Cannonball

Four

Lauren's POv

September 29th 2012.

Saturday 9:30pm.

Miami, Florida.

Zach lights up a cigarette as he sits at my small wooden table that is placed to the side of my open kitchen, looking out of my second floor window that looks out into the street below. His shoulders are tense and I stand in silence as he smokes before me, barely speaking a word since he arrived ten minutes ago.

I can't take the silence for much longer however.

"Uncle Zach-"

"Stop!" he cuts me off coldly. "Don't talk, I'm trying to think." he puffs on his cigarette and I sigh and run my hand through my hair nervously, not really sure what else I'm supposed to do right now. After a few more minutes of eerie silence he finally speaks up. "This is one big mess, Lauren."

"I know."

"You know? That's great." he mutters sarcastically and at least I know where my attitude came from. "I asked you to do one thing for me, Lauren, one thing." he slams his fist against my cheap table and I watch as it rattles for a moment from the impact.

"Oh come on, that one thing was practically impossible! Besides, I already told you that Harry had more chance of getting in with the Cabello's than I did anyway!"

"You think if I wanted Harry to do it I wouldn't have asked him in the first place?" he stands to his feet and stares at me with anger in his eyes. "I didn't ask Harry! I asked you! You're the one I trust the most in this damn family to get things done my way, Lauren! I don't trust your other Uncles, I don't trust your cousins, I don't trust your brother!"

"Why the hell not? Harry is trustworthy! You know fine well he is!" I argue, defending my little brother because he has only ever done what Zach has asked of him.

"With some things, yes." he admits. "But face it, he's a Daddy's boy so when it comes down to it, he'll side with Mike."

"I wasn't aware that there were any sides here." I frown confused. "As far as I was concerned, we're all on the same side, we're all a family and we all stick together. You told me that."

Zach shakes his head in annoyance. "You're missing the point. I asked you for your help and you let me down, you didn't even try!"

I gulp slightly and look away because he is right. With everything that happened with Camila three weeks ago, I haven't even made an effort to try and get into the Cabello home and I definitely didn't stand a chance in trying to get inside the Hansen and especially the Horan's right now.

"Look I'm sorry ok, I really am." I tell him sincerely. "But surely there is another way, if not through Harry then through someone else. You must know people who can make this whole mess disappear."

Zach stays silent before putting out his cigerette. "If I do manage to get myself out of this situation then it won't have anything to do with you." he practically huffs before reaching out into his back pocket and pulling out a small see through packet of white pills and throwing them at me. "Now go and get rid of all of these for me will you, I would actually like to make some money before I end my life behind bars." he practically snarls at me and I sigh before shoving them in my pocket and walking out of the door.

I know better than to argue with him about giving me the crappy jobs like trying to push pills in clubs, especially since I'm already in his bad books right now anyway.

——

Camila's POV

"So Camila, I'm guessing you're going to ask Shawn to be your escort at Miss Miami?" Dinah leans back against my couch from her place on the floor, sipping on a homemade milkshake as she casually flicks through a fashion magazine, a repeat of a reality TV show that she loves playing quietly in the background.