LXII.
"Alejandro Cabello?" Mike was looking over Lauren's shoulder at the other man as well. "What a sight for sore eyes. What are you doing here old friend?"
"Mike Jauregui." My father replied, stepping forward and exchanging a hearty handshake with the man. "My youngest and I are in town for a service. My daughter's friend." He answered. "We just arrived early this morning."
"Ah, so Camila is yours." Mike nodded, looking down at me with a kind smile. "When I met her, I knew I saw something familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it until long after she had left. It's good to see you again," He then placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder. "Both of you."
"Wait." I blinked, looking from my father over to Mike, then to his kids who looked equally as confused. "The two of you know each other? How? Oh dear god, please don't tell me Lauren and I are related."
"Oh not to worry, you aren't." Mike laughed. "You father is an old friend of mine, we've known each other for quite a long time now."
"Mike attended your mother's funeral." My father added, nodding at me. "I don't think you managed to meet him face to face, but he was there."
"Yes." Mike nodded. "I remember meeting your little sister, but somehow you managed to elude me."
Connections started to appear in my head, links that hadn't existed before suddenly appearing before me begging to be deciphered further. Looking at Lauren, the girl was nearly white as she also processed the information.
"So what brings the three of you over here this afternoon?" My father continued, granting me a sidelong glance of amusement.
"Actually I'm here to speak to Lauren." Mike replied, looking at the stunned fledgling. "The three of us are that is. We heard that you had returned, and I wanted to thank you personally for everything you did."
"Daddy!" Sofi's voice blasted through the area, catching everyone's attention. "Can I go with Gina and Dinah for lunch?! They said they'd be happy to have me!"
"I'll go tend to her." My father said apologetically, taking the pink backpack out of my hands. "Mike, you and I must catch up while we're in town."
"Absolutely." Mike pointed at the man as he walked across the parking lot to where Sofi was looking up with big, hopeful eyes. Turning back to the two of us, he smiled at me. "Your little sister seems to have quite a bit of energy."
"Yeah, it kinda runs in the family." I shrugged. "How did you know Lauren and I were back in Miami?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." The man replied, a small sparkle in his eye. "I'm very sorry that you lost someone on this journey, both of you have our deepest condolences."
"Thank you." Lauren was the one to reply, her hand wrapping around my arm. "But I don't think I deserve them. I didn't... really end up doing what I wanted to."
"Lauren." I pulled away and turned to her, a warning note in my voice.
"Lauren." Mike repeated, his deep voice laced with a latin accent was extremely comforting. "You mustn't beat yourself up for the way fate twisted your time there. I can see from the shift in your eyes, and that scar over your heart that you did exactly what my wife wished you to."
"There's no need to worry Lauren." Taylor added, stepping forward with a bright smile on her face. "Dad hasn't really told us the full extent of whatever's going on here, but I know that he's proud of you. We all are." She then shuffled over to elbow her brother in the ribs. "Right Christopher?"
"Ow." He blinked. "Totally."
"And hey," She added, her eyes twinkling. "My offer still stands. If you ever find yourself wondering what it'd feel like to have a little sister, then I'm always gonna be here just hitting field hockey balls with sharpies in my shoes." The girl glanced at me, and I lifted a teasing eyebrow at the distant memory.
I then stepped back with a small smile, letting the four converse alone while intent on heading back to the others. Blindly bumping into someone, I turned around and apologized upon recognizing Ally.
"Mila?" She blinked at me, her curious gaze resting on Lauren and the rest of the Jauregui family just behind me. "Who are they?"
"Clara's family." I replied, stepping back to watch them, and feeling Normani approach my other side. "They just dropped by to visit and thank Lauren. Why?"
"There's something going on here." The short brunette continued, acknowledging my reply with a comment of her own. "Something weird."
"What kind of weird?" I frowned, looking down at her, then over to Normani.
"Ally's got really good eyes." The fledgling replied. "She's caught on to something, but we can't figure out what it is."
"That man." Ally gestured to Mike, then turned around to look at my father. "And that one. Is he your Dad?"
"Yeah." I frowned. "Why?"
