A/N: Basically. Prepare for a possible badass, suspenseful little enemies to lovers storyline and Candy changing drastically. ;)))) Also, read my recent message board to know what's up with Laureesia and Camren if you haven't already.
AND SO THE PLOT THICKENS...
***
The song for this chapter is Lie To Me by Ne-Yo. Play this video for a bomb visual/feel.
June 9th, 2006
Friday, 12:30pm - Miami, Florida
"You needed me out of school for this?" Dinah responded to Luca's request for her to follow Aleesia around Los Carnales territory before kidnapping her. She wasn't okay with doing that kind of job—especially when Aleesia was one of her best friends. Finding any way out of it was crucial to her sanity and avoiding further conflicts with Los Carnales or Camila. "Luca, I'm about to take the state test in a few days. The weekends are the only times I can get away with doing jobs in the middle of the day."
"Doesn't matter. Aleesia is a problem that needs to be dealt with. And the easiest, most effortless way to get to her is to use somebody she trusts and loves. That's you, Dinah. Camila is out of the equation," said Luca. He took off his blazer and hung it over the back of his chair, taking a seat behind the desk in his church office.
"You're not the only one with a tough job to do," said Tommy, munching on some McDonald's fries in the corner. "Joaquin and I are taking a couple of soldiers out in a little while. We're plotting to take over every city, every block, every corner owned by Los Carnales. No gun fights this time."
"Yeah, we're gonna play it smart. Luca is teaching the art of war where it can be won without violence," Joaquin said, thrilled to be a part of the brilliant master plan that'll overthrow Los Carnales.
"Shocker. I figured you'd have guns blazing by now," Dinah folded her arms and leaned back against the bulletin board on the wall.
Luca chuckled, keeping that smug smirk frozen on his lips. "It's what Santiago would have wanted. It's what I definitely wanted. But, Dinah, you don't have to avenge your partner by taking another life. That's too easy, too played out. I know that now."
"You know I serve you, Luca. Right? You give me an order, I execute that order. But I can't kill Aleesia. It has nothing to do with her formerly being my best friend. She's Lauren's girl, and it's a strict rule that we cannot bring harm to each other's women. We leave them and the kids out of it. Remember?"
"She's Lauren's girl?" Tommy beat Luca to the question and bursted out laughing. "That doesn't mean shit. That rule only applies to straight men. Freaks like her are left out of it."
"She's the leader of a gang, I'm pretty sure that rule applies regardless of sexual orientation and gender. And in case you also wanna get back at Lauren for killing Santiago by having me kill Aleesia, that's not the way to do it. I have a much better plan that'll save all of us the headache and potential war," Dinah proposed. That piqued their interest for sure.
"I'll listen only if it means killing two birds with one stone. Lauren suffers and dies, Aleesia suffers and dies," Luca kicked his feet up and played with Santiago's rosary under the desk.
"In due time. But Lauren will be the first to suffer, which will end in Aleesia eventually dying. Trust me, I've been building this master plan for a long time. It'll all work out," Dinah smiled. "The first step is to set Lauren up and send her to prison. With her gone, we'll have more freedom to do whatever and less problems and bodies to worry about."
"But Chris is the other leader. He's like a vice fucking president. With his sister in prison, he'll wreak havoc on all of us. He has close to the amount of power she does, Chris is not to he underestimated," Tommy warned.
"You overestimate Chris and you underestimate me. I know what the hell I'm doing, Tommy Gun," Dinah sassed.
"Are you sure? Because Lauren going to prison seems like a long sho—"
"I'm sure, boss. Just sit back and watch. You won't be disappointed," Dinah convinced him. She gained more of Luca's trust like she did Chris. Ask her what the reason was for her setting up two bosses of rival gangs—one of them she's involved with—and she'll simply feed you the response that she's tired of all things going to hell. The less anyone knew, the better.
"Good. Then we go with your plan and wait until Lauren is in prison to carry out the rest," Luca said as he grabbed a red apple and bit into it harshly, chewing with a boastful smile.
-
South Miami High was an absolute nightmare close to the summer time. Teachers couldn't use the A/Cs because they never worked, the fans barely kept a cool breeze circulating around the room to prevent the students from sweating bullets or coming close to fainting due to heat exhaustion. And every time anyone asked for a drink of water from the fountain, they'd be denied more than they'd receive a 'yes'—thanks to all the other students who used that request as an excuse to skip class. Unhappy, overheated students led to talking back and refusal to do any assignment the teachers put out.
"Quiet down! Helloo!" Ms. Xavier tried getting everyone's attention. They just kept talking over her, throwing papers, opening bags of chips, popping gum, and changing seats to sit next to their friends. She huffed and folded her arms, standing in front of the blackboard with a grimace. "Um, excuse me! I will wait!"
