Finally Home || Camren

Chapter 5: She's my daughter

Lauren wake up with sound of bird chirping outside her window. She rubs her eyes and reached for her old phone. She sat up on her bed and lean her back on the headboard.

She opens her phone and click a button. Same message from the store echoed inside the room, she lowers the volume of it and begin to listen privately.

After listening to the message, she quickly gets up walk herself to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and eventually take a good shower. After putting her simple band shirt and shorts she immediately head downstairs.

She notices her Dad sitting in the dinner table, sipping his coffee while reading a newspaper. She went to the coffee maker to get her own coffee. Her dad greets her and she greeted him back.

She pulled out an empty cup from the shelf and starts to pour the coffee on it.

“What time is it?” Lauren asked her dad.

“It’s half past 9, you know AM”. Her dad replied while pointedly looking at her.

Lauren starts to sip her coffee but immediately blows it up to the sink near her.

“That tastes awful, dad” she said in disgust.

“Really? We’ll it tastes pretty good to me” her dad shot back.

“Mmm..mmm” Lauren hummed in response while she shakes her head.

She leaves her cup in the sink when her dad suddenly speaks again.

“Uh, make sure you clean your cup out. You know with some soap and water” Mike said to his daughter.

Lauren walks back to the sink and opens the shelves to find the dishwashing soap and sponge. She can’t find it. She feels like she’s a stranger in their own house.

When her father notices her movement in the kitchen, he stands up and walk his way to the sink.

“You still know how to wash dishes don’t you, Lauren?” her dad said and reached for the soap just above the sink. And make Lauren sees it. He starts to wash their cups, Lauren and her dad were both facing the sink and Lauren’s gaze went to the small picture frame near the sink. It was her and her mom when she was still a kid. She was holding her guitar and her mom teaching her that time. Her dad notice that she’s staring at the picture and smile sadly.

Lauren looks outside and the garden caught her attention.

“What happened to Mom’s rose garden?” she asked the old man.

“I don’t know. I-I just couldn’t keep up with it” the old man replied.

Lauren and her dad stood at the kitchen for several minutes. Just stealing glances while looking at the garden.

Her dad breaks the uncomfortable silence between them, “So I’ll be back around 6:00 tonight” her dad tells her while walking through the door.

“You. You’re just gonna leave right now?” Lauren asked.

“Well, I’ll make us some supper when I get back. You know, if you’re still around”

“Umm, I’m not sure how long I’m gonna be here for” she walks to her dad.

“Right” The old muttered quietly.

“Do they have Uber here or any cab?” Lauren asked her dad, but he just chuckled at her.

“How... How else am I supposed to get around, dad?”

“I think your old bike is still in the garage”
Lauren smiled at the statement of her dad. She went back inside the church and opens her phone to call Normani.