Lauren's POV
It wasn't too long after Camila left when I heard the front door open and close a few seconds later. Assuming it was my mom, because who else could it be, really? I stood up from the couch and walked to the hallway.
"Hi," I greeted.
"Oh, hey sweetie." She responded as she took her shoes off.
"What have you been up to all day?" I asked, maintaining conversation between us.
"So much, Lauren. So much." She murmured.
"Okay, well..care to share maybe?" I trailed.
"Yeah, can you make me a cup of tea first, though? I'll tell you then." She answered.
"Sure," I said and walked to the kitchen.
"Here you go," I spoke up, putting Mom's favorite mug on the table in the living room.
"Thanks, honey." Mom said smiling.
"Okay, spill!" I quipped impatiently.
"Okay, well.. I assume both you and Camila have figured out that something had been going on..?" she said, raising both of her eyebrows.
I chuckled and nodded.
"Totally, you weren't exactly secretive, you know. and especially Sinu, from what I've heard."
"Yeah," mom chuckled, "so Camila's mom planned something for her. She wanted to surprise her and she's been doing really well with keeping it all to herself until today, really." She stopped to get a sip of her still pretty warm tea. "About a week ago Sinuhe came up with an idea that she was sure would make Camila incredibly happy, and she was so right.." she trailed thoughtfully with a faint smile on her face.
"Mom! C'mon, I wanna know what she did!" I urged her. Though knowing Camila was so happy to see the surprise felt really nice. Imagining her whole body reflect her happiness made me smile lightly myself. My mom's voice got me out of my daze and I directed my gaze at her again, giving her my full attention.
"Okay, okay!" mom laughed. "Sinu invited Camila's two best friends from Cuba to Miami for ten days."
I smiled widely, putting my hands over my mouth. Now I was able to actually at least try to imagine what Camila was feeling. After getting a glimpse of her love for her best friends today and yesterday, I expected her to be on top of the world, having Theo and..Duardo, was it? By her side with her right now.
"Wow.." I breathed. "I wish I could've seen her react to that."
"Her reaction was priceless. At first she was both confused and speechless, when she realized what's going on, a smile took over her face, I'm telling you, I've never seen a smile so big. After that she started sobbing and ran up to the boys and threw herself on the bigger one." My mom recounted, smiling. "What I saw literally resembled a koala bear hold onto a tree. Anyway, the smaller one hugged Camila and they stayed like that. I think all of them cried at some point." She stopped, or so I thought.
"It was such a precious thing to watch. I could actually feel their love for one another." She added wittingly. "But after that I left the Cabellos house, almost unnoticed. Sinu seemed so touched by the three of them, that I only silently let her know I was leaving."
"That's wonderful, she's probably actually jumping from joy. That was an amazing thing of Sinu to do." I said deliberately.
"Yes indeed."
"Anyway, how about you do whatever you feel like doing and I'll prepare something to eat for the evening?" I suggested.
"You would?"
"Sure!" I smiled lightly.
"Okay, thank you." mom added. "But Lauren?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you call the therapist yet?" she asked.
Shit.
"...Uuuh, I was just about to do this." I tried covering the fact that I'd absolutely forgotten about it.
Mom laughed loudly and shook her head.
"Do it before you forget again, kiddo."
"Yeah, yeah.." I said, chuckling to myself as I walked to the kitchen.
I sat on the stool by the table and took my phone out. I searched for the number that I had already saved in there. After I'd found a Benjamin Sullivan in my contacts, I took a deep breath. I dialed the number and put the phone to my left ear.
"Dr. Sullivan, hello?" I heard after two rings.
"Hello, I'm Lauren Jauregui and doctor-"
"Oh hey, Lauren. I was expecting your call. How are you?" he asked.
"I'm good! Thank you." I said nervously.
"That's great to hear." He answered and I could hear him freaking smiling. Does it mean he meant it? That man doesn't even know me and he already cares about the fact if I'm doing okay, how awesome is that? "Anyway, do you have any plans for the next week? How about I tell you the days when you can pay me a visit and you'll choose one of them, we'll plan the next meetings in my office, hm?"
"Yes, that sounds good. " I replied shortly.
"Alrighty, I don't want you to feel rushed by my strict schedule, so I'd like to suggest Tuesday or Friday. On those days I have more free time. You could come for thirty minutes or three hours, whatever feels good to you." he explained.
He was so thoughtful.
Okay Lauren, focus! Which day am I choosing? Tuesday or Friday? The sooner the better, right?
"Lauren, you still there?" he spoke up again.
"Yes! Sorry, Tuesday sounds perfect." I answered immediately.
"Okay, is any time suitable?"
"Mhm," I nodded then realized he couldn't even see me.
"Hmm.. okay, come to my office at 2PM then." He said surely.
"Okay, thank you and see you then!" I replied, already turning the conversation to the end.
"Lauren! I have one more question for you." the man added quickly.
"What is it?" I trailed.
"Will you be coming with your parent or by yourself?" he asked.
"Um, by myself."
"Alright, have a good evening and see you soon." He bid me goodbye.
"Bye!" I responded and ended the call.
