Love Me (Normani)

Chapter 40

Normani slept all through the morning, and her girlfriend let her. She was clearly exhausted so she couldn't wake her up. "Babe, you have to eat." Lauren coaxed her out of her slumber. "Mm nooo." she refused sleepily. "I'll make you whatever you want." "I'm not hungry." "You know that won't wash." Lauren said simply. "Come on, what do you want?" "To cuddle." Normani mumbled into the pillow, blindly reaching out to where she thought Lauren was. "We can cuddle after breakfast." "No!" Normani huffed into the pillow. "Fine, I'll get you something myself." "Wai-Laur-and she's gone." Normani sighed and rolled over in the bed. "I got you some dry cereal, a yoghurt and water. Eat whatever you want and as much as you can." Lauren said, setting the bowl and yoghurt cup on the bed and putting the glass of water on the table. "Did anyone talk to you when you went downstairs?" "Nope." Lauren sighed. "What about your Mom?" "She's out." Normani rubbed Lauren's shoulder and pouted before kissing her cheek. "I'll talk to you." "I'd be offended if you didn't." Lauren chuckled. Normani looked down at the food and sighed. "Do I have to?" She looked up at Lauren sadly. "You know you do." Two hours later and the cereal was still sat there, along with half a cup of yoghurt, Normani was in tears and Lauren was holding her. "I can't." Normani cried into Lauren's chest, clutching her long night shirt. Lauren ran her fingers through the girl's hair and peppered kisses on her face whenever she could access it. Luckily, Lauren was in a lenient mood today. "I'll let you off for breakfast, okay? But try and eat some more later." Normani nodded furiously. "Let me take you out today, on a date." Normani blushed as she looked up at Lauren. "Really?" "Yeah." Lauren beamed. "What do you say?" Normani smiled and kissed her gently before pulling away. "Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you Laur." "Kiss me moreee." Lauren pouted, her eyes still shut. Normani giggled and pressed her lips to the Cuban's softly. "Lauren! Come help with these bags please!" Her mother called upstairs. Lauren sighed. "Coming!" Normani pouted. "I won't be long, wait for me." Normani blushed when she felt her girlfriend kiss her cheek and nodded. Lauren had done so much for Normani, and she wanted to make her happy. So she saw the rest of the yoghurt cup and finished it slowly. Lauren came back in and saw Normani looking up at her instantly. "What's up?" She asked. "Look what I did!" Normani held out the empty cup and Lauren smiled widely. "Really? That's so good Mani well done!" Normani giggled and giggled when Lauren kissed the bridge of her nose. You still have time to throw it up. It's not too late to be skinny. "Normani! Helloooo?" Lauren raised her voice a little louder. "What?" Normani mumbled. "Your phone's ringing." "Oh." Normani looked around for her phone and answered the girl without looking at the ID in case she missed it. "Hello?" "Normani, I just need you to come home, right now." "Why?" Normani asked her mother suspiciously. "Just come home, it's important." Normani frowned and looked at her phone before looking up at Lauren. "I uh, I gotta go, apparently." "What's wrong?" Lauren asked. "I don't know, but I'll find out. Can you drop me off?" Lauren nodded and lead the girl out to her car. "Text me babe, I'll come back for you for our date." Normani blushed and kissed Lauren's cheek before she got out. "Bye Laur." "Bye." Lauren giggled and drove off. "I'm back!" "Just put it down Derrick." Normani frowned. What was going on? "It's all my fault." Normani's heart stopped. "No honey this is her, Normani's the one doing this, not you. Just put..put the gun down." Gun?? Normani rushed full speed into the room and screamed at the sight of her father holding a gun to his head. "Daddy no please!" Normani begged. "I'm so sorry baby." "No Dad it's not-" "I pushed you too hard." "It's not your fault, it's her fault. She's poison, look what she's doing to you now." Normani turned to her mother with an angry look in her eyes. "Shut up! Dad, don't do this." She said carefully. "Mom go and call an ambulance!" Her mother fled the room and went to get a phone. "I'm sorry Normani, I love you honey." "I love you. Don't do anything you shouldn't just-" "I'm sorry I did this to you." "You didn't! Dad you didn't just put the gun-" There was a gunshot in his mouth and the man fell to the floor. Normani screamed and Andrea ran in. "Oh honey," she cried. "Don't leave me here!" She begged. Normani backed into the wall and slid down to the floor, gasping in shock, her breathing heavy and shaky. "Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck oh my god." She grabbed fistfuls of her hair. "I called the ambulance, they'll get here soon and they'll help you honey, just hold on." Andrea said, clearly in denial. The man had died instantly. "Mom." Normani croaked. "Mama he's dead." "He's not dead!!" Andrea screamed at her daughter. Normani couldn't breathe, she felt like the walls were closing in on her. The paramedics came in and treated Normani for shock, sending her outside with a silver shock blanket around her. Then she saw a familiar girl pushing through the crowd of neighbors trying to get a look at what was going on. "Mani?!" Lauren shouted worriedly. "Lauren!" Lauren quickly pulled the girl into the tightest hug. "Thank God, I saw the ambulance and I just..what happened??" Normani immediately broke down in the arms of her girlfriend. Then there was a gurney brought out with a black body bag on top of it followed by a distraught looking Andrea. "Y-your Dad." "He killed himself because of me!" Normani cried into the Cubans shoulder heartbrokenly. "He blamed himself for my eating disorder and now he's dead!" Lauren squeezed her girlfriend in the hug and whispered sweet words into ears. "Mani!" Another voice rang through their ears. Camila. "M-Mila." Normani's voice shook as a pair of new arms surrounded her. "Oh my god what happened?" "Her father killed himself." Lauren whispered with horror, holding a crying Normani closer. "Oh shit." Camila gasped. "Are you okay?" Lauren gave her a "really, are you for real?" look and Camila corrected herself. "I mean physically." "She's just in shock." Lauren explained as she stroked her hair. "You!" Oh boy. "You did this!" Andrea stormed over to her daughter with a finger pointed at her. Normani moved out of both her girlfriend and friend's arms and shook her head. "I-I didn't he-he-he shot himself." "This is your fault, he blamed himself for your stupid nonsense and now he's dead!" She shouted. "That's enough now Mrs Hamilton." A paramedic tried to intervene. It is your fault and you know it. You killed your father. He's dead because of you. Normani whimpered and felt Camila take her hand, and Lauren's arm snake around her waist. "It's not her fault." Camila said seriously. "Normani didn't pull the trigger on him, he did it to himself." Lauren added in. "That's right. It wasn't anyone's fault." The paramedic said and held the woman by the shoulders. "Let me take you to hospital and get you seen." Andrea was taken into an ambulance while Normani took deep shuddering breaths. "What do I do now?" Normani asked, but barely spoke at all. "Let's all go back to my place, it's quiet." Camila said, wrapping an arm around Normani's shoulders and guiding her to Lauren's car.