Never Let Me Go (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 16: I Will Hide You in the Shadows

Wind whipping around her, Camila was suddenly made aware of how rock solid the front porch of their Michigan home happened to be. It was loud, the unnaturally strong summer wind carrying waves against the shore in manner so deafening it effectively blocked out every other sound in the area. Terrified, Camila struggled into as best a sitting position as she could, trying to squint through the moonlight.

"Stop, please." She pleaded, the silver gleam of her brother's weapon hovering directly in her line of sight.

"Camila!" Sofi's tiny, terrified voice nearly screamed from the open frame of the front door. A shadow passed across her line of sight, scooping up the girl and vanishing into the house. Twisting around, Camila reached out and caught her brother's wrist as he lunged down at her, the blade inching closer to her exposed ribcage.

"You lied to me." She rasped, looking up at the icy blue in his eyes. "You told me you were going to change, that if you stayed here things would be different this time."

"Shut up." The boy growled, narrowing his gaze. "Making fun of me, taunting me over my fucking choices even though you know nothing about them, you're a stranger! Who are you to judge?!" The lost look in Daniel's eye suggested to Camila he wasn't truly speaking to her, there was something foreign happening in his head that she had no control over.

"Know nothing about— what the hell?" Camila tried to turn around and get on her feet, but the boy had her completely pinned down to the hardwood. "Daniel I swear to god get that damn thing away from me."

The knife didn't move, and as blood rushed down Camila's throat from the cut on her lip, another white searing pain flashed through her body. Warmth began to spread from her side down her stomach and legs, a numbing, impossible ache taking over every semblance of movement and speech. The patter of feet on a staircase followed, and another figure appeared in the doorway.

"Camz!" Lauren surged forward, shouldering Daniel's weight off her body and sending him crashing down the porch steps and onto the gravel below. Camila slumped onto the wood, a strangled groan releasing from her throat as the blade clattered to the ground. When Lauren knelt down before her, the brunette saw in her eyes not only the glisten of panic and tears, but a bright orange flame that hadn't existed since the night in Brooklyn. She had her phone pressed against her ear, blood coating her fingertips and the black casing.

"Lauren." Camila coughed, fighting the slow droop of her eyelids.

"Stay with me." The green eyed girl pleaded, pressing a bloodstained hand against her cheek. "Please Camz."

The expression of panic and anger on Lauren's face faded away into darkness before she could reply, followed by a strange dizzying sensation. The image that followed was the withered ceiling of her family's furnished basement and a painful shiver at the back of her neck. "Lauren?" Camila questioned, looking to the other side of the bed to see her girlfriend tucked away underneath the heavy comforter. "Lauren." She said again, feeling somewhat guilty for even trying to wake the girl up. "Hey... Lauren?"

"Mm?" Lauren rolled over wearily, eyes fluttering open through the dark. When she caught wind of the terror on Camila's face, her level of alertness underwent a visible increase. "What's wrong? Is your lip hurting again?"

"Sorry... just a bad dream."

"Really?" Lauren sat up, using her fingers to part her hair to the side. "It's been a while since you've had nightmares Camz..."

"I know." Camila looked down, playing nervously with her fingers. "I guess this summer is just a lot for me. Sorry I woke you."

"Don't be sorry." The green eyed Latina laughed softly. "Just remember that none of it was real. Come here."