Summer was ending faster than they would like and soon life would go back into a routine. The twins were starting first grade in less than a week, and Spencer fourth. Since the twins were still only 5 they had the option of repeating Kindergarten, but seeing as they were both at the top of their class holding them back would only do more bad than good. Once the boys start school Lauren decided she would get more involved with the bar again and work with Philip on starting an apple orchard, she had the space so why not? She wasn't stupid and new it would take years before she could actually enjoy the fruits her trees would bear but she loved how the trees blossomed during the spring time and being able to go apple picking with her wife and kids in the fall in her own backyard wasn't such a bad thing either. She would grow a banana plantation for her wife because Camila was basically a monkey but it was much more difficult since they needed to be in a certain climate. So apples it was. Camila planned on avoiding writing and instead focus on planning for the baby, now that they knew what they were having she could start shopping and planning the nursery theme, and baby proofing their home, procrastination at its finest.
Not only would they be getting back into a boring domestic routine but it sucked that their best friend was moving away in less than a day and everyone else went back into their own routine like Taylor going back to California, Chris heading back to Florida to finish his last year of grad school and hopefully starting his internship at the architecture firm of his dreams, some people going back to their old routine wasn't such a bad thing for example Gina, she would be going back to wherever the hell she came from and Camila couldn't be more excited, after that kissing incident Camila and Taylor were more hostile to her than ever. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Dinah was under serious pressure from Normani as of lately, seeing as she was due in about 3 weeks and planning for an at home water birth wasn't easy. Not to mention the fact that since her wife was almost due she was doing all the chores around the house and watching the kids, which is when she realized that getting Normani pregnant while still having another kid in diapers wasn't a great idea. Stefan alone was a handful, and Melanie as well behaved as she was definitely had her bad days I mean after all she was Norminah's child, and NFL drafting season was starting soon which meant she'd be getting back to work, not to mention coaching the little league team in the late afternoons and games every weekend so adding a newborn to the mix would only stress her out which was strange for her since Dinah never stressed. The good thing was that all the pregnancy nonsense was over so that took some pressure off, like the nursery theme which was all white, with gold sparkles because using characters or bright colors was apparently forcing things upon the baby and Normani wanted the child to be able to eventually make up their own mind and since their home was already baby proofed they didn't have to worry about that, agreeing on a name however was difficult, seeing as Dinah wanted to name her Scarlett and Normani wanted to name her Lennox. Neither wanted to give in so it was an ongoing battle.
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Today was a gloomy day for everyone, because they had just said goodbye to ally and her family at the airport. Needing a drink, they headed over to Dinah and Normani's.
Lauren and Normani were sitting in the backyard watching the kids play while Dinah was inside feeding Stefan and Camila was snacking on all their food.
"So how are things at home with Spencer?" Normani asked her best friend, growing up Normani and Lauren were inseparable but when Normani started popping out kids they sort of drifted apart mostly because Lauren felt like they had nothing in common anymore which is obviously wrong seeing as they have lots in common but that's how it felt to her.
"Tense." Lauren answered vaguely, getting a raised eyebrow from Normani forcing her to elaborate. "Camila is constantly on my ass because she thinks I'm not making an effort to get to know and bond with the kid."
"And are you making an effort?" Normani asked skeptically, she knew Lauren fairly well.
"Honestly I don't know, I've tried hanging out with him but it just feels awkward and forced. He's not mine and I don't feel anything for him, and Camila thinks that, that makes me an asshole and maybe it does but I can't love someone else's kid."Lauren said truthfully, since she couldn't tell Camila any of this.
"She's right, your an asshole." Normani was apparently also being truthful. She got a stunned look from Lauren and decided to elaborate. "Only a simple minded asshole would say something like that. A child doesn't need to share your blood for you to love them. It's awkward because your constantly convincing yourself that he is nothing to you, you don't give yourself a chance to get to know him. So let that fact go and if you can't do that, then see it this way. Your wife adores that kid like he was her own, your kids look up to him like they would an older brother and your parents treat him like he was their grandchild. Everyone you love, loves him so make a real effort if not for him, then for them." Normani gave Lauren the honest truth.
"I–I...thanks?" Lauren said a little speechless. She didn't really know what to say, but it made sense and knew she should probably make more of an effort.
