September 21st, 2006
Thursday, 5:00am - South Bay Correctional Facility
Clara and Mike casually strolled through their neighbourhood in Kendall after a pleasant night out, bellies full from dining at one of those classy restaurants they've always wanted to visit but just never had the time. The place wasn't too far from their home; a twenty minute walk was nothing crazy or undoable. Lauren was with them, always walking far ahead, making a habit to get lost in her own world and sing to herself while pretending to be in a dramatic movie scene playing heartfelt music. She didn't want to bug them or interfere with their good mood. It was nice to spend time with her parents in a relaxed atmosphere rather than the usual where they would bicker about little things, work things, and marriage. Tonight, Mike and Clara only had room to laugh with each other and reminisce as they rendered their worries meaningless.
"Imagine if Christopher had come along. He would've devoured those scallops and milked our pockets dry. I wanna go back there again someday soon and take him," said Clara, locking arms with her husband with her free hand placed against his chest. "It just sucks that he refused because he loves his Nintendo more than us. Qué vergüenza." (What a shame.)
Mike sniggered, "I'm pretty sure he only said no because it wasn't a Hooters."
"Oh my God. Remember that time in Atlantic City back in ninety-four when we were on a vacation and he begged us to go to the Hooters just so he could pine and drool over all those women?" Clara recalled, her and Mike exchanging the same reflective look before laughing.
"And he ordered eight things of buffalo wings, promising to eat them all only to throw half of them up and used the other half to leave a trail on the beach so the Seagulls could eat it, thinking we wouldn't notice because they picked it up so quickly?"
Lauren snickered when she heard the story six feet ahead of them. Her parents laughed and piled onto each other's memories, throwing it out there that they should go back to Jersey for a little vacation. All that required was more money to be saved from their office jobs and hidden in a piggy bank so Lauren wouldn't steal a few bucks and Mike wouldn't take a risk with gambling, promising to bring home twice the amount that he took.
"Lauren, a dónde te gustaría ir si hiciéramos un viaje juntos?" asked Clara, inviting her daughter to make plans with them. (where would you like to go if we took a trip together?)
"Nueva York. I wanna get out of the heat someday and watch the snow fall," she mused, turning back to smile at her parents. "Oo! I wanna live there, too."
"Vamos a Nueva York?" Clara asked Mike, taking Lauren's wishes into consideration.
"It's so expensive there. We can only afford so much while we're still paying off the house," Mike shrugged lightly, offering a sad smile. Then he said his signature phrase that always meant 'no', "I'll see, maybe one of these days."
Lauren rolled her eyes, seeing right through his answer. As they discussed it some more, a vibrant yellow object lying on the floor caught Lauren's eye. Right next to it was a box sitting in front of a house, kept away from the doorstep. Lauren raced ahead, realising it was a Gameboy and a bunch of old comic books apparently nobody wanted. Her parents were now far behind, unaware that Lauren was already down the block, inspecting the Gameboy to see if it still worked. When it turned on, Lauren jumped for joy and almost cheered to her parents about the new video game she'd just found. Something stopped her.
A dark blue mustang sped down the street recklessly, its tires coming to a screeching halt before a young man stuck the upper half of his body out of the passenger side window, spraying bullets aimlessly at a house that sheltered his enemies who had it coming. There were people sitting out front on lawn chairs, sharing some beers one moment then dropping dead on the grass the next. As more people ran out of the house to retaliate with their guns, Lauren looked back with great fear, worried for her parents and wanting to be close to them because she was scared of being in the middle of a shoot-out they had no part in.
"Mamá, papá!"
"Lauren!!! Go run and hi—"
Clara screamed but was cut off by the boy blasting two rounds into her head and two more into Mike who barely had time to react or run. Lauren watched him fire the gun that killed her parents instantly—watched their bodies fall and saw the warmth, the life within them vanish like cotton candy dipped in water. In the blink of an eye they were just gone. No warning, no goodbye, no sentimental last words or an embrace that'd comfort Lauren before they'd go away forever. She was so much in shock, she couldn't move or say anything. All Lauren could do was stare helplessly as pools of blood stained the sidewalk.
