the case study ~ camren

Scarier

Waking up with an awful tingling sensation shooting up and down my arm has become part of my routine. Because it means that I get to wake up with Camila's warmth mingling with my own, however, I've learned to accept it. 

With great caution so as not to wake her, though she's proven herself to be an incredibly deep sleeper once asleep, I slip my arm from under her neck, massaging it as I head downstairs. Sofi, always an early riser, is watching TV when I reach her.

"Ready?" She asks in a whisper. I nod, moving to the bathroom to freshen up and retrieve the pink and silver decorations I managed to smuggle into the apartment and stow away in my closet over the past few weeks. I dump them on the sofa, and we get to work.

...

When Camila awakes, I expect her to stumble down the stairs, rubbing at her eyes and yawning, maybe greeting me with a hug and kiss before I hand her the breakfast we prepared. Instead, we wait and wait and wait until I realise I'm going to have to wake her up if she wants to see her sister before Sofi has to leave. I get up from the sofa and turn to go do so, only to find her standing on the balcony above us.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," I call with a smile, though it quickly fades when I notice the deep frown etched into her face. "Camila?" She doesn't so much as turn her head in my direction when I speak, so I hurry towards the stairs, taking them two at a time to reach her. "Camz, are you okay?"

Her knuckles are bone white at the strength with which she clutches the bannister. Again, she doesn't respond, so I lay my hand upon hers, flinching when her head snaps around to glare at the contact.

"Don't touch me," she snarls, and I rip my hand away.

"What? I-"

"Happy birthday, Kaki!" Sofi grins from downstairs, taking Camila's attention from me once more. The older girl only stares at her for a moment, sniffing, before she whips back around to look at me. The darkness is back, only this time, there are no handcuffs to prevent her from doing whatever her mind decides it wants to do.

"She's supposed to be in school." Her voice is as monotonous as her expression, and I sigh.

"I know but she wanted to stay home to celebrate since, you know, it's your birthday. I said she could have the morning off and go in at lunchtime. I- Happy birthday, by the way." 

She scoffs, pushing past me to make her way downstairs, though I follow close behind. 

"Camila, wait, did I upset you? What happened? Talk to me--"

She stops in her tracks and I crash into her, sending us both stumbling forward. She catches me, however, with a hand on my chest, dangerously close to cupping my neck. We freeze, her eyes tracing her hand while I try to pretend that I can't feel it slowly crawling upwards.

"Hey, Sofi, do you want to go get your present for Camila?" I ask, turning to meet the girl's slightly widened eyes. She's standing beside the sofa, evidently unsure of what to do, and I figure it might be best if she doesn't see Camila in this state. By the looks of it, she's not too familiar with it. She nods, so I add, "It's up in my room, in one of the drawers beside my bed."

She scurries from the room and I'm pulled back around to face Camila by her hand flying up to grasp my jaw. She holds me with such force, I know there'll at least be red marks when she lets me go. My pulse hammers in my chest as she stares me down, slowly lifting my head until my neck begins to ache.

"Camila," I croak, reaching up to try to pull her hand away. I don't have much of an effect; she continues to glare at my throat with terrifyingly vacant eyes. Something prompts her to let go, though, and she allows my head to drop back down. I take deep gulps of air--she hadn't strangled me, but the strained position of my neck had made it harder to breath--and watch as her gaze flits over my lips. "What's wrong? Talk to me, baby," I try once more.

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. "It's my birthday," she states, "They'll be here to train me."

"Camz," I sigh in sympathy, reaching out to hold her arms gently, "No, baby, they're gone."

Her brows tent, her lips part, and she seems to want to say something more but a knock at the door startles us both. Her breathing picks up as she spins in a split second to watch the door as if it might fall. For just a moment, her fear sparks mine. Then, I remember what I had planned. I slip from behind her to reach the door. Noticing how she shifts closer to the knife block on the kitchen counter, I make sure to block the door with my body as I open it.

"Delivery for Jauregui," The man on the other side announces, giving my jaw an odd look before putting on a polite grin as if hoping I didn't notice.

"Yup, that's me." I smile, reaching out for the bags labelled boldy with the logo of Versailles Restaurant. "I should have paid online."

He nods in affirmation, handing me the last of the bags before waving me goodbye and heading back down the hall towards the elevators. I step back and kick the door shut, turning to find Camila tossing our largest knife onto the counter, huffing loudly.

"Why'd you open the door?" she almost yells, crossing her arms over her chest.

My brows furrow and I raise the bags on my arms. "It was a delivery guy, it's fine."

She rolls her eyes and buries a hand in her hair. "It could have been anyone. You didn't even check, and you didn't have any defence and, and they could've hurt you, Lo. It's only a matter of time before La Familia find me and when they do, they're going to want me dead. Just 'cause Ortiz got out of it doesn't mean I will. Hell, I'll be surprised if witness protection did shit for him, I- not to mention Hartley who'll definitely blame me for everything and I know she's got a gun and- do I really have to teach you the basic fundamentals of how to be fucking safe?"

"Woah, woah, calm down." I place the bags on the counter, glancing over at Sofi who has paused halfway down the stairs, small white box in hand. "We're safe here, Camila. Nothing's going to happen." She looks down and to the side and grumbles something under her breath as I make my way towards her, gently wrapping her in a hug. "I do appreciate your concern for my safety, but it's unwarranted. We're okay."

Her head drops to my chest and she sighs. I try to ignore the way her warm breath travels down my shirt, but I feel the tips of my ears heat up ever so slightly. In a meek voice, she admits, "I'm sorry, it's just... birthdays are scary."

I press my lips against her hair and squeeze her closer, relaxing a little when I feel her arms snake their way around my middle. "Not anymore, okay?" I whisper, "Today I want to make you feel safe, and special, like you deserve. I have the day off and I've got loads of surprises planned, so it's going to be a good day."

She tenses, holding me tighter. "Surprises are even scarier."

I chuckle, leaning back and lifting her chin until she's looking up at me through her lashes. Once again, I'm struck by the artistry of whoever sculpted her features. "I promise you'll like these ones."

She leans up to kiss me softly before lowering her head down to my shoulder. I smile sympathetically, once again looking over to Sofi, still frozen, and nodding to let her know that we're okay. She smiles, walking over to the kitchen island with a bounce in her step.

"Mila, I have something for you," she announces. 

Camila gives herself a moment before peeling herself from me, wearing a smile that I truly can't tell if its a fraud or not. She sits herself down beside Sofi and opens the gift, laughing with her sister over a joke I didn't hear. Over time, the smile seems to grow more and more genuine and contagious, and I find myself smiling too, even as my mind reels with the morning's events thus far.

Turning on my heels, I slip the knife back into its holder, wincing at the thought of the damage it could have down to that poor delivery man, and set to work on pulling our breakfast from the bags he handed me.

-

Thoughts thoughts thoughts? What do we think some of the surprises are going to be? 👀

I really want to submit this story to the Watty's because I'm super proud of it, but unless the next chapter is, like, 10 thousand words, I don't think I'll be able to. I'm currently at about 41,000 words and I need to be at a minimum of 50,000 to submit. I'm debating going back in and adding more to and/or between the previous chapters, but I'm unsure of that, too... what do you guys think?