Chapter Text
Camila
“Are you sure you don’t want me to tag along?” Matthew asked once more as Camila doubled back to the kitchen.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Camila said as she got water out of the refrigerator. “And I haven’t been trying to get your attention with all these walking back and forth. I really just forgot.”
“For the third time?” Matthew grinned at his girlfriend. “I mean, I can get away for a few hours.” He said as he started to get up.
“No,” Camila laughed as she gently pushed him back to the couch. “You work, I run.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Camila leaned down and gave Matthew a quick kiss. “And this way, I’m not going to feel pressured to end my run quickly. See you later?”
“I’ll be here,” Matthew answered as he settled down and went back to typing on his laptop. Immediately engrossed on creating his new article, he didn’t even hear the door closed.
Camila turned on her playlist as she walked to her car. She was excited about this new place. She heard from a few friends that the jogging path although has been there forever was still relatively unknown. No one will see her sweating buckets and panting uncontrollably after running only a few miles. No one will see her even if she slips on the ground. It was going to be perfect.
Lauren
“Come on, it’s going to be fun babe,” Lauren said as she tried to pull Ty away from his recliner.
“You know I’m not too much into this running thing,” Ty smiled indulgently. “Take Mario with you, he likes to run.”
“I don’t want Mario, I want you,” Lauren whined as she sat on Ty’s lap and played with his ears.
“I know,” Ty said as he grabbed Lauren’s hands and kissed them. “I’ll make it up to you later, I promise. We can even go to that the vegan place you like so much.”
“Really?” Lauren asked as a smile slowly emerged from her pouting face.
“Yes, so hurry up with your running and get back here before I change my mind.” Ty said in a teasing tone.
“I’ll get here when I get here,” Lauren said as she stood up. “I need to lose a few pounds so that I’ll have room for a big dinner later.” She then gave Ty a flying kiss from the door. “See you later, babe”
“Take Mario!”
“Nah,” Lauren shook her head. “I’m going to be fine. Only a few people know about this jogging path.”
“What?” Ty stood up, a little bit alarmed.
“It’s perfectly safe. Lots of celebrities go there and not one paparazzi… yet.”
“Okay,” Ty sat back down. “Have fun.”
Camila
Oh God, I’m going to die. Camila repeated the phrase over and over again in her mind as she forced herself to run. She may have bitten more that she can chew this time. She should have turned around an hour ago but no, she had to prove to herself that she can do this 5 miles uphill. So she ignored all the warning signs from her body and continued running. And now her heart was beating a million times per minute, her thighs were burning, her legs felt like jelly and she was just ready to fall down on the rocky ground and never get back up.
She looked down at her watch and saw that she still has two miles to go uphill. And that’s when it happened. That split second she took to look at her watch was enough for her foot to get caught in a vine, twist her ankle, and lead her face down to the ground.
All movement she made resulted in a burst of pain. Her foot was trapped in the vine. She called out a few times but there was no one. She tried her phone and there was no signal.
It has only been ten minutes but it felt like hours to Camila. “It’s been a good life,” she muttered as she lay face down on the ground, unmoving.
“Oh my God, are you okay?”
Camila lifted her head towards the voice. Thankful that someone found her before she died and rotted away. That’s when brown eyes met green. She then watched as the look of concern turned into recognition and then shock and then hysterical laughter.
“What are you doing down there?”
“Studying the social behavior of ants.” Camila deadpanned. “What do you think? I slipped.” Camila added her voice rising.
“Then get up.”
“I would if I could. I think I twisted my ankle.”
“That sucks,” Lauren said as she walked over to where Camila was lying down. She bent down to look at Camila’s ankle. “The right one is definitely swollen.”
“Thanks Dr. Jauregui. How about giving me a hand instead of a diagnosis.”
“I don’t know.” Lauren said apprehensively as she stepped back. “It might not be a good idea to move you.”
“I don’t think, me lying here on the ground is a better option. And it’s getting cold. I don’t want to stay here any longer,” Camila said as she looked up at her old friend. “Help me, Lauren.”
“Why don’t you call your boyfriend? Or whomever you went here with.” Lauren said, not moving from her spot.
“I came here alone and you probably haven’t noticed, but the signal here is pretty weak. That’s probably the reason there’s not a lot of people here.”
Lauren took out her phone and hummed and hawed as she moved her phone around.
“Lauren…”
“I’ll just call for help. I’ll be right back.” Lauren said as she pocketed her phone.
“It’s three miles back down. That will take you 30 minutes tops and then another 30-40 minutes for someone to get here. That’s an hour minimum. Don’t leave me, please.”
Lauren sighed as she stepped towards Camila. She moved the vine around until she freed Camila’s foot. She then put her arms around Camila and helped her stood up without putting weight on her right foot. It took them about a couple of minutes to just get Camila to stand up.
“Now what?” Lauren asked as she felt Camila leaning heavily towards her.
“Go down… very slowly?” Camila answered sheepishly.
“I do have dinner plans, you know,” Lauren said as she placed her arms firmly on Camila’s waist and took one step slowly.
“Well, if it make you feel any better, so do I.”
“Not really. Ty finally agreed to join me in my favorite vegan restaurant. And that offer won’t last long.”
“You’re not really going to leave an old lo... fri... bandmate here all alone, right?” Camila’s voice rising again but now in worry.
“So that’s what we are, huh? Just old bandmates?”