"Okay, and? You gon' be waitin' forever, so you might as well sit down and read a book," Emiliano called out over the loud chatter going around the classroom. His classmates heard him and broke out into laughter, making him feel good about himself.
"You better watch that mouth, mister Arias. That state test is coming next week and I still don't see you picking up a book. Remember, I'm not the one who has to take it. You do," she reminded. She'd shade him but that would get her fired. These kids had a knack for getting teachers fired all year long.
"Miss, can't we just relax today? It's Friday," Normani whined, fanning herself with her folder.
"So? As long as it's a school day, there's no free time to relax and avoid doing your work—no excuse."
"Ms. X, you trippin', man. It's too hot for all this," said a random kid, the other students agreeing with him. "Yo, somebody open up a window. One of y'all clearly ain't had a shower. Musty asses."
"Franklin, please watch your mou—"
"I got friends and you got friends. They hop out and you hop in. I look fly and they jockin'. The way you drop, drop makes me wanna pop. IS YO MAN..ON THE FLOOR..IF HE AIN'T, LET ME KNOoOoW. LEMME SEE IF YOU CAN RUN IT, RUN IT. GIRL INDEED I CAN RUN IT, RUN IT."
A group of girls sitting around Normani broke out into a little sing along to Chris Brown's hit song that only came out last year. They didn't even need music, they were always singing and having competitions randomly. Ms. Xavier gave up and sat down, assuring the only quiet student that it was okay and he didn't need to worry about her. The girls continued singing and Normani started dancing in her seat, gaining some attentions from her fellow classmates.
"Shut the fuck up!! Music class is next period, y'all can't wait?" someone complained.
"Boy, I will lay your ass out. Fall back," Normani jumped to do something and he flinched.
Meanwhile in the back of the classroom, Lauren was passing notes to Aleesia who had been ignoring her since first period. No matter what Lauren did to get her attention, she was shunned to a point where she began questioning whether or not she existed. It didn't help that Aleesia knew Lauren spent all night with Candy then dropped her off at school without any of EC spotting them. Aleesia only knew because the crew wouldn't stop complaining about the sounds that came from Lauren's bedroom until 3am, and Lauren came in late with donuts that could only be found by Camila's school.
The green eyed girl tapped a boy's shoulder and forced him to pass on the note to Aleesia sitting two rows ahead of her. He did it without hesitation then carried on working at the math assignment. When Aleesia received the fifth note Lauren sent this period, she rolled her eyes and stopped conversing with her new friends so she could read it. Opening up the crumbled piece of paper, it was no surprise that this was another 'yes or no' question. Aleesia cracked a tiny amused smile at Lauren's sloppy handwriting before scanning her eyes over the question:
Can we start over the right way and just be friends at least? I promise not to disrespect you or lie again. I just don't want you mad at me, mami. Do you accept?
Yes or No
Circle one
Aleesia decided to be cheeky circled one. She didn't know if her answer was yes or no yet. Lauren seriously hurt her. To give in and be cool with her again meant weakness and allowing her the chance to walk all over her in the future. After the senior closed it up, she tossed the ball of paper over her shoulder in Lauren's direction, then picked up where she left off with her friends.
Lauren leaned over to pick the paper up from the floor and sat back to read her response. There was nothing quite like the anticipation of unraveling a note in hopes you get the response you wanna see. Lauren excitedly revealed it to herself only to frown then laugh when she understood what Aleesia was trying to do. She sighed heavily, rolled her head around, then got up and walked down the aisle to stop in front of Aleesia's desk. Her gold diamond chain with a Scorpion pendant dangled around her neck as she leaned over, resting both palms flat on the warm polished surface, looking Aleesia in her caramel brown eyes. Lauren smiled a lazy kind of smile before reaching to caress her cheek softly, earning a small smile in return.
"Por favor, perdóname. Lo siento. Te necesito, Aleesia," Lauren's voice carried out smoothly like warm honey. "No lo soporto cuando me ignoras." (Please, forgive me. I'm sorry. I need you, Aleesia. I can't stand it when you ignore me.)
"No es mi problema. Tendrás que lidiar con eso te guste o no," Aleesia dropped the smile and shoved Lauren's hand away from her. (Not my problem. You'll have to deal with it whether you like it or not.)
"No, no puedo. I'm not going to. Can we please just move past this?" Lauren jut her bottom lip out in a pout. (I can't.)
"Why do you want me to forgive you and be friends with you so bad when I said I'm done fucking with you?"
"Because I miss you."
"So?"
"And because I need you around."
"I'm not useful to you anymore. Try again."
"You are useful to me. You're always there when I need you to be and you never hesitate. Somebody like you is very important to have around, nena. You're my homie, my partner in crime."