She slowly rose to her feet when locking eyes with the killer who noticed her hiding behind a trash bin. His glare was ice cold and lasted four seconds before an apathetic smile formed on his lips—the finger that pulled the trigger now raised to those very lips as he made a 'shhh' noise. After the car drove off, Lauren trembled violently and suddenly became very cold with anxiety and terror. She screamed as she ran to her parents, crying out for help, dropping to her knees in a blubbering mess.
Lauren wailed uncontrollably and tugged at her mother's red blouse, shaking her violently as if that'd wake her up. Lifeless brown eyes stared into hers meanwhile her father—all dressed in black as if he knew what was coming tonight—lied there with a face so serene, it looked like he had died in his sleep. There was no way this was real. Things like this happened on the news almost everyday but she never expected it to happen to her. Lauren always thought she'd be lucky enough to have her parents around for a really long time.
"Papá!!" she pleaded, straining her voice. "Mamá!! Despiértate, por favor! DESPIÉRTATE!!" (Wake up!!)
-
Candy sat on the edge of Lauren's bed, gently stroking her hair and whispering to her in Spanish to wake up. She noticed the anguish washing over Lauren's face and saw how she twitched in her sleep, tightening her balled fists. Lauren's lip quivered and her breath hitched in her throat as a tsunami of tears rolled down her cheeks. Her nostrils flared and twitched as well, her black thick eyebrows kept pulling together the more stressed she got. This was all new to Candy, she's never witnessed Lauren cry before. The sight definitely broke her heart.
"Lauren?" she nudged gently, rubbing her arm. Lauren continued to silently sob, wetting her pillow. She whimpered and sniffled, her chest heaving while she was still dreaming. "Lauren, despiértate. Come back to me," Candy soothed with a whisper, gently brushing Lauren's hair back. "Wake up, please."
Lauren shook her head, turning and tossing as her breathing and silent tears intensified. When she finally released choked out a sob, Lauren shot up abruptly and wept loudly, shoulders bouncing, forgetting she was no longer alone in her cell. Candy moved back a little, torn to see her so distraught and inconsolable. When Lauren shifted and opened her eyes, she jumped with fear and pushed herself back up against the wall, looking at Candy with the same look of horror she had that one night three years ago.
"You're okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, no one's gonna hurt you," Candy assured, holding up her hands. "It's okay. You're right here with me, nowhere else."
It was hard to tell what Lauren was thinking. Was she afraid...of her? Did she have a nightmare about her? Candy hoped not. She was about to ask her what she was crying about but Lauren took her completely off guard by throwing herself into her arms, sobbing into her chest. Lauren's arms wrapped around her body and her hands clutched her shirt tightly. Candy took a quick glance at the small window to their cell door before settling in bed comfortably with Lauren, cradling her as she gently raked her fingers through her thick brown locks, soothing her with head kisses and slow rocking.
"I'm sorry you're in pain," she murmured. She rested her cheek against the top of Lauren's head and began rubbing her back up and down. "Let it all out. I've got you, baby."
"I'm s-sorry. This happens sometimes," Lauren fretted after enough time went by for her to begin calming down. At least she was able to form a coherent sentence though she still mewled.
Candy shushed her. "Don't apologise ever. There's nothing you have to be sorry for."
"I don't know what to do. I miss them," Lauren whined, her breath shaky and uneven. She pulled away from Candy to hide her dry puffy eyes in the palms of her hand.
"Miss who?" Candy wondered then took a pretty good guess; it was obvious who'd have Lauren this broken up. "Your parents?"
She nodded somberly after dropping her hands, revealing damp cheeks that were flushed red accompanied by a defeated stare. "Imagine how different everything would be if they were still alive. I want to go live in that reality."
"Were they nice?"
"They were very nice and I loved them very much. They weren't always around because they worked really hard but they were still present and they loved my brother and I with all their heart and soul."
