Lauren watches as Joey gives her one last smile and then steps off of the bus and out of view. And then she breaks down. Her body folds in on itself as her face crumbles and a loud sob escapes her mouth. She wraps her arms around her stomach, hugging herself tightly as more tears roll down her cheeks. She slowly rocks herself back and forth, not caring about the mascara that's currently running down her face.
Everything hurts. Her heart is broken and she feels like she can't breathe. The one thing she's wanted more than anything else is no longer a part of her life. Everything around her goes away as she cries harder; she sounds in pain. Suddenly she's interrupted.
"Lauren?" Julia rushes over to her, closely followed by Meredith and Jaime. They sit next to her on the sofa while Julia kneels in front of her, clearly alarmed.
"What's the matter are you okay?" Jaime asks quickly and Lauren shakes her head. Meredith edges forward and wraps her arms around the small girl's body. Lauren hesitates for a moment and then clasps onto Meredith tightly and sobs onto her shoulder.
"You're okay," She whispers in her ear and gently rubs her back. Jaime and Julia join in the hug as well and encase Lauren from all angles, also whispering little reassuring things in her ear. They look at each other as the crying goes on, worried and confused about what's made her so upset.
Maybe twenty minutes later, Lauren finally calms down and the tears stop. She slowly untangles herself from the three girls and wipes her wet cheeks with her sleeve. Her eyes are red and puffy and her makeup's smudged all over her face.
"Let me go grab some wipes," Jaime mumbles and goes to her bunk. She comes back a few moments later and starts gently wiping the makeup off of Lauren's face. Julia and Meredith have one of Lauren's hands tight in each of theirs as she does this, still very concerned.
Once Jaime has finished, Lauren gives her a small smile and sniffs appreciatively. "Thank you." She says quietly and Jaime kisses her forehead. "No problem."
"Lauren..what's the matter?" Julia asks carefully. There's silence for a little while as Lauren avoids their eyes and plays with the hem of her t-shirt. She doesn't want to tell them about her and Joey yet. Even though they're her best friends and she knows they'll be supportive she's just not ready.
She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "Nothing serious, just stressed and tired." She laughs quietly. The girls exchange looks, clearly not convinced, but accept that she doesn't want to talk about it right now.
"Me too," Meredith smiles at her sympathetically and nods. It suddenly feels like a wave of exhaustion hits Lauren because she yawns loudly and her eyes become extremely
heavy.
Julia notices and stands up. "Let's get you to bed."
The girls help her up from the sofa and let Lauren lean on them as they guide her over to the bunks. Once they reach the sleeping area, Lauren starts to absentmindedly walk to Joey's bunk, which she's slept in every night for nearly two weeks now so it's what she's used to.
"Where are you going Lauren, your bunks here.." Jaime says gently. Lauren stops in her tracks, facing away from the girls, and has to pinch her lips together tightly to stop herself from crying again. She had forgotten she can't sleep there anymore. She has to sleep in her bunk, on her own. It feels like she's been punched in the stomach.
She takes a deep breath and then slowly turns around and faces them, a tired smile plastered on her face. "Right." She walks back over to where they're standing which is next to her bunk, and climbs in.
She lies down and smiles when Meredith covers her in the duvet and strokes her cheek softly. "We love you." She says, her tone serious.
Lauren nods. "I love you guys too."
