XXVII.
"I can see insecurity in Shawn's eyes; I can see the need to prove himself to himself, and more than anything I can see a childlike charm that's never going to fade."
On foot, Lauren found she could cross town via rooftops far faster than roads. Retrieving the mental picture of the Jauregui household, the girl left Camila to tend to the car while she returned to bring Mike the good news.
Upon arriving at the home, she then knocked at the door, stepping back nervously and wishing for a moment or two that Camila was there with her. The tiny brunette gave off such a powerful air of confidence that around her, everything became easier. And if there was anything the green eyed teen needed more at the time, it was for things to become easier.
"Lauren." Mike opened the door, smiling when he saw the girl. "It's good to see you back here. Come on in, lets talk."
Lauren followed, politely removing her shoes and looking around the room for other signs of life. "So... it must be quiet around here when the kids are at school."
"It can be, yes." Mike gestured for her to follow back into his study. "Luckily neither of them go too far, so they'll sometimes come home for lunch."
"I'm sure that's fun for you."
Mike chuckled. "You would think so, but ever since their mom left those two have becoming increasingly self-sustaining."
"It must have been hard on the three of you, losing her like that."
The man nodded a sound affirmation. "Clara has a wonderful heart." He told her. "I have no idea how she found out about Silent Hill, and she would never tell me no matter how many times I asked. I guess in a way, I had always expected her to do what she did. The one thing she hated more than anything was people being mistreated."
Lauren looked down. "I never thought of it as being mistreated." She told him honestly. "In a way, the morales drilled into our heads aligned more towards it seeming like they were doing us a favour. Death was our destiny, the people around us with the guns and gas masks really only helped it come in a way that was as quick and as painless as possible."
Mike gestured towards the open chair on the other side of his desk. "Do you think that the death was painless?"
"I do." Lauren nodded. "Death was the reward. It was the reason we lived. We were born to die."
Mike leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. To Lauren, he seemed like a gentle soul. He clearly showed fierce love for his children, raising them on his own while dealing with the pain of an hollow loss. "Clara believed the exact opposite." He replied to her only moments later. "She believed that no human should be brought into the world only for their bodies."
"She never told me that."
"She was never allowed to." Mike sat forward and reached down into his bottom desk drawer, removing a series of papers and setting them down before Lauren.
"What are these?"
"These were attached to some of the letters." The man explained. "I didn't show them to you when you were here before because of your friend, I believed that you should see them first in case there was anything especially personal."
Lauren reached forward and took the papers, turning them over as a unit and leafing through. Each page looked like it had been thoroughly loved, torn at the edges and stained in a strikingly similar way that the letters had been. What had Lauren's breath, were the drawings on each page. Some had just one, others had up to a dozen, but on each sheet of paper was a drawing of two interlocked triangles, one on the top, and another on the bottom.
"This symbol..." Lauren looked up at Mike.
"That symbol was what you drew, every time you were given the chance." He nodded. "These are drawings you did as a child, sent to me to keep safe."
As Lauren set them shakily down on the desk once more, Mike reached for another.
"You didn't stop there. There are images on some of these of things you had never seen before. You drew the sun, the moon, and the stars. You drew animals such as cats and dogs, and even some birds and insects. She told me that you had a fascination with butterflies, and sometimes even the occasional dragonfly."
Lauren felt her chest begin to ache. Tears were inevitable, and she was doing everything she could to hold them back.
"Clara told me that she could have watched you sketch for hours." Mike smiled. "She loved watching you, and in the moments when she wasn't teaching you to control your mutation, she would give you time to make art."
"Did she ever tell you... what this symbol here meant?" Lauren asked, holding up a page that was home to a single set of triangles. "Because its true, it's been in my head for years now, and I have no idea why."
"She could never figure it out either." Mike shrugged. "It's not like she could break off from her duties and do research on it, and anything that I could find would never make it to her." He sighed. "Clara was taking a massive risk just sending me the letters she did."
