Irredeemably Me

"A friend for a friend?"

"Where's Lucy?" It was the first words Camila spoke to Lauren the following night, because rarely had she seen the vampire without her better counterpart.

A chuckle rumbled through Lauren's lips as she cast a side glance at the brunette. "It seems my cousin thinks there are far more important things to do than ensure your safety."

"But you don't." Camila noted, because Lauren was there, because Lauren could have forgotten about her and gone about her night as she usually did...but Lauren was there.

"Do not indulge in the idea that this means anything more to me than self-preservation."

"Noted." The brunette scoffed, but that didn't stop her eyes from lingering on the vampire and wondering what thoughts circulated within her mind. Lauren could be cruel and heartless and cold...but Lauren's smile could be warm and welcoming and...safe.

"We leave tonight." The green-eyed girl told Camila. "As comforting as the church must be for you, I assume a bed might serve you better."

"Oh you assume right," The brunette nodded. "I still don't understand why I couldn't have just stayed at the hotel with you again."

Lauren ran a hand through her hair, her eyes briefly glancing at the girl beside her once more before she sighed, boredom evident within her posture as she walked.

"Do you know that it was by luck that Lucy killed the vampire that found you?" Lauren tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. "He was far older than both of us, meaning he was our better in every way and he would have killed me. You drew our focus for a moment and in that moment, my cousin did what should not have been possible to do." She clenched her jaw for a moment. "The day does not bring the salvation you think it does, for the day simply sedates my kind...but there are other creatures that can dwell in the sun. Witches, perhaps, who would relish the thought of dissecting what you are. They are creatures of darkness so they cannot enter holy ground either. But wolves, they can, they were not created by evil, they are simply cursed."

"Wolves?"

"Part man and part beast," Lauren explained. "They fall prey to the moon when it is full and silver is their weakness. For the most part, they keep to themselves, they do not seek to involve themselves in the dark world we live in...but there are few who find it...beneficial to help the witches."

"Werewolves." Camila spoke softly, trying to wrap her head around the information she'd learned within just a few nights of knowing Lauren and Lucy.

Vampires were real.

Witches were real.

Werewolves were real.

"The church secured you from the likes of my kind and the witches, it was the safest option until we could move you. Keeping you safe had proven to be more difficult than we initially thought it to be, we had expected witches...we had not expected our kind to join forces with them."

"You could just leave me." Because Camila knew this was an option Lauren had probably considered countless times now. "You nearly died last night trying to protect me, is it worth it?"

And this brought Lauren to a stop, her eyes cast forward and her jaw tight. Camila could see the contemplation behind Lauren's eyes and she could see the inner turmoil the vampire fought within herself.

"Yes, Camila," Lauren started walking once more, her tone a lot more...guarded that before. "It is worth it."

Camila followed the green-eyed girl in silence after that, not quite comprehending what her words meant but knowing that something about the way Lauren said it...it meant something. And she thought back to what Lucy had told her, that she might be Lauren's redemption...and part of her hated that because she had seen the type of creature Lauren was. Lauren had killed her twice without remorse so she didn't feel the need to be Lauren's anything...but the vampire had nearly died the night prior in order to preserve her life...and that meant something.