Well, that wasn't so bad.
I hid my phone in my pocket again and reached for the cookbook. I wanted to do something nice for my mom and was about to look for something to prepare for dinner.
After settling on quesadillas, I got down to business.
~
It's been three days since I last saw Camila and I had only two days left until my first therapy session.
I'm not too nervous about seeing my therapist. I might feel a bit of excitement, even. but I don't know what to expect from those meetings. What if the treatment doesn't work, what if I won't get better and everyone who got their hopes up, will be disappointed in me later on? I don't want to disappoint my mom, my therapist, my friends and even my dad.
The sound of an incoming text message got me out of the internal musings.
I unlocked my phone and furrowed my eyebrows when I'd seen who the sender was.
mani my diva: "can't wait to see you in a bit laurenza ;)"
I totally forgot about the meeting with my best friend in a couple of hours I was supposed to have. I realized I had about two hours to get ready and wanting to look on point for Normani, I decided to start preparing immediately.
After showering and completing a good enough outfit, I started putting on make-up, not too strong but still visible, I even went in for my one and only red lipstick. Boy did I miss it. Deciding to leave my hair the way it was, I checked myself out in the mirror and smirked. For the first time in quite a while, I was satisfied with the way I looked and it felt fantastic.
Finally, I'm ready to reunite with my best friend.
I quickly sent her a message, saying I was on my way to our old favorite spot by the beach. I bid my mom goodbye and got in the car.
The traffic wasn't too bad, so I got to the prearranged place sooner than I assumed. I parked the engine and took a seat on the bench, that throughout the years got to be called 'ours'.
I sat there not even 5 minutes and I saw a familiar car pull up in the parking lot of a café. The, now short haired girl got out of the vehicle and locked it. She fixed her dress and made her way towards me.
I directed my gaze at her face and both of us grinned widely.
I sprang to my feet and ran in my friend's direction. She quickened her walk, but realizing she was probably wearing very high heels, she quit running.
Her eyes were squinted and her teeth shined perfectly thanks to that beautiful smile of hers.
I fell into her welcoming arms and put mine around her fit body. I let out a contented sigh and smiled happily.
I felt the girl in my arm's body shake lightly and I realized she was crying.
"Manibear," I whispered fighting with my own tears now. She only sobbed louder and I hugged her tighter. I was crying myself by now and we stood there just like that. It could be three minutes but it could be thirty minutes, that didn't matter as long as both of us were happy to be in each other's company again.
The girl's sobs quieted down, so did mine and we pulled away from each other. We still stood so close to each other, that I could feel her breath tickle my face.
"We ruined our makeup." She spoke up and chuckled gently.
"Damn, is it that bad?" I laughed.
"You tell me, girl." She answered.
"You're always perfect, Mani." she did, in fact, still look stunning.
"Awww, you're not so bad yourself, doofus." She teased.
I pushed her lightly and we laughed, never breaking eye contact.
"So, how have you been?" I asked, making my way back to the bench with Normani following me.
"Some things have changed, not exactly for the better, but I'm coping." She responded vaguely.
"Spill," I commanded shortly.
"Lauren, I don't want to bother you, it's okay." She added skeptically.
"Bother me? what the fuck, girl?" I asked. "I said spill," I smiled encouragingly.
She looked at me with furrowed eyebrows and contemplated my suggestion.
"My mom wants a divorce," she finally said and took a deep breath, "and as if it wasn't enough, she wants to move back to Georgia. Without my dad. And knowing the court, if they do get that damn divorce, they'll tell me to live with her, not him. And I don't want to leave Miami, Lo. I can't." the girl who was on a verge of crying said quickly.
I immediately put my hand over hers and rested my arm on her back for support.
"I'm so sorry, Mani. How long has it been going on?" I questioned.
"They had their first serious conversation about the divorce a few months ago." She explained.
"Mani!" I scolded the girl.
"What?" she relented confused.
"A few months? Why didn't you come to me earlier?"
"I didn't want to bother you.." she confessed.
"Mani.." I repeated. "We're best friends. Do you know what being best friends mean? It means being there for each other! It's not one sided, okay? Not only my feelings matter, yours do as well. They matter just as much! We're equal here, girl. No supremacy exists in friendships. You have every right to come to me whenever the fuck you want as much as I do." I talked with no intention of ending anytime soon and no awareness of what I was actually saying.
"Okay, you're starting to ramble." She spoke up. We smiled at each other, knowing our goal in this conversation. "Thank you."
"For what?" I asked.
"Reminding me that. I got a bit lost, but here you are, helping me get back on the right way." Normani explained.
"No problem, girl." I responded. "But back to business, you do know you get to choose who you want to live with, right? Unless there's something wrong a parent does, then the other one has advantage over the bad one. But as far as I know, your dad's nothing but perfect and if he's planning on staying in the city, then you've got nothing to worry about." I calmed the girl.
"Yeah.." she breathed.
"What happened, by the way?" I asked timidly. I didn't want to cross the line but we are best friends after all and we do tell each other stuff. I shouldn't worry about going in too deep.