Candy smiled as she rubbed Lauren's thigh. "That's nice. They already sound wonderful. I'm so sorry they were taken from you. I don't think I'd be as upset or vengeful if either of my parents died. I'd mourn them, yeah, but to be honest they aren't great at all for me to really miss them..." Candy drifted off, her stomach tied in knots. She didn't mean to take the attention off of Lauren and put it on herself. Candy quickly shook her head and leaned in, ready to hear more if Lauren was willing to share. "But tell me more about them. What were their names, who do you look more like? Tell me anything. Try and focus on the good."
"Michael and Clara. Neither of them have green eyes like I do, so I didn't get it from them. I look more like my mom but I definitely have my dad's body hair and personality," Lauren cracked a small smile that was gone faster than she could blink. She sniffled and wiped her nose, bringing her knees to her chest. "He was a good man. Respectful, protective, always gave to others no matter who they were or where they came from, had a great sense of humour—he was always known as the payaso of the family. He tended to say one thing that actually meant another a lot...and I guess I sort of do that, too," she realised. (Clown)
Boy, didn't Candy know it. She shifted to sit next to Lauren, mimicking her seating position, their backs against the grey wall. "And your mom?"
"She was my favourite, my rock. She was always ready to have fun, always wanted to go out and do things with the family. I went to her with everything more because she was more understanding and always said yes to me whenever I asked for something. My mom always had my back no matter what." Lauren tensed up when she remember the way she died. She looked down then away, raising her open fist to her mouth, having difficulty swallowing the lump in her throat. "I just wish I could've had hers. But to think if I had fallen behind and stayed close with them instead of running off, I definitely would've gotten killed too. For no fucking reason. He could've just drove off and left them alone but he didn't."
Picturing a scenario like that one wasn't easy for Candy to do. Quite frankly, she didn't want to. It was too painful and she didn't want to feel guilty for something her brother did. But she forced herself to visualise everything anyway and sat with the grief Lauren felt, attempting to strengthen their growing connection.
"I hate that I'm related to someone who could do such a thing. I just can't believe it. God doesn't like ugly, you know? You and your family should've never had to go through such tragedy."
"Yeah. We shouldn't have. But I've been told by the whole fucking world that everything happens for a reason, so I guess I'm still trying to figure it out."
"Why didn't you tell me this a long time ago?" asked Candy, wistfully. She figured that'd be the first thing to be disclosed when starting something with the sister of someone who murdered your parents.
"Because..." Lauren sighed, taking a second to collect her thoughts. She was calmed down now. "I really, REALLY liked you. I didn't want it to be this big thing between us and for it to be awkward or weird—that everytime you look at me, the biggest thing you'd remember is that your brother is responsible for my suffering. I wanted to be with you and forget what family you came from and who I was attaching myself to. I wanted it be just us, if that makes any sense. I realise now it was stupid of me to want and do. I don't know how we actually would've turned out if I told you from the start," Lauren rolled her head to the side, meeting Candy's eyes. She reached for Candy's hand and sandwiched it between hers. "But it would've been the best thing in the world if we had it all and didn't lose it, huh?"
"We still can. It's a good thing we're taking things slow this time, right? Not rushing what we have? We're truly on each other's side," Candy soothed, her eyes falling to Lauren's lips then shyly refocusing on her piercing emerald eyes again.
"Yeah," Lauren's smile reached her eyes. She scooted closer and emitted a closed mouth sigh, reaching out to remove the lonely eyelash on Candy's cheek. "First you're sour, then you're sweet. It's so hard to stay mad at you."
"You're mad at me?" Candy pouted.
"I am sometimes. Not right now though," Lauren admitted truthfully. Currently her thoughts and emotions were all out of sorts, scattered and mixed up. For some strange reason, she didn't have it in her to put on a show this morning. This was all real. She temporarily forgot all about her ulterior motives and didn't think they were all that important nor necessary.
