"Don't forget to clean the kitchen. If you do, then maybe I can convince your father to let you go to that movie you want to see so badly," Mom calls from the bottom of the staircase.
I sigh, rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes. "Sure thing, mom."
"I mean it, Lauren. If you want to go, the kitchen must be spotless. You need to mop, do the dishes, take out the trash-"
"I know, mom. I got it," I cut her off.
She sighs and nods, before turning and walking out the front door. She stops once more, turning back to look at me. "Make sure the doors all stay locked. I don't want to come home to see you butchered up in the dining room."
"Thanks for the concern."
She finally continues on, shutting the door behind her, and I go to lock it. After watching her back out of the driveway, I sigh in relief, pressing my back against the door. "It's about time," I mutter and make my way into the kitchen to grab a bowl of cereal.
Once my breakfast is prepared, I sit at the table and begin silently eating. 'I wonder what I should do today,' I wonder. After all, I've got the whole place to myself until 6 P.M., and it's only 8 A.M. A thought pops into my mind, and I smile as I pull my phone out and open up YouTube.
I spend the next 30 minutes eating my cereal and watching random YouTube videos, before deciding to clean up. As I'm washing the dishes I used, my phone buzzes.
I use my elbow to press 'answer' and put it on speaker.
"Hello?"
The sound of my best friend's enthusiastic voice fills the room. "Hey, Laur!"
"Hey, Mani. What's up?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you were busy right now. I'm bored and we haven't spoken in ages!"
I chuckle, shaking my head. "We literally were on a Skype call for 5 hours yesterday. What are you talking about?"
"Is it a crime to miss you? Geez."
"Oh, relax. I'm just cleaning up right now. I'm probably going to spend the entire day relaxing and watching some TV or reading a book."
I can practically hear Normani rolling her eyes. "Typical. All you ever do is stay in, watching TV and reading. You should go out with Ally and I every once in a while at least. It isn't healthy to stay cooped up in your house all the time. It's been 3 months since we hung out as a group, and we had to kidnap you basically."
I sigh. "I just haven't felt up to it, Mani. I've got a lot to handle right now, with college starting soon and trying to find a part-time job. It's a lot of pressure so suddenly, you know?"
"Yeah, I understand you've got a lot going on right now, but Lauren... you've had 'a lot going on' for 9 months now. That's the amount of time it takes during a pregnancy. One of us could've had a kid during the time you haven't been around," Normani protests, and I can't help but laugh.
"Relax. I've had my reasons for staying in, okay? But I'll make some time soon, I just need to get my schedule figured out."
Normani sighs, and I can tell she doesn't exactly buy it. She lets it go though. "Alright. Fine."
"I promise. We will all hang out again soon. Okay? We can go out for lunch or go to the beach or something. How's that sound?" I ask.
"That sounds good. I'm holding you to that though. You better make time for us soon, or I swear, we will come kidnap you again," Normani says sternly, but I can tell she's grinning.
"Alright, Mani. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay. Bye, Laur."
"Bye, Mani," I reply, and I end the call, sighing and running a hand through my hair.
I'm not really in the mood to clean right now, so I decide to hold off on it until later and hop in the shower.
The shower tends to be one of my happy places. It's one of the few places I get to think and just let loose all emotions and thoughts hidden away in my mind. This is where I always end up when she is the center of my thoughts. I smile to myself as the warm water hits my back. Soon, I feel my stress and frustration wash away down the drain.
I'm finished after 20 minutes, and I take an extra 5 to dry off. Soon, I''m back in my room, looking through my drawers, deciding on if I want to be lazy today and put on pajamas or if I want to get dressed in case I end up going somewhere. After thinking for a while, I settle on pajamas and quickly get dressed and comfortable.
My phone buzzes again, and as I check it, I see a somewhat familiar number. My thumb hovers over the 'answer' button, but I decide after the 4th ring to decline the call. It was probably just another salesman. They have been calling a lot more now, so maybe that's why I recognize the number.
I shrug it off just like that and dive into my warm bed, burying my face into the pillow. My body relaxes as I sink into the mattress, and I can't help but sigh in content. "God, I'm so comfy," I mumble out loud and soon, I begin to feel tired again. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to take a nap for a few hours, I allow myself to fall into a deep slumber.
I'm woken up by the sound of the doorbell, and I groan. I quickly check my phone, and see that I missed 4 calls from that one number earlier.