"You can go find somebody else. I'm sure you have plenty of people willing to do the same thing," Aleesia dismissed.
Lauren sucked her teeth and dropped down beside Aleesia now. She ran her hands across Aleesia's thighs then wrapped an arm around her waist while looking up at her. Lauren closed her eyes as Aleesia continued to ignore her, and buried her face in her shirt around her stomach area. "Don't be like that. For the last time, I need you. You're one of a kind and I can't lose you, Aleesia. I'm so sorry for how I did you."
"Lauren, get back in your seat. This is a classroom. Let's keep things appropriate," said Ms. Xavier loudly. From where she sat, it looked like Lauren was trying to motorboat Aleesia's breasts or something.
"Oooooo!" everyone collectively sounded, noticing the position Lauren was in. Scandalous.
"Lo, you couldn't get enough pussy last night?" Emiliano cackled, teasing his friend.
"That's fucking gayyyyyy."
Lauren sensed Aleesia growing uncomfortable and pulled away from her. She rose to her feet and scowled at everyone not minding their own business. "Next person to look mine or Aleesia's way is getting decked in the face. You can fix your mouths to talk about something else, too. Anyone willing to fucking try me today?"
Emiliano's smirk was wiped from his face and every other teenager quickly dropped their heads and turned away from Lauren. They knew she was being serious and they knew damn well not to fuck around with somebody who succesfully ran a large gang that grew every day. The bell rang anyway, signaling that the first lunch wave has just started. All students rushed out immediately except for Lauren, Aleesia, Emiliano and Normani. Lauren motioned for Normani and Emiliano to walk ahead as she'd meet up with them later. Lauren grabbed her bookbag and took Aleesia's hand in hers, carrying her bag for her as well. She walked out of the classroom and into the noisy buzzing hallway.
"Look, Lauren, I forgive you or whatever. But I seriously want nothing to do with you. I love the Carnales and I'm happy to roll with them sometimes, but I just don't think I'd roll with you the way I did before. We can't be close, I won't jump to do whatever you ask of me anymore," Aleesia calmly stated as she navigated through the wide crowded hallway to get to the quad.
"You're killing me," Lauren groaned. "I won't accept that. You already wear the colours, you've already been spotted by EC, you have a target all over your body now. There's no backing out of this. All I'm asking of you is to just come back to me willingly and at least pretend we're still together so that nobody touches you. That's the first thing. The second is I really give a shit about you and I love having you by my side. I need you by my side."
Aleesia thought about it as they continued walking, pushing the doors open to go outside. Los Carnales were already all over three tables and had some trays of hot lunch out. The middle table was designated for Lauren, and Aleesia had to follow her there as well. Lauren got fed up with the silence and skipped in front of her, preventing the brunette from walking any farther.
"Okay, Lauren. You win," Aleesia submitted, causing a smile to form on the gang leader's face. "But let me make something clear. Out in public, I'm yours. On the low? I'm fucking with other people and you have no say in who that is or where that is."
"Oh...okay. I guess that's...fair—"
"You betrayed me for Candy. You're sprung because of her, and I get it. That's you. Supposedly that's your girl. I won't get in the way of that now. But I just wanna make sure you know—because I care about you, too—that she's rated E for everyone, so you don't get surprised just like I did."
"What are you talking about, E for everyone?" Lauren's face scrunched up in confusion.
"If you think you're the only person she's seeing, you're dead wrong. Candy may not have a choice on dating because of Luca, but she does have a choice on whether you know about it or not. And since she apparently didn't tell you anything, I'm assuming she's pulling a you on you and decided to juggle two people at the same time because she has feelings for both but is afraid of being honest about it."
"You're joking, right? You're just saying that...right?"
Aleesia frowned. "No, Lauren. I'm not. But this is what you signed up for, isn't it?"
"It's that Joel kid, right?" Lauren grit her teeth and tightened her balled fists. "She has feelings for him??"
"But she has feelings for you, too. I know Candy really likes you. Don't ever doubt that, Laur. But you're not exactly in her plans. This is just one for the books and a story to tell her Church friends when she gets older—about how she went slumming once but found a good man and found her way back to Jesus. It happens all the time, trust me. You can't exactly blame her," Aleesia rubbed Lauren's shoulder sympathetically then continued onwards to the center picnic table.
Standing there motionless, dumbfounded and lost, Lauren stared blankly as her whole world crumbled around her. Aleesia never lied to Lauren before, so she wouldn't be lying now or ever. Despite knowing that, Lauren was still in denial. Camila felt it, too. She felt the love, too. Lauren knew Camila wanted to be with her but couldn't because of Luca—which was fine and understandable. But now discovering that Joel actually had a chance and that Camila might be using Lauren to have fun only for now...? Admitting it to herself hurt like hell. It made her sick with nausea. Lauren hated being lied to and finding out harmful secrets about somebody she loved or cared deeply for. If there was one thing you couldn't do if you wanted to stay on her good side, it was lying and withholding secrets.
