Never Say Never

Chapter 22

Her last day is a Friday, and she doesn't even get to say goodbye to Lauren.

Nick is taking Leo for the weekend, picks him up before Lauren gets back (she'd said goodbye to him in the morning, not expecting to be home early), and Camila feels silly, staying there without Leo, so she takes one last glance around the apartment and tries not to cry.

Leo had, as his father had taken him away – he'd hugged her tight before he went, and Camila had promised him that she'd see him soon with her own throat tight with tears.

They've had as much fun as possible this week – Camila had pretty much let Leo do whatever he wanted, and Lauren hadn't seemed to mind. They'd been back to the museum, to the Planetarium, and done more sketching than Camila has ever done before in her life.

She hasn't had this job for long, but it feels like the end of an era as she takes one last glance around her – she'll probably be back to visit, but it'll feel different, she thinks, if she's not Leo's nanny anymore.

She knows she's leaving him in good hands – Lauren had told her that his old nanny was back in town, and she's glad that things had worked out, that she wasn't leaving Lauren and Leo with someone who might be terrible.

Things with Lauren this week have been... weird. They haven't talked much – Camila is still a little mortified that she'd admitted her feelings, but they'd just sort of spluttered out of her during her whole tirade, and she hadn't been able to stop them.

To her credit, Lauren hasn't brought it up since, but Camila still feels like it's there, some kind of elephant in the room whenever they're alone together, and she's tried to make sure that that doesn't happen too much.

She's been home early most nights, so Camila has been free to kiss Leo goodbye and skitter out of the door, so they haven't had the chance to talk much – she'd thought that Lauren would have made an effort to be there, tonight, to say goodbye and maybe wish her luck, but apparently Camila is less important than whatever work is keeping Lauren late that night.

She supposes she shouldn't be surprised, at this point, but it still stings, and her mood is a little sour as she heads for the door.

She's excited at what next week will hold – it's the start of her future, and something she's been striving for for a while, but she feels... empty, as she rides the elevator down to the lobby of Lauren's building for what could be the last time.

She gets off the subway three stops earlier than she usually would, walks the rest of the way back to her apartment, using the time to try and clear her head.

She's replying to a text on her phone when she reaches her floor, so she's not paying attention as she makes the now-familiar journey to her front door, doesn't look up until she's nearly there, and skids to a stop when she sees someone standing in-front of it.

Lauren is leaning casually against the wall, looking completely out of place in the white dress she'd been wearing that morning and a black blazer, and there's a bouquet of roses held in one of her hands and Camila wonders if she's dreaming.

"Lauren? What are you... what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Lauren's voice is soft, and she looks nervous, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip.

"About what?" Camila asks, dumbly, because she really can't comprehend that Lauren is here at her apartment and holding flowers that she assumes are meant for her.

"I think it's a conversation that would be better served in your apartment, and not out here. Can I come in?"

"Oh. Um, yeah, of course." She feels like a bumbling idiot, but she's been knocked off-kilter by having Lauren here in her space, reaches for her key and hopes Lauren doesn't notice that her hands are shaking when she unlocks her front door and leads her inside. "I didn't, uh, expect to have company." She tries to tidy things as surreptitiously as possible as she heads for her kitchen. "Sorry about the mess."