POV Lauren Jauregui 

When I calmed down, I called Dinah again and wrote down the hospital's address. I put on the first outfit I found and drove to the location. I was refusing at all costs to believe that what happened to me while I was with Sté was something more than a coincidence. But coincidence or not, it doesn't matter, what matters now is only Camila's state. I parked near the hospital and headed towards the reception.

-I'd like to know in which room is Ms. Camila Cabello. – the young woman who was looking at me with a bored expression, started typing something on her system. My hand involuntarily squeezed my phone, I was clearly impatient.

-I'm sorry, but there's no Camila Cabello here in this hospital – the woman looked at me, chewing a gum. I was about to kill her, choking her with it.

-Look again. – I said without a shred of patience.

She went back to search and looked at me cynically. The sound of the computer keyboard along with the gum that the chubby woman was chewing, was irritating me more and more.

-Like I said, there's no Camila Cabello here.

I slammed my free hand on the counter and laughed humorlessly. In an abrupt act, I turned the computer screen towards me.

-Here, for the love of God, it's Cabello with two L's. TWO! – I made a two with my fingers for her to see. If I had correctly pronounced Camila's name then I'd never find her here.

-You seem a little nervous, Lauren. – that familiar voice made my body shudder. I turned slowly, coming across Rob, he had a victorious smile on his lips – In fact, I always find you like this.

-I'm not in a good mood today, I just want to know how's Camila. Where is she?

-You shouldn't be here.

-Please, I want to see her. – I gathered all the calmness I had.

I swear I didn't know why, but I needed to know if the brunette was alright.

-You don't want anything, Lauren. – Rob inched closer – Do you really think that you can invade my life like this? Try to steal my job? My wife?

-I didn't steal anything from you, you are the one who's taking everything from me. – I closed my hands into fists – But Camila... – I took a deep breath and laughed sarcastically – Camila will never be yours, and you know why? – he remained silent – Because you don't deserve her and she'll realize that.

-That's what we'll see. – he said through gritted teeth.

-I've already lost too much time with you, tell me where she is.

-I will not tell you. – he said crossing his arms.

-Room 45, Miss. – the voice of the woman at the counter sounded like music to my ears, and I didn't even bother to turn and thank her, just smiled at Rob who huffed angrily.

In long strides I arrived to my destination, finding Dinah crouched with her hands buried in her hair. I approached her and kneeled in front of her.

-Dinah. – my voice came out as a whisper.

In the same instant, she looked up at me, her eyes were completely red and wet. I grabbed her hand and stood up, pulling her with me.

-I should've gone with her, Lauren. – Dinah hugged me, catching me completely by surprise. Gradually my body relaxed and I automatically hugged her back.

-Shhh, calm down, everything will be alright. – I whispered in her ear.

Dinah sniffed, pulling away from me. With the back of her hands, she wiped her eyes.

-Please tell me how is she. – I asked before my heart exploded.

This feeling of wanting to protect Camila was so strange. But this anxiety of wanting to see her was even more unknown to me.

-She's undergoing a medical procedure, we don't know if the bullet punctured any organ. – Dinah sighed, letting a few tears escape – She lost a lot of blood.

I didn't know what to feel. It was a mixture of helplessness with concern. My body was shaking and my heart was strangely tight.

-Lolo! – I felt a body collide against mine, it was Sofi – I'm sorry for calling you like that, it's just... I... – the little girl couldn't complete the sentence, her gaze was lost and confused, which made my heart hurt even more. I wasn't there just for Camila, but also for Sofi. The girl sounded so sad and scared on the phone.

-I told her that what she did was wrong. – Dinah said with a firm voice.

I crouched down and looked at Sofi, who also had her eyes reddish and wet.

-Hey, it's okay, you can call me anytime. You know that, don't you? – she nodded embarrassed.

-Is Kaki gonna be okay? – she asked full of concern.

-We don't know yet, Sofi, but I promise you that nothing bad will happen to her. – I flashed her a smile with the intention of comforting her, and she reciprocated with a weak one.

-They said that it was a very bad man who did this to her. – her eyes watered and she hugged me.

-Unfortunately there are a lot of bad people out there, Sofi. – I stroked her back as she sniffled. We stayed like that for a while until she slowly calmed down.

