A/N: so uh long time no post huh... whoops. life caught up with me, assignments, new gf, another two fucking covid lockdowns.. you know,,, the works. Anyway have a small amount of angst that really isn't angst... I just wanted to get this out the way so I could enter the final stages of this story :o
----
Lauren was fuming. Her knuckles had long since turned white on the steering wheel, her eye twitched intermittently and her brain wouldn't stop thinking.
Her own sister.
Working against her.
She knew Taylor hated the family reputation, she'd made it clear she wanted nothing to do with her family name.
Lauren had never thought she'd betray her though.
"Betrayal is a strong word." Madison mused.
Lauren blinked. She wasn't in her car anymore. She was sat at a bar, bottle of whiskey in front of her, glass half empty. Madison had clearly just arrived, her jacket still wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
"My own sister," Lauren slurred quietly, "tired to dismantle me."
"I'm sure she had her reasons Lauren," Madison slid into the seat next to her.
"Camzi said she did it 'cause she cared," Lauren mumbled. Madison slowly dragged the whiskey bottle towards her, passing it off to a waiter as they walked by.
"It's a dangerous life to lead," Madison agreed softly, "that's why I'm here."
"She went behind my back Mads," Lauren whined, finishing her drink quickly. She reached for the bottle but frowned at the empty space.
"Time to go home Lauren. The flat or your parents?"
"Flat. D and M are busy." Lauren slumped forward onto the table and Madison sighed. She wrapped Lauren's arm around her shoulder and helped her stumble to her feet.
----
Madison almost let out a cry of relief when they finally reached Lauren's front door. Lauren struggled for her key before handing it to Madison.
"You should stay," Lauren said determinedly. Madison laughed as she unlocked the door and ushered Lauren in, heading her towards the kitchen. Her eyebrows raised when Lauren just blinked at her.
"I'm not staying Lauren."
Lauren pouted and leaned on the counter, burying her head in her arms.
"Camzi was here last time I was this drunk," Lauren mumbled, "she made sure I was okay."
Madison pushed a glass of water towards Lauren.
"I bet she did," Madison chuckled, "and I also bet you were both kinda drunk and didn't care."
"Maybe..."
"Now drink up and go to bed. I'll sleep on the sofa if you really want me to stay."
----
Lauren woke up to a heavy tongue and a pounding head. Luckily she'd had the mind to draw the curtains before collapsing into bed.
She sat up slowly and let her head stop spinning.
She could smell coffee... who was in her apartment?
It took her a few minutes but her brain finally told her legs to start moving. They brought her to the kitchen where Madison was making breakfast.
"Uh," Madison spun around, butter knife in her mouth, "morning?"
"I wasn't expecting to see you until this afternoon." Madison said with a sheepish grin. Lauren blinked, taking in her appearance before she winced.
"Did we...?"
"Oh no, no we didn't," Madison laughed quietly, "not for your lack of trying though."
Lauren closed her eyes and fell into a chair at the counter.
"I'm sorry," Lauren groaned, "very unprofessional."
"Look if you hadn't been absolutely trashed... I probably would've said yes," Madison flashed a grin at Lauren's shocked expression.
"Gimme coffee and an idea on how to deal with my sister," Lauren sighed. Madison slid a cup towards her and leaned on the countertop.
"Be honest with her. Don't blow your lid and just keep it calm," Madison replied with a shrug, "you don't want to ruin your relationship with her."
"But-"
"No. Lauren, you know she didn't mean anything bad by it."
Lauren huffed, staring down into her coffee. She knew Madison was right. She just didn't know if she was mad at Taylor or Camila. She'd thought they trusted each other; finally thought Camila might stop trying to arrest her.
"You know she was just trying to protect Taylor." Madison's voice brought Lauren out of her reverie.
"Who-"
"Camila," Madison shrugged before chuckling under her breath, "we both know I had no chance while she was in your life. And from what I can tell she plans to be around for a while."
Lauren could feel the small flush creeping up her neck at the thought; Camila in her life for a long time... she would be so lucky.
"Yeah, trying to bring down the family," Lauren joked around the rim of her mug.
"Oh please," Madison scoffed, "everyone knows it's just an excuse to see you more often."
"I'll remind you you said that the next time she actually arrests me," Lauren murmured.
"Like you'd let her get one over on you again," Madison laughed, filling up her own mug. "Now, are you ready to go see Taylor?"
----
Lauren was not ready. Not by a long shot. She was just glad it was a Saturday. Taylor would be at home and Lauren could get this over with before her community service.
There was a ding as the elevator came to a stop, Lauren trailed after Madison, staring down at her phone. A collection of notifications stared back at her.
All of them were from Camila.
She doesn't even remember if she gave Camila her number, or if Camila had ever messaged her before.
Madison nudged her and Lauren looked up; Taylor had answered the door.
"We need to talk."
Taylor frowned but let them into the apartment.