"Boss, can we leave early again today? I figured we could shoot some hoops and stop by a Burger King or something. That Whopper is really calling my name," Ariel rubbed his stomach as he approached Lauren alongside Emiliano.
"Word. By the way, patróna, I'm sorry about earlier. I should've figured you were having a moment with Aleesia," Emiliano apologised sheepishly, holding the back of his neck. "Everything good?"
Lauren swallowed dryly and forced a tight smile that only lasted a second. She turned her head and slapped Ariel on the shoulder. "No. Stay in school and stop skipping with me. And as for you, Emiliano, it's cool. I'm good. I just gotta bounce real quick."
"Ughh, but I'm bored. And I'm hungry, too. Let me come with you," said Ariel.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Oye, payaso, stay in school and mind your business. Oíste? The world's not gonna end if you don't follow me everywhere."
"Where are you going?" Emiliano asked her.
"To see Candy. I miss her and I wanna get her a little something," Lauren ignored the pain she was feeling inside and blushed at the thought of seeing her again.
"You just saw her last night and this morning. How do you already miss her?" Ariel narrowed his eyes.
"Because that's my baby. I always miss her," Lauren shoved him then whipped out her flip phone to check the time. "She should be at lunch by now, I think. I'll wait it out. She has one more class left today."
"And you're sure that's a good idea?" Emiliano leaned in, lowering his voice. "They keep seeing a maroon sports car in their territory, they're gonna shoot first then ask questions."
"I don't really care. I'll meet you both at the Super Wheels later. Okay?" Lauren brushed past them, uninterested in holding conversation any longer. Once again, she interrupted Aleesia's time with her friends—and Normani's squad—to go talk to her. But before Lauren could get an actual word in, Normani stopped her.
"Lauren, boo, I love you but you need to let this girl breathe. What do you want?" Normani stepped in front of Aleesia, waiting for a good enough reason as to why she should let Lauren bother her.
"Mani, please move. I just need to tell her one thing," Lauren said as sweetly and politely as possible.
"Tell her what? Let me know if you tryna run game on her again, because we can't have none of that here. All of us girls are tired."
"Amen!" said one of Normani's girls, followed by six others. All of them were either played or set themselves up to be played knowing damn well they were getting with a player.
"So what am I then? Am I not a girl?" Lauren glowered.
Normani snorted. "With the way you're acting, you might as well be a boy."
"You have a dick, too. Don't you? Shit. You're already there," another girl said.
Lauren hated comments like that. Self hatred tended to kick in anytime somebody who knew about her 'friend' downstairs made her feel bad about it. It was what they said and how they said it. Any other day, Lauren would've unleashed all hell and let them have it for coming out their mouths that way. Not today. And Normani was a really good friend to Lauren, but she was just hurt because Drew (the boy she was talking to) messed with her heart and Aleesia vented to her about what Lauren did. If there was something Normani despised more than anything, it was disloyalty. She didn't tolerate that shit not one bit and Lauren knew it.
"Aleesia, can you come to the Super Wheels tonight? I would really appreciate it if you were there. All we're doing is making some moves and having fun after we close shop," Lauren told her, ignoring Normani and the others. She met Aleesia's eyes and smiled hopefully. "Please? I promise not to do something stupid. You can even boss me around if you like."
"Whatever, Lauren. I'll be there," Aleesia sighed. "You done?"
"Thank you. And yes. I'll leave you alone now. Nos vemos, mami." (See you later)
*
1:30pm
There was an early release today for everyone attending St. Brendan high—the prestigious Catholic school mostly filled with Estrabao Cartel girls and the affiliated. The doors were opened and students poured out of the building seemingly all at once, eager to hop inside their parent's cars or on the school buses that took them to different parts of Miami. Lauren hid her bandana so she wouldn't be easily spotted; wearing maroon and black in a sea of blue with specks of white was suicide. Even her car wasn't a maroon colour. She took a white stolen car and ran with it.
Camila was easily spotted—not just because she was the only one wearing all white, but also because Lauren could catch her in any crowded place from a few yards away. The gang leader reached into her backseat and grabbed the bouquet of tiger lillies—Camila's new favourite—and a jar of cute hand written notes Lauren has been working on since the moment she fell for her. The plan was to just give it to her and drive her away for a few kisses and a study session at the library; Lauren needed to pass the test in order to graduate but she was seriously struggling. Camila could help with that.
