LOVE & DRUGS

　　"Lisa, I need to go see my father today. You will have to civet up for me," Camille says as she cleanses her face with a face wipe in front of the dressing mirror.

　　"Hmn," Lisa replies under the blanket.

　　Camilla smiles at her. It felt good staying under the same roof again. She didn't have to worry about what she was doing or where she was at any point in time. And it made going out to see her father a lot easier.

　　"Since I am leaving, you should be up and watch if anyone is coming..." Camilla advises but Lisa only mumbles more unintelligible words before covering herself further.

　　"Lisa!" Camilla hissed.

　　Lisa groans pulling the blanket away from her face to peek up at Camilla with a playful frown on her face. "Listen, you are the one who insisted I come here and stay with you for some days. I am here now and it's torture!"

　　Camilla throws her head back and burst into laughter. She knows Lisa is referring to the fact that they had to wake up very early to meet up at breakfast time. In their lives in their house, they woke up whenever they wanted in the morning and slept in quite late. Now having to change that system suddenly was so hard, especially for Lisa who is barely just arriving into the system. So what she did was, as soon as they finished breakfast, she returned to have a long and nice sleep until lunch was ready.

　　Camilla finally stops laughing and turns to look at Lisa, "Hey, stop being lazy okay. I'll be going now." She tightened the mass of red hair on her head with a rubber band and she lifted the window. It opened without a screech. She passed a leg and was about to pass to the second leg when Lisa open her mouth. "Stay safe okay?"

　　Camilla gives her a quick nod and disappears behind the window. She scurries ahead to the garden where she would be able to access outside from the back door. She reaches it and slowly opens the latch before noiselessly sloping outside. She has wanted to go see her father for a long time but it was becoming too difficult to leave the house without since everyone watched her room and there was no way she could remain hidden in the room for long hours without someone coming to check on her. But now that Lisa was staying with her. All she had to do was tell them she was sleeping and that's it.

　　As Camilla, reach the bus stop, she is lucky to immediately find a bus that takes her straight to the city hospital where her father is

　　"Long time no see! Did you travel?" The security at the gate asks her

　　"Something like that," Camilla shrugs as she passes the man.

　　The smell of antibiotics and freshly cleaned floors welcome her into the hospital. She moves swiftly to her father's wards. As her eyes land on his frail body, her insides break a little. She walks into the ward and seats on the chair provided for visitors.

　　"Hey, dad!" She calls and her voice breaks. "How are you doing? I have missed you a lot," she says.

　　This ward is a temple for her, whenever she has a nervous breakdown, she always ran here for help. This is the place she begs for the forgiveness of her sins. This is the one place she feels like the true Camilla Louisa. The one who didn't have to hide anything. The one who didn't have to jump over a window to see her father.

　　"I have met a boy dad, " she whispers as she sniffs away her tears. "He is very handsome you know, and I think he likes me too."

　　The beeping sound of the life support machine is the only response she gets but she is already used to it. The sound comforts her. She continues with her tale.

　　"He likes me a lot but the problem is..." Camilla pauses as she wipes another stream of tears from her eyes. " ... I am a thief dad. Ethan will never like me... He will hate when he finds out and the hatred in his eyes will kill me." She rests her head on the bed beside her father as another stream fall from her eyes.

　　Why couldn't her dad just get better,?

　　Why couldn't he just recover?

　　If she had more money, she would have moved him out of the state of Besaadi to a place where proper care would have been given to him. But there was no money. The Little she was able to make, she used it to secure at least this treatment for him.

　　"Miss Camilla?"

　　She hears a voice and quickly raises her head from her father's side. She turns and finds the doctor.

　　"Doctor, good morning!" She greets, wiping her tears away.

　　The bald man checks his wristwatch and smiles, "it's already afternoon. Good afternoon, Miss Camilla. How are you?"

　　Camilla checks her phone and almost screams out she has been crying in her father's bed for more than two hours.

　　"Miss Camilla are you okay? Lisa told me you were not feeling too well the last time she came to make payment, " he says looking pitifully at her.

　　"Oh," Camilla says, getting to her feet. "I am fine now, sir. Thank you." She places a small kiss on her father's forehead and makes to leave before Lisa starts screaming at her.

