Lauren and Camila were finally off on their way to say goodbye to Lauren's father.
It has been a real hectic day, with Lauren having to cancel tons of meetings with potential buyers, last minute packing, and having to pack a bag for Logan, who was staying at Ally's, but now they were finally on their way.
Lauren didn't count this as a vacation. For any other reason, it would be a vacation. But not to say goodbye to her father. Lauren has been dreading this trip since the first time the doctor told them that Mike was getting sicker. She knew she would have to go some time to say goodbye, but she was just hoping it would be when she was old, like really old.
Camila could sense that Lauren was off and spoke up. "Are you okay, babe?" Camila couldn't even describe in words how much she cared about the older girl. She was younger, but that didn't mean that she couldn't look out for and care about Lauren. She wanted Lauren to be the safest and the happiest because of her. She didn't fully understand how in just a few months she could fall this hard for the other girl, but she guesses that that's love; falling so hard so quickly for the other without even noticing it.
Lauren broke out of her depressing thoughts and looked over at her girlfriend. "Yeah I'm just fine. How are you?" She tried to steer the conversation in the opposite way of having to speak about how she felt concerning her father.
"Lauren, I know you're not fine." Camila truthfully said back. She didn't want even a little feeling hidden. She wanted her and Lauren to have a truthful, open relationship. If they didn't, who knew how many things would turn out.
Lauren was the type of person who didn't want people to think that she was hurting. That's pretty normal, to want everyone to think that you're okay all the time. She wasn't though. Lauren was hurting so badly, and she knew that she should talk to Camila and open up and how she's feeling, but she just didn't know or understand how to put all of her broken heart into words.
Camila is the kind of person who has second-hand feelings; if Lauren is sad, she is sad. If Lauren is happy, she is happy. But right now, Lauren wasn't happy, and she could tell that very easily. Camila was always good at reading people's emotions, but Lauren's came the easiest. Camila could read Lauren so well that Lauren sometimes thought that the brown eyed girl could know how she felt before she even did.
Lauren just stared ahead at the road for a moment before answering Camila. "I'm not. I'm not okay. But if I get there and I'm crying and breaking down, I won't be able to say goodbye. I have to be strong now so that I can be weak later."
Camila didn't know what to say. It's not that she wasn't good with words, because God knows she is, but she didn't know how to help someone who still had so much to go through. So she just hugged a big tighter onto Lauren's arm, in hopes that she would understand how she feels for the older girl right now.
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Lauren felt a rush of nostalgia and remorse as they pulled into the driveway of her childhood home.
Camila also felt a bit of nostalgia, as she spent every waking moment as a child at this house. Her and Lauren would spend everyday together. If there had been a day apart, people around would start thinking that something was wrong between the two. Camila remembers riding her bike along this sidewalk, swinging on the swing set in the backyard, climbing up these big oak trees, and playing king and queen with Lauren in this very front yard. She had so many great memories at the Jauregui house, she just hoped this upcoming one isn't so bad.
Lauren hadn't told any of her family about Camila being back in her life, and especially not about them being together. The Jauregui family didn't hate Camila, they just didn't particularly love her anymore. They saw what it did to Lauren when she ran away. They had to go though Lauren constantly crying for months. They had to see Lauren's heart break a little more every day that the police said there was still no sign of the brown eyed girl. They saw how Lauren would say over and over again how she loved Camila and how she regretted not admitting it earlier. They saw Lauren at her worst, because of Camila. So you could say that they were not the biggest fan of the small brunette.
Lauren didn't know how they were going to react to Camila. She had no clue whatsoever. She just hoped that they wouldn't make her leave or shout crude things at the younger girl.
"Okay, here it goes." Lauren took a deep breath then rang the doorbell.
Commotion could be heard from the inside of the house, and footsteps were getting louder and louder until the door opened just enough for Clara to duck her head out a bit to see who was at their door.
At first, she only saw her daughter, which made her smile a huge grin. But as Clara was about to speak up, her eyes went to the other figure that was standing right next to her Lauren.
Surprised was an understatement for how Clara was feeling.
