Never Let Me Go (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 13: Like Branches of a Tree

Trigger warning - this family is adorable.

***

"I really appreciate you taking the time to do this Chris, I know when it gets to the end of the school year things get really busy."

Camila held the mall's glass door open behind her, waiting for her brother-in-law-to-be to follow her out of the heat.

"Honestly Camila, it's really no trouble at all." Chris Jauregui smiled. "Things are always chaotic around exams and stuff, so this is a great way to de-stress. Besides, my sister could easily be one of the hardest people to shop for. Trust me, I've pretty much known her all my life."

"That's a lot of birthdays..." Camila mused, leading the way to their first stop, a glittering jewelry store. "I've struggled with the few I've had to deal with... the girl said she was a sci-fi fan, but apparently she didn't love the series of whimsical Lord of the Rings coffee mugs I picked up two years ago."

Chris laughed. "Don't worry, you're going to have lots of time to get it right." He assured the girl. "My dad always said that was actually one of the few benefits that comes with marriage, there's no longer such thing as a deadline."

"Well that's good because I was always terrible with them." Camila muttered. "I still am."

The first stop was a glittering jewelry store, fit with crystal hanging lights, miles of glass cases and salesladies so thin Camila was convinced if she turned them on their profile they would simply disappear. She was in the midst of scanning a series of silver rings when a man in a neatly ironed suit and tie pranced up with a plastic smile.

"Hello miss, is there anything in particular that I can help you with today?" He then eyed Chris coming up behind her and lifted an eyebrow. "Perhaps a ring or two?"

"Oh no, we're not—" Camila gestured behind her, cut off quickly by the middle child of the Jauregui family.

"Two please." The boy grinned, threading his fingers through his hair.

"He's kidding." Camila shook her head at the man. "Thank you though."

With a nod, the salesman walked away to approach another customer while Camila turned around and glared at the younger boy. "Okay, I take back my sincere thank you for coming along today if you're just going to do that in every store we walk through."

"Oh come on, you can't blame me for being salty." Chris groaned, leaning against one of the glass cases before him. "It's not my fault Lauren got to you before I could."

"That's gross Chris, we're practically family." Camila thought for a moment, the corner of her lip turning up in a smirk. "Which actually mean's I'm technically gonna be your sister. So you gotta do what I say junior. Go find me something Lauren would like."

"Yeah, cause she doesn't already have enough." Chris grumbled, stalking away. Camila watched him, amused at the amount of humorous banter radiating from the college freshman. After whirling through most of the store and finding nothing but overpriced generic stones and studs, the duo ventured through the rest of the mall, resting at a bookstore with a Starbucks and really strong air conditioning.

"You could get her this." Chris, who had recently purchased a plethora of new tank tops and t-shirts hurried over with a big hardcover book in his arms. Looking up from her iced green tea, Camila read "101 Tattoo Ideas for Dummies" across the top.

"Do people actually get tattoo ideas from books like this?"

"Sure." Chris shrugged. "You know all those bikers who have the sleeves that look like the Sistine Chapel? They must have some kind of idea book."