*****Lauren's POV*****
I could tell Normani was really taking everything a little worse than the rest of us. I know that was her best friend, but something about this time seemed different. I didn't want to be an insensitive girlfriend and just ask out. It almost felt like she knew something about this that the rest of us didn't.
We had been sitting here for about four hours now. Normani had been crying for the first three, and I had been in her arms for the last hour. I should've been holding her, but she really enjoyed being the dominant one in the relationship. She loved to feel like she was protecting me, and I was willing to give her that.
"Mani, you haven't said anything since we've been here" I said, cupping her cheek. I tried to turn her face to me, but she wouldn't meet my eyes. "Normani, we gotta talk." Again, I got nothing out of her. I couldn't even eye contact from her. From my girlfriend, who said; word for word; "I would be the luckiest person in the world if I got to wake up to those gorgeous emerald eyes for the rest of my life". So much for loving my eyes. She was avoiding me like the fucking plague.
I rested my head against her shoulder for a while longer. Normani was right next to me, but she was still so far away. "Mani, can w-." She cut me off, taking her arm away from me and standing up. "I'm gonna go take a walk." Before I could even protest, she was already out of the building. I didn't know whether I should be concerned, sad, or pissed at her right now. What would make her walk out like that? Why would she leave me like that? Why the fuck is she acting like that?
Ally came over to me and grabbed my hand, silently pulling me outside too. I expected Normani to be standing right there, but I couldn't find her anywhere. The tears were already starting to sting at my eyes, just thinking that Normani could be out there hurt. "Hey hey hey" Ally cooed, getting me to look at her. "There's no reason to cry. We'll find her, okay? It's just extra hard for her right now." "Why Ally? What makes this any harder on her than the rest of us? How is it fair on me that she just runs at a time like this? She's not the only one hurt because of this? Well all fucking love Dinah, but that doesn't give her the right to just run from her problems and not talk to me."
By the time I had to take a breath in between my rants, someone roughly grabbed my arm and started to pull me. "Ow" I cried, trying to pull away. When I looked up though, I noticed it was Normani pulling me off. "Where are we going?" "Can you please just shut the fuck up for a second" she growled out. I don't know why the hell she is so angry, but she should never fucking talk to me like that. I decided to stay quiet so I could present the facts when we did start arguing. I knew we would ultimately need to argue.
It was pretty late in the evening, so I guess she chose the only place that should be empty tonight. The local park."Mani, that fucking hurts" I cried, pushing her off of me. I sat the on steps of the jungle gym and watched her as she paced for a minute. My forearm had Normani's handprint searing onto it, but I didn't want her to know that she hurt me. She was already mad. I didn't want to make it worse.
"Normani. We have to talk. What the hell is going on with you?" She was breathing heavy, and her eyes looked slightly watery. Usually when she was angry, she was just angry. This time, she seemed frustrated for some reason. I stood up and stood in front of her; grabbing her shoulders to stop her. "What the hell is up with you, baby?" Instead of talking, she broke down.
"Everything is wrong, Lauren. We haven't made any music in almost six months because a fifth of our group was missing. Not to mention, this fifth of our group was kidnapped by a psychopath that we believed actually cared about us. And then to add to that, she was fucking pregnant to a rapists. Then we get her back, just for the rapist to be after her. Finally, she fucking gets sick with a disease that could kill her and the baby if she doesn't give birth to it as soon as possible. I keep having to watch my best friend's life continue to get progressively harder and she's only fucking eighteen. How is that fair to her?"
I could understand where she was coming from, but she still didn't get to just treat everyone like shit because her emotions got to her. "I know this is hard for you, but you still can't act like this. You're not the only one who's getting effected by this. Think about Camz. This is her girlfriend, for Christ sakes. The girl went through hell trying to figure out who took her girlfriend, only to watch her months of investigative work be burned in front of her. She loved Dinah despite her being gone and everything that girl's family put her through. Camila hasn't even talked to her parents in two months because they didn't believe she was mentally stable. If anything, Mila should be the only one allowed to act out from her emotions."
"So what? Me not being in a relationship with her makes my feelings less real?" God, she's infuriating sometimes. "That's not what I m-." Again, she cut me off. "Am I not allowed to feel something for my best friend" she yelled, her face only two inches from mine. "Será mejor que el infierno fuera de mi cara en este momento" I mumbled, and she rolled her eyes at me. "I hate it when you fucking do that. You always speak in Spanish, knowing that it pisses me off when I can't understand it!" "I'm sorry you chose you date a fucking Latina, agujero del culo."
She shocked when she picked up a stick and threw it towards me. She missed, but I was still pissed. "What the fuck, Mani? Why you throwing a fucking tantrum like a baby?" She walked up to me and pinned me against the side of the slide. "My girlfriend is treating me like a fucking idiot and won't allow me to feel my emotions." I just pushed against her chest, but she wouldn't move. "Everyntime I leave you alone with your emotions, you fucking blow up on me and ignore me."
She walked away, running her fingers through her hair. "She told me not to tell everyone, so I did that for her" she yelled, leaning her head against the tree. I walked over slowly, putting my hand on her shoulder gently. "What didn't she want us to know?" "Dinah was sick when she came home. I walked in on her one day in the bathroom, and her nose was bleeding so bad. Her shirt was stained down the front. Just soaked in her own blood. She told me not to tell anyone as she lost consciousness. So yes, I hide my feelings. So I have every right to feel the way I do! I was put in a position where I had to hide my feelings, oka-."
She spun around so quickly, forgetting I was so closed to her. Her elbow connected with my nose and I cried out in pain. "Oh my god, Lauren." She held my shoulders, trying to check my face. "Mani, stop! I'm gonna be fine." Despite my protest, she kept trying to get a look at my eye. I could already feel it swelling shut. "Oh my god" she cried, "What did I do?" I cupped her face, making her look at me to calm down. "It's alright. Nothing bad is going to happen."
Of course, I jinxed the moment. Not even a second after I said that, two cop cars pulled up. About four cops ran over to us, and I knew something wasn't right. They couldn't just be doing rounds. Someone had called them to come over to this area. They didn't even say anything before they cuffed Normani. "What the hell are you doing" I yelled, but the other cops just held me back. They couldn't take her from me.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" Normani held her head down, and only spoke when asked a question. "Yes sir." "Normani! What are you doing? Fight back, babe! You didn't do anything!" She didn't even say anything to me but an I love you.
I kept pushing against the cops until I was able to run up to the car window she was sitting in. She looked at me sadly. I knew she was still ashamed of herself for hitting me. I didn't say anything else, but I needed her to know that I still loved her before this car started moving. I kissed my hand pressed it against the glass, and I saw her start to cry. Then the car pulled off. I didn't care what had happened today.
I would still love her the same as before.
