(A/N) A holiday chapter because it's the holidays. MERRY CHRISTMAS. FELIZ NAVIDAD. JOYEUX NOËL!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Hope you guys have a good one! 🦋
Lauren was nervous. It was their first Christmas together as a family since her infidelity. Camila hadn't spent much holidays home since, which definitely took a toll on their daughter, but on those holidays, the brunette had always put aside time to FaceTime her family. Even though she did not want to be around her wife, she didn't want to disappoint her daughter too much.
Seeing as it was their first Christmas since the incident, Lauren hadn't been sure if she should've gotten her wife a gift, but she still did. It was a simple bracelet with a jewel encrusted infinity sign located at the middle of it. It wasn't much, but when she saw it, it brought back memories of one of the many dates they had went on.
The woman stopped in front of her wife's bedroom door, she took a deep breath then knocked. Camila opened the door not a moment later.
"Lauren?" she rubbed at her eyes lazily. "Is Izzy up as yet?"
She couldn't help but admire the way her wife looked so effortlessly beautiful even though she had just woken up. "No. It's only 5am. I just wanted to give you something before the madness begins."
Camila chuckled. "Oh before Maggie arrives?"
Lauren smiled and nodded. The brunette stepped aside and allowed her wife to enter her bedroom. Camila sat on the edge of the bed and patted a spot not too far off from where she was.
The raven haired woman took the box out of her pocket and gave it to her wife. "I um..I know we're not exactly like how we used to be, but I couldn't not get you something for Christmas." Camila stared at the box in disbelief. She did get her wife something, but she had expected to not get anything in return.
Why would Lauren even give her anything? She had treated the woman terribly over the past year even though to Camila, she felt as though her wife deserved it. "Open it."
And she did. The moment her eyes were laid on the bracelet, that's when she knew exactly where the gift idea came from. "Toy Story," she laughed softly.
"To Infinity and Beyond," they said at the same time and exchanged shy smiles at each other.
The story behind this was that, on many of their many dates, Camila took Lauren to watch Toy Story because she had never seen it. How could she not? It was an iconic childhood movie. But on that date, Camila had asked Lauren to be her girlfriend. She didn't need to go on countless dates to know that this was the one for her. She just knew and she took her shot and years later, they ended up getting married. They promised each other an 'Infinity and Beyond' but now? They weren't exactly sure if that was going to happen.
"Do you like it?" Lauren asked timidly as she looked at her wife whose eyes were glued on the gift.
Camila nodded. "I love it. Thank you, Laur. It's really sweet. Can you help me put it on?"
The woman scooted a bit closer to help her wife with the bracelet, after doing so, both women had only just realised how close their faces were. Camila's eyes drifted down to her wife's plump red covered lips before lazily moving back up to her eyes. Lauren noticed this but she shook her head and backed away.
"I um..there you go," she cleared her throat awkwardly. "I should probably um get ready for Izzy. She'll be awake soon and ready for her presents."
The brunette nodded dumbly and watched as her wife walked towards her door. Was she about to kiss her? Camila had promised herself that she wouldn't get involved Lauren because to her, the last person her wife had kissed was Hailee. And she wasn't about to kiss her wife's 'contaminated' lips. "Wait, Lauren. I have something for you too," the green eyed woman stopped and turned around. "I forgot, but I got you a gift." She stood up quickly and went to rummage through her closet looking the box she didn't have time to wrap as yet. "Here you go."
Lauren took the box from her wife and stared at the box dumbly. "Camz..." she breathed out. "This is a fucking Hasselblad H5D 200MS," she paused. "Camz, a fucking Hasselblad H5D 200MS. This costs a fortune! Why did you buy this? Not that I don't love it because fuck I do! But what the hell! It costs a fortune!"
Camila laughed heartily before opening the box and handing the camera to her wife. "It's not that expensive, Lauren. Well I can't put a price on your happiness. Your reaction is priceless."
