The Last Time (Camren)

Chapter 6

"Hmm..." Lauren frowns and lets Olivia go join him. "Hey, Jase, where's your Mommy?" she asks him since it'd be weird for the mother to leave her child all alone. Jason just looks toward the bathroom door and points.

Seconds later, Camila exits with tissues clutched in her hands. "Oh... hi, Lauren," the teacher stops in her tracks as she greets the confused woman. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you so soon."

Lauren frowns even more. "I always come early," she steps closer to scan Camila's eyes that had definitely been tear-filled. She sets down a cup of coffee for her on the desk.

"...Right," the teacher bows her head. "Sorry, it's been a rough morning already. Thank you for the coffee." She slowly picks it up and takes a sip.

"Do you... wanna talk about it?" Lauren still isn't sure where their boundaries lie. They were once best friends for years so it was difficult to just forget about restarting their friendship since they knew each other so well before.

Back in the day, Lauren would be the first to know about Camila's problems. The latter would sometimes run over to her best friend's house at midnight if something were troubling so much that it would disrupt her sleep. She and Lauren would stay up for hours talking about it because all Lauren wanted was for Camila to be okay. Then they'd fall asleep together right around sunrise.

Similar to now, Lauren is concerned for Camila. She hates seeing her cry and had promised that she would kill anyone who caused Camila's sorrowful tears.

Camila is reluctant to open up to her old but sort of new friend. She's unsure of their boundaries as well but at the same time, she doesn't recall having any other friends she can open up to. "I... uh... took a pregnancy test earlier and... it was negative."

Oh.

"...Did you want it to be positive?" Lauren asks even though duh, of course she wanted it to be positive.

"Yeah," Camila slowly nods. "Shawn and I have been trying for the past few months. I called him about it just now while I was in the bathroom and he was pretty upset."

"Not like it's your fault," Lauren shakes her head.

"I know it isn't but... it's just so weird how Jason was conceived the first time we did it," the teacher tells her in almost a whisper. "Now we can't after trying for a number amount of months."

The CEO looks down, not really knowing just what to say. She wasn't in Camila's shoes. She and her girlfriend weren't trying for a child and quite frankly, her own daughter wasn't planned whatsoever. She doesn't think she'll be wanting another child for another few years after she and Cami tie the knot.

"I'm sorry, Camila," Lauren sits down in the seat across from her. "And I'm sorry Mendes is giving you shit about it. You want me to talk to him?"

Camila eyes her carefully, knowing damn well Lauren wouldn't just "talk" to her husband. She chuckles, "No, it's okay, Lo."

The familiar nickname makes the latter's heart twinge. A smirk spreads across her lips.

"In a way though, I'm actually relieved," Camila says while taking her own seat.

"Why?"

"I mean, I definitely want another child so Jason can have a sibling but if I can wait just a bit longer, that would be ideal," she explains. Her eyes land on her son's precious face. "You can relate, right?"

Lauren frowns. "Waiting to have another kid? Oh, yeah, of course. Cami and I aren't even engaged yet."

"But like you and Vero weren't even ready to have Olivia back then, just like me and Shawn. I just feel like I was rushed into this parenting life too soon." Lauren nods, relating wholeheartedly. "Even though I got to go to college, it still wasn't the normal experience. I felt like being a mom defined me those four years. I was always known as the girl with a kid who lived off-campus with her husband. I wish I got to go to all those wild parties, rushed a sorority, had a close-knit of best friends. But in their eyes, I was just on a different level... another stage of life even though I was the same age as them."