CHAPTER 12: CAMILA

CHAPTER 12: CAMILA
"Allison." I hear my mother's voice calling me.

"Just a little longer, Mom," I respond, as I couldn't sleep for most of the night.

"Mama?" I hear Harry's voice, and I open my eyes wide and see Harry standing at the bedroom door, looking at me with a furrowed brow. "I'm not your mom, I'm not even a woman."

I close my eyes tightly, and I hear footsteps approaching me. I open my eyes again and see Harry's legs inches away from my face. I look up and meet his eyes, curious.

"Let's go for a run," he says, moving backward and then walking towards the windows. "This room has the best view, come see."

Harry opens the windows, and I close my eyes as the sunlight pours in, illuminating the room.

"Harry, I know it's your house, but I would like some privacy," I say. Harry turns to look at me and approaches.

"You mean you don't want me to enter your room?" he asks, and I make a face.

"No, just... Could you knock before entering? What if I were naked?" Harry blushes, and I clear my throat. "What I mean is..."

"Yeah, I got it. Anyway, will you go running with me?" Harry interrupts, his tone becoming more serious.

"Yes, just... Could you wait outside? I need to change." Harry nods and immediately leaves the room.

Ugh, why did I call him "mom"? No, more importantly, why does he enter a woman's room without warning? And why did he invite me to run? Does that mean I look fat?

I quickly get up and look at myself in a huge mirror in the corner of the room.

"I'm not fat," I say as I analyze every part of my body. "Ugh, I'll go change."

I walk around looking for my suitcases, but I can't find any. I start searching the room for my clothes and find them neatly arranged in a large walk-in closet.

I choose a comfortable purple sportswear outfit, enter the bathroom, wash my face, put on the outfit, and tie my hair into a high ponytail.

I leave the room and come face to face with Harry.

"Shall we go?" he asks, looking at me seriously.

"Yes," I say, nodding my head. Harry starts walking towards the stairs, and I follow behind him.

We've been running for over half an hour, and I can't go on anymore. My stomach demands food, and Harry keeps running.

I stop and hold my abdomen. Harry doesn't even realize I'm no longer with him. I watch him go further away and decide to find a place to sit.

I sit on a bench and start feeling dizzy.

"Are you okay?" I hear Harry's voice, and I open my eyes to see him.

"I'm a little dizzy," I say. Harry looks at me and hands me a water bottle.

"Take some, it's hot out, and we haven't had breakfast. Do you want to have breakfast somewhere nearby or have it at the apartment?"

"Let's go somewhere nearby," I reply, and Harry nods, getting up.

We arrive at a café a couple of blocks away from where we were. As we enter, the first thing I see is Camila laughing with other women who seem to be her friends.

"Harry, Allison!" I hear Camila's voice calling us, and I immediately look at Harry, who greets her with a wave of his hand.

Camila walks towards us, greeting Harry first and then me.

"I'm so glad to see you both, you look so... in love," she says,

forcing a smile. "How are you, Ali?"

"I-I'm fine," I reply, stuttering and confused.

"Well, I guess you must be very tired after 'The Night'," she says, making a gesture with her hands.

"Yes, very tired, that's why we're leaving," Harry replies, and I look at him curiously.

"But we can have breakfast with Camila, right, love?" I suggest, and Harry becomes even more serious than before. I actually would like to know what happened between these two, maybe I can learn more about Harry, and Camila might be able to help me.

"Sure, my love," Harry replies through gritted teeth.

"Perfect! Just give me a minute." Camila reacts with excitement and then walks toward her friends' table.

"Why do you want to stay?" Harry asks me in a low voice.

"Because I'm hungry," I reply before turning around and looking for a table to sit at.

After a few minutes, Camila arrives and sits next to Harry. The way she looks at him is that of a person in love, but Harry doesn't even glance at her.

"How long have you known each other?" I ask both of them, but apparently, only Camila is interested in answering.

"Since we were kids. Our parents have been friends since university, so there hasn't been a stage in my life when Harry wasn't around."

"Wow, that's great. But you two were also a couple, right?" I ask, and Harry immediately raises his head.

"No," Harry replies, making Camila's smile disappear.

"Harry, don't be a liar," Camila forces another smile and lightly punches Harry's shoulder.

"We've always been like siblings," Harry argues, referring to his previous answer.

"Harry has always liked to joke," Camila justifies Harry's comment. "Tell me how you met and fell in love."

I look at Harry, and he only looks somewhere other than Camila or me.

"Yeah, well, I'll tell you when I come back from the bathroom," I say as I get up from the table and walk around a wall that separates our table from others.

"I missed you so much, my love," I hear Camila's voice, and I decide to stay leaning against the wall to listen.

"Camila, enough, please."

"What's enough? I love you, Harry, and I know you feel the same way about me."

"Camila, what we had was just..."

"A one-night stand? A mistake of drunk teenagers? Is that what you're going to say?"

"Camila..."

"No, Harry, I have always loved you, I have always been there for you. Why did you make a little girl you barely know your wife?"

"Camila, please, don't do this."

"Do you love her?" There's a deep silence between them, and then I hear Camila laughing. "You don't know how to love, but still, I have loved you."

"You're like a sister to me, Camila, it has always been that way, and you know it. Please, don't complicate things anymore."

"I will never let you be happy. You will only be happy when you're with me, understand?"

I hear a chair being pushed, followed by the door opening and closing. I peek from the other side of the wall and see Camila quickly leaving the place. I turn around to go back to the table, and as I do, I bump into Harry, who is standing behind me.

"Were you eavesdropping?" he questions, annoyed, and I open my eyes wide.

Houston, we have a problem!