The feeling of the pillow against her cheek was soft, the warmth of Camila's body was comforting. A movie seemed to roll behind Lauren's closed lids, a movie that started with a day as normal as ever and ended up in pain, anger and confusion.
Lauren took a deep breath and opened her eyes, unsure of where to start, but certain that she needed to speak. And so, with her heart beating so strongly that she could feel it in her entire body, she did.
"When I was younger, we went through a rough moment, money wise. My dad had been fired and my mom didn't make enough money to keep a house with three children on her own. So they... they turned to my uncle for help, since his company was starting to do really well."
Lauren's voice shook a little and she felt more than saw Camila get closer to her on the bed, shivering slightly when the girl's hand found her forearm. She thought her eyes might be sad, but she didn't know, for she couldn't meet them and was staring at her collarbone instead; to see the look in Camila's eyes would only make this harder, she thought.
"For a while, he lent us money while dad was still searching for a job. But when he did find one, it was in a neighboring city. Long story short, we, um, we had to live with Marcus for a little while, my siblings and I. At first it was just me, because Chris and Taylor were too young, but then they joined me. But..." Lauren took a deep breath to try and steady her shaky voice, finally meeting Camila's big, sad eyes. She couldn't know for sure because of the low light, but she had the impression that they were shimmering with tears. Her own, though, were still dry.
Lauren felt a lump in her throat forming and looked back down.
"Uhh, well, when our parents came back to New York, we would still spend a lot of time at my uncle's house, especially during school breaks, because they were working so much. Then things got a little better and they started trusting me more to take care of Chris and Taylor at home. But we still spent a lot of time at Marcus's house until things really looked up and we didn't need to see him. Well, save for family meetings and stuff." Lauren swallowed hard. "Those were some hellish few years."
Camila's hand travelled down Lauren's arm to her hand, squeezing it hard and yet gentle at the same time. Lauren couldn't help but meet her eyes then, no matter how much she feared doing so, without even knowing why. After all, the only things she found there were love and sympathy and pain, literal, evident pain from hearing Lauren's story, written across Camila's face.
The thump in her throat only grew bigger.
"I'm so sorry," was her girlfriend's simple yet satisfying response. Lauren knew there was nothing else to say and in a way it felt better to receive an honest short answer than a long speech that tried to fill a void inside of her that she wasn't sure could be filled.
And yet, a nasty little voice inside her mind couldn't help but remind her that Camila had been sorry too, before she closed the door on her face, the horrible day Lauren had spilled the truth about her uncle without even meaning to. She had left, and even if Lauren told herself that it didn't matter now, that Camila had come back and had promised never to go again, even if Lauren knew that she herself had been the one who had caused this whole mess, it still hurt.
The feeling of Camila's hand, trailing gently up and down her arm, where it had felt so comforting only a moment ago, suddenly felt like it burned. Lauren had to resist the urge to flinch, and the fact that she didn't know whether it was because of the hurt or because of her own thoughts about Camila only made it worse.
She couldn't think like that, after all. Couldn't doubt her girlfriend's love for her, not after everything.
(And yet.)
Lauren lowered her eyes once more, unable to meet Camila's, pretended that the tightness in her chest was only due to the childhood memories, took a deep breath to try and steady herself. But she needed to continue and, despite her efforts, her voice was choked when she next spoke.
"He first hit me when I was twelve." Another deep breath, increasingly hard with her speeding heart. "He was very stressed at the time, more so than I'd ever seen him. It was the first big scandal of his company, so there was a lot of meetings and phone calls, many of which ended or even started with shouting. And I guess... I guess he started taking it out on m- me."
Her voice broke then and tears pooled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Lauren didn't want to cry again, not after the fucking scene she'd caused earlier, something which she was slightly embarrassed about. But flashes of a tedious weekend during her childhood and an argument over her singing too loudly that escalated way too much way too fast filled her mind, leaving a ringing in her ears that resembled the one that she had felt all those years ago. And just like that, Lauren couldn't quite hold back her tears anymore.
(God, she felt like she was crying more today than entire years of her life, but she couldn't stop no matter how much she wanted to.)
"Oh, Lauren..." Camila murmured, scooting even closer to her in the bed and holding her hand again. Lauren just stayed still, unsure of what to do but try to steady her breathing.
"I was... just his- his outlet. Not the source." Her uncle's own words rang through her mind then, words that had been meant to settle but had only stirred her further, once Marcus had finally decided to acknowledge his behavior soon after he'd stopped hitting her, using her to alleviate his own anger. "So no matter-," a sob, "it didn't matter what I did, or how good I was. It... it wasn't ab- about me. I was just his outlet."
You were never the source of the problem, he'd said, as if it made it alright. As if he wasn't intimidating a teenager into silence for the sake of himself and his wretched company, unable to sustain any other scandals at the time, instead of actually apologizing. Not that an apology would make it alright, obviously, but still, Lauren wouldn't have minded one. She chuckled bitterly, remembering how Marcus would always find a way to make her uncomfortable in family gatherings, even now, years later.
"He's a monster." Camila murmured, her voice shaking with anger and surprising Lauren enough to make her meet her girlfriend's gaze again.
Lauren had seen Camila mad a few times, but never angry like this. Never with such a disgusted expression on her face, with tears falling from furious eyes and marking her cheeks. She couldn't help but stare, unsure of what else to do, too transfixed by the intensity in her girlfriend's face. The look alone was enough to reassure her one more time of the depth of Camila's feelings for her.
The thought shook Lauren off of her stupor, making her flinch slightly as she realized that she had been scrutinizing Camila's love for her once more. But as everyone, Camila included, had told her, the girl had just needed some time. It hit Lauren then that, just as she had wished for the younger girl's understanding and forgiveness, even knowing that she had inadvertently hurt her, Camila was most likely wishing for the same things. She hadn't, after all, hurt Lauren on purpose, and she shouldn't begrudge her or doubt her love when Lauren's own actions didn't mean that she loved Camila any less.
Camila's eyes softened at the same time as a flash of confusion crossed her face, as her hand on Lauren's lost its strength a little. Green eyes closed as the young cop realized what her reaction must have looked like, and she was quick to try and fix the situation by leaning into her girlfriend and giving her the lightest of kisses. Lauren could feel Camila's wavering breath on her, her lips slightly parted but still, waiting for her move. Time itself seemed to stop for a moment, in anticipation of what she would do next. But the chaste kiss that followed the first spoke of comfort and of love, of healing and forgiving, and of nothing else. And once she was done saying with her lips what she could not bring them to say at the moment without crying once more, she leaned back and scooted a little lower, nuzzled her face in Camila's neck, wrapped her arms around the girl she loved and was soon hugged back. Tightly, lovingly.
