yellow ➸ camren

eleven

Once all the girls sat down, Lauren took it upon herself to talk first, knowing they needed to hear what she had found out as soon as possible.

"I did some... research, today," Lauren said cautiously. The other two roommates looked at her in confusion and Lauren sighed. She dug around in her backpack until she found the articles she'd printed out before she left.

"We wanted an explanation..." she said softly, passing the papers over to the girls. Both of them gasped as soon as they saw the picture of the overturned car.

"Camila was in there?" Normani asked in shock. Lauren nodded and scooted closer to them on the couch.

"Yep," she pointed to the passenger side of the car. "Right there. See that section? That's the part they had to saw off to get her out." She saw the other girls shudder at the thought, just as she had done.

"I knew that Scott guy was an idiot," Dinah mumbled under her breath. Her grip on the papers had become so tight that Lauren had to reach over and pry her fingers away. "How could he just leave her there?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Lauren sighed. Normani turned the paper over and continued reading, her jaw dropping open.

"Traumatic brain injury?" The dark skinned girl tilted her head to the side.

"What's that even mean?" Dinah added, raising her eyebrows in shock.

Lauren had already done her research, and she handed them another paper she'd printed out that afternoon. Both girls read over the paper and Dinah shook her head.

"This isn't English, Laur, how am I supposed to know what a 'Diffuse Axonal' is?" Dinah scoffed. Normani shook her head, shooting Lauren an apologetic look.

"That's the specific type, I think," Lauren pointed to the bolded words on the page. "I don't really know much either... it's confusing." Both girls nodded in agreement.

Sighing, Lauren slumped back in her chair. "What did you guys have to tell me?" she asked, remembering what her roommates had mentioned earlier.

Dinah and Normani exchanged glances. They both had just seen how much work Lauren had put into trying to figure out what was going on with Camila. It seemed rude of them to say anything now. Silently, they agreed to keep their mouths shut for the time being.

"Nothing," Dinah shook her head. "Camila's in your room, by the way. She was... she cried for a long time after you left," the Polynesian answered honestly. Lauren bit her lip and stood up.

"Take those bags with you," Normani added, pointing to the shopping bags in the kitchen. "Those are all Camila's."

Nodding, Lauren grabbed the shopping bags and glanced in them. "Can you guys fill Ally in when she gets back?" Lauren asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't want to have to explain everything for the third time that day. Both girls nodded and Lauren sent them a thankful smile.

Ascending the stairs, Lauren began to wonder just how Camila had gotten there. How had she managed to get on a plane and wander here on her own? What was the glass in her shoes from? And the bruises?

Sighing, Lauren opened her bedroom door slowly. Camila was asleep on her bed, and the older girl decided against waking her. She set the bags on the floor by her closet and crossed her arms, wondering where she should put the clothes.

She realized just how much effort she was putting into accommodating Camila when she began moving the clothes in her closet around to make room for Camila's things. This was a new feeling for her, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.