"Are you feeling okay though? Are you still shaken up? We can talk more about it if you—"
"No, that's okay. I don't like to dwell on it too long. Besides, I have to go hurry up and shower before anyone else does. It should be time now," Lauren pushed herself off of the wall then looked over her shoulder, flashing Candy a lighthearted smile. "Thanks for comforting me. It felt nice."
"Sure thing. Anytime you need me, Lo. I promise I'll be there and I will pray for you," Candy said, not bothering to hide her disappointment of Lauren leaving her side to stand up and prepare to leave.
The gang leader took notice of Candy's shift in demeanour and furrowed her eyebrows disapprovingly. She put her towel down next to her shower caddy on the cabinet then moved back into Candy's space, ducking her head and leaning in to surprise her with a tender kiss. Lauren placed her hands down on the bed, smiling because she felt Candy smile excitedly against her lips. Candy held both of Lauren's cheeks in her hands, sighing through her nose with content then whining when Lauren pulled away.
"I have to go," she whispered in response to Candy's protests.
"No," Candy pulled her in for more kisses, almost successfully falling with Lauren back into the small space of the bottom bunk. All she wanted was to be showered with affection until all the lights came on and they'd separate.
Lauren laughed at Candy's feeble attempts to get her to stay but indulged her few seconds more, peppering her lips and face with kisses before distancing herself. "Voy," she murmured. (I'm going.)
"Fine. Can we cuddle tonight? You know...in case your nightmares come back?" Candy hoped. "I can be your little angel. We all need our angels."
"Yes. We can cuddle tonight in case I have nightmares again, angel."
***
3:38pm - Arcola Lakes Park, Miami, Florida
[Put It On by Big L plays in the background]
Handball was a serious game to the folks who frequented any park in Los Carnales territory. Day and night, the courts were always full of people with heated games taking place or had someone practicing by themself for future games. The sport was more popular to Los Carnales than basketball was. In fact, it was taken so seriously that arguments on the court were extremely common over who cheated to earn a point and fights broke out whenever a bitter player lost money.
The court had one large white wall surrounded by a black gate just as tall. Sitting on the ground against those gates were around fifteen people, watching the game and instigating or just socialising with one another. Someone brought their boombox and jammed out to old hits, cigarettes and joints were being shared, beer was passed out among careless teens and adults old enough to be their parents, children played on the playground not too far from the court but close enough for them to get nosy and try to hang out - wanting to do the same things the older folks did.
Jesús was on the court teaming up with Emiliano and Jhene against Big Mike, Ariel, and another man named Sean who now went by the street name "Pooch". Jesús was the diver who caught the ball when it went too low, scraping his legs and forearms as a result but paying no mind to the stinging sensations of his cuts. Big Mike was the complainer who claimed everyone was cheating, Jhene was the top scorer, Ariel was the shit-talker that took credit for his partners hard work, Sean just played the game, and Emiliano was the overly competitive one who kept throwing down money.
The only man who wasn't shirtless on that court was Big Mike; he had on a grey tanktop saturated with sweat on his beer belly and back. The weather was so hot out, everyone wore clothes that were revealing; mainly sporty attire. A lot of moaning and groaning went around about how sticky one's skin felt and how badly they needed an A/C yet no one had any plans to leave the park anytime soon. This was an all day event.
"Game point, let's go," Ariel bounced the handball and caught it in his dirty palm, backpedaling as he wiped the thick layer of sweat on his forehead. He tossed it to Emiliano who wanted to serve.
"Dale. Eleven-eleven," said Emiliano. He shuffled to the side, smacking the yellow ball high up against the wall.
"Yo, don't let it go over this time!" someone shouted at him from the sidelines as the bouncing ball echoed throughout the court - the game already in motion.
"Yo, Sauve, if you do you owe me a pack of Malboro Red and a blowjob!" another guy said, snickering.
"Mira, cállate, maricón. You give me a blowjob for half a fucking cigarette I pick up off the floor. Fuck outta here," Emiliano fired, running ahead to smack the ball that went out. He sucked his teeth and hung his head as he went to the back of the court, the other team moving up to serve.