"There's something about them that's different from everyone else. I... I can't really explain it, but I can see some sort of anomaly in them."
"An anomaly?" My frown deepened. "I don't understand."
"Like..." Ally tapped her chin, balancing her weight on one heel. "Like a flame."
"A flame." I repeated. "What kind of flame?"
"I don't know." The girl shrugged again. "Like I said, it's really hard to explain. It's almost like... an unspoken similarity, or a hidden message. As if they both know something that the rest of us don't."
"So like a secret?" Normani questioned.
"Not so much a secret." Ally turned back to look at my father, and I did the same. He was knelt by Sofi, handing her the backpack and clearly lecturing her about something. "More like... knowledge. Knowledge that makes them burn a little brighter than everyone else here."
"We'll figure it out." I assured them, draping one arm over Ally's shoulders and the other over Normani. "For now, let's go home and change out of these depressing clothes. I think everyone needs to eat something soon."
***
A few hours later, Lauren found herself sitting in the soft grass of a public park. It was mid afternoon, the sun was still high in the sky and providing just enough warmth for everyone to be comfortable. Dinah lay in a shady patch of grass, partaking in an afternoon nap while Normani and Ally worked hard to see how many green blades they they could place on her body before she woke up.
Lauren had met Regina, the second youngest member of the Hansen family, and instantly admired just how much positive energy she had. At the moment, she, Sofi, and Camila were rolling around in the grass nearby, each girl donning a cute crown made of daisies that Ally had woven in an expert fashion. Leaning against a tree, the green eyed girl watched happily as everyone seemed to be at peace, and a soft breeze blew through the area.
Looking around further, Lauren studied the pedestrians all around them, each one attending to daily activities. Some were walking dogs, others pushed strollers, and there was also the occasional bike riding escapade or afternoon jogger. A playground sat a few yards away, and upon it were a number of children laughing and screaming as a group of onlooking adults sat around a picnic bench close-by.
Eyes drifting back to Camila, she studied the girl closely, smiling when she flopped down on the grass, both younger children landing on her back in a fit of giggles. Pushing herself up, the Latina managed to lift both combined weights, the muscles in her arms and chest clearly evident. When the girls went tumbling back down, all three broke out into a chorus of laughter. Camila had removed her blazer, and wore a cut off top that showed off the powerful abdominal muscles that hadn't even existed a number of months ago. The left lens in her eye had also been removed, and her new green orb glittered powerfully in the daylight.
Lauren could hardly believe the girl prancing around like a thrilled puppy was the same girl who only days earlier, was summoning storms, and controlling lightning as if she had been doing it all her life.
"You're staring." Ally remarked, from where she sat in a bed of newly bloomed flowers. "Again."
"I know." Lauren sighed, the back of her head tipping against the tree. "Can you really blame me?"
"Not at all." Normani chuckled, picking one of the daisies that surrounded the smaller girl and removing one of it's petals, tossing it in Lauren's direction. "It's cute though, that girl is definitely in her element here."
"And Miami is so beautiful." Ally added. "It just makes me wonder about the rest of the world. All of the amazing scenery, and the landscapes, and the food, oh the food!"
"It's nice." Lauren agreed. "Especially now that you all are here with us."
"You must miss when it was just the two of you though." Ally added, crossing her legs. "Camila told me about all the good times you had together."
"I do." The green eyed girl admitted. "But I'd rather—"
"Dinah!" Regina had made her way over to the shade beneath the tree and was bellowing with laughter when she saw how much grass lay atop her older sister. "Wake up Dinah, you're covered in grass!"
"It suits her, doesn't it?" Normani grinned.
"Yeah!" Regina laughed, grabbing Dinah's shoulder and shaking her hard. "She looks like a big salad!"
Lauren smiled as the blonde woke up with a start, sitting up and letting all the grass that covered her face to either flutter down to the ground, or land in her mouth. Frowning, she spat the blades to the ground before frowning down at her sister. "You annoying little—"
Regina screeched before scurrying away, Dinah following quickly. "Be careful you two!" Lauren called as the sisters drew closer to the bike path. "Make sure you don't—"
"Lauren." Ally cut her off, a hand on her knee. "Look over there."
