The Girl Next Door ➸ camren

five

Lauren stands in front of her full length mirror in her bedroom, turning her feet from side to side in order to inspect her new shoes. Never did Lauren ever think she would be in a situation where she would be forced to invest in a pair of cowboy boots, but here she is, looking at her reflection while wearing a designer sundress and a pair of brown, probably fake leather boots. The most horrifying thing of all is that Lauren doesn't actually hate the way they look on her. She's been in Kansas for all of a week, and it is already rubbing off on her. She shudders just at the thought of becoming a full blown farm girl.

There is a knock at the window and she nearly jumps out of her skin. She turns around, prepared to give the peeping Tom a piece of her mind, but instead of a creepy tween boy going through puberty or an old man who can't get laid, it's Camila standing standing there.

She stomps over to the window and lifts it open.

"You little creep! You can't just go looking in people's windows!" she screeches.

Camila throws her hands up. "Sorry, Lo. I wasn't lookin', but it's not like you weren't watchin' me wash my truck earlier." she smirks at the other girl, loving the fact that she can bring it up again.

She crosses her arm over her chest. "What do you want?"

"My dog had a bunch of puppies last month, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to the barn and play with them for a little while," the brown eyed girl offers.

If Lauren didn't already know her, she would swear that Camila was plotting to lure her out to a barn to torture and kill her, but she is just Camila.

"No thanks," she snaps.

Camila can't help but look a little disappointed. She thought they were making progress today, Lauren asking for her to take her to get shoes and all, but apparently not.

She leans her arms against the green eyed girls window sill. "What? You got other plans? You too good for me now?"

Lauren bites down on the inside of her cheek, knowing very well that she has nothing to do other than watch TV and eat the limited snacks available in her pantry. Camila knows it too, and she wants her to admit that she has no plans.

After holding out for a while, she finally agrees. "Fine, show me your stupid puppies."

Camila backs away from the window, giving her adequate room to exit her bedroom that way, and she slides it back into its closed position when her feet hit the grass.

She walks around to a gate that divides Lauren's house from hers, opening it and holding it for Lauren. Then she guides her expertly through the empty field to the stable at the rear end of her family's property. When they enter, stalls are full of horses, each one neighing at Camila as she walks by and gives them a rub on their nose.

Lauren watches in awe as Camila handles the massive animals so gently, and they respond to her with such love. She's always had a fear of horses that she's never been able to explain, being that this is the first time she's seen one in person. Horses don't exactly walk down the streets of New York City.

At the end of the barn, there's a stall that has no horse in it. Camila swings the door of it open, and inside sits a fully grown yellow Labrador retriever, a litter of its month-old babies playing with one another nearby. The mother dog jumps to its feet and walks over to greet Camila. She licks her hand, and then moves on to Lauren. The dog sniffs around the stranger, and Lauren freezes in place. You can say that Lauren has a fear of most animals, actually, not just horses.

"What are you so scared of? She don't bite," Camila teases.

She tries to laugh it off, not wanting to seem like a total loser. "I'm not scared."

Camila sits in the corner of the stall, her back against the wooden wall, and whistles. "Sunny, come here girl." The dog obediently goes to her and sits down, resting her nose on her lap.

Lauren sits in the opposite corner, the hay that covers the ground pricking her thighs. One of the puppies sniffs its way over to her and begins to lick her fingers so she'll pet it. She runs her fingers through the soft yellow fur of the puppy, and she and Camila sit in awkward silence.

"So, you likin' it any better here yet?" Camila asks, finally breaking the silence that had encompassed the room.

Lauren shakes her head. "Not really."

The younger girl continues, "Why not? It can't be that bad, can it?"

⠀⠀⠀"It's just, it's not home," lauren says. "And I miss my friends. I miss my boyfriend. I don't have anyone here, and I know it's only been a week, but still..."

"Well," she says, "you got me, and you can have that pup too. She needs a home, and you need a friend, so y'all are the perfect match."

⠀⠀⠀She giggles in a sort of sad way as she scoops up the tiny dog and cradles it in her arms like a baby. "Why are you so nice to me? I'm not exactly returning the favor."

Camila shrugs. "I don't know. I just feel like there's more to you than what meets the surface, Lo, and I'd like to uncover it."