Lauren set the papers down. "There's no question now." She muttered. "I'll go back there, and I'll find her. I'll bring her back here so you can be a family again, I promise." The ache in the young girl's chest was now turning to fire. "I'll destroy that place, and the people that made it the way it is. I'll free everyone, and I'll show them what kind of life they can live outside those walls. The same kind of life that I found."
Mike smiled again. "Lauren... you should know that in one of her letters, Clara described to me just how much she cared about you. How much she loved you."
Lauren looked up with a start, the adrenaline in her gut subsiding just a fraction. "She did?"
"She did." Mike looked down at the drawings. "She considered you not only the most important child in that place, but her child. She told me that in some other pathway of time, perhaps she would have been lucky enough for you to be her daughter, and forever a part of our family."
Lauren felt tears begin to well in her eyes again. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to have Camila appear next to her; she wanted the girl's affectionate gaze and tight grip. She wanted to hear that infectious voice telling her not to cry. Badly.
"Take these." Mike pushed the drawings towards her, seemingly unaware of her bubbling emotions. "Keep them in a safe place; lock them back into your mind, and when the time is right, use them to find the answers you seek."
"I will." Lauren stood up and took the papers. "I promise you I won't fail."
"I believe you." The man stood up with her. "And Lauren?"
"Yes?"
"That girl you had with you yesterday. Camila, was it?"
"Yes."
"If you don't mind me asking, who is Camila to you?"
"Camila..." Lauren looked down at her hands for a moment. "She's a lot of things. She's... special."
"I see." Mike locked Lauren into a fierce bought of eye contact. "There is something about that girl that has intrigued me." He started. "My judge of character is far inferior to that of my wife's, but I am certain that Camila is an important piece to this entire endeavour."
"She is." Lauren fiddled with the pages in her hand. "I've got her support, and she'll be coming with me. Don't worry."
"No." Mike shook his head. "I believe that there will come a time when you will need far more than her support. It seems there is something that she possesses which you lack, a simple conversation with her of no more than a few minutes told me that."
"What do you mean? I don't understand." Lauren frowned.
"You will in time." Mike replied. "Just promise me that if nothing else, you will protect her at all costs?"
"I will."
"Good." The man stepped forward. "I trust you to make adequate preparations. It won't be an easy journey Lauren, for either of you."
"I know." Lauren nodded. "I've made it before, and it wasn't easy then. I can only assume it'll be worse this time around." She stood, preparing herself to leave the home. "Thank you Mike."
"Wait." An unfamiliar voice chopped its way clean through the conversation, and both Lauren and Mike turned to see Taylor standing by the office entrance. She was half hiding behind the doorframe, half peeking out to look straight at the green eyed girl.
"Taylor?" Mike asked, giving his daughter a confused look. "Honey, what are you doing home?"
"I forgot some notebooks." Taylor revealed herself, running her hands up through her long hair. "Would it be okay if I actually talked to Lauren for a little bit? I promise it won't take too long."
"About what?" Her father questioned. "Lauren has a lot on her plate right now. I'm sure she has more important things to do."
"Just about stuff." Taylor looked over at the older girl, hope in her brown eyes. Lauren nodded quickly, assuring her that a quick conversation was absolutely in the cards.
"I'd be happy to talk." Lauren smiled softly. "Is here okay? Or is there somewhere else you'd rather go?"
"Somewhere else." Taylor eyed her father before granting Lauren a "come hither" hand gesture. She followed, thanking Mike one last time before heading out of the office and back down the hall. Taylor led her through the house, past the living room and kitchen until they reached a set of glass sliding doors.
"Your family has a really nice house." Lauren noted, folding the papers into quarters and slipping them into the back pocket of her jeans. "Is this the backyard?"
"Yeah." Taylor had slid her feet into a pair of simple black flip flops. "You'll have to excuse any garbage back here. We have a bunch of family friends who are addicted to late night barbecuing and hanging out in the hot tub. They leave crap everywhere."
"Sounds fun." Lauren looked around. The area was green, covered in a well manicured lawn and a few patches of flowers that were native to Miami. Surrounded by a tall honey brown fence, there was a rather large tub in the far right corner, and a patio in the left. Covering it was a series of matching lawn furniture, from tables and chairs to a few umbrellas.
