Time Bomb~ LMJ

PART 10

"No baby" Normani said.

"Can she pick us up?"

"No Mama's picking you up"

"Can we bring her to Mama's house?" Audree asked.

"No, and what did I say about Mama?"

"Shhhh don't tell Mama"

"Exactly. Come on maybe we should go to the park and give Lauren a break"

"Can we bring Lauren with us?" Ava asked.

"Girls Lauren's not a dog. Don't talk about her like she isn't in the room it's rude"

"Sorry Lolo" Ava said quickly. "Wanna come to the park with us?"

Lauren turned to Normani. "Am I allowed to?"

"Yes of course the park is on the apartment complex"

"Okay I'll come" Lauren said as she got up to wash her dishes.

Little does Normani know that Lauren has a very special interest in going outside.

LAUREN

Two elevators. Both with cameras.

Two sets of stairs. A and B.

Four windows. They're both locked.

Normani lives on the twelfth floor. Lauren can make it down those stairs in less than a minute if she's fast enough.

"Lolo do you want to go on the slide with us?" Ava asked Lauren as they exited the elevator

"Sure if I fit"

"Mommy fits so you'll fit. I think you might be smaller than her" Audree said.

"Wow girls is this roast Mommy day? Maybe Lauren should cook, read you stories, take you to school, give you cuddles and take care of you two then huh?"

"That sounds fun" Audree said.

"I'm definitely not better than your Mommy girls" Lauren said. "You guys should be nicer to her. I wish my mommy had been that nice to me"

"Where's your Mommy Lauren?" Ava asked.

"She's dead" Lauren said quickly.

"Why-"

"Girls look the park it's empty! You should hurry before the other kids come!" Normani said excitedly pointing towards the playground. There are no grates around the complex but there is a security guard.

"Sorry about them. They have no filter" Normani said when the girls ran off.

"It's fine. I'm surprised they like me so much"

"I'm not. I know you don't exactly agree but you're a good mom Lauren. My girls can tell" Normani said as they entered the playground and sat down at a bench.

"Well I wasn't even good enough to save my own daughter. And I'll probably never see my son before he's adopted" Lauren said

"You know you have rights to him. You told me that you didn't want to meet him so I didn't tell you this earlier but you still have rights to your child Lauren. If you don't want him to be adopted he won't be adopted"

"But I can't have him. So it's selfish of me to make him wait in a center until he's eighteen"

"Do you want him Lauren? Do you want Ocean?"

"I know I want Ocean. I spent more time with her but Ismael and I lost our connection when I abandoned him. If there is someone who's he's already developed an attachment to that he loves, that is all I care about. Yes, it's hard for me to do but I want him to be happy. Could I maybe see him once?"