Worthless (Camren)

"Really?"

When Lauren woke up, it was light outside. She had known she would fall asleep at some point in the night, but she had hoped she wouldn't sleep this long. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight in her armchair.

To her relief Camila was still asleep on the bed. She was sleeping on her stomach with her face turned to the side, so her black eye wasn't resting on the pillow. Lauren figured it must be the position that caused her the least pain. She couldn't get over how small the other girl looked, her cheeks sunken in and the circles under her eyes still prominent. Camila looked as peaceful in her sleep as Lauren wished she would feel while awake, but she knew that once the slave opened her eyes, the haunted expression would be back. The assumption that Lauren had terrible things in store for her would be clear in her eyes. Lauren couldn't hold it against her, but that didn't mean she knew how to deal with it. There was nothing she could say to put the girl at ease, she could only give her time.

Lauren's stomach growled. She decided to let Camila catch up on some more sleep, which Lauren figured she desperately needed and snuck out of the room as quietly as she could.

She found her family having breakfast quietly in the kitchen.

"Morning", she said upon walking in. She received a chorus of good morning wishes in return.

"How is she?" Clara asked softly. "Chris filled us in on what happened last night."

"I don't know", Lauren admitted. "She hasn't been sick since I put her back to bed, so I guess that's good. She's still sleeping now."

"Poor thing", Clara sighed, glancing towards the staircase. "You should try to get some food in her soon, she looks so weak."

"She pretty much passed out on Lauren last night", Chris said, nodding in agreement.

Lauren sighed, considering what she should give Camila for breakfast. She was grateful that it was only Saturday. She would have a whole weekend to help Camila adjust before she went back to school. Maybe she could even talk her dad into letting her stay home for a couple of days...

"We'll have to get her a collar", Mike said with a disapproving frown on his face.

Lauren sighed, but nodded. There wasn't technically a law that obligated slave owners to do anything with their slaves, there wasn't even a law to protect slaves from being murdered for fun, but it was a well-known fact that if you valued one of your slaves you better get them a collar.

If a slave without owner identification is found in public without supervision they are either taken to a collection centre where they can be collected within a week, if the owner did want them back or they become property of the city, depending on the state one lives in.

All of the Jaureguis slaves wore collars to work, since the street outside the tire shop was considered a public area and Mike didn't want any trouble with the authorities.

"It'll be a while before she's in any condition to wander off on her own, so I don't think we need to rush that." Clara pointed out.

Lauren put down her fork. She was starting to feel sick again. She didn't want to think about strapping anything around Camila's neck. Camila wasn't a dog. Although technically, Camila was less than a dog, Camila was her property, to do with as she pleased. The girl who was sleeping in her bed had cost her about as much as a new DVD. Lauren swallowed hard when she realized she owned socks that had cost her more than Camila's life had.

Lauren excused herself from the table and started preparing Camila's breakfast, hoping that Camila would be able to handle a piece of toast and some tea. She could feel her dad watching her, but she didn't acknowledge it. She placed the plate with the toast and a fresh cup of tea on a tray and headed upstairs.