"Karla?" She said with a mix of surprise and excitement in her voice.
"Hi, Mrs. Jauregui." Camila didn't want her first sentence to Clara in over a decade to be a correction of her present name. So she just went with Karla.
"Oh my God, come here!" Clara grabbed the younger girl and engulfed her in a big hug. Camila was definitely not expecting this.
Clara even had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe it's really you! We all thought you had died." She confessed. "Lauren her was crying for months and months, saying things like 'I want Karla back' or 'I loved Karla so much'."
Lauren's face turned to a deep shade of red as Camila looked over at the girl with an incredulous expression.
"How have you been sweetie?" She asked, finally letting go of Camila.
Camila didn't know how to answer. She didn't know if she should say that she had been homeless for years, or if she should mention the relationship between her and the green eyed beauty. So Camila just answered with the most common answer. "I've been good. How about you?"
"Well, you obviously know about why you came down here so, not too great. But come on in! I want to catch up with you, darling." Clara motioned them to come in the house, and they followed in quickly.
"Chris and Taylor are both out right now, but I have a pot of coffee on so you guys can just set down your stuff upstairs and then come back down for a cup."
Once in their room, after setting down all their luggage, Lauren finally spoke up. "Wow, that was not the reaction I was expecting from her. After you left, I was sad and depressing to everyone else, which made them a bit unhappy with you. I guess she just forgot all that." Lauren said with a hint of a laugh at the end.
"I'm glad." Camila smiled, than continued. "Do you think we should tell her...about us?"
Lauren thought for a moment, even though she really didn't have to. "Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know. I just feel like if she learns about my past and how we met again, maybe she won't want you dating me." Camila started to get insecure and looked down at her feet.
Lauren, obviously spotting Camila's off behavior, quickly pulled the smaller girl into a hug. "I'm not embarrassed of you, if that's what you think. I could never be." She pulled out of the hug to look at her girlfriend. "I'm proud to be with you. I have the most beautiful girl in the world. Why wouldn't I want people to know that?"
That statement made camila's cheeks turn a dark pink color.
"You're amazing." Camila looked deep into the beautiful emerald eyes. Camila delicately attached her lips to Lauren's. She didn't know how she got to lucky to have the older girl in her life. Things used to be so bad, but now things are looking up for her.
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"So Karla, I have to know, what have you been up to all these years? It has to have been at least ten years since I've seen you last." Clara said as she sat down on the opposite side of the two girls at the kitchen table.
Camila hesitated, but knew that Clara would never judge her for her rough past. "Obviously you know that I ran away. I had just came out to my parents and they weren't so happy, so I decided to leave, as my mom said she would even care if I did. I've been in and out of homeless shelters over the past years, but recently I've been staying with Lauren." She had a scared look on her face, not knowing how Clara would react to her confession.
"Oh my God." Clara didn't say another word but just got up and pulled Camila into a big warm hug.
"You haven't seen Sinu yet, have you?"
Camila paused for a second, having not realized that her parents were so close to them. "I didn't even think about that. I don't think I can go see them. After what I did, they won't forgive me." Camila had a sad look on her face, knowing that things won't ever be the same for her family.
"Karla, you had every right to leave. If she said that she wouldn't care if you did, then she can't blame you for leaving. They should feel bad. I honestly think that you should go visit them. They always said how much they missed you."
"I think I will. Oh and it's Camila now. I never really liked the name Karla that much."
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Camila was off. She was on her way to see her parents. After much thought, the two girls came to the conclusion that it would be better if Camila just went on her own. Lauren made sure to remind Camila many times that she's only one call away if she needs to be picked up or helped in any way.
Lauren was, of course, scared a bit of Camila going and seeing the two people who made her run away, but she trusted Camila enough to be safe on her own.
Camila finally made it to her old house. She recognized everything. From their old family car, to the mini sized basketball hoop.
After much self-confrontation and many pep talks, she finally got the courage to knock on the front door. She was really hoping that no one was home, and that maybe she could just quickly leave, but she wasn't that lucky.
She started to hear footsteps approaching the front door, and she knew that she couldn't turn back now.