"My mom." Taylor turned, facing Lauren head on. Close up, she could see the younger girl's features well, distinct and strikingly similar to her fathers. "Have you seen her recently?"
Lauren glanced back at the house before shaking her head. "No." She admitted sadly. "Not recently."
"Is she okay? Taylor began to play with her fingers. "I mean I'm sure she's not okay, but you know... is she okay?"
Lauren watched Taylor as she spoke, noticing that the girl was pacing around the grass. "The last time I saw her, she was okay." The green eyed girl replied. "Do you know about me? Does your dad ever tell you about who I am?"
"Kinda, not really." Taylor was glancing behind at the door as well. "Hey, do you maybe want to go for a walk? I know the neighbourhood pretty well, I promise I won't get us lost."
"Sure, will your dad be alright with that?"
Taylor laughed. "I do a million things a day that Dad wouldn't be alright with, I think he'll be okay with a walk around the street."
"Alright." Lauren matched her smile. "Is there a gate or—" She was cut off as Taylor turned around and scaled the fence like a cat, perching up on the top and grinning. "Wow, are you a seasoned veteran of breaking out of your house?"
"Am I ever." Taylor held her hand out. "You coming?"
"I got it." Lauren hopped up to the top of the fence without as much as a breath wasted, clearly impressing the young athlete before her. "So where are we headed?"
"There's an elementary school not too far away. A public one with a really cute playground. There shouldn't be anyone there now." Taylor nodded, starting off to the north. Lauren followed closely, waiting for the brunette to continue her explanation.
"Dad would tell us bits and pieces. My brother and I knew that Mom left to do something really important, and we also knew that it was something that would more likely than not put her life in danger. But we were young when he told us everything, and we didn't really soak much of it in." Taylor's eyes were on the ground as she spoke. "That being said, you totally don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I figure that whatever's going on is pretty... confidential and serious."
"It is." Lauren immediately felt bad. "I'm... not going to burden you with the details. All you need to know is that it's nothing fun. I promise."
"I believe you." Taylor looked up with a small smile.
"So how old were you when your mom left?"
"I was ten, my brother was twelve." She replied. "You remember a fair bit when you're ten, but not enough to be able to re-hash every detail." She sighed. "Mom just told us that she needed to go on a trip, and that she was going to be away for a long time. It all sorta happened over the course of a few nights, there was a lot of yelling."
"Yelling between you and her?"
"Yelling between her and my dad." Taylor clarified. "I guess it's pretty obvious to assume that he didn't want her leaving the family, at least that's the way it was at first. Somewhere along the way he warmed up to the idea, and supported her."
"That must have been hard." Lauren mumbled as they reached the playground Taylor had been referring to and seated themselves comfortably on a set of swings. "To go through that when you were barely a kid."
"It definitely wasn't easy." Taylor nodded over at her. "While my brother and I grew up, Dad would always tell us that she was okay, no matter what it is we asked. When Chris asked if she was coming back, he told us she was okay. When I asked if she had forgot about us, all he told us was that she was okay. We kinda stopped asking about her, because it just aggravated him."
Lauren held onto the cool metal chain that suspended the swing, then pulled her feet out of her flip-flops to burrow her toes in the hot sand. "Well I know it's kinda late now, but I think it's safe for me to say that she definitely still cares about you guys. She hasn't forgotten."
Taylor straightened up. "Yeah?"
"Of course." Lauren smiled over at the younger girl. "Love, hate, betrayal, abandonment... no matter the circumstance, a mother doesn't forget about her children. Your mom... she visited me all the time, and she would talk about her family back home. At the time I didn't know where home was, and I didn't know who family was, but it didn't matter."
"Was she the one who gave you that picture?"
"Yeah." Lauren nodded. "She showed it to me one night, and I think she forgot it in my room. I kept it safe, but..." Her voice trailed off when she realized that the night the photo was left with her was the last night Clara appeared with her daily nurse duties. "Never mind. I kept it safe, I guess that's all that matters now."