Turning her head to where the Cabello siblings remained, Lauren stopped breathing when she saw exactly what Ally was referring to. Camila had Sofi tucked tight in her arms, their foreheads pressed together and noses scrunched up to form matching adorable smiles. What had Lauren's attention however, was the image of a glittering gold set of butterfly wings attached to Camila's back. They were identical to the ones she had seen before, a single white light outlining just one of the branched paths against the left wing.
This time however, Sofi donned a similar set of wings on her own back, somewhat smaller in size but identical in colour, and bright jagged light. On hers there was no branching, and no outlined path.
"Wow." Lauren breathed as the images vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. Looking at Ally, it was clear that she could no longer see them either.
"What is it, what did you see?" Normani craned her neck towards them, eyebrows lifted. "I didn't see anything."
"Cause you're not special enough." Lauren patted her on the head gently, giving her a teasing smile. "Don't worry about it Mani, there's nothing there anymore."
"Fine." Normani leaned back against the tree and folded her arms before her, a small frown on her face.
"Cheer up Mani." Ally laughed, before looking at Lauren. "I'm pretty sure we're all going to see it again one day."
***
"Hey girls, can you look after this little smoke bomb here for a little?" Camila asked, jogging over a few minutes later and placing Sofi down before the others. The girl looked happy, playing with the petals on her flower crown and adjusting it on her head. "I just got a call from my Dad, he wants to talk to me about something. It shouldn't take long."
Lauren looked up at her, noticing the brunette her phone dangling from her fingertips, and the screen showed a call had recently ended.
"Of course." Normani nodded. "Is everything okay there Sparky?"
"Yeah, it's all good." Camila slid the phone into her back pocket. "I'll have to head back to the apartment and grab the car, the hotel they're staying at is on the other side of town. I'll be back in a little bit, okay Sofi?"
"Okay." The young Latina looked up with a cheerful nod.
Camila smiled back, running her fingers through her sister's hair, then kneeling down and pressing her lips to Lauren's temple briefly. "I'll see you tonight."
With a nod, Lauren watched as the girl bounded away down the sidewalk, headed back in the direction of the apartment.
"Your sister is pretty great Sofi." Ally told the eight year old, holding her hand out as Sofi removed her flower crown that had gotten damaged with all the romping around from earlier.
"Yeah, Camila's the best sister ever." Sofi replied, happily handing it over and scooting forward to watch the repair process. From where the young girl sat, it looked like Ally was simply weaving the stems back together, but from the angle at which Lauren was situated, she could see the stems themselves were moving, growing and strengthening the bond to each subsequent flower. When it was finished Sofi arched forward, allowing Ally to place the crown back atop her soft brown hair.
"I bet the two of you have a bunch of fond memories from when you were younger, huh?" Normani asked. "You seem really close."
"Yeah, we did everything together." Sofi nodded proudly. "We were always with each other." Her face fell slightly. "I guess when our mom died I was really sad when she decided to stay here, but it's okay." Her innocent brown eyes turned to Lauren, and the fledgling saw the hereditary bravery clear in her eyes. "She seems really happy now."
"Were you close with Shawn as well?" Normani asked next, glancing over at Lauren as well and giving her a sidelong smile. Dinah and her sister had returned and were eager to join in on the conversation.
"Oh yeah." Sofi nodded again. "Shawn was the best, he was always around with Camila. Dinah too."
"We had some pretty fun times, didn't we?" The blonde asked, nestling the young girl in her lap and nudging Sofi gently on the shoulder.
"Yeah." The young girl nodded. "I kinda wish I had gotten to see him again though."
"He said to say goodbye to you." Lauren blurted out, a little louder than she had intended to. The image of Shawn dashing through the forest in his red plaid shirt had been resting at the back of Lauren's mind for a while, and she was itching for a chance to tell either one of the girls what he had said. All eyes turned to her as she shifted her gaze to Regina. "To you as well. He says goodbye."
"Really?" Regina gave her a small smile. "He did?"
"Wait," Sofi crawled froward, clearly interested. "How do you know? Did you talk to him?"
