Caught (Camren)

•18•

I pulled my pillow down over my ears and released a deep sigh, trying to ignore the persistent knocks that were ringing in from my bedroom door. I could tell by the way the pale sunlight sifted through my blinds that it couldn't have been any later than seven or eight in the morning, which was entirely too early to wake up during the summer by my account.

"Camila, are you awake?" my dad called through the door.

"No," I shouted back, my voice muffled by the pillow.

"Why is your door locked?" he asked.

I jolted upright and tossed my pillow to the side, scanning the room for any signs of Lauren but finding only her red lighter perched on top of my nightstand. She'd slept over every single night for four days following our road trip and my parents hadn't suspected a thing. Sometimes our clothes ended up on the floor and others we insisted that our heavy eyelids remain open until the morning light, sometimes talking about nothing but more often than not, finding ourselves in deep conversation until she fell asleep on my chest. This time, however, she was nowhere to be seen. I wondered why she'd hurried out without at least telling me goodbye first, but I was also thankful that my father didn't have an opportunity to catch us together. I pushed myself out of the bed and slumped over to the door, clicking the lock out of place and then collapsing onto the mattress again. My dad pushed his way inside and leaned up against the doorway, searching my room curiously until his attention landed on me.

"I need you to drive your car to the shop," he told me.

"At seven in the morning? Can't it wait?"

"Clearly you're unable to fix it and you need a car to drive in case you decide to leave for college, correct?" he insisted.

"Can't mom do it?" I begged.

"Mom's not here," he snapped.

"Where is she this early in the morning?" I pressed. "It's Sunday, it's not like she's at work."

His shoulders slumped but he soon composed himself, standing up straighter and clearing his throat.

"She went to visit some friends last night," he informed me. "I'm sure it just got late and she crashed with them."

"Dad, you always go with mom to visit her-"

"It's not important, Camila," he interrupted, annoyance evident in his tone. "The point is, I need you to take your car to the shop to get it fixed. I have to run out and do some errands since your mother isn't here. I won't be back until this evening. Can you hold down the fort until I get back?"

"Sure," I sighed. "What am I supposed to do while my car's being fixed? Sit there for three hours?"

"Maybe Lauren can pick you up," he suggested. "I'll leave some money on the counter. Maybe you two can use it to go to breakfast or something."

I nodded and he nodded back, and then he was out the door. His attitude was throwing me off if anything. One second he was snapping at me and the next he was offering to buy me dinner. What made it even more confusing was the fact that I still wasn't used to him even talking to me. I couldn't read him, and I was over attempting to. Whatever was bugging him, it clearly wasn't my problem. I climbed out of bed and found my way into the bathroom to get ready, brushing my teeth and putting up my hair without even bothering with makeup. The last thing I wanted to do at seven in the morning on a Sunday was drag myself into the middle of town, much less make an effort to look nice to get there. I slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and I was out the door, swiping my keys off of my dresser on my way out. I skipped downstairs and outside through the garage, finding my seat on the driver's side of my car and inserting the key into the ignition. It took a few tries, but I was eventually able to crank the engine and it roared to life. I backed out of the driveway and onto the main road, rolling down the windows and turning up the radio. The shop wasn't far from home, so I made it just under ten minutes and pulled around to the back, dropping it off and then heading inside to leave my keys. The building was completely vacant as staticky country music spilled through the overhead speakers. I didn't even hear anyone in the actual shop, and I wondered if the early morning trip was even worth it.