"Thanks." Taylor smiled down at the ground. "It's actually really good to hear that. Chris and I have been kept in the dark for so long, I'll make sure to tell him what you told me."
"Sounds good." Lauren looked up at the playground, noting the eerie nature of the plastic structure when there weren't children crawling over every inch of it. "And I'm sorry that she left you like that. It's not easy to lose someone you love; you're not the only person I know whose lost their mother."
"It was that girl, wasn't it?" Taylor's voice was more confident than it had been before. "Camila, right? The Cuban girl who came up and talked to me during my practice the other day. She's lost her mother."
Lauren stilled. "How did you know?"
"People who go through a heartbreak like that just give off a different vibe." The young brunette shrugged. "I can just tell. The way she carried herself, and that glitter in her eye that kinda... shows how emotionally exhausted she is. It's just a little thing, and you can't really explain it unless you go through it yourself."
"That's amazing." Lauren murmured. "How you can read people like that."
"Not all people." Taylor chuckled. "Just some."
"It's still amazing." The green eyed girl let her gaze linger. "You know... I'm not one to make promises, but I'm going to make one to you."
"What's that?"
"I'll bring your mom back."
Taylor frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I'll do whatever I can to bring her back here so that all of you can be a family again. I... didn't get the chance to help Camila keep her family together, so I'm going to make it up to myself by doing so with yours." Lauren gripped the chain of her swing.
"Aw Lauren, you don't have to promise me anything." Taylor had folded her hands in her lap and was picking at the right side of her thumb nail. The older girl lifted her eyebrows curiously when she recalled that she shared the exact same habit. "It's been more than enough that you came out here and told me all this."
"No, I'll do it, I promise." Lauren grinned. "I don't really know you guys very well, but everyone deserves to have two loving parents with them for as long as they can."
The look on Taylor's face was enough for Lauren. The younger girl's gratitude was crystal clear. After their time together had wrapped up, Lauren ensured that the younger girl returned safely home before starting back to Camila. There was a new sense of purpose searing through her blood.
The first thing she did when she was back alone outside was find the closest tall rooftop she could, climb up undetected and look out onto the city.
I had someone there who loved me, and I didn't even know it. The girl thought to herself, clenching her fist around the cluster of childhood drawings that she had pulled from her back pocket and taken only a moment to stare down at. Clara, I'm sorry I didn't see it before... everything you did for me.
But I'm coming home now... so you better watch me make the pathway of time you desire a reality.
Tears streamed from Lauren's eyes, running down her cheeks and being taken away by the warm breeze. There was one other thought in her head, one the pained her to the very core. Softly, the green eyed girl uttered a name she hadn't even dared to mention in years.
"Normani..." Lauren narrowed her eyes at the horizon as the phone in her back pocket began to vibrate like mad. "If you're still out there, then I need you to hold on just a little longer... I'm coming to get you, I promise."
***
"She's coming." Dinah grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me towards the backseat. The rest of the day had breezed by, and it was getting quite late. "Get inside, I'll bring her over here."
Hopping atop the mattress, I shuffled back and let Dinah close the backdoor, opening the front. "Hey Lauren!" I heard the blonde call, jogging over to the entrance of the parking garage. "Come over here and check out what Camila did with the car! You're going to love this!"
"Alright Dinah, alright." Lauren replied, her voice soft. I smiled, watching out the front window as the green eyed girl was pushed along the sidewalk.
"Hey, did you do something with your hair? It looks shorter."
"Yeah, I've been trying out a little something new. What do you think?"
"You know, it really works on you. I've been thinking about it too, this mop gets really sweaty even if I tie it up."
I rolled my eyes, lying back and propping my head in my hands. Craning my neck up, I gave Lauren a grin the moment she opened the door. "Hi."
"Hey you." Lauren crouched down to look inside. "I see you've turned your vehicle into a bed and breakfast."
"It's so comfy." I held out my hands. "Join me."
"Maybe later." Lauren held out a single sheet of paper. "On another note, you've been excused from the rest of the semester due to stress and family issues, so you're good to go on school— Dinah, hey!"
