and it's replaced by this sense of fear for the unknown.

For Lauren, it was colours. Colours changed.

Lucy was driving the car through the city and where Lauren had once seen blurs of yellows and gold, she now saw black. Everything was dark and grey and painfully colourless. That's what her frantic mind was doing to preserve even a semblance of her sanity, though she was fairly sure that was dwindling as well.

Camila was on the other side of the spectrum. After emptying her stomach, she decided to clear her mind of anything irrational. She needed to keep a level head if she wanted to get Sofi out of the warehouse, if she wanted to ensure her little sister's safety. So keeping her sanity was necessary.

Maddy had left again, God knows where, and Sofi had wiggled her hands free so she could make her way over to Camila. She was currently cuddled up against her sister's leg as if the mere contact was enough to calm her racing heart, but Camila knew it wasn't that simple. This was now a hostage situation and Sofi would be replaying this over and over in her head for many years.

And Camila hated herself because it was her fault. She'd allowed Maddy into their lives, she'd blindly trusted the grey-eyed girl with ease and welcomed her into their home. Camila introduced Sofi to Maddy and that was exactly how the wild-haired girl knew to use Sofi as bait. She'd witness how much Camila loved her sister, cherished her, and she'd used that to her advantage. It was Camila's fault and now Sofi would forever be haunted with the sight of a gun pointed at her head.

Lauren tried picturing every scenario of what might be happening to Camila. She saw her girlfriend's face beaten to a pulp, she saw her being submerged in water, she saw every awful thing she could think of and it fuelled her rage.

And she knows she promised Camila she'd stay away from it all, she knows that, but she needed to break her promise to her girlfriend this time. She needed to because she needed to save Camila. She needed to bring her back and she needed the reassurance that no one would ever harm the other Cuban girl again.

"We're here." Lucy interrupted Lauren's jumbled thoughts and as the green-eyed girl looked up, she was tainted by the image of the looming warehouse, the moon reflecting off its gleaming roof. The place screamed sinister and Lauren hated that Sofi and Camila were trapped inside. "Lauren, any violence, you let me handle it, okay?" Lucy tried to get her best friend's attention but Lauren's eyes were still analysing the entire building. "Lauren."

"I'm gonna kill her," Pale fists were balled tight as she spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna fucking kill her."

"Hey, no," And then the older girl was standing in front of Lauren demanding her attention. "This is in and out, the police will deal with Maddy."

"If Camila's hurt, there's no fucking way I'm walking away from that."

It was only when Camila heard the resounding bang of the door to the warehouse closing that she ushered her sister back to her spot by the leg of the table. Camila couldn't risk Sofi being caught outside of her confines though she hated seeing her little sister bound the way she was.

"I spy with my little eyes...not Maddy." This confused Camila because she knew that voice and there was simply no way it could be who she was thinking. Lucy? "She's kind of a shit hostage-holder, don't you think, Laur?"

"Lauren!" The sound of the familiar nickname prompted Camila to call out eagerly, because that was Lucy and where there was Lucy, Lauren was soon to follow.