'That's peculiar. They aren't usually this persistent,' I think, and the doorbell rings again. 'Who could that possibly be?'
As I make my way out of the room and downstairs to the front door, my mind immediately goes to the conversation with Normani I had earlier that morning, and I sigh, groaning out loud, "I swear to God, Mani, if you came here to pester me about going out, I'm going to-"
I stop mid-sentence as soon as I look through the peep hole to see who's out there. I freeze in place and my heart stops. My mouth goes dry and I can't bring myself to move from my spot. The doorbell goes off again and I snap out of it. 'What is... she doing here?'
My mind tells me to ignore it, to not open the door, to go back to my room and wait until she gives up and leaves. My body does the exact opposite though, as my hand, shaking violently, unlocks the door. I slowly turn the doorknob, and within seconds, I find myself looking into the familiar brown eyes of the one person that captured my heart so long ago.
"H-Hi," she whispers, almost inaudibly.
I let out the breath that I didn't realize I was holding. My heart races as I try to fight the urge to just melt right there. I missed her voice so much. There was so much I wanted to say to her, to ask her. I can't bring myself to speak though, so I just blankly stare at her.
"I tried calling before coming," she says, a little bit louder and clearer.
Realization hits me, as I think back to when I got those calls. 'That's why that number was familiar. It was hers,' I think, still staring at her blankly. Part of me feels bad for not answering, but I push the guilt out of my mind and maintain my blank stare.
"Lauren..." My breath catches in my throat. It still sounded so heavenly, my name coming from her mouth. The way she said it always made my heart skip a beat. Thankfully though, she either doesn't notice or just chooses not to acknowledge the effect she has on me and continues. "Please talk to me."
I try to think of something to say, but I can't. All I can do is just stare in complete shock that the brown-eyed beauty I once called my girlfriend is somehow standing at my door. 'How did she even get here?' I silently wonder, finally breaking eye contact to search the area behind her. There weren't any vehicles parked on the street or in the driveway except for my own car. I look back at her, and she's now looking down.
"I know this probably is a lot to take in. But can I come in? I need to talk to you, Lauren."
I stare, surprise intensifying. She wants to come in now?
I clear my throat and slowly step aside, allowing her to enter. I shut the door, and turn back to look at her. Her back is to me, but she's standing in place, looking down as if she's trying to figure out what to say first. After an agonizingly awkward 30 seconds of complete silence, she finally turns to look at me again.
"Can we sit?"
I nod slightly and sit at the dining room table, my eyes still on her. She sits down across from me, and stares at me, biting her lip. A look of frustration is present on her face, and it's clear she's still trying to decide on what to say.
I still say nothing though, and continue staring at her until she takes a deep breath, and clears her throat. "So I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here so suddenly," she begins. "And I just... Lauren, I'm going to be honest with you. I have to tell you, even if you might get angry or upset, okay?"
I barely nod and continue staring, absolutely no reaction evident on my face, and I can tell it's frustrating her.
"So to basically put it simply... I love you."
My eyes widen and I my chest feels tight. I begin coughing, as I realized I choked on the saliva in my mouth. 'Well that was... right to the point,' I mutter internally.
"Are you okay?" She asks nervously. I don't respond and she just sighs. "Lauren, I want you back, okay? I know I don't deserve you. I know I screwed up. I know I hurt you. I know I'm being extremely selfish by just randomly showing up today after 9 months of not speaking to you, but I couldn't hold back any longer. I tried, I really truly did. I tried so hard to leave you be, to let you heal, to let you be happy finally without me to bring you down or to hurt you more, but I just couldn't do it any longer. I'm weak and selfish, I know. I'm so sorry."
I don't answer at first, and she just sighs, looking down dejectedly. It hurts, seeing her. It hurts so much because all I want to do is take her in my arms, kiss her, forgive her, and never let go. But I refrain from doing any of that. I do manage to speak finally though.
"Why?" I silently ask her. My voice was shaky and so quiet, that I was sure she didn't hear me. She apparently did though, because she looks at me in surprise, staring wide-eyed. I was confused at first why she was looking at me like that, but then I realized I haven't been speaking at all the entire time she's been here so far, so I guess it might've been a slight surprise to suddenly hear me.
"Why what?" She gently responded.
I take a few seconds to think, trying to decide on what I meant. "Why are you here? Why..." I pause, collecting my thoughts and trying to maintain a calm composure. "Why now?"
