Love Me (Normani)

Chapter 18

"So you fought Austin? Like, hand to hand combat?" Lauren blushed with embarrassment. "Y-Yeah. He got me pretty good." "I can see that, but I'm sure you got him better." Normani nudged her shoulder with a smile. "He got better punishment than I could give him. Camila broke up with him at last." "Finally, God. That's amazing." Normani threw her hands up in the air with relief. "But now she's mad at me." "Ah. Not so amazing." Normani put her hands back down. "Hm." Lauren said dejectedly. "I'm sure she'll get over it." "Hopefully." Normani leant her head on Lauren's shoulder. "Why do you look so down Laur?" "I'd rather not talk about it." Lauren admitted, wrapping an arm around Normani's back to keep her close. Normani noticed and moved closer to Lauren. "It's nothing bad is it?" Lauren shrugged the shoulder that didn't have Normani's head resting on it. "Did you uh," She started hesitantly. "do that thing again?" Lauren nodded regretfully without looking at her. Normani inhaled sharply and reached for the girl's hand, squeezing it. "You could have talked to me." "I didn't want to bother you with your own stuff going on." Lauren confessed. "Okay listen." Normani sat up pulled Lauren around to face her and took both of her hands. "I never ever want you to think that your struggles are irrelevant. They're far from it. I always want to know if you're going through something so I can help. Whatever state I'm in. If anything, helping other people with their problems distracts me from my own. So don't you ever not come to me because you don't want to burden me." Lauren had tears in her eyes when her friend had finished and she leaned over and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "I love you." "I love you too Lo." Normani whispered back gently but seriously. "You're loved and beautiful and worth so much more than hurting yourself." Lauren wanted to reply with the same to Normani, but she didn't want to ruin this moment. So she let it lie. "Why, why did you do it Lauren?" Lauren crawled into Normani's lap and the girl instantly wrapped her arms around her securely. "Just..don't ask questions, please. You should know more than anyone what that's like." Normani nodded reluctantly. "Hold me though, this is nice." Normani hummed with a small smile and kissed Lauren's temple sweetly. "Sure thing." Lauren soon fell asleep, and Normani was kind of stuck. She would have easily lifted her off of her months ago, when she was at her old weight. "Lauren." She whispered. "Mm." Lauren barely stirred. "Please get into bed to sleep, I can't move." Lauren kept her eyes closed as she slinked into her bed. "Thank you." Normani stretched out tiredly. Lauren fell asleep as quickly as her head hit the pillow. "I'm going." Lauren whined in protest and tugged on the girl's arm to make her stay. "Please Mani." Normani stopped and sighed, looking at the girl whose eyes were open and sleepy and desperate. "Alright.." Normani relented with a small sigh. "Yay." Lauren smiled sleepily up at her. "You're the best." Normani half smiled and pulled the covers over them both. "Hm. Try telling other people that." Lauren yawned and laid her hand over her chest and her head on Normani's shoulder. "See you in the morning." Normani hummed in a reluctant agreement and then allowed herself to sleep. Lauren woke up first. It was pretty early in the morning and only just becoming light outside, but Lauren was wide awake. She looked across the bed at Normani who wore a peaceful expression on her slim, hollow face. Lauren reached out hesitantly and brushed her thumb over her cheekbone carefully. She wished Normani was this at peace all the time, and not just in her sleep. Lauren wished she didn't starve herself and make herself throw up, but the girl did, and she hated that. For the time Lauren had known Normani, she was quite possibly the strongest girl she ever met. Be it physically, mentally and generally headstrong. "I'm gonna make you better if it's the last thing I do." She whispered to herself. Normani's eyelids fluttered, and Lauren feared she had woken her up. But then a small puff of air let out her nose and Normani slowly turned over, facing Lauren, still in her slumber. Lauren smiled gently at her friend for a second before she let it fall again. "I wish I knew what was causing all this, I just wish I knew how to fix it." Normani was completely oblivious to Lauren's outspoken thought processes as she slept. Lauren sighed a little too close to her, making Normani's nose twitch adorably and her hand scratch it in her sleep, leaving it there in front of her face. It only just covered her nose and mouth. Lauren bit her bottom lip, watching how flawless she looked, even when she was sick. "You never cease to amaze me, Kordei." Lauren chuckled to herself. Normani smoothed her tongue over her dry lips absentmindedly and curled up in a ball, causing her to be a little bit closer to Lauren. Lauren was in awe of her friend, smiling warmly as she observed her. Curling up into a ball was considered to be both a defensive position and comforting one. She was now unable to see Normani's face, so she couldn't judge which of the two it was portraying. Normani looked so gentle, small, so childlike that to some degree, it scared her. Normani was 16, she would be 17 soon, and her weight was nowhere near what it should be for her age. "No." Normani squeaked in her sleep. Lauren turned her head away from the ceiling to look at her friend, but she passed it off as nothing since she didn't hear anything else. "Please." Another whimper came from Normani. So Lauren did what she thought would be best and scooted closer to Normani, wrapping her arms around her friend protectively. She wasn't 100% sure if Normani could hear her in her sleep, but it didn't stop her whispering, "I'm here." Normani's face buried itself into Lauren's chest quickly and a small sigh followed suit. It was peaceful after that. "I promise you'll be okay Mani." Lauren said innocently, kissing her shoulder softly. Normani fisted the girl's night shirt in her sleep making Lauren giggle. "Look at you..you're almost like a 5 year old." Then her smile dropped, realising just how true that statement was.