Your Love Is My Drug (Camren)

5. There's Someone In My Head (It's Not Me)

I just wanted to remind you guys of the various triggers scattered throughout this fic. This chapter contains them, so please read with caution.

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Chapter 5

By nothing short of a miracle, and for the first time in several nights, Lauren's sleep was free of nightmares. She didn't remember her dreams at all, and if the arrangement of the blanket and which position she'd woken up in were any indication she hadn't so much as turned over in the night. It felt good. Or, as good as it could feel when she had to sleep in her bra with a key tucked inside it.

She felt so well-rested that she actually had energy to burn.

It was only natural that after brushing her teeth and taming the tangle of hair on top of her head she decided on going for a morning jog. Why not? She was in a good mood, the sky was blue, and if she didn't get out of the apartment soon she was going to start climbing the walls. Win-win.

Lauren hadn't yet let Camila sleep in until whenever she wanted, mainly because it would probably be midday before there was any sign of her, and sleeping the better part of the day away wouldn't accomplish anything for either of them. Camila needed a routine and a purpose now, small things to keep her mind busy. Lauren knew it wasn't a permanent solution but they felt like acceptable baby steps when spending time together would only mean they grew closer.

She wasn't a monster; she let Camila nap if she came home from work exhausted just before dinner time. Lauren would fill the time by cooking and opening the windows as wide as they would go to prevent the over-sensitive fire alarm setting off (she'd learned that lesson the hard way). She also wasn't an idiot; if she left Camila alone while she was off on a morning run, the locks would be changed by the time she got back.

Lauren folded her blanket and adjusted the cushions on the couch so that it didn't look like someone had slept there all night and then made her way over to Camila's bedroom door. She knocked loudly because Camila was either the heaviest sleeper in the world or she'd been ignoring her the other mornings she'd tried to wake her up.

"Camila, are you awake?" Lauren didn't expect a response, so she didn't wait too long for one. "I'm coming in," she warned a second before pushing the door open.

Apparently luck was on Camila's side because she was fully clothed and wide awake.

Lauren smiled; pleased she hadn't had to disturb Camila's sleep for once. It was a lovely surprise. She hoped the rest of the morning would be full of them. "Good morning."

Camila was kneeled on the bed, stretching over to pull the sheet up. "You're up..." She glanced to her bedside clock. "Right on time."

"My internal body clock is nothing if not efficient," Lauren said. She wasn't told to get out of the room so she walked further inside. "What are you doing?"

"Changing the bed."

She helped Camila to pull the sheet off the mattress. "No, I mean today. What do you have planned?"

"I have work later."

"Are you closing?"

"Not this week."

Lauren stepped backwards to give her room to move off the bed. She knew Camila's schedule for the next couple of days but you had to warm her in to a conversation and she was happy to do so. "Oh. Because I thought we could go for a run."

Camila reached for her bed covers and began to unbutton them. "I don't run."

"As a rule?"

"No, as in I don't see the point anymore unless I'm being chased."