"Yeah." Lauren nodded soundly. "I did. Before he died... and he wanted to make sure that he said goodbye."
"I'm glad." Her dark eyes glittered. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Suddenly, Lauren was enveloped in a small hug that she wasn't expecting in the least. Sofi had scurried onto her lap, and was smiling upwards.
"Sofi's really friendly." Dinah chuckled. "Make sure you get used to it Lauren, cause I promise it's going to be happening a lot."
"Thank you for making my sister so happy." The young brunette added, her cheeks puffing out as she grinned.
"Oh." Lauren gave her a shy, albeit genuine smile back as her arms curled around the girl to reciprocate the hug. "You're welcome."
***
A few hours later everyone had made their way back to the apartment and was scattered around every soft surface possible. The TV was on, a fun-looking evening cartoon projecting from it's screen as Dinah and her sister watched, laughing every once and a while. Normani had joined them with a bowl of popcorn, looking right at home with the pair. Meanwhile, Lauren was helping Ally prepare dinner, and teaching Sofi how to cut carrots without doing the same to her fingertips.
Throughout dinner, Lauren found herself growing extremely attached to Camila's younger sister, unbeknownst to her whether it was because their personalities happened to work well together, or she was simply a Cabello. Regardless, as they were removing a hot tray of fresh cookies from the oven for desert, Lauren's fierce protective side was quickly kicked into overdrive.
And she knew very well that her friends could tell.
The sun set, and the quality of the programming on TV became less and less. Somewhere between the fourth oatmeal cookie that she and Sofi split, and the three empty bowls of popcorn, Lauren heard Dinah declare that it was time to return home. Rounding up her sugar-crashed sister, Normani, and Ally, she offered Sofi a ride back to her father's hotel.
"I want to stay with Lauren." The young Cuban protested, blinking up at Dinah with hope. "Can I? Is that okay?"
"Oh, you do?" Dinah shrugged, removing a phone from her jean pocket and tapping around for moment. "Let's see if I can get ahold of Camila and your Dad, maybe we'll ask if that's okay."
"It's okay with me." Lauren placed a hand on Sofi's head, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I'd love to have them both for the night."
"Adorable." Dinah rolled her eyes and dialled, holding the device up to her ear. A few seconds later, she had Camila on the line. "Hey Mila. Yeah it's me." Sitting down on the couch, Dinah was seconds from crushing her little sister, the incident saved only by Normani, who lurched forward and scooped the sleepy girl up in her arms with a loud sigh of relief.
"Yeah," Dinah continued, completely oblivious to the potential disaster. "So I've got Sofi here, and she says she'd rather stay at your apartment with Lauren than head back to the hotel. Would it be okay to leave her here?"
Lauren held her breath as Camila's voice filtered through the device on the other end, and Dinah listened intently.
"Please Camila, please?" Sofi bounded forward and leaned on Dinah's lap, grabbing her wrist and yelling into the phone. "I want to stay with Lauren tonight, I'll be really good, I promise. Please?"
"Just a minute." Dinah brought the phone down and put the speaker on, holding it out. "Okay Mila, you're on."
"Sofi, it would more comfortable if you just came back to the hotel." Camila's raspy voice was made even more so through the speaker. "And that way Dad will make sure you get to bed on time."
"No, I want to stay here!" Sofi declared, her lip curling up. "With Lauren!"
There was some rustling, followed by a long sigh. "You really like Lauren, huh?"
"Yeah!" The younger girl exclaimed.
"Alright, I know how you feel." Camila chuckled. "You can stay, but if you give her any kind of trouble then that's it, alright? Be polite, and make sure you get to bed at a decent time tonight."
"I will, thank you Camila!" The girl squeaked, jumping off of Dinah's lap and running to Lauren, throwing her arms around her waist. "I get to spend the night with you!" She exclaimed, excitement shining on her face.
"I heard, that's awesome." Lauren felt a warmth rise in her chest at the prospect of spending even more time with the young girl. "It's going to be fun."
"Lauren." Dinah stood up with the phone. "Camila wants to talk to you."
