Every Single Way (Laurinah)

Chapter 9

I got on the road, and decided to take the interstate to avoid the lights. I love driving through the city at night, alone with my windows down and my music blasting.

I had only been on the interstate for one exit before I saw that the traffic was backed up. "What the hell?" I said to myself.

I picked my phone up from my cup holder and opened my map app to see what was going on with traffic.

My phone rang.

"Hey Normani, I'm on my way girl. There's traffic for some reason."

"Oh no, I was trying to get you before you left." She told me.

"Why? To tell me that there was traffic?" I laughed.

"Yeah, my dad is caught up in it." She said.

"Well, I'm 1 exit from your house, and that would be the next one. I'll be there in a few. Well, whenever the traffic starts to move." I explained.

"KK. Bye"

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone, I looked back at my app to see how bad the traffic really was. It was backed up a good bit. "So happy Mani lives close." I said.

After 20 minutes of traffic I got to Mani's house after what should have been a 5 minute ride.

I got out of my car and then knocked on the door, taking a deep breath, not taking lightly the next conversation that I would be having.

Growing really impatient, I knew that the Hamilton's hardly ever locked their door so I just walked in.

Normani's mom peeked her head around the corner from the kitchen, "Hey Mama Andrea." I said with a smile.

"Oh hey Dinah, surprised you knocked this time." She joked, but was partially serious. I never ever knocked coming over here. I guess this time it was just me over thinking everything.

In my head, I had been trying not to think about anything that could happen if Normani didn't accept me anymore. And the more and more that I walked up the steps towards her room, I thought about how I had no plan for telling Mani what happened.

"Shit." I mumbled under my breath to myself.

"Dinah!" I heard Normani say as she rushed from her room to the stairs where I was.

"Yeah, Mani, I'm walking up the stairs now." I said trying to push past her to her room.

"I know, I heard you and my mom downstairs. But look," she started.

"You gonna let me in your room or just stand there? I don't want to talk about this with your mom downstairs, no offense." I waved off.

"No Dinah! Look!" she said seriously, taking a step towards me and looking at me intently.

"What?" I asked.

"Camila, Lauren, Chris, and Taylor were all in a terrible accident. It's really really bad. They're the reason that the traffic was backed up so bad. Ally's mom told her about it because their moms are really close. "

"Wait what?" I said. The words Lauren and accident in the same sentence made my heart lurch. I felt a feeling in my stomach that felt like it was twisting and turning. My head automatically started to hurt and I still couldn't process the words that Normani had just said.

"DINAH!'' She yelled at me.

"Huh, huh, what?" I asked, as she tried to snap me from my day dream.

"Did you hear me?" she asked and I shook my head in response.

"Ally is coming over here to take us to the hospital where they are. She said she figured that you'd want to go because you're friends with Lauren and Camila. Apparently the passenger was Camila and she just had bleeding, same with Taylor who was relatively fine. But they were hit on the driver's side, and Lauren was driving with Chris in the back. They're both hurt pretty bad, and had to be air lifted to the hospital. Lauren's unconscious."