"She's crazy." The girl said shortly. She looked at me briefly and directed her gaze at my hand, which was still holding hers supportingly. Probably realizing that sentence alone didn't explain much, she added "Suddenly, she started to be bothered by everything and everyone. Nothing and no one is good enough for her, nothing my dad or I do satisfies her. She's constantly mad at us. She's a pretentious bit-"
"Mani," I said quickly. "It's your mother, do not call your mother that."
"Right, I'm sorry. I got carried away. She's just so annoying, I'm so frustrated sometimes, that I don't know what to do with myself." my friend confessed.
I didn't say anything, because I simply didn't know what I could answer to that. We locked eyes and her features softened.
"Enough about me for now, your turn." She added.
"My turn?" I asked, confused.
"How are you? What have you been up to? How's your mom and Taylor and your dad?" she bombarded me with questions on one breath.
And so I filled Normani in on my life these days, I told her about the Cabellos, how much I loved spending time with Camila, the treatment I began, my mom's group therapy, but I couldn't say much about my little sister and my dad to whom I had little contact. I made a mental note to call my sister later and catch up.
"So the Camilla girl-" Mani started but got caught by me.
"It's Camila,"
"Yes, that's what I said." She added bluntly.
"No, it's Cameela, Mani." I said again, amused.
"Ooooh, ok!" she chuckled. "So Camila..?" she raised her eyebrows.
I nodded proudly and opted her to go on.
"Can I meet her? She sounds fun." The girl asked.
"You want to?" I asked happily.
"Sure!" I smiled contentedly, and so did she.
"Well, currently her friends are staying with her. I haven't seen her for a few days and I actually miss her a lot. Time with her flies so fast, I feel so good with her. She makes me feel amazing." I rambled.
"Aye, should I be jealous?" she asked jokingly.
I chuckled and shook my head.
"C'mon, you know you're irreplaceable."
"Obviously," she responded and whipped her hair for good measure.
I chuckled and tried to remember what we talked about. Oh!
"But yeah, I'd love for the two of you to meet, it'd be great." I added.
"Cool!"
I jumped when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and unlocked it. I had a new text message.
camila the cutie: "I miss you :c"
I giggled and couldn't stop myself from muttering a quiet 'aw'.
"Is that someone you're crushing on or something?" Normani asked bluntly.
"What??" LOL "No!" I said immediately.
"Then who is it from?"
"Camila," I answered shortly.
"Mhmm.." she murmured.
I didn't give it a second thought because I was too busy texting back to my favorite cutie.
"i miss you too, cutie. i was just talking to my friend about you, she'd love to meet you."
I sent the message and gave my full attention to Normani again. She was smiling suggestively and I don't remember being more confused.
"What?" I finally asked.
"Nothing." She answered simply.
"Whatever floats your boat."
"Whatever floats your boat.." she said quietly. I don't think she wanted me to hear this, but she could have kept this to herself and said it in her mind instead of murmuring it. I don't know what her deal is but I stopped wondering when I had an incoming call.
An incoming call from Camila!
"Sorry, I gotta take that." I said quickly to Normani.
"Hi!" I greeted cheerfully.
"Heeey!" she chuckled. "So I saw your message.."
"Yeah?"
"Mhmm,"
"And what do you think?" I trailed.
"Did you talk about Normani or Ally?" she asked without answering my question.
"Normani," I responded nevertheless.
"Well, I think I'd love to meet her as well." She finally replied.
"Really??" I asked way too eagerly.
"Yeah," she chuckled again. "Actually, my friends are looking forward to meeting you, too."
"Are they?"
"Totally. What are you two up to, anyway? Maybe we could hang out together tonight." She suggested.
She sounded so confident and happy, almost as if she wasn't the girl I saw three days ago.
"I'll ask Normani, hold up." I said, putting my other hand to cover my phone.
"Mani, Camila and her friends want to go out together, what do you think?"
"I think it's a rad idea, I'm up." She replied.
I gave her a thumbs up and focused on the phone conversation I was having.
"We're in."
"Yaaaay!" the girl squealed. "Ok, so since I don't know the city like you two do, how about we start getting ready and you'll text us the place where we'll meet?"
"Sure, I'll see you soon!"
"Byee!"
And with that I ended the phone call and hid the device back in my pocket.
"Where do we take three crazy Cuban teenagers?" I asked bluntly.
"Who the fuck knows..." Mani trailed. "I know where I'd take my friends to hang out, though."
"That's good enough." We both chuckled and made our way to our cars.
"Let's go to your place, we'll leave your car and then we'll drive together with my car." The girl suggested.
"Okay."
And with that, we were off.
a/n hello beautiful people.
this one took me a while, i know, sorry bout that. last days of summer break (MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL IS TOMORROW, KILL ME), family meetings and especially spending time with my brother who's leaving for the army tomorrow... (yes, i'm crying while typing this. i love him so much and i already miss him even though he's sitting next to right now), and voting for the girls..it all takes time and yep, that's my excuse lol
anyway, give it up for laurmilaaa. did you guys notice anything in mani's behavior about camren? ;) hope you like it, i don't :/
stay positive!
pola x