The photographer engulfed her wife in a hug for a few seconds. "Thank you so much, Camz. I really love it and appreciate it."
"I'm glad you do," the singer smiled softly. Truth be told, it was rather difficult for Camila to find this camera. She remembered Lauren constantly talking about it but she never got around to actually buying it because she found the price to be ridiculous. After searching for weeks, she stumbled upon a store that sold it and immediately snatched it up. She didn't care about the price, she just knew that the gift would've brought her wife joy.
***
Izzy had just finished opening up her last present; which was a remote control toy truck she saw and just had to get, whilst her parents sat in their matching family pyjamas and held a cup of chocolate with the tiny marshmallows in it.
"Thank you for the presents, Mummy and Mama! I love them all and I love you too!" she got up from the floor and jumped on the sofa to sit between her parents. She placed a kissed on both of her mothers' cheeks and grabbed the cup of hot chocolate Camila gave her.
"But mija, Santa brought these gifts for you. Didn't he, Laur?"
Lauren laughed and shook her head. "She doesn't believe in Santa. She insists that it's impossible to have a reindeer with a red nose that glows."
"What if he has a terrible cold, princesa?" the brunette asked her daughter who had just gulped down her chocolate and now possessed a hot chocolate moustache.
Izzy shook her head and giggled. "No, mama! My nose doesn't glow when I have a cold!"
The young mother kinked an eyebrow and gasped at her daughter. "It doesn't? But I thought it did!"
Lauren looked on at the interaction between her wife and their daughter. It always warmed her heart when she saw the improvement in their relationship over the past few weeks that Camila had came back home. Izzy had been a lot happier now that her other mother was home, especially for the holidays. She still had some doubt that her mother would just disappear without telling her goodbye, so occasionally when both her parents were asleep, she would sneak into Camila's room just to ensure that she was still there.
A loud rapping on their front door broke the family out of their little moment. A megaphone went off and it was none other than Maggie Jauregui behind the interruption.
"THE OWNER OF THE WHITE SEDAN, YOU LEFT YOUR LIGHTS ON."
"WHAT? ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M MAKING A LOT OF NOISE AND PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP?!"
"YOU'RE SO OBSESSED WITH YOURSELF, MAYBE YOU SHOULD UNDRESS WITH YOURSELF."
"HI JESSICA! MERRY CHRISTMAS!! HOPE SANTA DROPPED COAL IN YOUR STOCKINGS YOU FUCKING, PUTA!"
Lauren snorted loudly but then she realised that her sister had just used a bad word, but Izzy seemed oblivious as she was already up and charged at their front door to open it for her aunt.
"HOLY SHIT YOU'RE CUTE! MY NUMBER IS 305 555 7623. CALL ME ANYTIME CUTIE."
Camila facepalmed herself, "Why did we invite her again?" She looked at her wife who laughed loudly.
"We didn't invite her," she stood up and trailed behind their daughter. "She invited herself."
When Lauren opened the door, she was greeted to her younger sister, who was clad in a red sweater and red ripped skinny jeans with a Santa hat atop her head, along with a three gifts in hand and a megaphone in the other.
She grinned cheekily, "Feliz Navidad, hermana." Lauren threw an arm over her sister's shoulder. Even though she was extremely annoying and super extra, they loved each other dearly.
"Hi, Auntie Maggie! Feliz Navidad. You look like a prettier Santa," Izzy beamed at her aunt who handed off the gifts to her sister.
Maggie picked her up into her arms and placed various kisses on her face, "Aw! That's so sweet, mija. Don't you look adorable. Come on, let's go open my present!" They entered the living room where Camila and Lauren were already sitting. "CAMZII!! Merry Christmas, babe."
"Merry Christmas, you annoying piece of S-H-I-T," the brunette spelt out the last word because of her daughter's presence. The sister in laws exchanged hugs and kisses.
The younger Jauregui sister placed the respective gifts on her relatives laps. "They don't call me Santa's little helper for nothing."