To Camila, Lauren was easily spotted as well. The younger Latina noticed a car that wasn't a regular like the others, looked a little closer and saw that Lauren was in the driver's seat, then smiled widely to herself. She didn't dare wave but she did quickly make her way across the street and climbed into the car before giving Lauren a heads up. And if that wasn't bold enough, Camila grabbed Lauren's face and pulled her in, smashing their lips together. Camila wrapped her arms around Lauren's neck and kissed her fast and deep, seldom coming up for air to breathe. Lauren took a moment to reciprocate before getting into the flow and following her lover's lead. She held Camila tight and sunk further and further into the kiss—into her feelings for her like she always did.
"Candy.." Lauren murmured between kisses.
"Hmm?" Camila hummed as she grabbed the back of Lauren's head, gripping her smooth locks of hair, tilting her own head to the side to nod into the kiss.
"Brief pause," Lauren reluctantly dropped her lips and panted along with her. She wore a grin as she admired Camila with an adoring gaze and hands that caressed her face. "Hi, baby. How was your day? I got you these flowers and a little gift I've been working on for a while now."
The bouquet of flowers and the jar containing folded post-it notes became visible to the Latina. She gasped with a hand that flew to her mouth, eyes widened in astonishment at the cutest most thoughtful gesture Lauren has done for her so far. The jar was packed and had her favourite piece of candy taped on the lid for emphasis on how sweet Lauren thought Camila was: banana laffy taffy. The orange and black dotted flowers were gorgeous, too—absolutely divine and breathtaking with a meaning behind it that fit Camila so well.
"Oh my...I can't even..." Camila shook her head then threw herself into Lauren's arms for a warm embrace. "Thank you so much. This is so freaking nice of you. I love it. And my day was okay."
"Yeah? You do?" Lauren cooed and rubbed her back in soothing circles. She got a whiff of Camila's hazlenut shampoo when she pulled away to look at her again; smelling good was one of Lauren's weaknesses. "I'm glad, reina. Solo quería hacerte feliz." (I just wanted to make you happy.)
"Lo hiciste, lo juro. Estoy muy feliz," Camila assured and followed up with a kiss to Lauren's cheek. (You did, I swear. I'm very happy.)
"Read them when you get home. For now, can we go somewhere private for a little bit then study together at the Library for my test? And by private, I don't mean to fuck or anything. I just would like to kiss you for a few minutes and talk," Lauren confessed nervously. She didn't want Camila to say no.
"Uhh...I actually can't today. I already made plans to study at Dinah's house, then we're going to the movies right after. Sorry, baby. But we can study tomorrow?" Camila winced at having to reject Lauren, and offered a pitiful smile.
"Oh. That sucks. But sure, tomorrow sounds fine," Lauren sucked it up and tried masking the hurt in her voice. She put her hand on the steering wheel and gripped it to substitute for wanting to choke somebody out. "Can I at least drop you off close by? I can give you a ride, no problem. I just wanna spend some time with you."
"That's okay. I have a ride. Luca sent it, so it's best that you go now before they get here. Don't want them to see me with you and get in trouble," Camila leaned in for a quick peck on the lips before putting the flowers and jar of notes in her bookbag. "I'm sorry. I hate to do this to you."
"Candy, wait—" Lauren pulled the passenger door shut just as Camila was getting out. She briefly screwed her eyes shut before opening them and locking eyes with the younger woman again. "I need to ask you something."
"Okay," Camila sat back and tucked her hair behind her ear. That question made her think of the million wrong things she's done in the 17 years she's been alive on this Earth.
"Do you really like me and want to be with me and only me? There's nobody else, right?"
"Of course there's nobody else. I've never wanted anyone more," Camila told her. At least the second part was true.
Lauren's face fell for a split second because she knew she was lying. She turned the other way because she didn't want Camila to read her facial expression and ask questions. Lauren wasn't going to call her out on it...not now. Camila waited for a response but Lauren merely nodded and started up the car again.
"Thank you. You're free to leave now," she said quietly. "Be safe, baby. And have fun."
"Thanks," Camila rubbed her forearm affectionately before stepping out of the car and shutting the door.
*Play Lie To Me by Ne-Yo*
'Lie to me x7'
Lauren waited until Camila crossed the street to drive ahead and ride around the block. It took her at least a minute to circle back and hide herself from view, waiting behind a few cars so that Camila couldn't see her. She watched intently and squinted to better her eyesight. Camila was waiting by the curb, chatting animatedly with her friends from school. Three minutes later, a blue Bentley Continental GT passed Lauren's car and pulled up to where Camila stood. She didn't even get in yet because Joel hopped out to greet Camila before even thinking of opening her door for her. Lauren held her breath and tightened her grip around the wheel as she watched Camila stand on her tip-toes to circle her arms around the tall boy, gazing dreamily into his hazel eyes before their lips met in a tender kiss.