Feeling safer than she had in a long time, Lauren let out a small, "He is. But he can't hurt me anymore, and he sure as hell won't hurt you."
There was more to talk about, of course, but they could do so in the morning. Lauren fell asleep soon after that, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day, but not before she could feel Camila leaving a kiss at the top of her head.
--//--
Camila kept crying quietly for long after Lauren had fallen asleep, feeling utterly helpless and sorrowful. Aside from her parents' death and all the trauma that followed, the conversation she'd just had with Lauren had got to have been one of the hardest moments of her life, so she couldn't even begin to try and understand what it must have felt like for her girlfriend.
She fell asleep well into the night, unable to close her eyes for long enough as if she were afraid of loosing sight of Lauren, unreasonable though that may seem. Her mind was a mess, a hurricane of thoughts and reminders and promises, of which one seemed to stand out. Camila couldn't change the past, but she would do everything in her power to make Lauren the happiest she could be from now on. And if it sounded like a vow, it was because she meant it as one.
To Lauren and to herself.
--//--
Morning came quicker than ever, with the sun rays passing through the curtains and falling right into Camila's face. The moment she woke, she wished she could go back to sleep, but knew it would be useless to try: she had barely opened one heavy eye when thoughts started tumbling in. A moment's panic filled her before she felt the weight in her chest and looked down to find Lauren exactly as she had fallen asleep. But if that did something to calm her suddenly speeding heart, it didn't do much for how her whole body ached from exhaustion. Camila wished that the mental reassurance could heal her body too, but alas, it couldn't. She settled for closing her eyes and breathing in her girlfriend's scent for as long as she could before the other girl woke up, unbothered by the prospect of just being there, even if she didn't manage to fall asleep again.
But if Camila had hoped to be left in peace by her own mind, she was certainly disappointed when the same hurricane of thoughts that had swept her over the night before hit her once again. Giving up on the idea of sleeping, the girl reached for her glasses on the nightstand as she took a deep breath before starting to run her hand lightly through Lauren's hair, careful so as to not wake her up.
It had been a lot to take in, the previous night. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became with the knowledge of what had happened to Lauren, especially when she thought about all the times they'd met Marcus recently and how he and Lauren had acted around one another. She had been so stupid. The signs had all been there, but Camila hadn't wanted to push Lauren and hadn't ever considered this possibility despite knowing that something wasn't right. If she'd just paid a little more attention...
The Latina sighed, trying to let it go. The truth was, she couldn't have guessed it then, but now she knew. It was what she'd do next that counted the most, and she planned to do good on her promise of always making Lauren happy.
One thing still bothered her, though, even if she wished it wouldn't. Camila just couldn't let go of the fact that Lauren had opened her parents' case without her knowledge. Camila groaned, wishing she could forget all about it. She had already forgiven Lauren inside her heart after all, and she would tell her girlfriend so as soon as she was ready to reach the topic, but she still needed an explanation, she needed to talk about it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her own stomach growling, which made Camila roll her eyes. Because of course it would, she couldn't not be hungry a little while after waking up. Her body wouldn't do her that courtesy. She was deciding what to do when a raspy, low giggle emerged from below, making Camila forget all about both her hunger and her previous thoughts.
"I think your belly greeted me before you did." Lauren rasped out with her eyes still closed, making Camila's insides melt all at once and a soft smile paint itself across her face.
"Well, good morning to you too. Hopefully my greeting will be as good as my belly's." Camila joked, getting another gentle laugh out of her girlfriend.
Crazy as it might seem, the sound almost brought tears to Camila's eyes and it definitely created a lump in her throat. Maybe she was overemotional, maybe she was close to her period. Either way, something about the moment, so soft and pure, touched Camila. And by the look in Lauren's eyes a moment later when they met Camila's, the other girl had felt it too.
"You did better." Lauren whispered, tone half joking. Their smiles mirrored each other when Camila leaned down to give her girlfriend a chaste kiss.
So imagine Camila's surprise when Lauren put a finger on her lips, stopping her. She frowned, but the green eyed girl only smirked.
"We didn't brush our teeth yet."
Camila laughed out loud then, rolling her eyes at Lauren's fucking obsession with her teeth, but the other girl only giggled as well before leaning up to kiss her herself.
The smaller Latina felt the butterflies that only Lauren could evoke erupt in her stomach, and it only made her even more emotional. Neither girl commented on it, though, and Camila was sure that, like herself, Lauren was just enjoying the peacefulness of waking up together, something she'd missed dearly these few days apart. After all, no matter how great Dinah was, she was no match to Lauren when it came to cuddling.
(Or maybe Camila was just in love.)
But her stomach growled again, completely ruining the moment – though at least she got to hear Lauren laugh again –, and they decided to get to go get something to eat. The walk to the kitchen and Camila's cooking of eggs and bacon was silent, save for Lauren's small protest when the younger girl had insisted that she be the one to cook and that Lauren should stay put. And once again the spell of normalcy was broken by the slight awkwardness of the silence, something she wasn't used to with Lauren.
Camila sighed, preparing herself to bring up the elephant in the room, but Lauren beat her to it, effectively surprising her.
"I'm sorry for going behind your back." The older girl muttered in a low voice, but Camila heard her as loud and clear as if she had shouted. Her breath caught in her throat and she stopped her ministration on the eggs, but didn't turn around just yet. "I was just so sure- I mean, I am sure... that my uncle is involved in what happened to your parents..."
Camila shut her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath before turning off the stove and turning around. Lauren's eyes were wide, seeming frightened but also sad. Camila's heartbeat starting picking up, but she tried to maintain a straight face for both their sakes.
"It sounds horrible, I know." Lauren continued after a short pause. "But ever since the break in we had here I thought it was strange that it was the second one you suffered in your life. And after I got home from the hospital, I just couldn't let go of that idea... I know I shouldn't have investigated your life like that, but I was just so fucking worried... I was so afraid that whoever had..." Lauren gulped, lowering her eyes. Camila held her breath. "Well, that whoever had gone after your parents might still be after you, for whatever reason, I... I didn't think, I didn't care about the consequences. It was almost all I thought about, and I had so much time to think, Camz... Those few days after I woke up, everything was really, um, jumbled together, I think, in my mind. My... my therapist said I have ASD. And between the flashbacks, the headaches and the nightmares, the idea grew on me to the point where I had to do something, Camz."
Camila closed her eyes then, swearing at herself inside her mind as guilt hit her with full force. So she had been right, the trauma had had something to do with Lauren's actions. And the emotion in her voice now... Camila was sure that there wasn't one bit of deceit in her words. She didn't have too much time to think about it before Lauren continued, though.