"Your not an actual asshole Laur but the way you've been going about this whole situation your definitely making yourself seem like one." Normani said. "Why do you feel like you can't love or care for him like you would your own children?" She asked, prodding into Lauren's feelings.
"What is this a therapy session?" Lauren joked, avoiding the question because she had no idea why she felt the way she did, but the unimpressed look on Normani's face said it all. So she gave her an answer. "Maybe Its because I feel like if I ever do create a bond with him, the love and care won't be as strong or nearly enough as it would be with Cas or Cam. I feel like he would know and it would make him feel like he's not as important to me as them. So id rather not create any bond with him." She said not sure if she was even making sense.
"Okay so...you think he'll know that you love your biological children more than him, and your way of avoiding this is by not making any sort of effort with him and blatantly showing the twins you in fact love them more? That makes no senses, I feel like your just making excuses to not open yourself up to him because you know once you do you'll love him like he was your own. Why does it feel like this has more to do with the twins than you?" She said hitting the hammer on the nail.
Lauren sighed, maybe it was more about them and less about her. "It's the guilt, I can't get past the fact that one day me being gone all those years will cause them to hate me and break the bond we share. And I don't need another speech about this, Camila has made one and so has my therapist. I know I over compensate with them and I know I can't live always expecting the worst to happen but I do and I can't help it." Lauren explained, annoyed at how many times she'd gone over this topic with Camila and her therapist.
"It's like a drug addict that knows they have a problem and have every resource to fix the problem but chose to suffer. You can't love one kid less to please the others. What will happen when the baby comes, are you going to love her less because you'll be fully involved in her life unlike theirs?" Normani said, shaking her head not holding back because Lauren needed to understand that she couldn't be this way.
"No–no of course not..." she quickly answered, but was very much confused. How she saw things made sense to her but what Normani was saying also made sense and they contradicted each other so in a way none of this made sense to her. Sighing she understood that she needed to think things over. "I think I'm going to get something to drink inside." She announced, this conversation got a little to intense for her fragile state of mind.
"Laur I didn't mean to–" Normani began to apologize.
"No your right mani, I just need a drink." Lauren said, heading inside.
She went into the kitchen and grabbed herself another beer, taking a large sip And then a deep breath, before she walked into the living room where Camila and Dinah were now. Stefan was on the floor playing with his toy trucks while Dinah and Camila talked on the living room couch.
Camila looked up an noticed Lauren looked paler than usual. "Everything okay babe?" She asked concerned.
"Yeah everything's fine." Lauren assured her, giving her, her best fake smile. Unsure Camila believed her she distracted herself by sitting down next to Stefan and avoiding all eye contact with Camila. "His eyes are so freaken beautiful." Lauren complimented, the young boy.
"What color are they today?" Dinah asked, because some days they were a bright dark green, other days they were a green/ blue Ish color and other days they were a dark blue and on the rare occasion they looked grey.
"They look dark grey/green." Lauren answered, as she played with his long and messy dark curls, that also seemed to vary colors depending on the lighting he was in. "How did you of all people make such a cute kid?" She joked, pushing Dinah's buttons.
"Girl please...have you seen me? I'm hella cute." Dinah said gesturing to her face and sticking out her lips almost like she was posing for a selfie.
Laughing and shaking her head, Lauren decided not to comment because it would only lead to a pointless argument and right now she wasn't really up for it.
"So how ready are you for baby...uhh Scarlett to come?" She asked unsure if that was the correct name since they kept on going back and forth on it.
"If it means things will go back to normal I am so ready for baby Scar to come." Dinah said a little too excited.
"Dinah that's not going to be her name." Normani said entering the room, her tone was rather harsh for a simple name argument.
"Yes it is. Scarlett sounds better than Lennox." Dinah defended. "Mila, lauser back me up which one sounds better?" She asked them, and they both looked like deers caught by headlights not wanting to be in the middle of this.
"Lennox sounds like a cool rocker chic name." Lauren admitted, causing Normani to nod excitedly. "Scarlett sounds like a sophisticated sweet gentle name." She added, making Dinah happy. "They're both great names." She finished, not taking anybody's side.
"Both adorable names." Camila said not talking sides either.