"You wanna talk or play the game?" Jesús scolded him then glanced at the two people talking shit. He pointed and said, "You're fucking up the pretty boy's confidence and I hate losing. So if they get game point, I'll get off this court and know whose ass I gotta whoop."
"Órale," one of them responded back, pretending he was looking forward to it so he wouldn't get called a pussy by everyone there. (Bring it on)
After Big Mike served the ball, it bounced back toward them and Sean ran up to it, nearly knocking Jhene over so he could smack the ball before she could get to it. Jesús swung his arm and sent the ball lower with brute force, causing it to fly back faster than lightning. It kept going until Jhene dove across and made the final hit that all players on the opposing team missed.
"Fuck outta here, motherfuckers. Run me my money," she walked off with nonchalance, fetching her water bottle to rehydrate and pour the cool liquid over her short curls.
"Nah, one more. Game point wins twenty instead of ten," Big Mike said in between pants, hunched over with his hands on his knees.
"My nigga, you can't fucking play. You the reason we keep losing," Sean grumbled, pissed that nobody wanted to change teams. He handed Jhene a ten dollar bill and she snatched it excitedly. He playfully gave her a push that she returned, both of them spewing insults as their way of flirting.
"I'll go one more time. But when I beat you again, don't go bitching all around this fucking park begging for your money back," said Jesús, stopping for a water break as well.
"Ain't happening, man. Watch. I'm coming for that money," said Big Mike.
Jesús stepped onto the court again and was about to serve the ball until he did a double-take and found two different boys flock to Aleesia who already had one guy flirting with her. He whistled at them and shook his head, closing the ball firmly around his fist. "Aleesia, qué haces?" (What are you doing?)
"Nada," she smiled innocently, hugging her knees as one of the two boys took a seat on the ground next to her. "Play the game, no te preocupes por mi." (Nothing. Don't worry about me.)
When her brother bitterly turned away without protesting, the boys—Jose, Felix, and Rakim—resumed their flirting and fighting for her attention. Normani sat close by with Ghost and other friends, watching her go with amusement. What a show.
"Aleesia, I went to the store and got you some Takis and this fancy ass water they got in some glass bottle. You know...so that way your tongue isn't too hot when you eat," Jose tried, handing her a black bag holding those items. She snorted and gave him a funny look, trying not to laugh.
"I don't eat those," she pressed her lips together.
"Oh, you don't eat those?"
"Nope."
"Ain't you Mexican? I coulda swore y'all liked that spicy shit," he retracted the bag, feeling stupid.
"I don't like everything that's spicy. Sorry. I will take that water though."
"Nah, shawty, let his thirsty ass drink it," said Felix, bumping into her as he licked his lips and admired her face from the side. "I got you with something else later."
Rakim sucked his teeth and brought his arm around Aleesia's neck, keeping her close to him, annoyed with the two other boys messing up his game. "She not gonna swallow your sleepy swimmers, bro, give it a rest."
"How about all of you just give it a rest?" Aleesia interjected, flattered but annoyed with their persistence. "I'm just chillin' right now, I'm not looking for anybody or anything."
"Why not? Come onnn. With your fine ass, you know any guy would treat you right if you just gave them a chance, right? I'm that guy," said Rakim. "Don't be like that, boo."
"She don't want y'all 'cause y'all don't got no game!" Normani yelled from where she sat, putting them on blast for the whole court to hear. "Run along and find someone who's actually interested."
"You got a pretty good chance with a sexcam lady. All you gotta do is spend a little more than what you did on those Takis and Pellegrino water," said Ariel to Jose, passing by him to take Aleesia away from them. Everybody on the court laughed except for him. "Let's go for a walk. I needa talk to you real quick."
