Love Me (Normani)

Chapter 74

"This place is really pretty." Lauren said as they looked out to the water. Camila nodded as she picked at the grass. "Yeah, it is." "Are you okay Camila?" Camila nodded again and wiped her eye where a single tear had just started to spill over. "Yeah, it just brings back memories being here, y'know?" "Well we can leave?" Lauren suggested quietly. "No," Camila refused instantly. "no, I want to be here. It..I feel close to her here." Lauren pulled Camila into her side as they sat next to each other and felt her best friend lay her head on her shoulder. "You wanna run through that night with me?" Camila shrugged her shoulder she could move that wasn't against Lauren. "If you wanna hear it." "Of course I do." Camila nodded and looked out into the water and the mist above it, the scene almost dream like. "She called me in tears, and you know Mani, she doesn't cry, at least, she didn't back then." Camila started. "I could literally hear her parents fighting in the background, she begged me to meet her, even though it was like 3 in the morning. I had just been woken up and I was groggy, but hearing the way she sounded, I agreed like instantly." "So where did you meet up?" "We met up at the school, since each other's houses weren't exactly an option. We walked from there to wherever, and wherever turned out to be here." "What happened here then?" Lauren asked. Camila licked her lips and sighed. "We just talked, about random stuff. Stuff that did and didn't matter." Lauren listened with a small smile on her face. "It's crazy to think that she's gone." Camila sniffed, feeling Lauren wipe her cheeks free of tears. "I know." Lauren sighed. "I'm still coming to terms with it too. It doesn't feel real. It feels like we're-" "we're in a dream." Camila finished. "Yeah." Lauren mumbled sadly. "I wanna..I wanna be alone, if, if that's okay." Camila mumbled shyly, staring at the grass beneath them. Lauren nodded and got up slowly. "Sure Camz. Text me." Camila nodded and Lauren walked back to her motorcycle. She suddenly wanted to get away, she just wanted to be away from everything. She had an urge to just..to just, run. Lauren wanted Normani. She wanted her best friend. She needed her, she just needed Normani back. "Why did you have to leave me Mans?" Lauren croaked, hurt in her voice. She wiped her eyes and shook her head, starting up her motorcycle. That's it. I'm packing my things and leaving. I'm done. Lauren sped home and opened her door with her key. She looked around, luckily her parents were out, probably furious in a meeting with her school, well, previous school. Taylor and Chris would obviously be at school too. They must have heard their older sibling was kicked out, in fact, they were probably there in the hall when she was. Lauren dragged her suitcase out from under her bed, probably leaving a mark on her carpet and lifting it onto her bed with a heave. She checked the time and realised that she probably didn't have too much time before people got home. She grabbed her clothes from her drawers and threw them into the suitcase carelessly. She grabbed her toothbrush and her charger, laptop, anything of real importance to her. She stopped at a photo of her, Normani and Camila. Camila had taken it, making a silly face. In the background you could see her and a healthy Normani laughing at God knows what in the ice cream store down the street, Lauren had chocolate ice cream smothered on her face, and looking at Normani's spoon in the air she figured that she was probably the one to put it there. She remembered that day, it was the day before Camila's birthday, and since Camila was going to Cuba to visit family, they wouldn't be with her for her actual birthday. So they had all decided spontaneously to celebrate themselves the day beforehand. Lauren looked at the time and realised that she had been caught up in the moment for ten whole minutes. Her time was running out. She'd need to take the car, no way would she be able to ride her motorcycle lugging this big ass suitcase with her. Lauren looked out the window to check there was no one around to see her and hurried out to her car. She put her suitcase in the boot of the car and got in. Lucky she had filled up her car with gas the day before. She threw the phone on the seat beside her and started up the car. Next stop: who knows.