"You guys suck." Dinah said grumpily.
"No the name Scarlett sucks what kind of nickname is 'Scar'?" Normani mocked her wife and used air quotes when saying the nickname.
"What kind of name is Lennox?! It's so stupid you can't even think of any good nicknames for it." Dinah argued back, they were fighting right in front of their best friends making them feel awkward.
"Okay, why don't we just calm down...you have plenty of time to pick out a name." Camila said, finally intervening only because if it escalated any more it would only be more awkward.
"Yeah and if you can't agree on these names then just find another...One that you both like." Lauren added, helping out her wife.
"No! We always do what she wants and I am so fucken done!" Normani shouted, apparently she wasn't letting this go. "I'm so tired of you constantly doing whatever the hell you want! From simple things like naming the kids, to choosing when to be involved, to choosing what or when we do things! You want so many kids but you make such little effort to care for them and I am so over it! I am done being the only one involved." She yelled at her wife now. Leaving everyone including Dinah speechless. So maybe this wasn't about the name anymore.
"What–what are you talking about? Ive always been involved." Dinah defended herself.
"When Dinah?! Correct me if I'm wrong but did you not go back to work two days after Melanie was born?! Did you not stop working when Stefan was born? And what about this baby? Go ahead and lie to me and tell me your taking time off to be around?! I spent 9 months growing this new life inside of me and as beautiful as it is it's exhausting. Do you think I want swollen feet? Stretch marks? And to be so stupidly emotional all the damn time? Do you think I want to get up very morning and throw up? Because I don't, I don't want any of that but I deal with it because she's worth it." She said, her tone calming down as she rubbed her belly. " I deal with that for 9 months and instead of you taking time off to help once they're born you leave me to care for them on my own...Im exhausted and it's like you don't even care." She finished, now in tears.
Dinah made a few efforts to speak but would retract them, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Camila slowly moved over to console an emotional Normani and Lauren just stood there and watched not sure what to do. It was obvious Dinah and Normani needed some time alone to discuss their issues.
"Look how about we pack the kids some overnight bags and they can spend the night at our place, it's obvious you and mani have a lot to discuss." Lauren said to Dinah, who was also pretty taken back by this whole thing but nodded knowing it would be better for the kids not to be around during this conversation.
After Dinah finished packing the kids bags and Camila finally got Normani to calm down, both parents said goodnight to the kids and Lauren helped them into the car. The Range Rover seated 7 which meant it was a really tight fit with all the car seats involved. Today turned out to be a really bad day with all that had happened and Lauren spend the car ride going over what Normani had said to her earlier that day.
Once they were home, the kids were still hyper active and were enjoying themselves in the play room, while Lauren helped Camila prepare dinner. Neither of them were really saying much, this was the first time they'd ever witnessed their best friends fight like that and it was a little shocking to hear Normani be so honest. It was no secret that Dinah wasn't a fan of the whole caring for infant stage of her kids lives but hearing Normani finally say it out loud sort of confirmed it. Now don't get it wrong Dinah loves her kids more than anything in this world but a crying baby, dirty diapers, constantly needing to watch them wasn't really her thing. She was better with them once they were a little older and relied less on her. That's why she was really involved with Melanie and not so much with Stefan but it didn't mean she loved him less it was just harder for her to bond with him.
"Do you wanna call the kids while I set the table?" Lauren asked, finally speaking up.
"Yeah, sure thing." Camila answered, putting down the wooden spoon. Before Camila had a chance to leave Lauren pulled her in and kissed her, caught a little off guard the kiss was slow at first but she eventually caught on. They made out until Camila pulled away because of the lack of air in her lungs. "What was that for?" She asked, looking up at her green eyed wife with swollen red lips.
"I love you so damn much, and I promise I will always put you and our family first." Lauren said, truthfully this whole day had her thinking how lucky she was and to not take any of it for granted.
"I love you too." Camila said pecking Lauren's lips. "I know you will. I'll go get the kids." She added, giving her wife one last kiss before she left to round up the kids.
After eating dinner they got all the kids in baths, thank god for all the extra bathrooms otherwise they'd be taking kids baths all night. They set up Melanie in one of the guest rooms and Stefan in another while at the same time surrounding the bed with pillows because he still slept in a crib and they didn't have one yet. While Lauren tucked in the boys she realized that Spencer still didn't have a room of his own and was still bunking with the twins and she considered how he must still feel like a guest and not a part of the family. And that gave her an idea.