-Do you want to meet my parents? – Sofi asked, pulling away from my arms.

-Oh yeah, the witch is here. – Dinah muttered, reminding us of her presence.

-Dinah! – I scolded her and Sofi frowned – I'd love to, Sofi. – Sofi pulled me by the hand.

For the first time I would meet the parents of one of my "affairs". Camila and I are an affair, right? Right. The funny thing about all this is that Camila knows more about my family life than anyone, except for Mani, and I don't know anything about hers. I don't know if her parents are married or divorced, if they are nice to her and Sofi, I don't even know their names. Perhaps because she's just an affair? I had barely noticed, but I was already in the waiting room where there were some people gathered. Vero, some police officers that I didn't know and possibly Camila's parents.

-Mom. Dad. – the girl caught their attention – This is Lauren, she's a friend of Kaki's.

-Nice to meet you, ma'am. – I said holding out my hand to the woman who reciprocated the act, and so did her husband as well.

-Lauren's the one who has a huge Island where Kaki took me.

-Oh, really? Sofi doesn't stop talking about how beautiful the Island is. – I smiled awkwardly.

-You'll take me there again, won't you, Lauren?

-Sofi! – the woman said seething and I laughed.

-Of course, as soon as Camila gets better.

-Over my dead body! – I heard Rob's deep voice.

-You don't have a say in anything. – Sofi said angrily.

-That's where you're wrong, kiddo. – Rob brought his hand to Sofia's hair, ruffling it, leaving the little one even more angry.

Sinu held her and scolded her, while Rob glared at me without blinking.

-Camila is my future wife and well, Lauren knows that very well. – he stroked Sofi's hair again and my blood boiled.

-Don't. Touch. Her. – I said slowly through gritted teeth. Rob took a step forward, challenging me, and I took another step forward, putting Sofi behind me.

-Can you two stop? I'm already nervous enough. – Sinu's choked voice made itself present, drawing our attention.

Rob and I kept our stands, glaring at each other. A dispute of egos.

-Lauren. – Vero came towards us and put her hands on Rob's chest, pushing him away from me – Let's go for a walk.

Without breaking eye contact with Rob, I walked past him, being guided by Vero.

-Relax, Vero. I will not punch his head against the wall until it bleeds. – I said letting out a nasal laugh.

Veronica stopped to look at me, arching her eyebrows. She had no sense of humor.

-What? I'm serious. Well, on a second thought, it wouldn't be a bad idea...

-Lauren! – Veronica scolded me, making me laugh. I approached her and pulled her towards the cafeteria that was there in the hospital.

-Relax, okay? I need you to tell me what happened to Camila. – she just nodded and followed me.

-----

A few minutes later, the day was already clearing and Veronica told me everything she knew about the operation. Even though she wasn't there, she knew everything, and I must say that Camila is not a simple Deputy, she really helped the people who live in the Haiti area. That place is a very dangerous one, well, it was very dangerous.

-So, the name of the guy who did that to Camila is Brow? – I asked with my hand balled into a fist under the table. Veronica brought her cup of coffee up to her mouth, taking a small sip, to then put it back in the saucer.

-Yes... Well, his name is Cezar, but he's known as Brow.

Brow... So that's the "name" of the son of a bitch who shot my Camila.

"My Camila"... Mine? Why had I thought that way?

-Laur... – Veronica's hand shook my shoulder – Dammit, Lauren, did you hear what I said?

-Uh? Sorry, Vero...

-Lauren, I'm serious, don't even think about doing anything to Brow. – I looked at her, raising my eyebrows.

-I won't do anything, Vero. I already told you that. Relax. – I rolled my eyes, grabbing my cup of tea and taking a small sip – Fuck, they don't sell Whiskey here?

-I will not relax, Lauren. Lately you've been very close to Camila, and I know that you two have become great friends, but can't you see how weird it is? You can't simply want to solve your problems by killing people. – Vero said seriously and whispering.

-Why don't you believe me? If I go back to do what I used to do, I won't be putting only myself at risk, but you and Camila as well. – I huffed and got up, but Veronica's hand circled my wrist, preventing me from leaving. I looked at her hand and then at her face.

