Boy Next Door

You Know Where I Live

Camila took a deep breath and picked the test up off of the sink, flipping it over to view the results. Positive. In an instant, she felt all of the air in her lungs escape her and her heart drop into her stomach. The tears that had already been steadily streaming down her cheeks were now coming out in violent sobs as her knees gave out underneath her. She fell down to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest as she buried her head in her lap and cried.

"Are you almost done in there?" A stranger's voice called out as they knocked on the door to the bathroom. Camila attempted to collect herself, standing up and wiping her tears away with a piece of paper towel. She picked up the positive pregnancy test, avoiding looking at it as she hid it in her purse. She then picked up the little pink box that it had been packaged in, looking at it in disgust and disappointment before throwing it in the trash. She checked herself once more in the mirror. Unfortunately, her blotchy cheeks and puffy eyes gave her away instantly. On the bright side, Zachary still wouldn't be home from work for several hours so she still had some time to collect her thoughts and calm herself down. She opened the door to the bathroom and quietly slipped out, offering a whispered "sorry" as she passed by the older woman who had been waiting to get into the bathroom. As she made her way back to the apartment, she couldn't help but feel angry with how this was all playing out. 

She had always wanted to be a mom; ever since she was a little girl she had dreamt about the day she would find out she was pregnant. In her daydreams, it always happened with her husband by her side. They'd be excitedly and impatiently waiting for the test results as they embraced in their bathroom and when they'd see that it was positive he'd pick her up and spin her around as they both cried tears of joy. It was never supposed to be like this. She was never supposed to be this scared or hurt.

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Shawn grabbed his guitar and walked over to the sliding glass door that led out to his balcony. He had been trying to finish the song he had been working on for what felt like forever but was seemingly getting nowhere. Hoping some fresh air would inspire him, he decided to sit on his balcony and mindlessly pluck at the strings of his guitar. His attention was brought down to the parking lot below him when he heard the slamming of a car door. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Camila walking towards the door, though the smile quickly faded when he remembered the last interaction he had with her.

He felt bad, genuinely. He still felt that Zach wasn't treating her as well as a boyfriend should be but he also realized that she was right in saying that he was out of place in voicing his opinions to her. She had a valid point when she pointed out that Shawn had only just met her and Zachary, and he was starting to realize that maybe it was unfair of him to judge their relationship based on the few interactions he had with them. The guilt started to eat away at him until he knew he had to go over and apologize to her, so he walked back inside and put his guitar down before heading over to his neighbor's door. He knocked on the door and anxiously tapped his foot against the floor as he waited for her to greet him. A few seconds later, Camila slowly opened the door. He immediately noticed that it looked like she had been crying but he opted not to bring it up, at least not in that moment. She didn't say anything to greet him, instead she just stared at him blankly until he spoke up.

"Hey, I uh...I just wanted to apologize for what I said the other night. You're right, it's not my place to judge two people and a relationship that I don't really know anything about. I'm really sorry." Camila took a deep breath and gave him an understanding nod. 

"No hard feelings," she said with a sad smile. An awkward silence hung in the air around them for a brief moment. Just as Camila was about to shut the door, Shawn stopped her. 

"Are you...are you okay?" His face was etched with concern. Part of him worried that asking if she was okay would offend her again, but it looked like she had been sobbing and he knew he couldn't walk away with a clear conscience without at least asking if she was okay. Camila sighed and dropped her gaze down to her feet, contemplating how she should answer.

"Honestly...no, not at the moment. But I will be." Shawn swallowed hard at her answer and nodded.

"Well, whatever it is...if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where I live."

"Thanks," Camila sadly sighed.

"I'll, uh...I'll see you around...?"

"Yeah." Shawn took a step backward as Camila slowly retreated back into her apartment and shut the door. She walked over to her purse and pulled out the pregnancy test she had taken earlier in the day. If and when she was going to tell Zachary that she was pregnant, it needed to be handled very carefully and she needed to have a plan. As of right now, she didn't have a plan and Zachary was going to be home in just a few hours. She made the decision that she wasn't going to tell him tonight, so she took the positive test and looked around their apartment for a good place to hide it from him. Eventually she decided to slip the test into the same box in the closet that held all of her old journals and notebooks.

Still feeling the need to calm herself down, Camila decided to head up to the rooftop to get some peace and quiet. She didn't take her notebook. She knew if she tried to write anything she would need to be completely honest with herself and she wasn't in the mindset to face the truth of everything she was feeling right now. So she went up to the roof and laid down, staring up at the bright blue sky as she tried to figure out how she had let herself get to this point. As she laid there lost in her own thoughts, one question kept plaguing her mind: why was she so scared of the man that was supposed to be the person she could trust the most?

A/N: Based on your comments on the last chapter, I already know that you're not going to like the fact that she's pregnant - but I need you to trust me, okay?