Aleesia left the handball court with Ariel who also called for Normani and Emiliano to tag along since Jesús and Jhene were still playing. They trekked through the park until finding a good isolated spot by a very big tree. The playground and court was out of sight, the only thing close was a pavilion and some picnic benches. Because Normani wasn't down with the bugs crawling all over the trees and grass, attempting to bite at her, she suggested they move to the pavilion better and sit down to talk. Ariel sat on the table with Emiliano and clasped his hands together, placing them over his lap—damp due to the sweat on his thighs sticking to his basketball shorts.
"I heard some interesting things from a couple of peeps at school today. Word's getting around that Luca ain't beefin' with Los Carnales anymore. He came back from Italy last night done with the drama, looking to put an end to the rivalry. And since Lauren hasn't touched Candy or at least tried to since the minute she walked into that prison with her, Luca sees no reason to have anything personal with Lauren either," he informed them. "He's not gonna meet with her to confirm any of that because he knows Lauren wouldn't agree to a peace treaty, but this dude Blaze who's friends with their guy Joaquin came up to me and wanted me to spread the word that Estrabao Cartel is stepping down and staying in their lane."
"Really? What the fuck?" Normani side glanced, the corners of her lips raised.
"Sounds a little too suspect to me. I don't know about that," Aleesia folded her arms over the table, leaning in. "Luca would never do that unless there's something bigger in it for him."
"You may be right. But maybe it has nothing to do with us. He was in Italy after all, it could be because there are bigger fish to fry and feuding with Los Carnales isn't in his best interest," said Ariel. "The thing is, peace goes down the drain if Lauren decides to go through with her plan and kill Candy. That's the other thing I wanted to talk about..."
"Go on," Emiliano and Aleesia said in unison, smiling at each other when realising they were in sync.
"Luca knows about Lauren's plan to kill Candy. I don't know how or why or who told him, but he knows. He just found out about it and he's desperate to keep her safe because he knows Lauren is stronger and faster than Candy. And the only reason I know that is because there's always a rat in Estrabao Cartel just like there is one in this gang apparently," Ariel eyed all of them closely, squinting. "Nobody here opened their mouths, right?"
"Of course not!"
"Hell no."
"Absolutely not. You trippin'."
"Well somebody who knew about it did. And when I find out who, I'm doing the boss a favour and I'm killing them."
"Soo first Lauren doesn't wanna kill Mariano until she gets out of prison and now she can't kill Candy?" Aleesia grilled. "Mariano I can understand but not Candy. What could he possibly do to any of us if she doesn't take his fear into consideration and kills her anyway? If anything, Lauren would love that and would happily go through with it since it'll be payback for him taking her parents from her without mercy."
"Fair point," said Normani.
"Look, I get that the last thing any of us wants to do is tell Lauren not to do something she's within her right to do. And I get that none of us wants to take Luca's feelings into consideration. But I would like to make it to eighteen and graduate high school someday; not only would it make me proud but it'd make Lauren proud too because it's important to her, and I don't wanna let her down. And I can't do any of that unless there is peace in the streets for a little while. There's no telling who will get gunned down out of nowhere and how many people will die if Candy dies. Luca may be planning our deaths as we speak right now and we wouldn't even know it," Ariel reasoned.
"I'm siding with Ariel on this one," Emiliano spoke up, sending an apologetic look to Aleesia and Normani. "I'm not against not feuding with Estrabao Cartel. We make our money in peace, hang out in our territories in peace, I don't have to look over my shoulder every few seconds because I'm paranoid a blue or white car is gonna roll up on me and take me out one, two, three. I don't see why Lauren wouldn't let us have that at least once. We deserve it."
They went quiet to think more about how they felt and where they stood on this decision.
"All right," Aleesia sighed, not too keen about it but agreeing that it'd be nice to not get attacked or be worried about more kidnappings and potential murder for a while. "I'll talk to Lauren and try to convince her not to kill Candy. I'm sure she'll listen to me. Candy's day will come someday, but not it won't be in the riot."
"The riot," Ariel clenched his teeth in a grin, just remembering he left that part out. "About that... I also found out that Lauren isn't the only one who planned a riot. Estrabao Cartel also planned a riot, only it's happening early next month instead of in November. We have to warn her and make sure she's unprepared and acts unsuspecting of it. It's better that EC thinks they're still catching her off guard."
