Checkmate (Camren)

The loss (39)

NOTE: I'm not going to say much just that Evelin (the Brazilian author) loves plot twists and that nothing is as it seems, so please keep calm and read till the end. For a better reading, when I point out in the chapter listen to the song "I'll Be Good" by Jaymes Young.

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Lauren Jauregui's Point Of View

"Lauren..." A sigh. "Help! Lauren!" That agonizing voice sounded more and more clear.

Her cry for help sounded in a desperate tone, almost distressed. I couldn't see her, everything was completely dark, as if we were lost in a totally unknown place.

"Please, get me out of here!"

I could hear the subtle crackling of the flames being overshadowed by the screams of pure suffering of that woman. She was burning in the fire as she begged for salvation.

"Camila..." I whispered, trying to find her.

"Don't let me die! Please save me, Lauren!"

My heart pounded violently, as if at any moment it could stop suddenly. I ran through the darkness, following the sound of that voice that cried out for help. However, my body didn't seem to respond, and in a curious way, I hadn't even moved. I was trapped inside me as I heard her burn.

"No, no!" I exclaimed desperately. "Camila! Camila!"

Amid the desperate screams of the woman who seemed to writhe amidst the wreckage and the flames, I heard the shrill sound of the alarm clock, which made me jump up on the bed in an abrupt awakening.

"God..." I whispered, feeling my chest rise and fall in a breathless breath.

I inhaled the air with want into my lungs, which seemed to have difficulty in absorbing it. I stared at the bedsheets, and then at the perfectly arranged furniture, to then stare at the rays of sunlight that seeped through the partially opened curtains. I allowed myself to close my eyes for a few instants, in an attempt to calm down my heart that beat frantically in the left side of my chest. I lifted one of my hands to my head, sliding its back across my forehead to remove the traces of sweat caused by that damn nightmare.

"Just a nightmare..." I murmured amid a sigh before I turned off the deafening device.

It wasn't the first time that that happened. Even after one year after the night of the fire, that moment still tormented me. The nightmares weren't constant, they appeared every time I thought about what had happened. Perhaps rummaging through some things from the past on the day before hadn't been a very good idea.

I sighed slowly before pushing away the bedsheets and standing on the wooden floor. I crossed the large bedroom, noticing how quiet the house was that morning, apparently everyone had already left for their duties. Before heading to the bathroom, I noticed a certain amount of papers on the table in the corner of the room, more specifically, old newspaper clippings. I approached them and picked one up, resting my eyes attentively on the expressive letters.

'THE TRAGIC END OF THE COLLINS' REIGN.'

And right below in smaller letters:

'Two bodies were found completely burned after the arson that destroyed the mansion. One of them belonged to the oil tycoon, Christopher Collins, and the other one belonged to his wife, Karla Camila Collins.'

I let the air escape through my mouth to then swallow hard. After the evening of that unfortunate tragedy, all the newscasts informed the world that the Collins couple had left us with an unexpected and tragic death. I remember perfectly how excruciating it was to see those words printed in all the newspapers that morning, but nothing compared to the pain I felt when I found out what had happened.