We're A Secret (Camren)

Chapter 8

"We all know how it feels to be forgotten for a while."

Lauren's P.O.V.

I walked into the gas station, surveying the store for the chip aisle. I noticed the plastic packaging from the corner of my eye and made my way over, picking up a few random bags to satisfy myself for the next week or so. I then walked back to the fridges and grabbed a couple of waters out of one of them. I grabbed a couple of other things that I might need for my excursion and approached the counter and set down my things in front of the cashier. She raised an eyebrow curiously and I told her it was for a camping trip. She merely shrugged and stuffed the items into a plastic bag, handing it over to me. I took it and gave her a quick thank you before rushing out of the store.

I threw the plastic bag into the back of my car and plopped down in the drivers seat, turning the key in the ignition. A song started to blast on the radio and I started to bob my head to the song on the radio.
I started to sing along to the slow tune.

"Your colors always change, you never act the same with me. Chameleon. It's like you disappear, there's someone else right here with me. Chameleon. I look into your eyes and I don't recognize the one who's sweet with me when nobody's around. Chameleon." I hummed along to the track as I drove in the dark.

I stared up at the sky absentmindedly, admiring the stars twinkling brightly. I smiled at the satellites which were blinking every few seconds and thought about how I used to think those were what they called 'UFOs' because they were always moving and looked very mysterious amongst the stars. I chuckled at the musings of my younger self and focused back on the road, staring at the black pavement ahead of me.

My phone had been ringing for a few minutes before I decided to pull over to answer it. I smirked at Camila's name appearing on the screen and pressed ignore, not wanting to speak to anybody that reminded me of my past troubles. A few text messages came in succession after I rejected her phone call. They were all about the same thing. 'You need to come back' and 'I'm worried about you' but I disregarded them instantly, clicking delete as soon as I received them.

It has been 2 days since I left Camila in my driveway to try to escape my problems and she hasn't stopped texting me or calling me since I left. I have been absolutely fine on my own and although I don't need supervision or help, she keeps suggesting that I tell her where I am.
I have made it all the way to South Carolina without being caught and shipped back home, but I'm started to get more messages and voicemails, asking me if I'm ok and where I am. I have not replied to a single message for fear of being tracked down, but I know that if my parents are serious about finding me, my phone would give away my location in a second. It's not like I'm trying to get away with abandoning my family, I want to see that they care. So far, I haven't received any indication that my parents are worried about my sudden disappearance. Taylor has called me once and left an angry voicemail, and Chris sent me a strongly worded text message about how immature I am so there's not much evidence that they miss me, but rather think I'm an absolute idiot.

I think they're absolute idiots for oppressing me and treating me like shit for the past year. Maybe I wouldn't feel unappreciated and resentful of my own self if my family was more accepting of the dumbass, party girl phase I went through that I'm still working on getting out of. They've know me my whole life, they should know that's not what I'm really, they should've said something rather than neglect to acknowledge my existence. They shouldn't have treated me like a completely different person they don't even know, they should've treated me like Lauren.

Flashback*

"Mom......Dad?" I called as I walked into the house, curiously looking around in search of my parents. After verifying that they weren't around, I sprinted up the stairs and quietly entered my room, collapsing onto my bed. I didn't want to deal with them as of right now.