She heard the front door open and turned to see big fifteen year old eyes look up at her. Not recognizing her, Sofi was confused at who was standing in front of her.
"Hi. Are you a friend of my moms? She right inside I can get her."
Though Sofi didn't have a clue in the world about who Camila was, the older girl definitely know who she was. Tears started to well in Camila's eyes, which she immediately whipped away.
Sofi noticed something was off and started to feel a bit uneasy at the stranger who was at her front door.
"Uh...yes I am." Camila didn't think just blurting out that she was the girls older sister was the right think to do, as Sofi didn't know who in the world she was.
"Okay, c'mon in. She in the kitchen. You can just go right in." Sofi moved back into the house, letting Camila in.
Nothing had changed. Not one single thing had changed over the span of ten years. Every picture, every lamp, every fancy plant was all still how they had been a decade ago.
Camila took a little too long admiring the hallway, and was finally at the doorway to the kitchen.
"Sofi, who's at the door?" Camila heard her mother yell from the kitchen.
"They're coming to the kitchen!" Sofi yelled back.
Before Camila could say anything, Sinu turned around to see who her guest was. Her eyes widened as she saw her daughter who had been missing and pronounced 'dead' for ten years.
"Karla?" She said with a faint cracking voice. Tears started streaming out of her eyes, as well as Camila's.
"It's Camila now, but yeah mami, it's me." The both pulled the other one in for a hug, with tears still rushing out.
"I can't believe it's you!" Sinu wasn't letting go of her daughter, she just kept hugging her tighter and tighter.
"Yeah, it's me."
After finally letting go of her daughter, Sinu just stood and stared at Camila.
Camila noticed this and had a confused expression cross her face. "Huh?"
Sinu just shook her head and whipped away a tear that she hadn't even noticed was about to fall. "Nothing mija, you've just grown so much into a beautiful young woman."
Camila didn't even know what to say to her mother. Of course Camila knew that she had a reason to be kind of mad at her mother, but she just wanted to forget about all of that. That was ten years ago, which is way to long to hold a grudge. Camila just wondered if her mother still thought the same of her sexuality as she had before.
Sinu stopped for a moment and looked at her daughter with a confused look. "Where have you been all these years, mija."
Camila really did not want to let her mother know that she had been homeless, but she needed to be fully honest. "Can we maybe sit somewhere and talk?"
Without any hint of hesitation, Sinu answered. "Of course!" She redirected Camila over to the kitchen table. "There's still some coffee left in the pot. It's from this morning, but it's probably still good, unless you want me to make some new coffee, which I ca-"
"That'll be just fine." Camila interrupted her mother from her nervous rambling.
Sinu just nodded and continued to pour two cups of coffee.
"So, we have a lot to catch up on."
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After explaining everything to her mother about the past ten years, Camila noticed that she had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe that." Sinu continued to bawl.
The words that came out of her mother's mouth next astonished Camila. They were the two words that she had been waiting what felt like forever to hear. "I'm sorry."
"I'm so sorry Camila. After you left, your father and I learned more about this 'gay' thing, and we completely understand now. We don't care. We don't care about who you like, just as long as you're happy. We were so stupid. As much as I've tried to, I cannot forget the look on your face when I told you that you should leave. Every time that I think about it, it pains my heart so much. You just looked so devastated." Sinu was still sobbing as Camila pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay, Mami." Which were the words that Sinu had been hoping she would hear, but guess that she wouldn't. She would fully understand if her daughter didn't forgive her. She would understand if Camila had said that she never wanted to see her again. She was more than grateful to have her apology accepted.
She was happy to have her daughter back.
The pain that Sinu felt when she realized that her daughter ran away was unbelievable. She had lost one of the most important things in her life. It relieved her just to know that Camila was safe.
It also relieved Camila to know that she was safe. She had lived on the streets for ten years. Ten years of not knowing when her next meal was. Ten years of not having a home to go back to. Ten years of not knowing if there would be a tomorrow.
To Camila, she wasn't just safe. She was happy.
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heyo
Hope you liked that chapter:)
-J (I love you)