'I just want to be numb.
I don't want to feel a thing.
I don't want reality,
Actually, reality stinks.
How about we just pretend
That your cellphone didn't even ring
And that I wasn't on the other
Side of the door listening to everything.
Tell me another lie.'
Joel kept his hands respectively on Camila's hips that eventually slid to the small of her back. Their heads moved like they had all the time in the world and all the passion to pour into one another through their lips. They separated and Joel briefly met and chatted with one of the nuns that initially had something to say to Camila. Lauren bowed her head and let out a long, deep sigh as she stared at her lap. Her knee bounced and her eyes closed; she counted in her head and paced her breathing in order to keep calm. Lauren was a mere two seconds away from grabbing her softball bat—she carried with her in the backseat—and whacking Joel upside the head with it. If she wasn't so nosy, she wouldn't have sticked around to watch something that tore her heart into a million little pieces. Perhaps simply taking Aleesia's word or staying in denial was better than this.
'I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.'
The pair got inside their car and slowly drived off. Lauren waited for there to be a good enough distance before she stepped on the gas and followed them. And because she was laser focused on Camila's betrayal and checking to see if they were actually going to Dinah's, she didn't even realise she was being followed as well. Mariano Sakurai, Luca's replacement for Santiago, had only arrived four minutes ago to check on Camila. When he noticed Lauren sitting there watching out for her for some unknown reason, he became protective of Camila and suspicious of the rival gang leader. Mariano had to follow Lauren to assure Camila's safety but he wasn't allowed to do anything to her yet. Luca made it very clear that Lauren was being handled and to leave her alone.
Mariano went ahead but kept his distance as well, keeping his gun on his lap just in case he needed to use it. Lauren on the other hand came empty handed; it wasn't like she could carry her gun to school. All she had was a softball bat that now sat with her in the front seat. Following Camila and Joel was taking her down to Little Havana...a place Dinah didn't live in at all. Lauren now assumed Joel was taking Camila to his house instead. And if Camila lied about studying, she must've had other intentions today—intentions Lauren didn't even want to think about.
'Please make me believe
That there is nobody for you and me.
When I ask who were you talking to,
Tell me it was Kimberly.
Tell me that last night you didn't leave
After you thought I was asleep.
Crept back in that six-forty five.
Tell me it was just a dream.'
Eventually, the Bentley stopped in front of a tropical orange coloured house. Lauren stopped across the street, a few cars down like before, then shut off the engine. She leaned back and played with the belt holding up her baggy cargo pants, scratching the leather material absentmindedly. Her eyes glued to their bodies that slowly passed the front gate, hand in hand, and walked up to the front door. Joel took a look around before opening it, granting Camila access inside his home. Lauren debated on staying a little longer to wait them out, but there was really no point and she had other business to take care of.
'Baby I need, desperately, DESPERATELY to believe you.
'Cause I won't be held responsible
For what, what I might do.
Baby I need, desperately, DESPERATELY to believe you.
'Cause I wont be held responsible
For what, what I might to do.
Tell me another lie.'
Mariano hopped out of the car and walked ahead to where Lauren was parked. Because she didn't know who he was, he wanted to talk to her and possibly read her to know what her intentions were. Mariano stuffed his glock in the front of his pants then pulled down his baby blue dress shirt to hide it. When he reached the driver's side door, he leaned over and knocked gently on her window. Lauren jumped a little and checked the man out before rolling down the window halfway.
There was a redness to her eyes—face painted with rage and the corners of her lips downturned. She was very unpleasant when she asked, "Who the fuck are you and what do you want?"
"Hi. Sorry," Mariano began, shrugging off her attitude by servicing a smile and keeping his tone friendly. "I was just wondering if you're waiting out here for Dominic."
"Who?" Lauren squinted.
"Dominic. Erm...Benson?" Mariano came up with the name on the spot then pointed at the white house Lauren was next to. "You're in front of his house and I couldn't help but notice and wonder if you were waiting for him. If you were, I figured it'd be polite to let you know he isn't home right now."
"Oh..okay," Lauren played along. She nodded curtly as she turned the key in the ignition. "Thanks."
"Yeah, no problem. Are you okay, though? You look a little upset."
"I'm fine. I just really wanted to see and spend time with Dominic today," Lauren forced a smile. "Apparently he forgot to tell me he had other plans."
"Yikes. Sorry about that. I'm a good friend of his, so I know how you feel. If you want, I can tell him you dropped by. Or would you like to wait with me? I'm supposed to be seeing him toda—"
"I'm straight, but thank you," Lauren dismissed quickly while rolling up the window. She beeped for him to step away before speeding off down the block in a hurry.
'I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.
