Jauregui.

three

"Averi has the right idea. In fact, let's all take power naps because Will called and we have an online charity thing tonight," I said and gently carried Averi to the pull-out sofa in the back of the tour bus. I laid on the mattress next to her, pulling my child close to me. The smell of her sweet shampoo filled the area as I drifted off, holding her in my arms. 

"LOOOOOOO!" I heard someone scream in my ear, causing me to wake up, startled, and fall off the bed.

"Oww," I groaned, looking up to see who had called me. "Dinah, couldn't you have woken me up, well I don't know, nicely?" I snapped.

Dinah shrugged, "It's funner this way,"

"Funner isn't a word," I said, still slightly annoyed at her.

"L-Lauren?" A small voice called, stopping us from our rambling. I quickly snapped my head towards the direction of the pull-out mattress, and saw that Averi had sat up.

"Yeah, honey?" I asked, quickly getting to my feet, my maternal instincts kicking in.

"Where are we?" she said quietly. I smiled at her before helping her stand up. It was tricky getting used to moving while the bus was in motion at the beginning, and while we're used to it now, Averi is not. 

"We're in the lounge area behind the bunks, or what we call 'the bunkrooms,'" I said. She walked to the end of the sofa, where I had placed her shopping bag and grabbed the small backpack she had brought to the meet and greet with her.

"Well, I should get going." she said softly. "I'm sorry for being such a bother." Dinah and I looked at each other, our eyes widening.

"No!" I said, louder than I intended. She flinched. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I meant that you get to stay here. You're stuck with us..." I chuckled, making her smile a little. She shook her head and contined to walk, but I pulled her back.

"Averi Grace," I said sternly, "You are not going to leave," I continued, in a softer tone. She wiggled out of my grasp and walked a few steps backwards her hand covering her mouth.

"P-please don't hurt me, I'm s-sorry," she stuttered causing me to gasp.

"No, no, no, baby! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," I told her as I tried to hug her, but she moved back farther.

"What do you mean? Why would I stay with Fifth Harmony?," she asked me quietly, still shaking.

"Because we care about you!" I said, trying to cover the real reason, at least for now.

"That doesn't make sense, though. You care about all of your fans. I don't see the rest of them here. Why me?" She retorted, clearly confused about the situation.

"You're different, just drop it for now, Averi," I said, hoping she would leave it alone.

"No offense, but this could be kidnapping. While I love you guys, this is kind of weird and I just want to go so please let me leave!" Averi responded, tears welling up in her eyes again, as her breathing quickened. 

"No, Averi. Don't worry, You're safe here, you're my --" I quickly closed my mouth, as I knew in that moment I had messed up. 

"I'm your what?" Averi retorted, looking at me inquisitively. 

I let out a small gasp, realizing I had to tell her the news much sooner than I had intended. I got up, knowing there was no going back now.

"Can we talk?" I asked her reached for her hand. She nodded slightly, and we walked behind the lounge, to a private-ish room together, shutting the door.

"Averi, I have something to tell you. I don't want you to run away, shut me out, or do anything, please. Just hear me out." I told her, and she just stared at me quizzically.

"I am your . . .," I gulped heavily," I am your birth mother." I told my daughter, her eyes widening in shock.

"Now before you say anything, let me tell you the whole story. You were conceived when I was just a teenager. You were not a mistake, but a surprise. I wanted to keep you, but my parents, your grandparents did not agree with that. I knew I shouldn't have done what I did. I should have stood my ground, but I was young and impressionable. Still, I wanted you and fought for you, because we you wer-are my daughter. When my parents say that I was not faltering, they gave me an ultimatum. They said that I would either give you up for adoption or leave my family. I am not making excuses; I should have kept you and found a way to meet ends meet, but as I said, I was young and scared. My parents were always the decision-makers in my life, so who was I to disagree. I thought that they knew best, but I think that deep down, I knew that I should have kept you. 

It was a closed adoption, so I didn't know who took you, and they didn't know me, either. I was only told that you went with a couple in their mid-thirties, but I'm guessing they took you back to foster care, for whatever reason. I fell into depression after you were taken from me. I did things that I wish I never did, and it was a dark time. Two years later, my parents passed away in a car accident, and that was hard for my siblings, your aunt and uncle, and I, but we pushed through. I was never able to patch up my relationship with my parents, and it caused a further rift to form in our relationship, until their eventual passing. 

We went to live with our aunt and uncle, Clara and Mike. Moving in with them was rough at first, especially during the first year, as we were still finding our dynamic. But now, I am so grateful for them. They are, to me, Mom and Dad, as they are more parental figures to us than anyone else. My parents and I searched for you, but nobody knew where you were. After a year or so, we slowly gave up and life continued, but there has never been a day where I don't think about you. Averi, baby, I love you so much, and when I saw you in that meet and greet room, I knew it was you. I love you and will never leave you again." I said quietly, tears streaming down both of our faces now.

"I-I need a moment," she said looking at me and getting up, going to the bathroom. I heard the lock of the door latch, and the sound of muffled cries soon after. I fell back and started sobbing. I was crying for the years I missed. For the pain I inflicted upon my daughter. For everything that had led up to this moment. I let it all out. 

-

Hey guys! So Thanks for 100+ reads! I hope you enjoyed. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. This past Wednesday, August 12, 2015, I met Fifth Harmony. they were so nice and genuine and It was a dream come true. Ally loved my little sister, and Normani complemented my hair. Although it all seems like a blur, it was amazing.

So do you guys think that Averi will forgive Lauren?

Will she want to stay?

What do you think will happen in the future?

Who do you want to see in a relationship?

Feedback?

Thanks guys!