--
It had been almost a week since Dinah's and Normani's blow out and now it was Monday morning and also the kids first day of school. The one thing the Jauregui boys hated was waking up early in the morning just like their mothers. When Lauren was a marine she had to get used to being up at the crack of dawn but she quickly fell back into her old routine of sleeping in late when possible. Today however she had to be up early for more than one reason, one being she had to take the boys to school and the other was that she was meeting with her contractor and a interior designer. She had a room that she needed redecorated and it had a really cool addition that required a contractor and hopefully it could all get done before the end of the school day. She was really exited for today. Camila however was freaking out a bit, she was used to the boys being gone only in the mornings but now they would be gone for 8 hours straight.
Other than the fact that they hated being up early the boys were fairly excited to be back at school. Since they weren't in a private school anymore they didn't have to wear uniforms and that made them even more excited to go to school in their own outfits. Caspian was dressed in a black graphic T with a black leather jacket, denim blue skinny jeans and burgundy doc martens and let's not forget his infamous sleek comb over. Cameron choose something more laid back which was a plain white v-neck under a blue sweater, chino blue jeans and brown mocks and his matching haircut with his brother.
Spencer was a little less excited about school mostly because it was a new school full of people he'd never met before. He was dressed in a white and red striped hoodie, denim blue skinny jeans and grey Adidas and unlike the twins he was used to having long messy hair and even when they cut it he was still against doing anything to it. He very much enjoyed the messy hair look.
After having breakfast Lauren and Camila drove the kids to school, it wasn't necessary for both of them to go but since it was their first day of school and all Camila felt like this was a big milestone for them.
"Mommy stop crying." Caspian pleaded Camila because people were starting to stare.
"I'm sorry baby but it makes me sad to see you guys grow up." Camila said between sobs as she held both boys in a tight hug.
"We're not growing up, we're just going to school." Cameron tired to reason with her and looked up at his mama for help, Lauren was just standing around with Spencer watching this all happen.
"Camz, you gotta let them go class is about to start." Lauren said, as she saw the other parents exciting the classroom. She would laugh at how emotional Camila was right now but she didn't want to piss of her wife. "Don't forget we still have to go drop Spencer off at his class." She added, and it worked because Camila gave the boys one more tight squeeze and let them go, both boys kissed Camila goodbye and then moved on to Lauren to give her, her kisses.
"Bye mommy. Bye mama." Both boys said taking their seats, as Lauren, Camila and Spencer left the classroom.
"It's okay babe, they will be fine." Lauren consoled her wife, wrapping her arm around Camila's waist.
"I miss them already." Camila cried out, into Lauren's shoulder, while Lauren stifled a laugh.
After finding Spencer's class and watching Camila be emotional all over again, they made the drive back home but not before stopping by a bakery and buying Camila all the sweets she was craving. She usually didn't allow Camila to eat too many sweets but she definitely needed them right now. Once they got home, they saw the contractors car parked outside the gate and let him in.
They discussed what Lauren wanted to do with the room and the contractor and his team got to work fairly quickly mostly because Lauren offered to pay more if they got the job done before the end of day. Once they had finished the project, painted the walls and let them dry they helped the interior designer bring in all the furniture and decorations.
The day had gone by quicker than expected and with all the commotion around the house Camila was kept distracted from missing the boys. The drive back home consisted of the boys talking over each other, and going into detail about their days. As much as they enjoyed school they enjoyed video games and their toys a little more so the twins took off running into the house and Camila followed behind them to keep them away from the construction site. Before Spencer could get out of the car Lauren spoke up.
"Umm, I was thinking maybe we could go somewhere together. Would that be okay?" She asked awkwardly, as of lately she was making more of an effort but it was still somewhat awkward.
"Right now?" He asked, holding onto his seat belt buckle.
"Yeah." She answered, not only did she want to make an effort but she also needed to keep him away from the house because his surprise wasn't ready yet. He didn't answer with words but just nodded and clicked in his seat belt.