Nodding, the green eyed girl managed to pry Sofi off from around her waist and take the phone, holding the sparkly pink case to her ear. "Hey Camz."
"Hey, I'm so sorry but I'm not going to make it home tonight."
Lauren frowned. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm with my Dad right now over at the hotel, we were talking about some stuff, and it's going to end up taking longer than I thought it would. It's just best for me to spend the night here rather than drive all the way back in a few hours, especially with the traffic."
The green eyed girl turned and headed towards the balcony, pulling the door open and stepping out into the cool air. "Camila, you're sure everything's okay? You sound off."
"No, everything's okay Lauren. Don't worry about me. Make sure you take good care of my sister tonight okay? Make sure she gets lots of sleep and no junk food after nine pm. If you do the second, you're never going to accomplish the first"
"Don't worry." The girl laughed softly. "I've got this."
"Thanks." Camila sounded tired. "Hey, I'm sorry that we haven't gotten much time alone together, I'm going to make sure I fix that, sound good?"
"It's fine." Lauren backed up and leaned against the smooth white wall, noticing out of the corner of her eye that a spider had woven a rather intricate web near the corner of the balcony. "This is just where we are now, there's a lot going on. It's good though, I like that you have so many people around you again."
There was a moment of thick silence on the opposite end, and Lauren held her breath.
"I still feel bad." Camila echoed. "I miss you... and we have a lot of memories to make. Remember?"
"I remember." Lauren smiled into the night. "Have a good night Camz."
"I will." She could hear a smile in the brunette's voice. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Hanging up, Lauren pushed off the wall and headed back inside, handing Dinah her phone back and shaking Normani awake. The three girls departed, Regina fast asleep against Normani's shoulder, and Ally complaining that she was moments from doing the same.
When the apartment was quiet again, Lauren turned around to see a beige lump curled up on the ground and a soft giggle to accompany it. She knelt down and pulled the blanket up, grinning when she locked eyes with Sofi, curled up and trying to contain her laughter.
"I wondered where you went." Lauren smiled, holding her hand out. "Turns out it's just going to be you and I tonight. Your sister is still working things out with your Dad, she didn't tell me what it was about."
"Oh well." Sofi took her offered hand and pulled herself up. "Let's do something fun tonight. Can we go down to the beach an walk along the pier? I haven't been there in such a long time, I really want to see the water again."
"I don't know sweetie, it's awfully late." Lauren glanced out the dark blue sky. "And didn't you move out to California? There's plenty of beach there."
"Yeah, but the beach there isn't like the beach here." The girl replied, nodding knowingly as if she believed to have all the answers. "Trust me. Please?"
"Well... I guess it wouldn't hurt." Lauren caved, smiling as Sofi rushed to grab her coat with a little cheer. "But no junk food okay?"
"Oh fine." The girl nodded, pulling the door open and waving at her to hurry. "Come on, lets go!"
Rolling her eyes, Lauren grabbed a pullover hoodie from the back of the couch and tied her hair up into a tight ponytail, swiping a single apartment key from the bowl by the door and following the young Cabello out into the hall.
***
She was instantly impressed with Sofi's directional prowess, chocking her fantastic memory up to the fact that she was born and raised in the city. Heading down to the beach, Lauren struck up a light conversation with the eight year old, eager to learn more about her.
"So Sofi, how are you liking it out on the west coast? I hear it's can get pretty exciting out there."
"Yeah, I guess it can." The younger girl shrugged. "But to be honest, I really miss Miami."
"You do?"
"Yeah." She nodded, slowing her pace so she walked alongside Lauren, taking her hand. "I mean it's great and all, being out there with my Dad. And I get why he moved us."
"I bet you missed your sister."
"A lot." Sofi nodded. "At first, I didn't really get why she wanted to stay here. Like it didn't make any sense why she wouldn't come with us."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." The girl nodded. "But... I talked about it with him a bunch, and he kinda helped me understand a bit better. I still miss Camila though."
Lauren draped an arm over her shoulder as they walked. "I don't know if anyone told you, but Camila's really missed you too."
"She has?" Sofi glanced up. "She told you that?"