I laughed as Dinah shoved Lauren into the backseat, the green eyed girl tumbling straight into my body.
"What was that for?" Lauren asked, the piece of paper now crumpled between us. "Dinah, this was an official document!"
"Oh darn." The blonde rolled her eyes. "You know, I bet if Camila just didn't show up no one would notice." She informed the girl. "That school is so lazy when it comes to attendance. But look at the two of you, so cute."
"You're telling me this now that I've already broken into the school, hacked into your principal's computer, and written up the most official looking document I could outlining Camila's fake situation?" Lauren protested, leaning her head against my shoulder. "Dinah!"
"Oops."
"Yeah, oops." Lauren planted a quick peck against my temple before crawling back towards the door and hopping outside. "I'm going to run and start getting some stuff together... hey what are those things?"
"The coolers?" Dinah stood up as well. "The came from the basement, we figured they would be great for storage. You can use them for drinks, food, just stuff in general."
"I already packed them full." I informed them both, shimmying on my stomach over to the open door and pulling down the flap on the side of the cooler. "The other one has water bottles, this one is for you."
"Camila." Lauren brushed my cheek affectionately when she saw the art supplies. "You're so sweet."
"And you're killing me." Dinah shook her head, heading back into the building. "When you're done being cute just let me know, I'll be inside."
Watching her for a moment, Lauren knelt down again so she was eye level with me. "You didn't have to do that you know."
"I didn't do it because I had to, I did it because I wanted to." I arched forward and pressed my lips to hers. "There's enough paper in this thing to last at least a year, so you better draw your little heart out."
"Come on." Lauren smiled, the corners of her lips tugging up like a cartoon character. "I know you've been procrastinating all day, you have some packing to do."
I had realized not long after I finished packing my things that there really weren't that many things to pack. In fact most of the things I would have considered to be meaningful were still tucked away in Shawn's garden shed. By the end of our little montage, I had a backpack that contained a few changes of clothes, my toothbrush, and a journal. My phone and it's charger had a home in the front pocket, as did a few individual packets of peanut butter and a single banana.
I did a quick sweep of the apartment, pulling every curtain closed and unplugging the appliances to save power. Dinah helped take the paintings off the wall and store them in the bedroom for safekeeping, while Lauren sat like a two year old, crosslegged in the hall using a plastic spoon to dig through the potted fern and retrieve our spare key.
"This feels weird." I spoke, seemingly to myself as I closed both the bedroom and bathroom doors.
"It's supposed to." Dinah elbowed me as she passed by in the hall with Lauren's bag over her shoulder. "Come on, it's time to lock up."
I nodded, following Dinah out in the hall and saying a silent "goodbye for now" to my empty apartment. Locking the door, I handed the blonde my key and started down the stairs.
"You be careful, okay?" Dinah asked while the two of us descended the first flight. "Be good, do what Lauren tells you to, and promise me you won't run headfirst into a situation that could possibly get you killed."
"I promise." I glanced back at her, a small albeit shy smile on my face. "Don't worry."
"You know I'm going to anyway."
On the short ride over to Shawn's place, Dinah rode in the passenger seat while I stretched out in the back, trusting my seatbelt-free ride to Lauren's careful driving. When we arrived, I had to call the boy about twenty times before he finally emerged from the front, tired looking and already in his pyjamas.
"Guys, it's really late." He muttered, padding down the family's long driveway in his bare feet. There was a long rectangular container balanced against each forearm like a bridge. "Are you sure you want to start driving around at this hour?"
"Oh they'll be fine. Check out the little bed we've made in the backseat." Dinah told him, hopping out of the car excitedly. Lauren got out as well, her eyes locked up on the dark sky.
Shawn blinked in response, pulling the door open to see me sprawled in the back examining a road map on my phone. "Aw, come on guys, are the two of you really going to end up defiling my childhood bed like this?" He half whined, gaze shifting to Lauren.
"Your childhood bed was painted like a rocket ship" I grinned, shuffling outside. "It had stripes and even a little window on the headboard, this is just the mattress, relax."