"No one calls you that, Maggie," Lauren rolled her eyes while trying to suppress a laugh. "I didn't get you anything though because being sisters with me is a gift."
Maggie threw a pillow at her sister, who dodged it effortlessly. "If you ask me, that's one of the worse gifts in the history of gifts."
"She's kidding, Mags. Your gift is under the tree. Izzy, baby? Can you give it to your auntie?" Camila asked her daughter who was enthralled by her new iPad that she just got. "IZZY!"
"Huh?" The child asked in confusion. "Oh. Yeah," she crawled under the tree and handed it to Maggie. "Here you go." The child smiled and went back to staring at the iPad.
"We're going to have to lay down some ground rules for that," Lauren laughed. "Open the envelope, loser."
Maggie tore open the envelope and two tickets to a G-Eazy concert fell out. "OH MY FUC," Camila glared at her, "...FRENCH FRIES!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!" She threw herself on top of her sister and wife. "Thank you. Thank you. You guys know how much I'm in love with G-Eazy! Watch out Halsey, I'm coming for your man."
Camila and Lauren laughed loudly and silently questioned what was wrong with Maggie. Was she on drugs? Or was she dropped on her head as a child? Who knew. But they still loved her nonetheless.
"Mama?" Lauren turned her direction to her daughter. "Can you help me set it up?" Izzy held up her new iPad. The child's mother laughed and went to sit on the floor next to her.
Camila and Lauren decided against having their relatives over for Christmas, just to have the three of them. But once Maggie had heard that her sister in law was going to be home for the holidays, she invited herself over. The Jauregui-Cabellos ended up spending a lot of time together over the holiday season since their daughter got off from school.
They went Christmas tree hunting and unfortunately for Lauren, she had to do the cutting down of the tree whilst her wife and daughter stood on the sidelines and watched her. When they went carolling, Camila led them in some traditional Christmas songs despite Lauren's protest because she hated singing. And finally, they decorated the house together. It had been the most amount of time they've ever spent together in quite some years.
The light in little Isabella's eyes when she was hanging around with both her parents, was enough to melt your heart. She was attached to Camila no matter where they went.
Maggie nudged Camila's shoulder. "So look at you, being such a great mom. Spending time with your kiddd."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "Are you implying that I wasn't a great mom before?"
The model snorted loudly. "Camilita, Camilita..." she paused and shook her head dramatically, "As much as I love you, you were a horrible mother." The mother smacked her upside the head. "Oh my god! Why does everyone keep doing me that?!"
"Because you say dumb shit, Maggie. When did this happen?"
She pouted and sighed heavily. "I was talking to one of my buddies about Pretty Little Liars and she said I was being a child."
"You are a child, but I love you either way," Camila threw her hand over the woman.
They hadn't realised that Lauren was looking on at the interaction. How was it so easy for Camila to tell Maggie that she loved her, when she couldn't tell her own wife that? She understood why because Maggie didn't cheat on her, but at the same time it still hurts.
"There you go, princesa. But you can't stay on it longer than an hour okay?" Izzy nodded happily and went to download random nonsensical games that little children enjoy. "So Maggie.."
The younger Jauregui turned to look at her sister with a kinked eyebrow, "Yes bitch?" She rubbed the back of her head, "Okay, y'all need to stop with that shit. Obscene flows outta my mouth. I can't help it."
Camila shook her head laughing.
"Anyway, why didn't you spend the holidays with mom and dad?" Lauren asked. It had been some time since the entire Jauregui family spent the holidays together, mainly due to the busy schedules of their daughters. But their parents didn't mind, as long as their daughters were doing what they loved.
Maggie shrugged. "Well, I guess with the divorce and all that, I don't really want to be around them," she mindlessly picked at the rips in her jeans.
Their parents marriage was something both girls had idolised. They were always so in love, well so it seemed. But eventually the marriage seemed to fizzle out, and their parents seemed to work better as friends instead of husband and wife. There were no signs of any infidelity, but sometimes forever isn't forever and you just have to accept that.
