Her Body (Camren)

Chapter 11

"What do you mean, our daughter needs a bodyguard?" Michael Jauregui crossed his big arms over his chest, frowning at the woman standing across their living room.

They looked so out of place in the room, one big man with a badass white beard and one short woman with weapons strapped to her thigh. Both equally as intimidating.

"With all due respect sir." The woman replied. "There was a mass shooting and I don't think those men have been caught. I know you can afford it and I suggest that you take the necessary precautions for your daughter's safety." Michael looked at his wife's worried face.

He would never hesitate to provide for whatever would keep his daughter safe. He nodded to Demi.

"What was this Academy you were talking about?" As Demi explained for the third time in the past hour about the institution that provided the best trained bodyguards, Lauren sat in the corner with Camila by her side, her hands trembling.

Camila noticed and reached over to grasp her hand in hers.

"Laur, I'm so sorry-"
"He was shot." Lauren whispered, her green orbs welling up.
"I was going to break up with him for you and he got shot because of you." Camila felt a pang in her chest at her words.

When she put them like that, she couldn't help but feel guilty and responsible. This was all her fault. She should have just stayed home. She should have never pushed coming to school.

This wouldn't have happened.

Lauren sat there numbly clutching Camila's hands in her own. She had no idea about the impact of her words on her friend, she was merely realizing out loud. She never blamed
Camila for what happened, but she had already said the words and they meant differently to Camila.

That was the thing about words. Once they were said, no matter how different you meant or them to be, they could never be unsaid. The choice of words, the choice of how they were placed in semantics are crucial. This particular string of words hit Camila deep in her heart.

Is everything truly going to be my fault?

But she didn't think or dwell on what she just said. Her mind had reverted back to the note she found in her bag. She knew they meant to kill Camila, but why send a note to her about it? What did they mean by "don't wait before the heart in the sink becomes hers?" What do they want from her? She shuddered at the thought of the heart on the sink as Camila's. She would never be able to live with herself if anything happened to her best friend because of herself. She had already lost so much. If she lose Lauren too, she had nothing left.

Meanwhile Lauren's parents were still discussing.

"We can't just hire a bodyguard to follow Lauren around like a puppy. I don't want my daughter deprived of her private life!"
"Clara, this is for her own good. It's not like she'll have one forever. It's just to keep her safe until this all blows over."
"And what if it never does? Are we all just going to live in solitary confinement? And how trustworthy is this Royal Protection Academy anyway? I've never even heard of it! For all we know, they could kidnap Lauren as well and ask for ransom.
"Miss Jauregui, if I may the Academy has been protecting royal families for centuries and are the best at what we do." Demi tried to explain. "But how is it that it's completely unheard of?" Michael was doubtful.

They weren't sure if they could trust this strange-sounding institute with their daughter's life, but they needed to trust someone with it so Camila decided to end it all.

She stood up and cleared her throat, "Excuse me." They all stopped talking to look at her, Demi's eyebrow raised in question at what the princess was about to say. Camila took a deep breath. She trusted her instincts. She trusted her best friend's parents.
"They were after me." Demi's eyes widened and Lauren's parents frowned in slight confusion.