Dance On Our Graves

Chapter 18

Lauren's walking Emily through the hallways of the school when she hears the ambulances. Lauren brushes it off because it is New York City after all and kisses Emily's forehead before watching her run to her friends in the classroom and walking back out. There is a group of moms standing in the middle of the stairs to get down to the street. They're all the botox-ed preppy moms that she'd expect to be standing in a circle, gossiping like they have nothing else better to do.

Because they don't.

"They were just walking inside."

"So sudden."

Lauren's curious enough to stand next to the group and ask one of them what happened. She explains that a little boy had an asthma attack while he was walking into the school with his nanny. Someone called EMS, and now they're on the way to the hospital.

"Can you imagine?"

Lauren slowly shook her head. She couldn't imagine anything like that happening to Emily. She would be devastated. She was standing there thinking so long that it took her a moment to notice the group of mothers all quietly whispering and not-so-subtly peering at her from behind each other.

Lauren rolled her eyes. She bit her tongue to keep herself from telling them that when their husbands were 'working late' they were staring at her ass. That seemed a little immature and wouldn't bode well for Emily if the moms told their kids about Lauren.

As Lauren walks back to her car, she thinks about what would happen if Emily did happen to get sent to the hospital. She wouldn't know what to do with herself. She'd be completely distraught. She'd be... she'd be standing outside of the fucking hospital room.

Lauren has no legal guardianship over Emily. Nothing. She couldn't see her or make any decisions or anything. She'd be fucking stuck outside when Camila went in to see her because Lauren is not legally 'family'.

Lauren let that thought fester in her head as she clean the apartment. Then as she showers and changes. And to the theatre to take Camila some lunch.

As they both sit in a dressing room she shares with three other girls, Camila looks over at Lauren while she munches on some French fries. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking," Lauren stated. Lauren doesn't want to just throw it out there. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that she says and then it just happens. So she settled for, "One of the boys at Emily's school had to go to the hospital today."

"Oh my gosh," Camila looks at Lauren wide-eyed. Lauren can see it behind her eyes. She's doing the same thing Lauren did. She's going through what she would do if Emily needed to go to the hospital. "Is he okay?"

Lauren nodded, looking down at her hands. Lauren's feeling less and less comfortable on the worn brown sofa that is shoved in the corner of their dressing room, "It got me thinkin' ya know? About what would happen if something happened to Emily and I was the only one there?" Lauren scrape one of her nails against the flat surface of another hoping that Camila would maybe still be receptive to the idea.

Lauren glances up at Camila whose eyes are firmly on her. When Lauren's eyes meet Camila's they automatically lock together. Then a hint of a smile graces her lips and she softly kisses Lauren. "I already have the guardianship papers at home."

"What?" Lauren ask. Lauren is shell-shocked. How could she know? How long had she had them? "For me?"

"You're her mom as much as I am." Camila rests her chin on Lauren's shoulder and laces their fingers together. "And I always knew you'd change your mind."

Lauren smiled and rests her head against Camila's, letting out a sigh. "Thanks, Camz."

"Are you sure you don't want some?" Camila offers Lauren some of her gyros.