Lauren nodded. "Are you okay? I know it can be hard because they've been together so long." Camila decided against third wheeling in the sister-sister moment and excused herself to the kitchen to start cooking lunch.
She sighed heavily and shrugged again. "I guess it's just hard but I'll be okay."
The photographer stood up from the floor and sat next to her sister on the couch. "Hey, Mags, you know you can always talk to me right? I know I can be busy sometimes and I may act like a pendeja but you're my annoying sister and I love you."
"I love you too, you piece of shit," Maggie laughed and pulled her sister into a hug. "Can I tell you something?"
Lauren nodded.
"Don't give up on Camila. I know it seems like things are working just fine right now as friends or whatever, but everyone in hell and back, knows that you two didn't meet to just be friends. You're married, you have a kid, you both fucked up, but it's not the end just yet," she punched her sister in the shoulder softly. "Camren is real."
Her sister laughed. "I won't give up on her. I do love her, I know it doesn't seem like that after everything but I do."
"Make her see that."
"I will," she ruffled her sister's hair. "Come on, loser. Let's go help Camila cook before she burns down the house."
The brunette stuck her head back into the living room, "I heard that! But I could really use the help. I don't have any intentions of killing Izzy."
Maggie gasped in faux hurt. "But you have intentions of killing your wife and your loving sister in law? I see how it is. It's your own people. Smh."
"You don't say 'Smh', Mags. You just do it," Lauren rolled her eyes. "And before you say anything, yes, I'm advertising for Nike."
The model laughed and followed the couple back intro the kitchen. They cooked a traditional Argentinian-Venezuelan lunch. Izzy came to join the party a couple minutes later. She and her mother stood on the side-lines and occasionally stirred a pot or buttered a dish. The family laughed and told embarrassing stories.
It had been such a long time since the house felt like a home. Maybe it was Camila being at home or the fact that things seemed to be going 'okay' for the time being.
***
"Wanna live this night forever ¡Cómo te quiero! Bailamos! ¡Cómo te quiero! Te quiero amor mío ¡Cómo te quiero!" Maggie sang through the karaoke machine as the song came to an end. She did a dramatic bow and hopped off the table. "Y'all I think I deserve a Grammy or something. I'm gonna give up modelling and become a singer. Watch out Camzii, I'm coming for you," she winked.
Camila shook her head and laughed. "Your career would be non-existent....just like it is right now."
"Ooohhh burrrnnn," Lauren encouraged her wife. "Do you want me to call 911?"
Maggie flipped them both off and stalked off to grab some alcohol. Something about needing it to deal with the couple. "Y'all can shove it."
"She's such a baby," Camila laughed and began to flip through songs. "Do you want to do a duet?"
Her wife shrugged. "Sure. As long as you don't steal all the solos." Camila glared at her. "Hey, I'm just saying, if we were to ever form a band or something, the fans might only get to hear my breathing."
The singer pouted and crossed her arms, "You don't even like to sing!"
"I'm just messing with you, amor," she kissed her on the cheek. "Come on, just hit something random and we'll go with the flow."
Camila picked a random song and grabbed a mic, Maggie stepped back outside with a beer in hand as she looked on, "Life was great, wouldn't change a thing, I had it all but with you I had more, but out of nowhere out of the blue, our love turned into a war. Now you're gone, you moved on, and I hate the way I'm feeling," the brunette's angelic voice flowed through the speakers, the amount of passion that she had every time she sung was enough for you to feel the raw emotions every time you heard her.
"Now the only way I know that I can get you off my mind, to keep a bottle so close, try to leave it all behind. And I couldn't get enough. Girl, I'm drowning drunk in love. I used to think you'd never say it's over, I used to love you sober. I used to love you sober," Lauren's husky voice complimented Camila's well. Even though she disliked singing, she was really good at it. As she sang the lyrics, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. Was this a random song or did Camila intentionally choose this?