I internally curse myself for how shaky my voice is and for how fragile I sounded. She just looks at me, biting her bottom lip.
"I missed your voice so much," she whispers.
"That doesn't answer my questions, Camila."
"I... I'm here because I want you back. And as for why now... I was too much of a coward to come sooner. I was a coward, and honestly, I still am. But I'm trying my best by coming here and telling you to your face how I feel." The brunette reaches a hand up to my face, gently pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "I miss you."
My heart swells at the sound of those words coming from her, but I shake my head, trying to remain calm. "Is that so," I say, and she sighs.
"I know how you feel, Lauren. I know I hurt you. I know I broke your heart and I know that you trusted I wouldn't do that. You trusted me with you heart and I went and shattered it to pieces. I can fully understand if you're angry right now or if you hate me. In fact, I expect that, because honestly, you put so much trust in me, you loved me and cared for me when nobody else would, and you were always so supportive of me, yet I just left you. I'm so sorry. Please, Lauren. Please, please, please forgive me. You have no idea how badly I wish I could go back and make things right. Please." Camila leans forward slightly, staring into my eyes as I think.
I have no idea what to do. I was so sure that she was over me by now. I was so sure that she'd moved on, that I'd lost her forever. Yet here she is, declaring her love for me and begging for me to take her back. I have no clue how to respond, so I just stare. I realize I'm staring at her lips though, and I can't help but feel an overwhelmingly strong urge to lean forward and kiss her. I can't let myself do that though, so I continue to stare.
I think Camila notices though, and she bites her lip before suddenly standing up. She slowly walks around to my side of the table, stopping just inches in front of me. I can't bring myself to meet her eyes, so I just keep staring at her lips. Memories flash through my mind as I remember the softness of them and how sweet they were. How absolutely intoxicating her kisses were, and how I could never get sick of the feeling of her lips on my own.
Camila takes notice of this, and tilts her head to the side. "What are you thinking about?"
"N-Nothing," I stutter, my voice slightly hoarse since my throat is so dry. Why is she having this effect on me still? I haven't seen her in 9 months, yet I still crave her lips. I try to shake off the thought, when Camila's next words catch me off guard.
"I'm going to kiss you."
"E-Excuse me, what?" There is no way I heard that correctly.
The brunette smiled gently, noticing my flustered state. "I'm going to kiss you, Lauren. I'm going to kiss you, and if you stop me, then... I will leave you alone from here on out. You won't ever have to see me again. I won't bother you for a second longer. I will walk out that door and leave you alone forever. You won't ever have to see me again, you will never have to worry or suffer because of me again. Understand?"
"And if I kiss you back?"
Camila reached her hand up to cup my cheek, and my heart pounds so loudly, that I'm positive the younger girl can hear it. She apparently doesn't hear it, as she answers my question. "Then you accept me. You want to try again. You want to make an effort once more in our relationship."
My breathing becomes uneven as she draws closer and closer to me at an agonizingly slow pace. I don't know if I should stop her or not. I want nothing more than this, but I don't know if it's what I need. Will it just end as it did the other times? Will I just end up more broken? Or will it work? Will we be happy, get a place together, live out the rest of our lives together, as we once promised one another? Do I push her away or do I give in and kiss back?
The answer comes to me as soon as her lips touch my own.
I feel as though my heart stops. All the chaos and fear in my mind from the previous moments have completely vanished. I can't focus on anything other than the feeling of her lips against mine, moving in perfect sync. I can't help but to wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. I let out a sigh of relief, unable to resist the feeling of complete bliss.
She tangles her fingers in my hair and I slowly stand up so I'm taller than her. A groan escapes my lips as she tugs at my bottom lip with her teeth. Almost as if a fire was ignited within me, I immediately shove her against the closest wall, eliciting a breathy moan from her. I smirk slightly, feeling great knowing I can get that kind of reaction from her still.
I gently break the kiss and lift her chin with my index finger so I can look directly into her eyes. Her face is all flushed, and she's slightly out of breath. I can't suppress the grin that spreads across my face.
Camila giggles. "So I take it you want to give us another shot?"
I lean forward to plant a sweet and soft kiss on her forehead before wrapping my arms tightly around her waist. "Of course I do. Without a doubt."
Camila smiles at this and pulls me into another kiss.
___
A/N- I'll be totally honest, I've got no memory of writing this at all, but I woke up, slumped over my laptop with this typed on it so after reading it and making a few spelling corrections, I decided to post it lol