"I can tell, now, that I was partially driven by the ASD." Lauren stated, in a firmer voice now. "The recklessness with which I acted..." The girl chuckled rather darkly for Camila's taste. "It's costing me now. But although I regret how I did it, although I regret not telling you about it, I don't regret looking into the case. Because... I can't lose you, Camila. And I can't let anyone try and hurt you again. And the fact was that the police and detective Norman already had their angle, that I'm sure is wrong. So I had to do something, I just had to. It just took me nearly losing you to my own mistakes for me to realize how wrong I was going about it. And I'm sorry. I really am. I hope you can forgive me."
For a minute there, or more than just one, Camila couldn't be sure, she was at a loss for words. Some of what Lauren had said she already knew. Some she'd come to assume, but hadn't known for sure. But to hear Lauren put it like that... It really touched something inside Camila that was too overwhelming for her to react instantly.
Camila was still certain that what Lauren had done was wrong and that she had had the right to be upset, but she would be lying to herself if she said that she was still in any way angry, especially after what Lauren had said. No, she wasn't angry anymore. Hadn't really been angry since that damn moment in her adoptive parents' porch. But now? She had already forgiven Lauren, and now she just felt this overwhelming sorrow regarding the entire situation, along with worry for her girlfriend. The tears that pooled her eyes then may have originated from the remembrance of her parents' fate, but the ones that followed and trailed down her cheeks were tears of love, of sadness at what Lauren had faced, of this grim sort of wonder at the impossible situation that they had found themselves in.
For who would have ever fall in love with a relative of their parents' murder?
It seemed like a cruel joke, a prank played by Destiny, and yet...
Yet, Camila didn't believe in Destiny. At least, she'd never given much thought to the idea, to the possibility that some bigger force controlled people's fates. Still, what else could it be? The coincidence would be too big, even if a coincidence was the only plausible explanation.
Camila shook her head lightly, trying to clear her mind. They didn't even know for sure that Marcus was involved. For all she knew this certainty that Lauren had could be due to what she suffered at his hands. Besides, if Lauren was right and Marcus was indeed responsible for the worst thing that had ever happened to Camila... They would deal with it, together, as she had promised her girlfriend what felt like ages ago.
(Camila would never forget that promise again.)
When Camila looked up again, Lauren was still staring at her, seeming incredibly nervous as she bit her bottom lip and clenched her fists where they rested atop the counter.
"Oh, Lo..." Camila finally choked out, quickly adjusting her glasses to rest on the top of her head, wiping the tears off her cheeks and rounding the kitchen counter so as to stand right in front of Lauren. She reached for her girlfriend's face, holding it softly in between her hands. Green eyes hid behind closed lids as the older girl leaned into Camila's touch. "Of course I forgive you."
Lauren sagged with relief and Camila felt her chest tighten a bit more. When their eyes met again, both were glistening.
"It upset me, of course." Camila continued. "I don't agree with what you did and it upset me, because it opened old wounds and I thought it was disrespectful, to open the case without even talking to me first."
"I'm so sor-"
"It's alright." Camila interrupted Lauren, who cast her eyes down. She gently lifted her girlfriend's chin to make their eyes meet once more. "I mean it, Lo, it is. I've already forgiven you, I'm just explaining what I felt." She made a small pause, but she could see that she had Lauren's undivided attention. "I felt like you betrayed my trust, but I would never leave you for real because of it. I didn't stop loving you, I was just angry and upset. I needed time before we could have this talk, and I understand now why you did what you did. And I'm sorry too." At the look on Lauren's face, Camila sighed, lowering her hands from the other girl's face. "For making you feel unloved. And for not being there for you, after your psychological evaluation and specially after you told me about your uncle."
"I didn't tell you to guilt trip you into talking to me." Lauren suddenly blurted out, making Camila flinch. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind, but apparently it had been on of Lauren's. "It just... came out. I was so scared of telling you for so long that even I was surprised when it dawned on me what I said." She chuckled, but it was light and humorless.
Camila frowned, stepping into Lauren's space once more, this time to hug her, almost instinctively. Camila already felt like shit for having closed that door on Lauren's face, she didn't want the other girl to think that she resented her in any way for confiding in her. Lauren's arms quickly snaked around Camila's waist, the height difference between them from Lauren sitting making it perfect for her to nuzzle her face in the brown eyed girl's chest. Camila tilted her head to place a kiss atop Lauren's and then pulled back a bit so that she could see the other girl's eyes.
"I know that, Lo, don't worry." She said, trying to convey as much certainty as possible. Lauren's eyes were soft now, and Camila knew that she believed her. "I love you. We'll deal with whatever comes next together."
Lauren stated at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Together."
Camila smiled as well before getting out of the hug and sitting on the stool beside Lauren's. "Now..." She hesitated, feeling her heartbeat speed up again. She was about to approach a sensitive matter, for both of them, after all. "Could you tell me why... why you think Marcus is responsible for my parents' murder? And what did you mean by saying that you're already suffering the consequences of your recklessness?"
Lauren's face turned serious once more, but she quickly hid her frown under another small smile, making Camila furrow her brow in confusion.
"Alright." She nodded, before the brown eyed girl had a chance to ask. "But could you get me the food first, please? I'm starving."
Camila let out a small gasp, making Lauren laugh. She had completely forgotten about that! Damn, she only hoped it wasn't too cold...
"Of course, Lo, I'm so sorry! Hold on a sec." She quickly got up and walked around the counter to get to the stove.
"Don't worry, Camz. I'm not going anywhere."
Lauren's tone was light and joking, and Camila felt a smile take over her face as she arranged their breakfast.
--//--
The alarm Lauren had set up to remind her of her medicine suddenly blasted through the speaker her phone had been connected to, effectively waking the girl up and also almost giving her a fucking heart attack. The sound was so loud and unexpected that Lauren almost fell off the couch. Besides, she could hear a loud noise of something falling on the floor from the kitchen, which probably meant that Lexie had also been caught off guard by the alarm.
Lauren growled, reaching for the phone on the coffee table to turn off the damn thing, hating herself a bit for dozing off and forgetting to turn off her phone's Bluetooth connection.
"Stupid piece of shit." She half mumbled half groaned, her voice still raspy from sleep.
She was about to block the phone's screen again and go back to her incredibly peaceful afternoon nap when a notification caught her attention. Her eyes widened and her heart leapt in her chest as she opened her texting app to find a message from someone who she wanted to speak to but hadn't found the courage to do so ever since leaving the police station the previous day.
