The Pursuit of Camila Cabello

Chapter Twelve: I'm Taking the Dog

A.N: OK, imma have to address some shit first. As @YoungAndReckless_ said, Lauren's family did welcome her back with open arms. This because it was the first time they had psychically seen Lauren in three years. The animosity in the family was only an undertone in that moment. Once everyone went back to normal, the families' true colours came out.

Her family doesn't necessarily hate Lauren (lmao who could). No parents could ever hate their child and no sibling could hate each other. They do think that Lauren is a danger to them and keeps her at an arms' length because of this. Lauren reacts badly to this because, as you could probably tell, she values family over all else. That's why when Lauren uses the word "hate", Camila knew she was just getting emotional (translation: no bitch, just chill).

(Lauren is so extra though. She legit buys her family a big arse house because they used to live in a much tinier one. She pays for their bills, their expensive cars and even some of her clothing because she wants the best for her family. She does all that shit so that her family would love her and I'm just like?? why lolo??)

That's why they were so supportive of her music career: they thought it was a better alternative than getting drunk and arrested every other day. While they did want Lauren to succeed in her career, they were happier that their family name wash't ruined. Appearances are everything to Jauregui's. Lauren mentions her mother's 'friends' in the third chapter. She was referring to the people Clara and Mike deemed respectable and worthy of their company.

On the issue of her siblings, it's a very tense relationship. Lauren loves her siblings dearly and is very protective over them, as shown when Taylor introduced her boyfriend to Lauren. They are very playful with each other, but they do keep a lot of things to themselves. They do think less of Lauren for skipping college and while that is really shitty of them, that's life. And Lauren knows this and tries to be better for them.

(Remember that whole self-loathing thing Lauren has going on? It's not just because of Camila. And with relationships that harbour a lot of negativity, there are only two options: cut 'em off or fix 'em.)

Also, to elaborate on what Camila says later, Lauren did have a rough childhood with her family. As stated before, Lauren was always the dangerous child that her family couldn't handle. So it's basically been self-ingrained into her mind to think that her family hates her.

Basically, Lauren is speaking from a very biased, angst-filled point-of-view.

If anyone else has any questions, put it in the comments or message me. I'm happy to clear some stuff up if I can.

———

"You aren't leaving with him, Lauren, and that's final."

Lauren laughed mirthlessly. She reached the bottom of the staircase, stopped and said, "And who's going to stop me?"

It had been a few days since the Lauren had agreed to become consigliere for Junior. Lauren had been preparing for the move to her new apartment. True to his word, Uncle Morello got her a loft downtown. It was nice place — cozy, almost — from what she had seen.

He had sent her the address and sent Junior over to help her move. She hadn't bothered to tell her family that she was moving. Her parents would throw a fit, not because they would miss her, but because they would see that Junior was collecting her. His mischievous face didn't sit right with them, apparently.

They were worried she'd end up in jail again by mixing with his crowd. "Mafia thugs" were their exact words. Lauren needed an escape route so she used the easiest one.