the secrets we keep [camren]

four

"What are you doing here?"

Camila demanded as she stood up and faced the girl in front of her. She desperately tried so hard to get rid of that damned memory of their first time together and of course once Lauren was back in her life they came crashing back. She was also trying in vain to shield her daughter from seeing Lauren.

Lauren hesitated and shifted from one foot to the other, looking at her. "Well.. uh, you said you couldn't come to my place so I thought I'd come and study with you here."

Camila could actually feel the anger bubbling up inside her. She took a deep breath, counted to ten, walked towards her, grabbed her arm and dragged her inside the house and into the dining room where she couldn't see Harper. "I also said I didn't want you coming over here!" She hissed in anger. What she couldn't believe, was how her mother let her in?

Lauren grimaced and rubbed her arm, where Camila left a now forming bruise. She forgot the younger girl had a death grip. "Geez, calm down. I also came because I wanted to.. uh.. see her."

Camila's eyes became as big as the day Lauren kissed her and the latter couldn't help but smile at the memory. But that was short lived when Camila slapped Lauren across the cheek. "Ow! What the hell?" Lauren cried, holding her stinging cheek.

"You wanted to see her? After three years of wanting nothing to do with her?" Camila spluttered in rage. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Lauren sighed and rubbed the red spot on her face. "That was my dad. And now he's out of our lives. But I don't want to be out of my daughters life. I know how it feels to be abandoned. I don't want her growing up with that feeling."

Camila laughed bitterly at her. "Oh, right. Like you didn't abandon me in my time of need." A silence fell upon them and the younger of the two sighed, thinking. Harper always did ask about Lauren. But Camila had to discuss it with her mother and Ally first.

"Alright listen. You can stay and we can study. But I don't want you to see her... Not yet." She said the last part quietly but Lauren heard her and her eyes lit up. "I'll be right back. Sit and get your things ready." Camila walked out of the room to go tell Sinu to watch Harper while she helped Lauren and to get her own books.

As soon as she slipped out, Lauren grinned to herself as she sat at the dining table and pulled her books out. She felt her phone vibrate and pulled it from her pocket, seeing a text from Kendall.

Deciding to ignore it, Lauren turned her phone off and dropped it into her backpack just as she heard the door open. "Hey so I think I'm getting better at this. Go ahead, quiz me." She turned around and instead of seeing Camila putting her things on the table, she saw a little girl in pajamas staring up at her. Her heart skipping a beat, Lauren realized that the toddler had her eyes. She blinked at the kid and the kid smiled at her.

"Hi!" Harper quipped, waving excitedly. "Did you see my mommy?" she asked, getting on her hands and knees to look under the table, thinking she's was hiding underneath.

Lauren slowly smiled as she watched her. "Uh, yeah. She went to go get something." She watched as the three-year-old got to her feet to look at her suspiciously. "I'm her friend. My name is Lauren." She held her hand out for her to shake.

Harper looked at the hand twice the size of her own and smiled, slapping her hand into what she didn't know what her mothers and shook it eagerly. "Hiya Law-ren. I'm Harper."

"Harper!"

Hearing her name, Harper's eyes lit up. "Mommy!" She screamed, turning to the door where Camila appeared looking panicked and a little angry. But Harper didn't notice. "I made a new friend!" She said excitedly.