Pure Innocence (Lauren/You)

Chapter 10

The day after I found out Mike Jauregui had cancer, I had to bring Lauren into work with me since no one else was able to watch her. She was still confused on why she was coming with me, but she was easily sidetracked when I playfully asked if she didn't want to spend time with me. I didn't know how the working environment would affect the younger girl, let alone the two of us together. I just had her bring anything and everything that could keep her distracted while we got her necessary belongings from her house yesterday. Clara seemed to fake being happy pretty well but I knew inside she was feeling awful. I didn't see Mike, because I wanted to get Lauren in and out of there as fast as possible without her causing too much trouble for her parents.

So as the two of us walked into the building, we were some of the first to enter. I ushered Lauren into my office and had her start coloring while I caught up on some paperwork. I knew once Normani and Camila arrived, all hell would break loose so I was trying to enjoy the calm as much as I could before the storm arrived. Lauren was busy humming to herself as she continued to color as if nothing was wrong. I stopped my paperwork to look over at her. She was too innocent for her own good. I watched as she was solely focused on her paper, some pieces of hair falling around her perfectly carved face as her tongue poked out between her teeth in concentration. I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

I went back to my paperwork to try to take off of the load I already had so that I could try to get it done as fast as possible. Monday's were pretty busy, almost as much as Friday's since everyone had to wait the weekend until they were able to get in to see a doctor. So far the building hadn't opened yet since Lauren and I arrived so early. It was currently almost seven in the morning and we didn't start accepting patients until about seven thirty. My attention was brought back to Lauren once she groaned loudly. I heard her crayon drop on the floor as she threw it in frustration. My eyes widened on their own account and I watched as Lauren started to throw a fit. I quickly stood up in my chair so that I could go kneel down in front of Lauren.

The shorter girl leaned into me once I wrapped my arms around her while she began to cry. "I went out- I went out of- I went out of the lines!" Lauren cried and clutched onto my arms. I looked to see that there was barely a small line poking out of the black bold line. I continued to hold Lauren until she was able to calm down and let me go so that I could grab something off of my desk. I kneeled down next to the shorter girl again and used the white-out I had grabbed to get rid of the small line as if it never happened.

"There you go." I whispered and smiled at Lauren. She looked completely amazed at how I was able to rid of the mistake she claimed she made. "Just let it dry for a little bit and then you can start coloring again." I placed a short kiss on Lauren's forehead before going to sit back at my desk. I left the white-out on my desk as I went back to filling out my paperwork. After a couple minutes, I saw a hand poke above my desk from the corner of my eye. I pretended to not notice as I watched Lauren try to look for the white-out before her hand brushed up against the bottle. She grabbed it and took it off my desk, still unknowing that I had caught her. "Lauren what are you doing?" I finally asked, trying to hold in my laugh.

She quickly placed the bottle back on my desk as if she didn't take it in the first place. "Nothing." She called out and went to act like she was coloring the entire time. I finally let my laugh fall from my mouth. I just decided to leave her be, but then I got an idea as I saw an empty piece of paper on my desk. I grabbed it and went to hand it to Lauren who looked at me in confusion. I squatted next to her and pointed at the paper.

"You can color on this and use the white-out if you want to, just don't get it all over yourself or the carpet. Just use a little bit and make sure it doesn't get anywhere else except on the paper, okay?" I asked as I grabbed the small bottle. Lauren rapidly nodded her head with a wide smile on her face. I went to go sit back down as Lauren was finally taken care of again for at least a little while. I managed to get through a couple patient profiles before there was a knock on the office door. Lauren didn't bat an eye at the sound while I stood up to answer the door. I cracked open the door so hopefully no one would see Lauren and question as to why she was here.