　　"Miss Camilla may I say something?" The doctor says and Camilla groans. What could he want now? She wasn't owing any form of payment. The last wristwatch she stole from Ethan, allowed her to pay for at least two months of treatment m and she was already running late to get home for lunch. But she had to listen to him since he was the doctor in charge of her father's health.

　　"Sure, is there a problem?" Camilla asks forcing a smile unto her face.

　　"Not exactly but it is concerning your father, " the man says and Camilla's heart skips a beat.

　　"What about my father?" She demands getting on edge.

　　"I want to advise that you find money and fly your father out of the country for a deeper sort of treatment. We have been treating him for almost a year now and there have been no changes. I think-"

　　"Are you saying you incompetent?" Camilla questions. She can't believe the man wasted her time only to tell her about things she already knew. "I pay a large sum of money for his treatment here and you tell me you can't treat him after nine months?"

　　The doctor rearranges his glasses as he searches for the right words to use. "I am sorry ma'am but I am only trying to help."

　　"Don't help. Do your job efficiently and stop slacking behind. If by the end of the year there are still no changes, I will sue you!" Camilla yells at the bald doctor before walking out of the hospital.

　　She can't believe the audacity the man had to tell her that. Deep down she knows she overreacted but what else could she do? She spent hundreds of dollars every week on his treatment and the fool opened his mouth and asked her to take her father somewhere else. He should be worried, she would make so much money, her father would be taken to where he would receive the best of treatments.

　　She walked as fast as she could to the bus stop. Her preoccupied mind did not even register anyone around her. By the time she got back to the estate, everywhere was still relatively quiet. It meant lunchtime is still a few minutes away. She tapped on her window and peeped through, Lisa isn't inside.

　　Camilla tries to push the window open and thankfully it does open. She slips in gently, just as she went out.

　　Once in she goes to the bathroom to take a quick shower and refresh herself. She is just stepping out of the shower when the door to the bedroom unlocks and Lisa comes in.

　　"Finally, the princess is back," Lisa grins at her.

　　"I should be asking you that girl, where did you go?" Camilla asks as she settles on the bed.

　　Lisa blushes and Camilla know whatever it is has something to do with Peter. Ever since she came into the estate, she and Peter had become close. they spent most of their afternoons together just talking and laughing like little kids.

　　"I was in the house with Mary..." She replies.

　　"No way you were alone. Who else was there Lisa?" Camilla knows Lisa has a thing for cooking but there is also someone else that ticked her fancy in that house.

　　"Okay fine, Peter was there too. " Her face has turned beetle red as she speaks. "That guy is so sweet Camilla, do you know he offered to wash my hair?"

　　Camilla raises her brows suggestively and Lisa throws a pillow her way. "It's not what you are thinking! "

　　"Okay, what is the holy Mary thinking?" Camilla laughs

　　"We were looking at a recipe online and Margaret said it can be blended and be used as a hair mask," Lisa explains glowing with happiness.

　　"Wait, who is Margaret?" Camilla asks, she has been in the house longer but she didn't know who Margaret was.

　　"Oh, that's one of Mary's staff," Lisa said with a wave of her hand.

　　"So, Peter has offered to wash your hair... Mhmm, how sweet!" Camilla says clasping her hands together dramatically. "Just remember that I am going to be the maid of honor, no matter what happens!"

　　"Shut up!" Lisa jumps from the bed to attack Camilla but the door opens and a very puzzled Mary stares at them.

　　"I thought you were not feeling too well, why are you playing so roughly?" Mary asks them.

　　Camilla straightens up and pats her hair. "I am feeling much better now, the sleep really helped me feel good."

　　"Ah! Okay, anyway, lunch is in ten minutes, " she says and smiles.

　　"Thank you, Mary, we'll be there," they chorus.

　　After Mary leaves, Camilla falls back in the bed with a smile on her face. Their lives were finally getting normal after so long. She is happy Lisa had found someone to confide in and a friend in Mary to share recipes with. It is a good thing and in times of trouble memories like this are what keep a man sane.

　　"Come on, lazy girl, let's go get some food!" Lisa says pulling Camilla to her feet.

　　They leave their bedroom and head out to the dining where of course the ever-suspicious eyes of Sandra and Jessie were watching their every move.