I don't wanna know what I know to be true. What I need you to do: tell me another lie.'
Lauren turned up the song playing on the radio and let the music fill the car and the beat vibrate through the seat. She carelessly ran a red light and hopped on the freeway, flip phone in hand and eyes darting between the road and screen as she selected Ghost's name in her contacts list. Lauren held the phone to her ear and heard the click on the third ring.
"Boss lady. What can I do for you?"
"Camila hasn't heard of Shawn's death, right?"
"Turn down your music, I can't hear you." Lauren lowered the volume then repeated herself. "No. But his parents filed a missing person's report. It hasn't gotten back to Camila or Luca yet. Why?"
"Leave an anonymous tip and make sure that tip gets back to her," said Lauren coldly.
"Why? Isn't that very risky? Are you trying to fuck things up with her?"
"Yes. She wants to fuck with me, I'm going to teach her a lesson. Do what I tell you, don't ask any more questions. Oíste?"
"Loud and clear. Give me about an hour tops."
***
8:35pm - West Kendall, Miami, Florida
In result of the news spreading in Los Carnales territories that business moved to the skating rink in West Kendall, old customers and the new (and trusted) rushed to Super Wheels and nearly bought out the menu for their supply of drugs. Ariel and Jhene worked the concession stands and sold these food items: hot dogs, burgers, cheese fries and plain fries, nachos, pizza, and pretzels. The hot dogs with a side of BBQ sauce was code for heroin, the burgers with relish was code for meth, plain fries or cheese with a side of "butter" was for MDMA, nachos with "green sauce" was for marijuana, pizza with "Ariel's spicy mayo" was for painkillers, and the pretzels with a side of "exotic dream" was code for benzodiazepines.
An individual who had no clue about the drugs being sold there would never request the sides to go along with any of the orders. It was a genius plan mostly orchestrated by Ariel. Lauren gave him the credit and the bonus. So far, the amount of money made tonight added up to ten thousand dollars. Because the owner could use the extra money and protection, Lauren would allow him a small reasonable percentage of the profits Los Carnales makes per night. It all worked out.
'Salio el Soooollll cuerpo bronceado y sus amigas estaban en acción. La canciónnnnn que causa en ellas y sus cuerpos esa sensación. Reggaetooooon, piden Reggaetoooooon. Del de Donnnnn sientan la presiónnnnn.'
Each step Lauren took matched the beat of the song blaring over the speakers. The gang leader watched every movement that came in and out of the club, every money and drug exchange, and every other member to make sure they were doing their jobs. Normani and Lucia were out skating with the Carnales members who weren't assigned any jobs tonight. Emiliano was close by watching Lauren's back, Aleesia kept lookout with Ghost but went to play games with him on occasion, and Chris was chatting with Dinah who surprised with an "unplanned" visit. Lauren didn't say a single world to Dinah—or anyone for that matter. She remained mute and unapproachable 99% of the time since coming back from following Camila.
"Hermana," Chris shouted over the music on his way to his sister. He ignored Lauren's warning to stay away from her and got in her face. "Necesitamos hablar." (We need to talk.)
"About?" Lauren responded with emotion lacking in her voice. She turned away from him and leaned over the railing, entertaining herself with the rollerskaters.
"Were you following Candy today?" he already knew the answer.
"And if I was?"
"Lauren, you're making it hot, Lauren!" Chris scolded, his voice trembling with fury. "You're doing too much because of this girl! Luca knows and he's fucking furious and has it out for you for real now!!"
"So what? Let him know. No me importa," Lauren let out a tiny ironic chuckle. (I don't care.)
"Ese es tu problema, no te importa! That's Luca's little sister, you should have never gotten involved with her in the first place. His new right hand saw you following her, so he followed you and confronted you today. Or didn't you realise?" (That is your problem, you don't care!)
"Wait, what?" Lauren went pale. How could she be so blind and miss that?
"Of course not. You were too busy obsessing and pining over this girl! She's messing you up, Lauren. You're off your game and you're putting us all in danger. It's one thing to fuck with Luca's gang, but it's another to fuck with his little sister," Chris yelled. "I don't think he knows about your relationship but he definitely knows that you're stalking her and had a bat in the front seat. And to make it fucking worse, they now know Shawn is dead and you're to blame. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE—"
"BAJA TU MALDITA VOZ!" Lauren yelled right back and shoved him with so much aggression, Chris lost balance and stumbled back a bit. The 18 year old angrily thrusted her finger in his direction, "You need to watch your FUCKING tone! I fucked up, I know that! But it's not like it fucking matters anymore anyway, so WHO CARES? I've been threatened and hurt by the Estrabaos for too fucking long now, it's nothing new to me, Christopher. It's nothing new to you either, so why on earth are you acting so scared fo—" (LOWER YOUR DAMN VOICE!)
