Chapter 19: Delayed After Effect

Lauren heard the door open, then shut close. Her once tired body felt a surge of energy when she heard the sound she has been waiting for the last four hours. As if having a mind of it's own, her body shot up and her legs dashed off to the front door.

There she saw Camila who had a light smile on her face. Although it erupted butterflies in Lauren's stomach, her mind was too cluttered and anxious to notice the feeling.

"Where have you been?!" she shouted at Camila, gripping her by her shoulders. Camila's eyes widened at the sudden movement and she looked at the anxious green orbs in front of her.

"I just went out for coffee with.. a friend."

Lauren felt her blood boil and her mind go rampant at the sentence. She furrowed her brows and her green orbs darkened.

"Which friend?" she spat. She doesn't know why she was like this. Was it because she has been petrified when she didn't find Camila when she went home? Or was it just her protective side?

"He's just a friend Lo. Calm down." Lauren's eyes opened when she heard the first word.

"He?! Who is he?!" she asked sarcastically, with a lot of venom in her words. Camila was taken aback by the venomous nature of the once caring and loving girl in front of her. But she felt the need to defend herself.

"Lauren you're being abnoxious. Stop!" Camila screamed. Lauren's grip tightened on her arm, which stirred a familiar feeling in Camila.

"Lauren, please! You're hurting me!" she screamed. Lauren's raging orbs slowly began to shrink. Her once fuming green eyes were slowly diverting back to the soft emerald ones. Her grip loosened and her arms fell on her side. She looked up to see a teary-eyed Camila who was slowly backing away from her. She mentally slapped herself.

"Shit. I'm sorry Camz. I didn't mean to-"

"Just.. stay away. For a bit, okay?" Camila whimpered. Lauren felt her heart shatter as she watched Camila's figure retreating to the bedrooms. She balled her fists and felt hot tears streaming down her eyes.

"Fuck!" she hissed to herself. She went to a nearby wall and leaned on it. She tightened her jaw and slammed her fist on the wall. She felt a stinging sensation climb up her arm and she mentally cursed herself for not remembering that the walls were cement.

She pushed herself off the wall and trudged her way to the kitchen and sat on one of the stools. Her hand grasped her head as she mentally cursed herself for doing it. Again.

Camila locked herself inside their bedroom. She rolled herself into a ball and held herself on the bed. This change of attitude in Lauren has been going on for almost two weeks now.

At first, Lauren would be hesitant in letting Camila go alone to school. The girl often offers to drive her to school, even though she's tired or busy. She somehow finds a way to do it. A few days later, she wasn't allowed to go out with the guys or girls after school. Lauren made sure of this because she always waits at the university exit, to make sure that Camila comes home. Another few days later, Camila wasn't allowed to go out on her free day. Lauren kept her locked up in the flat. At first, Camila was kind of okay with it but as time went by she got frustrated. She was either alone or bored at home.

So she decided to sneak out.

And now look where it led her. She's now crying in her room, curled up in a fetal position. Lauren has hurt her a few times, yes, but today was by far the scariest it has been. She has never seen Lauren so angry, enraged, infuriated. And it scared her. She's scared the Lauren she once knew and loved could be gone and replaced by.. that girl earlier.

Meanwhile, Lauren wiped the tears off her eyes and stood up. It's been an hour, a long ass hour. And that gave her lots of time to think.

Maybe she really has been too overbearing. Maybe she was too protective. Maybe she was too careful. Maybe she was too scared.. Too scared to lose the person she loves.

But is there a threat? No. Then why is she acting like this? She doesn't know either. But she knows that this needed to stop. She needed to stop.

She composed herself and slowly began to make her way to their bedroom. Her hands slowly reached for the door knob, but the door opened. There she saw Camila with bloodshot eyes and evident tear stains on her cheek. Her mascara was all over the place due to the stream of tears.

Lauren felt bad for what she did earlier, for what she did for the past few days. She couldn't imagine how Camila would've handled it. She could've just made the situation worse. But now she's determined to change it, she's determined to make things right.

To make things the way they used to be.

She was brought out of her thoughts when a small voice called her name.

"Lauren move out of the way." Camila said, trying her best to sound hard but she sounds as broken as she is. Lauren didn't budge from her spot, she just looked at the girl in front of her.

"Camz, can we please talk?" She asked. She wanted to reach out and touch the younger girl but she's afraid she'll hurt her again.

Camila looked at her with an unreadable expression. She swears she saw the surface of her eyes glisten, tears starting to form.

"No." Camila said sternly. "I don't want to." She forced her way through the girl, but she just wasn't too strong.

"Move!" Camila commanded. Lauren just stood there, stiff as a statue. Camila glared daggers at her. She almost had a heart attack when she felt two pale arms wrap round her and a warm body pull her close.

"I'm sorry Camz. I'm so.. Sooo.. Sorry." Lauren sobbed on Camila's chest. Camila's anger and rage slowly dissipated. Try as she might, she couldn't maintain her angry demeanor. It all went to dust just a few seconds after Lauren's arms wrapped around her, her warm body pressing against hers.

"Let me go." She tried to sound as hard as possible, but her vocal chords wouldn't cooperate. She sounded broken, inside and outside.

This just made Lauren hold her tighter than before. She didn't wanna let Camila go, metaphorically and literally speaking.

All ways of letting the love of her life go, she just couldn't take. So she just held her as tight as she could and tried to cherish the moment.

Camila somehow wiggled herself free from Lauren's grip and slipped out into the hallway. Camila was running away from her, but Lauren called out her name.

"Camz!" Lauren cried, desperate. Camila stopped in her tracks and hesitated on turning around. She slowly looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with the sad, broken emerald ones.

"I'm so sorry." Lauren said before tears freely flowed out of her eyes. The girl was slowly breaking down in front of her. The vibrant green eyes weren't there anymore. All she could see was a broken fragment. A broken piece. A broken person.

And it pained her more than she thought it would.

Who knew she would be in this situation, where she had the liking to leave the one and only person she truly loved?

She never knew they would bump into another shitty situation. At least, not as intense as this is.

She wanted to leave; to have some time alone to recover. But as she saw the broken person in front of her, it held her back.. so much. She wanted to comfort her, be there for her. She wanted to fix the broken pieces, but she doesn't know if she can. They've been through this before, but why does the second time hurt more than the first?

She looked back to the green open space in front of her. This was her ticket to at least a temporary freedom. But she looked back over her shoulder and saw the girl who loved her with all her might, all her heart. She saw the girl who held her through tough times, the girl who went through a see of problems with her. And it made her think..

Would she allow this little bump in the road to tear them apart? 

Lauren has always been there for her when she was going through so much. It should be her turn to return the favor.. right?

And now she was looking at two branches from the main road..

Should she leave.. or should she stay?

..

..

Nothing has ever been this tough for her. And to say that she was torn was an understatement.