The whole ride Spencer looked worried, probably thinking Lauren was going to drop him off somewhere and leave him there considering she'd never done anything like this before. But once they pulled up to the skateboard shop Lauren saw his face light up.
"I saw you watching skating videos on the iPad the other day and I figured you might enjoy having one to try all those cool tricks." She explained, because she'd caught him more than once and figured he like the activity.
"I can get my own board?!" He asked excitedly.
"Yeah of course." She said smiling. "Do you know how to ride?" She asked and watched the young boys face fall and He shook his head no. "That okay, they offer lessons here so you can learn. Now come on let's go get you the coolest board around." She assured him, stepping out of the car along with the boy.
Two hours later, they were leaving the shop with a brand spanking new skateboard and safety equipment and Spencer's first skating lesson. She had gotten the go ahead from Camila letting her know that the room was ready. Pulling up to the drive way once again she prepared the boy by letting him know they had another surprise for him. Walking him down the hall blindfolded they lead him to what would be his new room.
"Okay 3...2....1." Lauren called out.
"Surprise!" All four of them yelled out. Removing the blind fold and his new room.
The room was painted a cream white, one painted graffiti wall, cedar wood flooring, build in wavy white desk, grounded bed with blue camouflage sheets and a wood frame , a bin full of skateboards, ceiling lights, a built in ramp, white beanbags, mounted flat screen tv with a game console, along with a built in cubes to hold things like trophies and such.
"Woah." Spencer said, speechless.
"Do you like it?" Lauren asked, she didn't know much about skater and skateboards but to her this looked like a skaters room.
"Yes its awesome! Thank you so much Lauren!" He said excitedly, turning around to crush Lauren in a hug. "Thank you Camila." He added as he moved on to hug Camila.
"Your welcome bud, why don't you go check it out." Lauren said, once he let go of Camila. She was really enjoying the look on his face and it made it all worth it.
"Come on let's go." He said looking over at the twins who were just as excited, well Caspian was excited. He and Spencer took off running straight to the ramp. Cameron however exited the room and started walking down the hallway, Camila noticed and bumped Lauren's shoulder to let her know.
She found him in his bed staring up at the bunk bed above his. "Cam? Is something wrong?" She asked taking a seat at the edge of his bed. He didn't respond and instead turned to his side facing away from Lauren. "If you ignore me, I can't fix whatever is bugging you. You have to talk to me buddy." She pointed out, he didn't respond right away but eventually turned to lay on his back.
"Everything is changing. I don't like it." He said after a while.
"What don't you like?" She asked, expecting this to happen.
"We lived in a smaller house and we always played together but now we live here and we don't play anymore. It used to be only mommy and Cas and you and me and now we have Spencer and the baby. I don't want to share you." He admitted, growing up he was always more attached to Lauren. She expected both boys to react this way but she should of seen this coming since it was well known that Cameron was more attached to her and was the more sensitive twin.
She knew what he meant when he explained things, it wasn't that they didn't play anymore because they did it had more to do with the fact that back in the old apartment they didn't have so many toys to play with and stuck with the old stuff like hide and seek and tag. Games that kept them interacting unlike the video games that they play now.
"Are you not okay with Spencer and the baby being here?" Lauren finally asked not sure what answer she wanted to here.
" I want them to be here but I just don't want to loose you." He admitted in his soft voice.
"Okay, good because I want them here too. And your never going to loose me, I promise." She assured him. "How about you and I find something we can do together?" She offered, making his face light up. She knew what he needed to hear.
"Can we go to the museum?!" He asked excitedly.
"We can do whatever you want." She said smiling, of course doing something educational would be considered fun for him, that was Cameron for you in a nutshell. "Listen if you ever feel like this again, talk to me okay? I don't want you to have to feel like this." She said in a serious tone.
"Okay mama." He promised.
"I love you my little smarty pants." She said covering his face in kisses and tickling his tummy.
"Mama! Stop!" He cried out, in the middle of his laughing fit.
"Tell me you love me and I'll stop." Lauren said playfully.
"Ok...okay... I love you mama." He yelled out.
"Good, now come on let's go tickle mommy." She said picking up the boy and throwing him over her shoulder.
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Sorry I took so damn long, it's been a hell of a week. Idk how I feel about this chapter...uhh criticism is always accepted 🙂