"Mum's at work right now, and lord knows where Chris is-"
"Just you." Lauren cut her off and folded her arms. Granted in a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants it didn't have it's usual intimidation.
"O-kay?"
"You hired Camila to bring me down," Lauren felt her heart clench as Taylor's eyes widened and she swallowed roughly.
"Laur- I was just- you- I-" Taylor stuttered and Lauren let her hands fall to her sides and a small smile cross her face.
"I'm not mad Tay. I just want to know why."
"You're... not mad?" Taylor asked slowly, glancing back at Madison who shrugged at her.
"No. Well maybe yesterday I was. But Madison here talked some sense into me," Lauren wandered over to the dining table and sat down. "So why don't we just talk."
Taylor sat down cautiously and fiddled with her fingers, avoiding Lauren's eyes.
"I just wanted to protect you," Taylor said in a small voice.
"I can handle myself Tay," Lauren sighed.
"You were in prison," Taylor snapped, glaring at Lauren, "do you have any idea how terrifying that is for us? Just 'cause dad was a piece of shit doesn't mean we stopped caring about him, so now imagine how bad that was about you?"
Lauren sunk down in her chair and looked down at the table.
"I guess... I didn't think about that."
"Yeah, clearly," Taylor scoffed, "I went to Mila 'cause I knew she could do the job I needed without getting everyone killed."
"She's good at her job that's for sure," Lauren smiled slightly before looking up at Taylor, "why didn't you tell me when I got out?"
"'Cause the case isn't finished," Taylor said firmly, "you know how I felt about it when dad was in charge. You know I don't like it. At least this way the worst that will happen is you'll go back to prison and you won't end up-"
Lauren winced as Taylor cut herself off and pursed her lips, glaring at the wall behind Lauren's head.
"I won't-"
"You can't promise that while you're running the mob Lauren," Taylor folded her arms and raised her eyebrow. Lauren shuddered before glancing over at Madison. Madison nodded and Laruen turned back to Taylor.
The Jauregui stare clearly ran in the family.
"I can promise to try though," Lauren said carefully, "besides I've got Madison watching my back, not to mention Dinah and Mani."
"And Camila," Madison chipped in with a smug smile. Lauren flipped her off without looking and watched as Taylor struggled to hide a smile.
"What I'm saying is," Lauren sighed, "I've got people making sure I don't... fuck up."
"I'm not telling Mila to stop," Taylor said after a few minutes of silence, "I keep the lights on over at BB's."
Lauren laughed and let her head fall back before shrugging.
"Can't really stop you, but sure," Lauren pulled her phone out and tapped it on the table, "I should probably tell Camz it's gonna be harder now that I know."
"Like she wasn't already struggling," Taylor snorted. Lauren hummed.
"Oh I don't know... she did alright. I mean I had to pull strings to get out of prison to keep the company alive..."
"Right.. Not because you wanted to get laid. Not at all," Taylor muttered. Lauren pointedly ignored her and Madison's cackling, instead responding to Camila's messages.
----
Camila's head almost bounced off the desk when her phone chirped next to her. She sat up and clutched at her neck; last time she fell asleep at work.
She ran her hand through her hair and yawned, she blearily looked around the office and saw the door to Blackbear's office cracked. The voices slowly filtering out sounded like an important meeting but she could hear Ally in there.
Becky grinned at her from her desk and nodded towards her desk. Camila looked down and saw a still steaming mug of coffee in front of her. She shot Becky a thumbs up as she sipped on her coffee.
She unlocked her phone and clicked on her texts, choking on her coffee when she saw a series of texts from Lauren.
Criminal #1 [11:09]: talked to tay
Criminal #1 [11:09]: everything's sorted
Criminal #1 [11:10]: hope you're ready for a challenge
Criminal #1 [11:10]: imma bout to up my game so get those handcuffs ready
Criminal #1 [11:10]: ... take that how you please
Camila blinked at her screen, absentmindedly wiping her desk as she heard the office door creak open.
She was still stuck staring at it when it was suddenly swiped from the desk.
"Hey!"
"What is so damn interesting that you've- oh..." Becky snickered and tossed the phone to Ally, "you know it's really unprofessional to sext at work Mila."
Camila lunged for her phone and snatched it back with a huff.
"I was not sexting."
"I saw the word handcuffs," Ally pointed out.
"You know she's an ass," Camila snapped, "but it's fine. She didn't commit murder and I still have a job."
"So bonus to you using your handcuffs later tonight?" Becky snickered. Camila glared at her before her phone vibrated again.
Criminal #1 [11:17]: wanna try and catch me at my next meeting? maybe you can use those handcuffs sooner than you thought...
Camila ignored the blush that graced her cheeks and grabbed her car keys as the location came through.
"I hate you guys," Camila grumbled, "come on Ally, I'm gonna need some backup for this."
"I'm not down for a threesome just fyi Mila."