the secrets we keep [camren]

two

"I know what we can do! Let's play Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy," the enthusiastic girl explained excitedly. She had chocolate colored wavy hair and appeared to be about nine years old. She was barefoot, wearing old shorts and a worn Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers t-shirt with Tommy, the original Red Ranger, on it. It was her favorite shirt.

"Not power rangers again." moaned a small girl, dressed in dirty blue jean shorts and a t-shirt which had seen better days. She wore her hair in two long dark braids with bows at the bottom of each, the same color of brown as her rich chocolate-colored eyes.

"Why not? It's a great show! Plus we already have the morphers." The first girl held her arm high in the air to show off her newest toy, The Red Galaxy Morpher. She even pushed a few buttons to demonstrate what cool sound effects it made.

"You have a morpher," corrected a third child, a Polynesian girl with beautiful brown eyes. "My mom didn't get me one. She doesn't trust me with ... weapons," When she said the word weapons, she drew air quotes with her fingers to illustrate that this was the actual word her mother used. "..around my siblings."

The three children were sitting on the wooden floor of what, at first, appeared to be a small room inside a rustic house. The first girl, the leader, stood and paced back and forth across the small room, stopping occasionally to look out a rudimentary window with her large emerald eyes, which was actually just a square hole cut into one of the walls. She gazed out at the limbs of the tree and then it became clear that she was actually standing in an elaborate tree house built high into the branches of a large oak tree.

"Okay, then you don't have to be one of the rangers, Dinah. You can be one of the scientists."

"I didn't say I don't want to play with power morphers; I just said I wasn't allowed to." Dinah Jane explained, her eyes twinkling as she gave the older girl a big toothy grin.

"I'm sick and tired of being Pink Ranger. I'm always Pink Ranger. I don't even like the color pink." complained the second girl.

"Well Camila..." The leader said in a condescending voice, as if she were explaining something to a small child. "you could always be Yellow Ranger. That ones a girl too." Unlike Camila, she and Dinah didn't mind playing the boy characters.

"Ewwwww," she whined in response. "Yellow Ranger is always the wimpy one. And I am not a wimp."

"She's right Lauser. Karla Camila Cabello is definitely not a wimp. Remember? She was the first one to jump off the roof on a dare. And she still has the record for jumping out the farest from the tire swing."

"Farest? Is that even a real word, Dinah?" Lauren asked, trying to distract her friend.

"Sure it is. Far, farer, and farest. I'm sure it's in the dictionary."

"This isn't settling anything, Lauren. Don't you see what she's doing, DJ? She's just trying to distract you." The girl was feisty and she knew it.

"Distract me from what?"

"I rest my case." Camila smirked at her friends.

The summer of their ninth year passed with much fun, much play, and much arguing. The three of them; Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane Hansen and Camila Cabello had been best friends since Kindergarten. Lauren and Dinah had actually known each other since Pre-school. A fact that Dinah often brought up when she became jealous of Lauren's friendship with Camila. Even in the best of cases, a threesome often led to hurt feelings and someone being left out and feeling like a third wheel. And the third wheel was always Dinah or Camila. The group seemed to revolve around Lauren. Even at this young age she had a natural magnetism that drew others to her.

Camila stared up at the house she basically grew up in as the memories she had in it came crashing back. She could even see the treehouse that was still there from where she was parked. She was sitting in the front seat of her car, willing herself to get down and get this stupid study session over with. Why she agreed to tutor her ex, (was Lauren even considered an ex?), she had no idea. She hadn't spoken to the girl in three years. Not since a little after her daughter was born.

She sighed to herself softly and pushed her car door open, which suddenly seemed so much heavier then it was usually, and grabbed her backpack as she stepped out of the car and shut it, locking it and slowly making her way up the Jauregui's tiled pathway leading to the front door. She went up the porch steps and took a deep breath, ringing the doorbell.

The door swung open almost instantly and she was met with the girl's younger brother, who often spent a lot of time with the three previous best friends. She cracked a small smile at him, feeling slightly awkward being there after not setting foot in there in almost four years. "Uhm.. Hi Chris."

Chris stared at her in complete and utter surprise. He was definitely not expecting her to be at his door. "Camila.. hey.. What are you.." Before he could finish his sentence, his older sister came rushing down the stairs and pushed him out of the way, smiling at the girl on the other side, her green eyes twinkling.

Camila just stared back at her, emotionless. She was not going to let Lauren get to her.

"Hey Camz." Lauren said, grinning girlishly. "I thought we were meeting at your house?"

"No. I made it clear that we would do the tutoring sessions either here or at school. Not at my house." The younger girl replied, clutching her backpack tighter as her heart clenched tightly in her chest at the old nickname.

Lauren glanced at said hand and noticed a colorful beaded bracelet resting delicately on her wrist. She cocked her head to the side to read what it spelled in white, with two pink hearts and bows on either side.

💗🎀Mommy🎀💗

Noticing where Lauren's eyes were, Camila dropped her hand from the strap and shoved it into her back pocket, hiding the bracelet from her vision.

"Oh, uh, right." Lauren cleared her throat, stepping back to invite her in. "We can work in the back." She looked at her brother, who was watching her in bewilderment. Lauren just smiled slightly and gave him a look that promised an explanation later.

Chris just shrugged and went back to playing video games in the living room.

Lauren directed Camila to the backyard, the yard they once spent every single day in together. "So, how've you been?" She tried to make conversation as they sat across from each other at the picnic table they owned.

Camila kept her eyes in her bag as she pulled out her history text book and notes. "Fine." She replied bluntly. "Now let's get started because I have to be out of here in an hour."

Lauren sighed quietly and nodded as she lugged her own notes and textbook out.

xxxxxxx

"What did you do today?"

"Drawed."

"Really? What?"

"This."

With an excited twinkle in her eye, Harper let go of her mothers hand and took her Minnie Mouse backpack off only to pull out a sheet of construction paper with three stick figures on it. One, a grown female, which Camila assumed to be Ally, then a little girl, obviously her little girl, and the third a grown female, which was obviously her.

Camila smiled brightly at the piece of art. "Aw, I love it so much baby. Is that Auntie Ally?"

"No, that's my momma." Harper replied with a huge grin as her eyes twinkled happily. She didn't realize that those three words caused her moms heart to clench. She knew she was different from other kids; instead of having a mother and a father, she had two mothers. Although she was confused when Camila had explained it to her, she accepted it.

Camila smiled softly at her as she put the drawing back and put her bag on. "It's beautiful." She began walking again as Harper reached up and took her hand, holding it tightly in her small one. Camila smiled and started to playfully swing their hands back and forth.

"I missed you today, Mommy."

"I missed you too baby."

xxxxxxx