Mani (3:21 PM): hey Laur, are you free rn?
Lauren took a deep breath and rolled on her back, blinking a few times to rid her eyes of the sleepy heaviness that lingered despite her mind's sudden alertness. That was it, she would have to talk to Normani about the suspension, whether she'd been informed of it yet or not. And so...
Lauren (4:09 PM): Sorry, I dozed off, but I am now! Are you still free?
Immediately after hitting the send button, Lauren rested her hands on her stomach, trying to work out a way to reach the topic with Normani. But it only took her a minute to groan and cover her eyes with her arm since yep, there was no good way of doing that, at all. It didn't help that all she wanted to do was share the good news of her reconciliation with Camila, something that still made Lauren smile like an idiot hours after their last talk. Everything had turned out well, after all. Camila had understood her motives and still loved her, they had forgiven each other and neither was going to leave-
Mani (4:13 PM): yeah, I'm here. Can I call you?
Lauren sighed again. There they go...
Lauren (4:13 PM): Of course!
Normani didn't give Lauren more than a few moments to prepare before calling her. Soon enough the green eyed girl was picking up and pressing the phone to her ear.
"I'm sorry." Lauren said, not even saying hello, at the same time as she heard Normani blurt out a, "Guess what!", from the other end of the line.
Lauren frowned from hearing Normani's tone, which was light and kind of excited and not at all how she expected it to be.
"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Her friend interrupted her thoughts, and Lauren turned to lie on her side, still frowning.
"For... Um, I mean..." Lauren trailed off, suddenly unsure about bringing the subject up. What if Detective Norman had given up on the punishment? What if he hadn't told Normani about it yet? What if-
She heard Normani sigh from the other end of the line. "Laur, if you're worried about the suspension, don't be. I already know and I'm not mad."
Lauren sat up on the couch then, too caught off guard to say something at first, but surprised enough that she couldn't simply lie still.
"W-what?" She finally got out after a few moments. "How are you not mad? I got you suspended!"
"No you didn't." Normani replied right away. "I got myself suspended. I knew what I was doing when I agreed to help you, Laur, and I knew that it could go wrong. I told you I wouldn't let you take the blame alone, remember? So don't worry about it, alright?"
Normani sounded so sure, as if she had given this some thought, and all Lauren could do was sit with her jaw slightly opened.
"Shit, you really are the best." Lauren chuckled, only to hear Normani scoffing on the phone.
"I thought we'd already established that long ago, Screamer." She replied, teasingly. "But seriously, how could I not help you, Laur? I'm your friend, you wouldn't be able to do all that alone and I wasn't just going to let you get in trouble by yourself now, was I?"
Lauren chuckled again, feeling this warm gratitude spread through her chest until it left her slightly choked up. Damn, Lauren was pretty sure that she'd been more emotional that last week than half her life.
"Besides, it's just for a little while and we had a good motive to do it. Like I said the other day, I wish you... I wish we had gone about this whole thing differently, Lauren. But I'm not blaming you for a choice I made."
Lauren grinned, still a little blown away. "Thank you, Mani."
"No need to thank me, it's in the friendship contract." She laughed. "I'm never doing something like that ever again, though." She added, her tone still light, before it turned serious again when she next spoke. "You should apologize to Josh though. I already did, for my part, but he was kinda pissed yesterday. And it's pretty understandable, if we're being honest."
Lauren sighed under her breath, getting to her feet and running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, the whole thing about Mike was shitty."
"Girl, you crazy?" Normani exclaimed, then scoffed. "Did you really think I blackmailed him? That was a joke, dumbass!"
Lauren's mouth fell agape from surprise, but a chuckle of relief also left her at her friend's admission, and she continued laughing as she spoke her next words. "Well how was I supposed to know? It was what you told me!"
Normani chuckled as well. "I'm not crazy, dude, he really just owned me a favor."
"But wait... Does that mean that Mike from HR isn't gay?" She asked curiously.
Normani let out a big laugh then. "Oh no, he totally is. I just didn't use that against Josh, obviously."
"Alright, alright, I got it already, jerk." Lauren drawled out teasingly, before clearing her throat and returning to a more serious tone after a few moments. "Seriously though, I'll try to give him a call or something. Or drop by next week when you guys are back."
"Well, he told me that he at least managed to talk his way into only getting two days of suspension, so you could go on Wednesday, if you're feeling like it." Lauren could picture Normani's shrug just from how she said it, as if she were suggesting something that she actually thought was mandatory from common sense, and decided in that moment that she'd go talk to Josh on Wednesday. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do, after all, and her colleague deserved the apology.
"Yeah, sure, I'll go." Lauren nodded to herself, walking to the kitchen to get some water as she spoke. "What did you wanna talk about before, though?"
"Ohh, true. It's just... Yesterday, before they told me of my suspension, I heard people gossiping about your break in case."
Lauren almost dropped the glass of water she'd filled for herself, leaving it on the balcony and sitting down at one stool.
"What do you mean, people were gossiping about my break in?" She asked, her voice somewhere in between angry and confused, which was just how she was starting to feel, really.
"I mean..." Normani faltered, seeming more hesitant, or maybe even a little embarrassed. "They weren't talking about you exactly, but about what the break in led to. Apparently Norman had someone infiltrate the crime organization that they suspect was behind it, y'know? The Threats."
Lauren released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding and reached for her glass of water, taking a sip of it before standing and returning to the couch. She almost laughed from how much bigger she had already made the situation in her mind, having thought that her colleagues had been gossiping about a tragedy in her personal life, rather than talking about the investigations on a gang that after all this time was starting to feel like their precinct's personal rival.
"Oh, alright." Lauren said breathily, sitting down. "Yeah, I already knew that. For all his secrecy about other stuff, detective Norman did tell me about the inside man. They used the break in as proof of the danger the Threats pose and got the support necessary to establish the operation and infiltrate someone."
"Damn, really?" Normani asked, in response to which Lauren only hummed, so her friend soon continued. "I don't know how the information got out, though, he's so fucking organized and professional."
Lauren frowned, not liking the bad feeling she was getting from the situation. "Yeah... I hope people aren't irresponsible about it. These kinds of operations rely completely on secrecy." Normani was the one to hum in response then, and Lauren realized how that must have sounded to her friend. "Not that I'm calling you irresponsible, Mani. I was going to tell you too, but honestly, it completely slipped my mind in all the craziness of the past few days. Besides, I don't even think it was them anyway, so..."
"Don't worry, Laur, I understand." She replied, sounding honestly unbothered, so maybe Lauren had just been overthinking it. "Speaking of the culprit, though... Mind filling me in on what it what that you found? The big lead? I've been wondering about it ever since yesterday."
