Ghosts (Camren)

Chapter 11

{ Camila }

I walked briskly to my car, hoping I'd avoided a confrontation. It didn't make sense to me why Normani would be so offended by such an act. Truthfully, why would she care? Part of me was hoping she really didn't care about Lauren anymore. It would suck for Lauren, but I'd be willing to fix her broken pieces. But if Normani is still interested, that makes things a whole lot more difficult.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind as I headed to my car. Lauren said she'd pick me up later, but I was just relieved I hadn't ruined everything. She was completely understanding and incredibly apologetic. While I didn't want her to regret or beat herself up about her actions, I did want her to hopefully change her behavior. She was receptive to my request. Maybe things would prosper between us.

The one thing that was nagging me for a good portion of my drive home was the way Normani glared at me. I'd never really been on the receiving end of such a resentful look before. It made me feel uneasy. I didn't necessarily feel threatened in the sense that she would hurt me (though she easily could), but more so like she'd be a problem for Lauren and I. I knew they had history. But Lauren never really went into detail about what actually happened. As far as the details of their relationship's demise, I was clueless. I wasn't so sure I wanted to know, though.

Based on her reaction alone, I knew Normani must've done something unforgivable. Maybe Lauren could even be sugar coating or hiding something she did. Could she have deserved whatever Normani did to her? Was it a tit for tat type of situation? Part of me wanted to know, but the other part of me wanted to stay in the dark about it. If it was something as typical as a lie or cheating, I could surely stay away from doing that. It probably wasn't in my nature to devote myself to more than one person at a time anyway. Lauren wouldn't have anything to worry about regarding those aspects. The last thing I wanted to do was wound her twice.

I pulled into my driveway and got out giddily. Maybe I could ask Lauren about what exactly happened with her and Normani later on. Definitely not tonight, because we had a date. I mean, we've been on a date before... But she was in a different place. I kind of dove right into it, and she had no problem rejecting me initially. I later figured out that she agreed to it to use me to distract herself for Normani, which I was fine with at the time. But eventually, I started to really like her. And in turn, I guess she really started to like me as well. One thing led to another and now we're going on our first real date.

I found myself standing in the middle of my room in confusion. Lauren said she'd pick me up later but she hadn't given me a specific time. She said she was going to change, but of course she would have to. She was wearing her work uniform. Did that mean I would have to change? Probably so.

Because I was unaware of what time she would be arriving, I strove to move as quickly as possible. Rummaging through my closet wasn't nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be. I didn't have anything that would make me look particularly attractive, just a bunch of t-shirts and v-necks. Within my drawers I found a nice button-down shirt, but it was long sleeved and it was warm outside. However, peeking out from under my bed was a nice auburn sleeveless blouse. I smelled it to make sure it was clean and smiled contentedly when I found that it was.

I switched shirts immediately and put on some extra deodorant for good measure. The cut of the shirt was a little low, and I suddenly remembered why I'd abandoned it and thrown it to the floor. I didn't like how much cleavage it showed. But as I caught my reflection in my full-body mirror, I found that it kind of suited me now. I was a little bit fuller in the chest than before, although I still didn't have much to work with. The dip was admittedly deep, but maybe Lauren would like that. I smirked at the thought and set out for some nice pants to replace my comfortable jeans.