"A bunch of times." Lauren nodded. "She felt horrible about leaving you, and she thought you hated her for it."
Arriving at the beach, the fledgling scanned the area before lifting Sofi onto the stone barricade and hopping up herself. "I didn't." Sofi shook her head. "I love Camila. And that's why I wanted her to come with us so badly..."
"What do you miss most about Miami?" Lauren asked, lifting the girl again and hopping down into the sand, landing in a gentle swirl of cool air.
"I miss our old house... and my old bedroom. All my friends, and my teachers at school." The duo walked down the beach, stopping near the water and sitting down in the sand. "My mom."
"I'm sure." Lauren leaned back into the sand and placed her hands on the ground, letting Sofi curl up against her inner arm. "It must have been so hard for you to lose her that way. Your mom seemed like a pretty great person."
"Yeah. She was the best." Sofi replied. "I wish she was still here. I wish Shawn was still here as well."
Lauren looked down. "Sofi, was part of the reason you wanted to stay with me in the apartment, rather than go back to the hotel across town because you wanted to be in a place that was more like home for the night?
"Only part of the reason." Sofi nodded back, giving Lauren a small smile. "The other part of the reason was because I wanted to stay with you."
Lauren smiled, curling the girl closer and looking out to where the waves lapped gently against the shore. It was a brighter than normal night, and she could just barely make out a few stars twinkling in the distant sky.
"You kinda remind me of Shawn." Sofi said after a few quiet seconds.
"Do I?"
"Mhm." She nodded. "Like how you're really nice... and you really like Camila."
If only I was more like him. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Lauren thought for a moment, before choosing her words carefully. "Sofi, do you think that if your dad ever gave you the choice to stay here with your sister and I, you would say yes?"
The girl waited as the information processed through the eight year old, glancing down and awaiting a response. After some time, the her brown eyes lifted once more.
"Yeah."
"You would?"
Sofi nodded happily. "I think that would be really fun, don't you?"
"I do." Lauren smiled, her gaze travelling out to the water once more. A few minutes later the conversation shifted to a number of random, entertaining topics from TV to animals, and even school. Lauren learnt dozens of things about the baby Cabello, and each thing made her want to stay with the girl longer and longer on the empty beach.
Eventually, Sofi grew tired, and her eyes dropped further and further closed. Lauren took notice, waiting patiently until she was fully asleep before she lifted her small body up, smiling when the young girl's arms looped around her neck. Holding her close, Lauren jumped up and landed on the stone once more, a field of wind boosting her and helping her maneuver through the dark.
When she returned, Lauren slid into the bedroom and lay the girl back on Camila's bed, pulling the covers up and tucking her in.
"Goodnight." She murmured, brushing a few strands of hair back from Sofi's face and smiling from ear to ear when she let loose a soft, adorably sleepy murmur.
Lauren slid down onto the couch, fishing around the mess of blankets and pillows for her own phone and checking to see if there were any messages from Camila. There weren't.
Tossing it to the ground, the girl curled up in whatever blankets she could find and drifted off to sleep. It wasn't the last time she would, for multiple times during the night she was woken by a pained cry coming from the bedroom. Concerned, the girl would hurry inside only to see that Sofi was twisted and tangled in the sheets, her brow furrowed and a residual streak of tears on her cheeks.
In order to reprimand the situation, Lauren would kneel down by the bed and speak reassuring words to the girl, staying as soft and quiet as she could. She sat patiently, rubbing Sofi's back and threading a few fingers through her hair right up until she calmed down. It would work, and the fledgling would sleepily return to the couch and settle in before the situation reset itself a few hours later.
After the third nightmare, Lauren gave in and dragged a second blanket from the couch, wrapping herself up and crawling carefully into the bed. She curled her body protectively around Sofi and summoning whatever power she had to filter out the bad dreams. Somehow it worked, and Lauren ended up with one of the most blissful, guilt free slumbers she'd had since her time in the forest.
***
A/N: Update, so the snow's gone but now I have a raging cold in the middle of April. It's like I don't want to be happy. By the way the butterfly being referred to in this chapter is Sofi, not Camila, but you guys already knew that cause you're smarter than I am. 🤓