Lauren swallowed hard, but didn't think for a second about denying her friend. She had already explained everything to Camila anyway, and she kind of owed her friend that.
"Sure, you ready? Here goes..."
Lauren tried to sum up everything that had happened, but it still took a while to tell Normani the essentials. By the time she was finishing the story, Lexie was already jumping on Lauren's lap to ask for food, and she had to tell her friend the final bits with her phone balanced between her shoulder and her ear as she put some food on the kitten's bowl.
When she was finally done, Normani whistled. "Damn..." She murmured.
Lauren chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah..."
"Well, I'm happy that everything is okay between you and Mila, Laur. I knew she'd forgive you."
"Thanks, Mani." Lauren replied, sitting down on the floor to watch the ravenous kitten eat. "I was really afraid that she wouldn't, but she proved me wrong. And I think... I think we'll really be okay, even with this whole mess."
"And what are you going to do about it? The case, I mean." Normani asked, making Lauren frown.
The green eyed girl felt her head pound a little and sighed. Crap. Was it already time for her medicine or was the subject too touchy for her at the moment? Lauren certainly had been nervous to talk about it with Camila, but that had been different, somewhat. She got to her feet and went back to the couch, rubbing at her temples as she sat down once more. "I don't really know, to be honest... I think I'll just have to... to let it go."
"Okay, Elsa. After everything, you're gonna leave it to Detective Norman to solve the case?" Normani asked, irony all over her tone.
Lauren huffed. "Jerk. Weren't you supposed to keep me out of trouble?"
"No no, don't get me wrong, I do think that you should let it go." Normani quickly shot back, losing the playfulness. "I was just skeptical, that's all. You went to your uncle's fucking house, you got into his fucking computer, just to drop it? Doesn't sound like you, even if sometimes I wish it did." Normani chuckled.
Lauren smiled sadly. "I think... I think that yesterday was kind of the last straw, y'know? A slap in the face of sorts. I need to stop or I'll end up screwing things up for me and for others, like you."
"Laur-"
"No, I mean it, Mani." Lauren interrupted her. "It was too reckless. I already failed as a police officer enough times lately to also really screw up my career. I think that, uhh, maybe in some ways, I... I was also trying to make up for my failures with this... whole thing. I couldn't save those people at the bank, and I got shot, but I wouldn't let anything happen to Camila." Lauren admitted, even if the notion wasn't one that she'd given thought to before this conversation. And yet, it just came out as she talked, and the girl wondered how she'd never come to that conclusion before. "But even though I know my heart was in the right place and even though I don't regret it, because it did set things in motion, it was... wrong, in some ways." Lauren took a deep breath. "We've talked about this already."
Normani was quiet for a moment before she replied. "We did. But I didn't realize you'd thought so much about it. I'm proud of you for acknowledging the situation as a whole, Laur. And I agree. It was, and it wasn't wrong. Nothing is black and white in this world, and neither are our actions. But I think it's very mature of you to know the time to step back."
"Took a bit of shouting, a suspension and a lot of crying, but I got there eventually." Lauren let out a wet chuckle, lying down on the couch and cursing herself yet again for how emotional she was lately, but Normani only huffed, loudly enough that it was audible through the phone.
"No surprise with the shouting, huh, Screamer?"
Lauren laughed more heartily then, smiling even as she called her friend a jerk once more.
"But hey Laur?" Normani called after a moment of quiet laughter. "There's one thing you said that you got totally wrong. You're not a failure in any way, you hear me? Never say that again."
Lauren felt her throat close slightly and had to swallow the lump filling it before replying a heartfelt, "Thank you", to her friend.
--//--
"You didn't have to drive me all the way to the studio, y'know." Camila said as she looked at Shawn from the passenger seat, tucking her left leg underneath herself.
Shawn glanced quickly at her, offering her a smile. "It's no big deal, Mila. This audition is a big opportunity, I wanted to help. Plus, it kinda feels like high school again."
"You mean when I drove you to school?" Camila chuckled, feeling a smirk take over her face as Shawn rolled his eyes at her without losing the smile.
"Details, sis, details." Shawn retorted in a joking tone, keeping his eyes on the road.
Camila smiled wider and placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, making him quickly look at her once more. "Thank you."
Shawn merely shrugged her hand off, faking a look of disgust with a dramatic, "Ugh, enough with the feelings, it ain't that deep...", before breaking into a full grin again. Camila laughed and slapped him lightly before resting her hands on her lap. "For real though, what's got you this smiley? Could it be that a certain Lauren finally got her head out of her ass and apologized?"
Camila's smile faltered at Shawn's tone and she didn't even try to fight the frown that took over her face. "Don't talk about her like that, Shawn, it's not like that..." She muttered.
The boy only shrugged slightly, giving Camila a look as if he thought it really was just like that, but didn't say anything else. The Latina sighed before smiling again, though this time it did feel a bit more forced. "But as a matter of fact, yes, she did. That's why I called you, actually, and I was going to tell you over the phone, but since you offered to drive me to the audition I figured I'd do so here."
Shawn gestured with his hands for her to continue, unable or unwilling to hide his curious expression, which made Camila feel less uncomfortable with the situation. Her smile widened even if the conversation she was about to recall wasn't the most pleasant one.
"Well, we both apologized. She, for going behind my back, and me for not being there for her-"
"I really don't think you needed to apologize, Lauren was the one in the wrong here." Shawn cut her off, effectively ripping the smile off Camila's face this time.
"She explained her motives, Shawn, and I forgave her." She quickly shot back, but he just pursed his lips.
"Well they better be golden for you to get back together so fast after how much of a mess you were the other day." Shawn argued, too sarcastically for Camila's taste.
The girl frowned, irritation starting to bubble inside of her. She knew that Shawn was coming from a place of love and worry for her, but the way he seemed to find her unable to judge the situation for herself was starting to get annoying. Plus, it did kind of suck to have one your best friends, your brother, complain about your girlfriend every time her name came up ever since that cursed night when Camila had rushed into his house an emotional wreck.
(Which, yes, Camila knew how that sounded! But she was also alright now, and she really wished Shawn would just give her a break.)
"Could you stop patronizing me for one second? I think I might know what happened and how I felt since it was, y'know, me." Camila snapped, a little harsher than she'd intended, granting her a startled look from Shawn before he buried it behind a blank expression.
The silence that reigned between them became oppressive after a few moments and the more awkwardly silent seconds passed by, the more Camila cooled herself down and realized that she shouldn't have blown up on her brother like that. Fucking temper.