***
10:19pm - South Bay Correctional Facility, Palm Beach, Florida
"CO Castro told me you're cellies with Lauren now. I guess I missed a lot when I was away, hm? Well sleep with one eye open because a little birdy told me she's been plotting to kill you for a very long time. You see how she's warming up to you, getting closer to you, and made them change who you're bunking with? You do the math, you fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Lauren has a riot planned for November but we strike in October. You'll have the upperhand just in case. I'm counting on her not to take you out, hermana. Because if she does, everyone close to Lauren dies with you. Everyone she loves will be followed and watched that day with snipers ready to fire at any moment."
Silent tears rolled down Candy's cheek as she squeezed her eyes shut, her chest constricting and body convulsing in quiet sob, her brother's words from the private phone call they had earlier replaying over in her head. It was lights out around the prison and all the cell doors were locked again, leaving her completely alone with Lauren who still hasn't come up to cuddle her yet or invited her down to at least talk. In fact, no good kind of interaction seemed likely anymore—especially not since this afternoon when Lauren disappeared right as yard time was ending then came back in the middle of count, visibly fuming and acting a way that made Candy feel as though she never even existed. Lauren became indifferent and excused it as her "having a bad day" and not wanting to be bothered. Candy wasn't an idiot, obviously she knew something was up.
She felt hurt. No...not even. More than just hurt. Candy was devastated and broken up about the way Lauren has been playing her this entire time. And the most aggravating thing about it was that deep down that suspicious voice in her head was right. She wanted to believe the opposite so bad because she fell hard for Lauren and still couldn't handle not being with her. Living in a "reality" where Lauren forgave her and fell for her too again felt a whole lot better than any other. But now that was over. Candy didn't have the luxury to be in denial anymore, now she really had to wake the hell up and make a decision.
Lauren clearly wanted her dead and was willing to go as far as toying with her heart just to prove a point and make it hurt worse than that night in Flamingo Park did. But was she wrong to want it and have this agenda to make it happen? No. After witnessing what happened this morning and reflecting on how deep Lauren's wounds went when she shot her for Luca, Candy couldn't blame Lauren. She couldn't hold it against her—she just wanted to protect her from more damage. As much as she was hurting, so was Lauren - if not more. Perhaps everything Lauren did and told her prior to this day was a lie but Candy felt how genuine Lauren was with her words, the way she kissed her before showering, the way she leaned on Candy for emotional support and felt safe, too—none of that was a lie, Candy didn't have to question it, she was holding onto this morning to get her through betrayal.
Maybe they couldn't be lovers anytime soon yet but Candy did want them to be friends at least. And if not friends, she wanted to help Lauren. The gang leader didn't need to lose any more of those she loved because of an Estrabao. Going against Luca was so much better than going against Lauren one more time.
"Lauren, are you awake?" it was Candy's turn to ask that question and get inside her head—for a beneficial reason.
No answer. Candy sat up in her bed and pulled the cover off her body. She took a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh, scared to poke the bear she knew wasn't asleep beneath her. "Lauren, necesito hablar contigo. Es importante." (I need to talk with you. It's important.)
Suddenly, the cell door slowly opened and revealed CO Signorelli standing there with a pair of handcuffs dangling in his hand, ready to take her to solitary. Lauren got up from her bed without being asked to and she sauntered to the officer, turning on her heel to face away from him. She put her hands behind her back and stood tall with straightened shoulders and her chin up. Candy stared with concerned widened eyes, perplexed and desperate to keep her from going anywhere. She really needed to tell her what was up and to come up with a different plan that'd go against Estrabao Cartel and get her on Lauren's good side once and for all. There was no telling what Lauren was thinking or feeling, but Candy had a pretty good idea when the green eyed girl simpered apathetically with an icy glare.
"I'll see you soon, veneno. October's just around the corner."
***
Get ready. What do you think is happening/gonna go down?