With thirty minutes before the bell that would signal the end of the school day, Camila Cabello thought that maybe it was her lucky day. Maybe, just maybe, she had escaped torment from her bully for the day. As she rounded the corner to return to class after a quick stop at the bathroom, the young girl's hopes were found to be short lived. None other than Lauren Jauregui was waiting for her. Before Camila had a chance to think, she was pinned against the metal blue lockers that lined the walls of Lakewood High School.
"Hey Cabello, what the fuck are you doing? Brave of you to walk these halls without any of your little friends to defend you! Oh wait, you don't have friends. You aren't worth having people love you. You're fucking trash!"
All Camila could do was stare into the emerald eyes of the girl who caused her nothing but pain and anguish. Although Lauren never did much physical harm to her, the words she said to her did enough to rip right through her flesh, burying themselves deep in her veins, carried through her bloodstream and infecting every part of her mind, body, and soul. Camila hated herself, and Lauren did nothing but add fuel to the fire. Through her own pain, though, Camila swore she saw something behind Lauren's eyes; some type of sadness, perhaps. The brown eyed girl hated herself for wanting to explore the girl's mind to find out what kinds of thoughts kept her up at night. She didn't have much time to ponder the situation because soon she heard Lauren's voice bellow through the halls once again.
"Of course you won't talk to me, you fucking coward! Is it because you know what I'm saying is true? Is that it? You know you mean nothing, Cabello, that's why you won't talk back to me. You're a piece of shit, Camila Cabello."
With that, Lauren released her grip on Camila and headed out of the school through the blue double doors. Camila stood frozen in fear, willing the tears in her eyes to stay still until she was safe in her bedroom at home, closeted from the world that seemed to hate her so much.
As Lauren heard the doors behind her shut, she let out a deep sigh. The adrenaline that she had felt while talking down to Camila had already worn off, leaving her with nothing but regret and guilt. The effects of her bullying never lasted for too long and she often wondered why she couldn't just stop. It was like being the stronger person against someone so weak was a drug that Lauren got off on.
Soon, Lauren approached her black Mercedes Benz sedan. The green-eyed girl honestly hated driving such a flashy car, but her parents insisted that no daughter of theirs could be seen in something that looked like it came straight from a salvage yard, as they put it. In reality, to Michael and Clara Jauregui that was anything that didn't cost at least $100,000. They were way too concerned with their image, and Lauren hated it. Taking her usual route, it took Lauren thirty minutes to arrive at her destination; The Children's Place, a private daycare in Miami. Lauren felt her frustrations fade away upon her arrival. The best part of her day had finally come and she was relieved.
Approaching the desk, Lauren introduced herself to the secretary worker. While the normal secretary, Janice, was familiar with Lauren, she had received an email that there was a fill-in as Janice had come down with a sickness and be out that week. "Lauren Jauregui. I'm picking up my, uh, baby sister. Grace Jauregui. She should be in the baby room." The secretary smiled at Lauren in a friendly manner, ushering her to the room that she was already familiar with. She came here every day after school. Once Lauren had found the door, decorated in pastel rainbow colors, she opened it softly and searched the room for her favorite pair of green eyes. Instead, she was met with a sleeping baby girl in one of the daycare cribs. She smiled to herself, walking over to pick the baby up. The daycare worker, Mrs. Edwards, greeted Lauren as she signed Grace out for the day. "You're such a good big sister, Lauren. Being so involved. I don't know many teenagers who would help so much with their ten-month-old sibling!" Lauren knew that Mrs. Edwards had no idea the weight her words held, so she just smiled softly and thanked the woman before exiting the room and heading out through the front of the building.
Lauren approached the back door of her car and began to buckle the sleeping baby into her car seat. Grace stirred upon Lauren putting her arms through the straps, her previously shut eyes opening and looking up at Lauren. Upon seeing her, the baby girl began to grin, almost causing Lauren to melt at the sight. "Hey, Gracie, you're awake! You light up mommy's life, did you know that?"
A/N
SO! This is the first chapter of Grace. I used to love to write but for a few years now I have had terrible writers block. This story just popped into my head, so I thought I would give it a shot and am hopeful it can get me back in the swing of things. I'm not sure if this is something people would be interested in, but I will continue to post if people seem to want more. Chapters will get longer as the story progresses and there should be more dialogue too. Just gotta set things up first. Let's go on this ride, friends.
- K