Camila sighed deeply after a while, raising her hand to her necklace almost instinctively, only to find nothing there. The brown eyed girl frowned then, looking down only to remember that she hadn't gotten her necklace back from Lauren ever since they'd made up, and made a mental note to get it back soon. But first...
"Look, I'm sorry." Camila breathed out. "It's just... I know you're trying to look out for me, but you gotta trust me, Shawn. What Lauren did was far from great, but she had her motives and honestly? I think she wasn't in her right mind from having almost died. She went to a psychologist last week and apparently she has ASD, Shawn. If untreated, it can develop into PTSD. I'm not trying to excuse her actions but... I can't be mad at her either when I know what it's like to go through such a trauma."
Camila was almost out of breath by the end of her rant, but Shawn remained silent for a few more moments, his eyes fixed on the road. Camila lowered her own eventually, afraid of having upset him enough that he wouldn't say anything.
But he proved her wrong soon after, by clearing his throat to make Camila look at him again. "You're right. I'm sorry, Mila. I was just... worried about you. But I shouldn't have judged Lauren so much like that."
Shawn gave her a small smile, which Camila returned. She was about to reply when she noticed that they had arrived at the studio. Camila didn't need to tell him that, though, since he swiftly stopped the car in a parking spot in the side of the street.
The Latina turned to her brother, locking eyes with him, the smile still on her face. "That's alright, I understand. But thanks for the apology."
Shawn's smile was cheeky when he replied, his tone playful as he clearly tried to lighten the mood for her. "Thank you for putting up with me."
Camila grinned, happy that Shawn wasn't upset with her after all. "It's a gift."
Shawn rolled her eyes, his smirk intact. "Get out, dumbass. You're gonna ace this audition, I know it."
Camila leaned over the center console to give her brother a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Shawny."
He smiled, but nudged her with his shoulder. "Just go already, you don't wanna be late."
Camila laughed. "Fine." She opened the car door, climbing out of it but stopping to wave one last time before closing it. "Bye!"
"See ya, Mila! Break a leg!" Shawn replied before taking off and going on his way.
Camila watched his car until it disappeared from sight, her mind and her heart still somewhat all over the place from the conversation they'd just had. Once she saw the car take a right and leave her sight, though, Camila took a deep breath and tried to clear her head. She was going to audition for another play, after all, a musical she had been really interested by when she'd been looking at new roles with Hiro. Trying to focus on that, the girl turned around and took in the sight of the studio before her.
This was it, this was her moment. She would give her all and ace the audition, just like Shawn had said. One foot after the other took her forward and before she knew it, Camila was standing in front of the room that had the possibility to push her career further than ever before, further than even The Times of Her Life had.
She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, hoping for the best.
--//--
The following couple of days seemed to drag on from how uneventful they were. However, for the first time in a while, Lauren didn't mind it one bit. In fact, after everything that had happened, a little bit of calm was all that she'd wanted, and even though she was still upset about receiving a suspension, the green eyed girl was mostly accustomed to being on medical leave now, and was no longer feeling so damn trapped inside her own home.
Besides, Lauren's mind had been so overwhelmed by her fight with Camila and, before that, her parents' case, that her flashbacks had greatly diminished, almost disappearing altogether. Her headaches were still there, sure, but were way more controlled than before. And if she still had nightmares and still felt a little out of it from time to time, Lauren was more aware now of why that was and she hoped that time, her medicine and therapy would help end those as well.
Today, though, she only had one thing in her mind: Camila's birthday. And after making her breakfast in bed, giving her her present – a book series that Camila had been dying to read and that Lauren had bought a while ago but that now seemed hugely insufficient no matter how much her girlfriend had seemed to love it –, going to lunch with her parents and spending the rest of the lon snuggled up together, it was time to go to the small get together that they had been planning with Shawn in his apartment to celebrate with their friends.
If Lauren was being honest, she was a little nervous to attend the get together since, besides not being that much of a party person, she didn't know where she stood with Shawn, who she had a feeling might be angry with her from the way that Camila avoided his name like the plague ever since they'd gotten back together. Besides, she didn't really know what Camila's other friends knew about the situation. To say that Lauren would be uncomfortable with asking Camila about those things would be an understatement, especially since she didn't want to cause any drama in her girlfriend's birthday, didn't want to burden her with her issues. But at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder about that and picture judgmental eyes and harsh looks...
Lauren sighed, running a hand through her freshly brushed hair, and reminded herself that she was just being paranoid, which was annoying to say the least, especially when those thoughts didn't really feel like her own. Besides, she had got to stop thinking like that, or they would be back to the mess that she had created by keeping secrets and avoiding touchy subjects in the first place.
And Lauren had to admit, there had certainly been plenty of time to talk to Camila before the actual time to leave their apartment for the party. Great fucking timing to overthink things, huh? Lauren could already feel her head pounding a little.
A knock on the bathroom door interrupted her thoughts and Lauren turned to open it, knowing that Camila would be standing on the other side of it. And there she was, with a lovely flowery dress partially covered by a black coat and delicate make up, her hair in a simple but beautiful style, pinned in a way so as to make it cascade all to one side of her head, just like Lauren's inadvertently was due to her side cut, she couldn't help but think.
Lauren felt all of her breath escape her at the sight. "You look stunning." She breathed out after a second, only to see Camila grin widely in response, blushing slightly.
"And you're breathtaking." Camila replied softly, closing the gap between them in two slow steps before gently wrapping her arms around Lauren's neck.
The green eyed girl's face was heating up by the second, and she was sure she must have been as red as a beet, but that was just the effect that Camila had on her and she didn't mind it one bit. To make things better, Lauren noticed then that Camila was wearing the necklace she'd given her what felt like ages ago, which she had been wearing herself ever since their fight. The small detail and the realization that Camila had taken it back made her heart skip a beat since, damn, Lauren loved this girl and would do everything in her power to make sure she always knew that.
"I love you so much." She whispered, closing her eyes and leaning into Camila, resting her forehead against her girlfriend's.
"I love you too, Lo, too much." Camila replied just as softly, raising her head to connect their lips in gentle, loving kiss.
It was moments like these during the last couple of days that left Lauren more in awe of how lucky she'd been to fall for someone like Camila and to have her love her back. Sometimes, she still couldn't believe that Camila had forgiven her, the fact that she still loved her and wanted to be with her almost too much to fathom. She didn't even try to resist the urge to press Camila's body to her own then, bringing her as close as physically possible as she deepened the kiss.
Camila let out a low noise of satisfaction and Lauren couldn't help but smile into the kiss, the sweetness of it all making butterflies erupt in her stomach as if this was their first kiss.