"Whatever." Shawn held the container in his hands out to me at an arms length. "My mom and my sister made some brownies for you guys last night, they told me to give them to you before you left."
"Oh, that's amazing." I took them, opening the lid to the smell of hazelnut heaven. "Your mom makes the best pastries." Placing the container on top of the car, I glanced over to where Lauren and Dinah were huddled together, discussing something. "Can we talk for a second?" I asked, taking his arm. "Maybe inside?"
"Yeah, sure." Shawn followed me, both of us quietly tiptoeing into the house and stopping in the small mudroom. "What's up?"
"This is me saying goodbye." I shuffled on my feet awkwardly. "I don't know how to do it, cause I've never had to say goodbye to you before."
"The key is not to think about it too much." Shawn placed his hands on my shoulders, squeezing tight. "Be safe. "Don't do anything too reckless, and try not to get yourself hurt."
I nodded.
"I hate seeing you leave." Shawn's eyes didn't leave mine. "I hate it more than anything, so you need to promise me that you'll come back here as soon as you can, alright?"
"Alright."
"And you'll do it in one piece?
"Sure."
"That's all I ask." Shawn planted a quick peck on my cheek before pulling me into a fierce hug, pressing me close to his chest. "Have you told your dad about any of this?"
"No." I shook my head, curling my arms around him. "So if he asks, you're going to need to make up some kind of excuse for me. And make it something good."
"If he calls then I'm going to throw my phone into the toilet." Shawn muttered. "He's really nice when you talk to him in person, but kinda scary when it's just his voice."
"You're the only guy I've known that he hasn't wanted to kill." I shrugged, taking his wrist in my hand and pulling the boy back outside. Once we were gathered around the car again, Dinah closed the door to the back and set the tupperware of brownies on the front dashboard.
"Good luck you two." She announced, pulling me into a tight squeeze and brushing my hair out of my eyes. "Lauren, get over here.'
Lauren, who still stood on the other side of the car shuffled on her feet nervously. "It's alright." She shrugged. "I think I'm getting sick, I don't want to infect you guys."
"Oh stop with the excuses." Dinah jogged around and grabbed her arm, pulling her over and wrapping the girl in a forceful hug. Shawn laughed, before he too was yanked into the huddle. I watched, proud that in the span of a few measly months, my little family had earned a permanent member.
It was subtle, but there was a small part of me that wanted it to grow even more with this trip.
"It's my turn now." Dinah gave Lauren and Shawn a second alone, grabbing my arm and pulling me off to the side. "Camila, let's talk."
"God, I hate goodbyes." I pulled her into a hug before the girl could utter another word. Dinah's embrace was a different kind of familiar than Shawn's was. Her arms reminded me not of the sad times, but of the happy. She reminded of the nights we spend alone laughing at some cheesy chick flick, and hours after school watching varsity boys scurry around the field in tiny shorts.
She reminded me of the angry nights when I would run away from the house and end up miles away at some random diner. Every time she had tracked me down, Dinah had never once tried to tell me off, whether I was right or wrong. Instead, she would slid across the table an empty notebook, and a pen, and just tell me to write.
"This isn't goodbye." Dinah brushed a strand of hair behind my ears, making me look the way I did when I was far younger. "This is good luck."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Dinah took a deep breath. "You've never liked it here, and you've never really been happy... well I've seen you happier over the last couple months than I have ever before. So do whatever you need to do, change the world, free those people, but come back here right after you're finished. If you don't, then I'm coming to find you."
"Deal." I smiled, throwing myself at her once more. "I love you."
"I love you too." Dinah took me by the shoulders and turned me to face the car. "And Camila..."
"Yeah?"
"Lauren has changed all of us, not just you. So don't you ever let her go."
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the passenger seat of the Altima, leaning on the windowsill and watching my friends fade away into the late evening glow. With a deep breath, I looked over at Lauren. The girl was smiling to herself, seemingly reading my thoughts like an open book. It was finally time to write myself a new chapter.
And I was determined to make this one end better than the last.
***