It was the brunette's turn to sing next, as she stared at the lyrics, her eyes began to glisten, "I'm on the floor cursing at the door. Broken hearted with a pounding head. And I know I got to let you go. So the liquor helps me forget, your name, your face," her voice started to break. "This pain I can't erase." She looked directly in Lauren's green eyes and whispered the last part. That was it, the tears began. She dropped the microphone and ran off.
Maggie watched as she dashed off.
"CAMZ!" Lauren called after her and began running to where she left but her sister grabbed her by the arm. "Let go of me, Maggie."
She shook her head 'no'. "That's not a good idea, Lauren. She needs to be alone right now."
"What do you mean?! You're the one who told me not to give up on her!"
"I know what I said, Lauren but damn it! She needs to deal with this right now by herself. Just go check on Izzy. I'll go check on her," Maggie blocked her sister's path and held the door to the house open. "Lauren. Please." She sighed heavily before walking away.
***
Camila was sitting on the curb a distance off from their house with her head buried in between her knees. She didn't look up when she heard footsteps. "Lauren, please just leave me alone."
"Well too bad it's not, Lauren so I'm not going to leave you alone," Maggie sat next to the woman and sipped on her beer casually looking at the passing cars. They didn't say anything to each other. Camila kept sniffling until she stopped and raised her head to look at her sister in law. "You all good there, you cry baby?"
She sighed and wiped her eyes. "I am. Now. I guess."
"Want some?" Maggie gestured at her beer. Camila shrugged and took a mouthful before giving her it back. "What was all that about back there?"
The singer pinched the bridge of her nose, "Do you think I'm overreacting? I mean it just was a kiss. A drunk one at that, but I can't seem to let it go. Maybe it's because I never would've done that to her. I don't know but it just hurts."
"I don't know, to be honest. Everyone reacts differently," she shrugged. "I probably wouldn't have cared if my...whoever kissed someone else. But your feelings are justifiable. So you shouldn't feel bad, Camzii." Maggie took a swing of her beer. "I'm probably not the best person to even give you relationship advice because I've only ever been in one serious relationship and that lasted for a little less than two years, but sometimes, even if it hurts, you have to let things go if you want it to work out. I don't know what's going on in that head of yours and neither in your heart, but I know you still love her."
The woman was right, but how was she to let this go? She didn't exactly hate her wife, and she never stopped loving her. Camila was just hurt. It was just a kiss and maybe she was in fact overreacting, but it didn't feel like that to her. They made a vow to each other, the ring that they both wear on their fingers, that was the seal to the commitment.
And Lauren broke it.
Meanwhile, Lauren was sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands. Everything had seemed to be going great, what happened to have ruined their day? At least, Izzy hadn't been up to see what had happened. She didn't want their daughter to have to deal with what was going on between them.
She heard a phone buzz and blindly reached out and grabbed it. That's when she realised it wasn't her phone but the text message made her heart sink.
Wifey: Merry Christmas, Babeeee🌲
Wish we could spend the holidays together :( But I hope you have a great one! Kiss little Camzi for me. Love you, babe 💕
It was Ariana Grande.
One of Camila's oldest friends in the industry. Lauren had met her a few times and found that the woman was a bit too touchy with her wife. She had told her wife about it but Camila said that they were just friends, and that she shouldn't be jealous because she loved her and not Ariana. But she couldn't control the jealousy that she felt every time both singers interacted with one another.
She sighed heavily and flung Camila's phone away, without smashing it of course because an iPhone costs the blood of your enemies, one year of college tuition and your soul.
Lauren stood up from the sofa and dragged herself upstairs to her bedroom. After changing out of her clothing, she peered out the window and saw that Camila and Maggie were entering the backyard. She decided against going down there and asking her wife if she was okay.
Hopefully things would get better soon. They needed to.
***
Another update so quick? Damn. I must really like y'all.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Enjoy your holidays, losers.😆