"Happy birthday, babe." Lauren murmured against Camila's lips, her eyes still closed, but the only response she got was a soft giggle and another kiss from her girlfriend, slower but somewhat even more passionate this time.
Lauren trailed one hand up her body up to Camila's face, cupping it gently even though the more they kissed, the more all she wanted to do was throw the girl against the bed not so gently.
Unfortunately, the moan Lauren let out not a minute later, when Camila tugged a little more forcefully on her hair, seemed to warn the smaller girl of the path they were trailing, one that Camila was still serious on not going down.
(No pun intended.)
"Cammmmz..." Lauren whined when Camila pulled back, but the smaller girl didn't respond, so she opened her eyes to find her girlfriend grinning at her. Lauren's heart skipped a beat and she wanted to smile herself, but jutted out her bottom lip instead.
Camila threw her head back in laughter then, still holding onto Lauren's neck. "You're such a dork. But we can't, I won't let things get heated only for you to start having a headache or something like that. Okay princess?" She asked before kissing Lauren's pout away and effectively making the girl's resolve melt.
Lauren huffed, pretending to be upset, but couldn't hold herself from smiling for much longer. "I guess that's alright." She muttered, giving Camila one last peck in the cheek.
The smaller girl was grinning as she pulled back from their embrace and turned around to leave the bathroom. "Good. We have to go anyway, we're already a bit late." Camila said over her shoulder as she collected her things and put them on her purse.
Lauren watched her with what she was sure was the definition of a dumb love-struck smile for a moment before turning around herself, fixing her hair a little bit on the mirror, reapplying her now fairly smudged lipstick and going into the bedroom to gather her things as well. Camila had already fixed herself up again and after saying goodbye to Lexie, they were on their way.
They called an Uber going down the elevator since Camila had been adamant about Lauren not driving and she wanting to drink when they had discussed the subject earlier, and a couple of minutes later Camila was opening the car's door to Lauren with a prince-like gesture and making the green eyed girl laugh at her girlfriend's antics.
(If you asked her, after all, Camila was the real dork in the relationship.)
The way to Shawn's apartment was pretty quiet, both girls enjoying the other's company in comfortable silence, something that Lauren was incredibly thankful for. Few things were more satisfying than being at peace with someone you love, after all, and, to her relief, that pretty much summed up the last couple of days. The weekend had been filled with the sort of calm quality time that Lauren had deeply missed during their fight, and she'd barely felt the need to resort to social media as a way to pass time or have fun because of that.
Thinking about that was what prompted Lauren to open her Twitter feed for a quick check. She wasn't an hermit, after all, and truth be told, she was starting to miss the laughs she got out of the app. Camila laid her head on Lauren's shoulder then, and the girl absentmindedly turned to kiss the top of it as she scrolled down, laughing softly alongside Camila at one stupidity or another and making dumb comments about the memes that appeared. It was nice and simple and... didn't last very long.
It didn't, since it didn't take all that long for Lauren to come across a tweet that was about – you guessed it! – herself and her relationship, more specifically.
"People are still asking if we broke up?" Camila asked, lifting her head from Lauren's shoulder after clearly having read the tweet herself. "I haven't been online much the last few days, to be honest."
Lauren grimaced before locking her phone's screen. "I guess so." She said, trying to sound nonchalant about it when really, the thought of people's continued dissection of her personal life made her head ache a little, even if it wasn't the horror that it was last week, or when she was younger. "I silenced my notifications the other day when they started blowing up because of this. Haven't really opened Twitter since then either."
Camila nodded and stayed silent for a minute or so before a smirk slowly took over her face. "How about we give them something positive to talk about then? It has been a while since our last pic together."
Lauren blushed in response to that, thinking about the picture she had drafted in her Instagram earlier that day, waiting for the right moment to post it. While Lauren was indeed a private person, she knew that Camila would love to receive this public declaration of affection, and if the raven haired girl was being honest, she would also love to be the one to give it. She just wished they didn't have a small fanbase that would blow up her notifications afterwards, but still. For Camila, it was worth it, especially after she'd almost lost her. She was really just waiting for the right moment, which...
"But we don't have to post anything if you don't want to!" Camila exclaimed, making Lauren realize that she'd been quiet for a while and that her girlfriend had probable taken it the wrong way. "You know what, never mind, I know that you-"
Lauren placed a finger on Camila's lips, silencing her gently with small smile on her face and red still tinting her cheeks. The brown eyed girl seemed surprised by the action and Lauren lowered her hand to Camila's to play with the girl's fingers while she talked.
"I had already planned on doing that, Camz. It's no problem at all, in fact, I wanted to post something for your birthday since the moment I woke up. But I was saving it for while we were at the party so that you wouldn't get caught up in the response the post might have." Lauren explained, smiling nervously at her girlfriend, even though she knew she had no reason to be nervous.
She was proven right when not a second later Camila blessed her with one of the most beautiful grins that she had ever seen, so full of love and happiness that Lauren couldn't help but mirror it.
(Lauren had once thought that she never wanted to look away from Camila's light.)
"You're amazing." Camila let out a breathy chuckle, letting go of Lauren's hands to touch her cheeks as she leaned closer for a kiss. "And I love you." She muttered against her lips.
(She knew now that she would always do everything in her power to keep it shining.)
"I told you, Camz." Lauren muttered back before giving her a chaste kiss. "I'd fight an army of paparazzi for you."
The boisterous laugh that her girlfriend let out was enough to make Lauren forget her every worry regarding her privacy. She'd made this choice long ago, after all, and love had won.
--//--
The get together was fun and not at all as crowded as Lauren had irrationally feared it might be, with just about the same people that had been in Camila's and Shawn's commemoration party where Lauren had first kissed her girlfriend. The few additions were really only Lauren's friends so she could honestly say she was having a good time.
Sure, the loud music still made her head pound at times, but she just tried to stay away from the speakers to prevent a stronger headache from forming, and the volume had been lowered at one point, which she had been incredibly grateful for.
The green eyed girl had already caught up with Ally – who she hadn't really talked to in a while –, bantered around with Dinah and Normani and even danced with Camila. All in all, it was a lot better than her disastrous coming home party, and Lauren was glad for that.
The only thing that still made her a little uncomfortable was the situation with Shawn, which really just translated to Lauren not even knowing exactly if there was a situation but being kind of anxious about approaching him to find out.
In the end, though, she didn't even have to, since the boy himself came to talk to her an hour or so into the party when she was standing by the opened window to get some air, two glasses of wine on his hands and a shy smile on his face.