"Lauren, escuchame, escuchame," Chris grabbed hold of both her shoulders and squeezed. He looked her dead in the eyes and spoke a little lower now, "You're losing it. Ever since you met Candy, you've been making too many wrong decisions and putting her over the gang. She's not even blood but you're willing to sacrifice it all...for her. Candy doesn't even want you and she's not going to make the same sacrifices for you, so get that through your head right now. You had NO business ever fucking with her in the first place. I'm not scared of Luca in every other circumstance, but THIS?? This is too far and I know enough about the man's relationship with his sister to know you have a really big target on your back now. Tu me entiendes? I care about you but I can only do so much to save you, hermana." (Listen to me, listen to me. You understand me?)
"I'll fix it. Everything will be fine, I'm gonna fix this. My eyes aren't closed anymore," Lauren patted his scruffy cheek then bumped her shoulder into his when walking past him. Everyone was staring and most likely overheard their argument. Lauren already felt like a fool but Chris took it to the next level and made her look like one in front of a large crowd.
Chris pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling all the stress and panic going to his head. Dinah gave him a look from eight feet away and shook her head. She had warned him ahead of time that Lauren would be far safer in prison sooner than she would be in the streets now. The longer she stayed out in the streets with the 'I don't give a fuck, I'm the shit' attitude, one of fifteen of Luca's hitmen would quickly find and gun her down. All they needed was one or two more days.
Aleesia was the only person Lauren could get to talk her down. Lauren watched her throw up two middle fingers and stick her tongue out at Ghost after beating him in Skeeball, then Ghost who playfully picked on her as his way of flirting. Aleesia saw Lauren coming from the corner of her eye, and she turned to welcome her but the gang leader stopped abruptly and made a quick left the second her phone rang. Lauren cursed herself and waved to Aleesia, signaling to give her a minute as she'd be back.
Lauren pushed open the swinging door to the women's bathroom then locked herself in the stall before answering the phone. She flipped it open and swiftly brought the device to her ear. "Hello?"
"How could you, Lo?" Camila's voice was faint and sounded to Lauren like she had been crying.
Immediately upon hearing that question, Lauren's thick brows snapped together and her lips curled upwards in a grimace. "How could I? How could you? How long have you been seeing Joel from the time you told me about him at the park? Because last time I checked, you specifically told me he was out of the picture and that I was the only one you're giving yourself to."
"I didn't say—"
"You lied to me in the car. You came over and you kissed me like you loved me and accepted the gifts I got you. You told me there was no one else, lied about going to see Dinah—you kissed ME then turned right around and kissed HIM! Am I a fucking joke to you, Candy?!" Lauren shouted.
"You know my life, Lauren. You know what the rules are. I sincerely apologise. But this isn't about me right now. This is about you following me without me knowing and getting all crazy. This is about you killing Shawn after I told you not to. So...what? Every guy you see me with now has to die? What kind of shit is that??"
"Are you fucking serious right now, Karla?"
"You took away his life and you didn't have the right. Shawn just got caught up in this...this life that was never meant for him. He never meant to hurt anybody, he just wanted me and that's it. All he ever did was worry about me," Camila's breath hitched in her throat. She was trying to be strong over the phone but on the inside she was breaking for plenty of reasons.
Lauren heard some shuffling in the background and now her own voice suddenly echoing back when she said, "You know it took two to hurt him, right? You did me dirty, you did him dirty, you took him to my party when you didn't even have to, you fucked me with him around multiple times and nobody forced you to—"
"What are you talking about?? I NEVER fucked you, Lauren! And that's another thing you need to stop telling people. Just because I'm super religious and would rather not do those things, doesn't give you the right to do what everyone else does and stereotype me with dirty lies or spread false stories that make me look like some slut. I'm not like that. So get that story out of your head and please show some respect."
Lauren took a moment to process everything that had just been said to her. Was she hearing that wrong or...? Laughter filled the quiet room and echoed just like it did on the phone. "I can't take you seriously right now. I can't believe you're acting shady all of a sudden."
"If you wanna see just how serious I am, then come meet me. Please. We really need to have a serious talk. A-and this has to be tomorrow evening because I'm...busy right now. But tomorrow at six-thirty. I won't take no for an answer. And in case you're worried about me being followed, I won't be."
"How about you come see me instead?" Lauren flipped the script and took control. She wasn't stupid. "You can meet me at Flamingo park at the basketball court. I feel more comfortable there."
"F-flamingo park?" There was a prolonged silence before Camila answered again. "Fine. Flamingo park. Six-thirty. Just us. No one else."
"Looking forward to it, veneno," Lauren finished then slammed the phone shut. (Poison)
***