Clarity ~ m.c.

•Chapter 27•

"Yeah and then leaving again." she said. "I've been told all this before, Michael. I'm kind of use to people not coming back." Lauren added.

"Will you stop? This time it's different. I am coming back and you're going to be the reason why." I said, holding her face in my hands. "Just read the letters. We'll text, call, video chat, everything, I just got you I'm not going to lose you." I told her resting my forehead on hers.

"Michael we have to go." Calum said.

"Alright just hold on a sec." I told him and then turned my attention back to Lauren.

"This isn't good-bye." I told her and then gave her a long hard kiss.

"I love you Lauren Jacobs." I told her. It was like our thing that we did, saying our names at the end of the I love yous.

"I love you too Michael Clifford." She said and I gave her one last kiss good-bye before I grabbed my stuff and joined the mates and Liz to head over too London.

***Lauren's POV***

Watching Michael walk away was just as hard as watching my mom walk away for her second tour in Afghanistan. I lost five people in one day, Dominique, Michael, Luke, Calum and Ashton. It's new record. I was amazed that I didn't start crying in front of Michael, but now I could feel them coming.

"He'll come back Lauren." Mrs. Clifford reassured me as she came up to stand next to me. "Michael always keeps his promises." She said wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "It's going to be okay Lauren. Especially now that you're in his life, I've never seen him happier. He wouldn't pass up coming home to see you for the world."

"Thanks, but your his mom so I think seeing you would make him happy too." I told her and she smiled.

"Thanks." She said.

I picked up my box of letters for Michael off the floor and walked back over to my family.

"You okay?" Emily asked me.

"Yeah." I told her.

"You ready to go?" My uncle asked.

"Yeah let's go home." I said as we all walked out of the airport.

***

Back at home I sat in my room opening Dominique's present. Tearing off the paper it was a framed picture of the world map. On the map were two hearts one where Sydney Australia is and the other where Washington D.C. United States is then in between the hearts was a dotted line connecting the two hearts. I couldn't help but to crack up laughing when I saw this because I gave her the exact same thing.

Great minds think alike. I thought to myself while laughing so hard.

Before I went to go hanging it up on my wall I noticed there was a piece of paper taped to the back. Pulling it off it was a list of quotes from one of my favorite gymnasts, Gabby Douglas.

"Hard days are the best because that's when Champions are made." -Gabby Douglas

"Inspire a Generation because a Generation inspired you." -Gabby Douglas

"You just have to not be afraid and go out there and just dominate." -Gabby Douglas

"Gold Medals are made out of your sweat, blood and tears." -Gabby Douglas

"My message is to never quit, never give up. When you have a little trouble here and there, just keep fighting. In the end, it will pay off." -Gabby Douglas

As I read through the list and came to the last two quotes I realized they weren't from Gabby Douglas. The first one was "It's okay to be a glow stick; sometimes we need to breack before we shine." -Unominous. And the second one was "Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. When people can't do something themselves, they're gonna tell you that you can't do it. You want something go get it." -Will Smith

This one was like my family moto. My mom would always tell me this when I got down on myself about gymnastics and felt I would never be good enough. It was from her favorite movie, the Pursut of Happiness. It always inspired me to never give up.

Looking at my calander hanging on the wall I counted the weeks until I reached the days I marked in February.

February 20th-26th: Australian Olympic Gymnastics Team Tryouts.

"This is it." I thought to myself. This is game time, no more distractions. If I want to make the team I had to be 100% focused now, practicing everyday not until I get it right, but until I can't get it wrong. It's all or nothing now.