"Hi Lauren." He said hesitantly, before offering her the glass of wine and clearly trying to loosen himself up, which would be a funny sight, for Lauren had never seen Shawn exactly hesitant before, if this wasn't somewhat nerve-wracking for her as well. "Mind if we have a chat?"
Lauren smiled at him and hoped it didn't look like a grimace as she accepted the glass of wine. She couldn't drink much because of her medicine, but she guessed that a glass of wine here and there wouldn't hurt. "Hey, Shawn. Sure, what's up?"
"Uhh, well, I..." He grimaced, which would have made Lauren laugh, if she wasn't almost grimacing herself. "I just wanted to apologize and make sure we're okay."
Lauren furrowed her brow. "Apologize? Apologize for what?"
Shawn lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. I thought that Camila had told you..." He trailed off, sighed and took a sip from his glass of wine. "Well, never mind. I was just angry with you for what happened and I might have said some things to Camila..." He scratched the back of his neck, seeming embarrassed. "I thought she'd told you because you're kinda, uhh, distant, today. So I thought I'd best say sorry. But if she never said anything then I really played myself here." He chuckled awkwardly, and Lauren could tell that he was ashamed of whatever it had been he'd told Camila, but she couldn't possibly hold it against the boy when she herself had probably beaten herself up for her recent choices way more than a few words from Shawn would have.
So, Lauren smiled, which apparently Shawn hadn't expected either, if the way he furrowed his brow was any indication.
"There's no need to apologize, Shawn. I was distant because I thought you were mad at me." She let out a small laugh.
"I was!" Shawn exclaimed suddenly, but smiled and let out a breath of relief afterwards. "But I'm not anymore, and I'm glad you're not either."
Lauren placed her right hand on his arm, feeling the weight of the uncomfortableness that had been plaguing her ever since they'd arrived finally leaving her shoulders.
"I'm glad too." She grinned at him. "But let's please never repeat this awkwardness again."
Shawn let out a hearty laugh then. "Yes, please. I could barely breathe and I'm not used to that."
Lauren laid her glass of wine on the window sill and turned to the boy. "End of awkwardness hug?"
Shawn rolled his eyes jokingly. "You and Mila are way too sentimental, I swear." He said, just as he pulled her into a hug.
Lauren giggled as she hugged him, honestly happy that things were okay, but also oddly satisfied by the knowledge that she hadn't been mistaken in the perception that something had wrong between them. In a time where the green eyed girl had so many doubts about herself, her abilities and her worth, it was strangely comforting to know that her gut had been right about something, even if it wasn't about something good.
Lauren was about to pull back, her head overtaken by her thoughts, when she felt something crash against them, almost making Lauren trip over.
What the actual fuck and man, she could have fallen into the open window and-
"Awwww, the ultimate loves of my life are friends again!" Camila cooed, just as Lauren started to realize that what had crashed into them had been her girlfriend's full weight when she threw her arms around them.
And just like that, any irritation went away.
(Normani would call her whipped, but then, Lauren didn't really care that she was.)
Shawn was the first to react, trying to break free of the embrace, even if Lauren was almost sure that he was faking it. "Let go, you clingy human!"
Camila snorted. "Never!"
Lauren laughed as well, and was about to say something when another voice made itself heard. "Ah hell no, you're telling me there's a group hug going on and we weren't invited? Rude."
"Agreed. What do you say we crash said group hug, Dinah?" Normani asked from behind them, sass all over her tone.
"Amen to that!" Ally was the one who replied instead, and Lauren barely had the time or the room to turn her heard before she saw her three best friends rushing into the trio and almost throwing them out the window with the force of the impact, yet again.
Not that Lauren minded that now, of course. She couldn't possibly mind it amidst the laughter and the warmth and the pure happiness bubbling inside her chest, overwhelming her to the point that for the first time in a while, she was absolutely sure that everything would be more than okay.
--//--
Camila was pretty sure that this was her best birthday in a few years.
That was saying something, really, especially given that until only some days earlier, she wasn't even sure that she'd celebrate it, let alone in such a perfect way and with almost everyone she loved in one place, being at peace with one another and having fun. It seemed that her life had become a rollercoaster of sorts, and the ride was only now coming to an end so that she and Lauren and Shawn and everyone else could go on into smoother rides.
So yes, to say that Camila was extremely happy with the outcomes of the last few days and with her birthday in particular would almost be an understatement. It was like nothing bad had even happened before at all, since she and Lauren had bounced back into their couple life with ease and everyone was okay with each other again.
So imagine her surprise when a phone call from a number that she didn't recognize but that wasn't flagged as spam changed her whole night.
It had looked like an innocent enough looking call to Camila when she first saw it. It was her birthday, after all, and many people had called her during the day, so it was only natural for her to assume that the call could be from a friend that had changed their number and forgot to warn her, or something like that.
Alas, it wasn't.
(Of course it wasn't.)
"Hii, this is Camila." She said cheerily enough when she picked up, standing in the middle of Shawn's kitchen, where she'd gone so that the music didn't disturb her during the call.
"Camila... God, it's really you..." A man's voice trailed off, too emotional and one that she only slightly remembered in the most distant corners of her mind, not nearly enough to recognize it.
The brown eyed girl furrowed her brow, her good mood being dampened almost immediately by the bad feeling that the man's voice had given her. And yet, even if she didn't recognize the owner of the voice, there was something in the man's tone that screamed familiarity from his side, which kind of weirded her out if combined with her vague feeling that she knew this person.
But still, "I'm sorry, who's this?", was the only thing that she said, since she honestly had no idea who the caller was.
"Oh, my name's Kevin, Kevin Anders. I was... a friend of your parents, and knew you when you were little. I was hoping that we could talk."
And just like that, all air seemed to be sucked out of Camila at once, as she stared at Shawn's kitchen wall in shock.
--//--
a/n: heyy whassup
happy new year everybody! sorry for the long wait as usual, but i hope that the chapter was worth it and that you enjoyed it! the second half is a bit of really needed and hopefully earned fluff imo heheh! i also hope that you guys don't feel like it was rushed and that everyone's motives and emotions is clear by this point, as well as that the pacing of Lauren's recovery is alright. what do you think??
i also noticed that i've just hit 900 followers here, which is INSANE! thank you guys so much for eveything, it means the world to me to know that to this day people still like my work and it's especially really fun to read all of our comments, both here and in my one shots. so thank you, truly!
last but not least i also noticed that if i keep updating once every six months, i'll finish college before finishing the fanfic, which like NOPE lmao, so i'll REALLY try to balance studying, working and having a life with writing this for me and for you guys to have our ending before 2k20 is done.
- Camila