Dance On Our Graves

Chapter 22

After dinner, Lauren does the dishes and keeps looking at her phone. Lauren wonders when Abuelo's going to call her back. Lauren set her phone next to the sink so she'll know the second something happens. But nothing does when she finishes the dishes.

She decides to go check on Camila and Emily and leave her phone on the counter. Inside Emily's room, the little girl's eyes are drooping as Camila reads her, her favorite book. Lauren decided to leave them to it so she walk back into the kitchen, pick up her phone and make her way to the bedroom.

Lauren figured that at this point she was going to give in and call her parents. She decides that her mom is her best bet because ever since the whole trip to Ohio, her dad's been standoffish. If she does call and he answers, he's quick to hand off the call to her mom.

When her mom answers, she skips the majority of the pleasantries and immediately asks if she's seen Abuelo. She tells Lauren that she saw him a couple of hours ago and he told her that he was going on a road trip.

Lauren is immensely relieved. She relaxes her muscles as she lay back on the bed. Of course, her muscles tensed right back up when her mom tells her that she wants to come to visit.

"Visit... me?" Lauren ask.

Her mom laughs. "Yes you, and Emily. And Camila."

"Oh, okay," Lauren doesn't think it's fair to keep Emily from her just because her dad is being distant. "When do you think you'll come?"

"I don't know. When is Emily's next dance recital? I'd love to see it," she tells Lauren.

Lauren frown. She doesn't know. She starts to get up to ask Camila, but she steps into the room. "Hey, when is Emily's next recital?"

"Um," Camila peels off her shirt and looks in the closet for a fresh one. "Friday at six."

"This Friday?" Lauren asks her, not realizing that her mom can hear her as well.

"Oh, this Friday?" Lauren's mom asks, "Perfect. I don't know if your father can make it, but I will definitely be there."

Her eyes get wide. "You're coming this Friday?"

"Yes," her mom says happily. "I'll call you later and let you know when I'll arrive. Goodbye Lauren. I love you. Tell Camila I said hi." Then she hangs up.

Lauren groans and rolls onto Camila's side of the bed. Lauren can feel her crawl onto the bed behind her and wrap her arms around Lauren. "What's wrong?"

"My mom is coming on Friday," Lauren sighed.

Camila kisses Lauren's shoulder and rests her head on it. "It'll be okay. Emily would love to see her."

"At least my dad's not coming," she leans back into Camila, feeling safer in her arms.

Lauren's mom calls her the next day telling her that her flight will arrive Thursday morning. She doesn't want Lauren to bother picking her up at the airport. She wants the experience of taking a cab in New York. Lauren gives her their address and as soon as she hangs up, she starts frantically cleaning the apartment.

"What is she doing?" Lauren hears Emily whisper from where she and Camila are sitting on the kitchen counter watching her clean.

"She panicking," Camila smiles and pops a slice of apple in her mouth.

Lauren rolled her eyes, "I'm glad you're enjoying this." Lauren grabs the broom from its place next to the refrigerator.

"Are you going to clean my room?" Emily asks, hopefully.

Lauren looks at her and quirked her eyebrow in a way that means You wish. She giggles and Lauren goes back to cleaning.

Camila hops off of the counter and helps Emily down. "I left my sweater at the studio, do you want to come?"