-I'm sorry, Lauren... I... It's just a lot to handle.

-It's okay. – I sat down again and held her hand, and we stayed in silence for a while.

-I'm going to the bathroom. – Vero said and left towards the WC at the end of the corridor.

I got up and went to get another coffee at the counter when I saw Rob with his back turned, talking on the phone. I approached to listen to the conversation.

-I know, I should've gone today, but there was no way for me to. Camila is in the hospital. – he seemed impatient.

-You have to be more understanding, it's not easy for me too.

He could only be talking to Taylor. They are both disgusting.

-I promise that tomorrow we'll see each other. I know that I have to make it up to you.

When I was going to get closer, I saw Vero coming back. And almost sprinting, I went back to the table and waited for her.

-We better go back. I think they are going to give us some news.

I just nodded my head and followed Veronica to the waiting room, where everyone was. Rob was right behind us.

-Normani called me, she said that she couldn't reach you. – Dinah said to Vero when she approached us – She's on her way here.

-Oh, okay, then I'm going to wait for her at the entrance. – we nodded and Vero disappeared from our line of sight.

A tall and thin man, already in his forties, approached Sinu. He was wearing a white coat, probably the doctor. My heart lurched. Dinah and I looked at each other and hurried closer to the man.

-Well, we removed the bullet that was lodged, thankfully it didn't cause much damage. Even though she was wearing her bulletproof vest, due to the very close distance she was shot and because her vest was too wet, it lost some of its durability. – he made a pause and looked at the chart. My hands were sweating and I believe that everyone in that room was like me.

-She lost a lot of blood and... – he made another pause – Camila suffered a very strong blow to the head, a head injury, she's in a coma. – he continued to speak, but I wasn't listening to him anymore, the ground opened at my feet, my legs buckled and I felt that I was going to collapse right there. I heard some people crying, but not me, I had no reaction.

-Will she pull through? – I heard one of the cops ask, and I turned my attention to the doctor.

-There's nothing that can be done regarding the coma. Every person reacts differently. It all depends on Camila. – he was straightforward.

So Camila could stay like that forever?

-She can't have visitors today, only one person can stay with her.

After that the man left and we all just stood there without knowing what to do.

Normani arrived with Vero and Dinah told them about Camila's state. I heard Normani crying, but I didn't have the courage nor the strength to get up and comfort her. I just didn't know what to do.

-It's already morning and we all have work, unfortunately we can't stay. – Dinah said as she got up – So, Mrs. Cabello, are you going to stay? Because I can if you want. – the woman tried to protest, but her husband spoke first.

-It's better, there's nothing to do, we are going home, Sofi can't stay in this environment, or she can get sick. – the man said.

The woman was still thoughtful.

-Dinah, without Camila at the precinct, you are the most suitable to lead the patrols. You know that, you can't stay. – Vero said – What about you, Rob?

-I'll stay. – I finally spoke – What? Don't look at me like that, I want to stay, I'm on vacation. I'll stay here as long as necessary.

-You will not stay. – Rob said as he approached.

-Oh really? And why won't she stay? Are you going to? – Dinah asked.

-I'm a very important man now, I'm the director of a very prestigious company, so unfortunately I can't, but I'll come to see her as soon as I can.

-Then you keep your mouth shut. Lauren stays.

I got up and approached Mrs. Cabello.

-Would you mind if I stay?

-Honey, I don't mind. Thank you. I promise to come as quickly as possible. – she smiled and I nodded.

Gradually everybody left. The sun was already bright outside, when finally I was alone in that cold environment. I called a nurse so that she could guide me to Camila's room.

The nurse just gave me some recommendations and gave me some numbers for me to call in case I needed. The service in that hospital was impeccable and I felt good knowing that Camila was safe and being taken care of there. At last I opened the door, Camila was pale, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. I approached her and stroked her soft hair. My heart felt like it was going to explode. Carefully and following the nurse's recommendations so that nothing would go wrong, I allowed myself to bend down and kiss her forehead.

-Camz? – I called in vain and felt my eyes water.

-Camz? – I called again in vain.

-I know that you can hear me, I know that you can. – I stroked her hair again – I'll be here for you.