Visitor (Normila / Laurmani)

Chapter 13

A/N: I changed my Twitter @. It's now @Laurmani_DC3_5H. My Tumblr has been changed to mr-pibb-on-wattpad. 

"Why did you have to tell my parents that?" Normani asked Camila.

They had a pleasant time at Normani's parents' house. Neither her mom nor her dad asked where Lauren was because they were used to her avoiding their family functions. They quickly took a liking to Camila. Her bubbly personality was readily apparent, and she clearly adored Normani. They were aware that there were some problems with Normani's relationship with Lauren, but they didn't know the full extent of it until Camila brought it up.

They were all eating at the table when Normani's mother, Andrea, said that she was going to grab dessert out of the kitchen and Normani offered to help. While they were away, Camila took the opportunity to tell her father what was going on in their house. She thought it was important for them to know and that Normani might leave Lauren if her family members talked to her.

Normani's father, Derrick, was visibly upset when Normani and Andrea returned to the table prompting Andrea to ask him what was wrong. All of the information about the physical and verbal abuse got out into the open, and Normani's parents told her that she needed to move out immediately. Normani, however, was resistant. Even though she knew things were really bad with Lauren, she just wasn't ready to end them.

When Normani and Camila got in the car to leave, Normani turned her anger toward her. "None of this is any of my parents' business. What gave you the right to tell them about my private life?"

"Someone needs to talk some sense into you," Camila argued. "You know this relationship is over. Why won't you make it official? Why keep putting up with the abuse?"

"It's not that easy," Normani countered. "We've been together for a long time. Everything in our lives is connected. I can't just end things with the snap of a finger."

"Yes, you can!" Camila was starting to raise her voice. "All you have to do is move out, but you don't want to. You have battered women's syndrome. You feel so helpless and defeated that you don't think you can leave, but you can. You don't think you can make it on your own, but I'm here to help you. Your parents are here to help you. Why can't you see that?"

"Camila, let me make this decision on my own time. It's not just a matter of me being afraid of leaving; I still love Lauren. I know that sounds crazy, but I remember the person that she was. I don't know if she'll ever be that person again, but I know it's still there inside of her," Normani explained.

Camila, again, gave up on trying to get Normani to leave. She thought about what it would take to change Normani's mind. It was possible that nothing would get her to change her mind. With Lauren's temper getting worse by the day, Normani could end up being seriously beaten or killed.

When the two women walked in the door of their duplex, the tension between them was obvious, but Lauren said nothing. She decided that she was going to give Normani some space and see if things would heal themselves. Contrarily, though, Normani and Camila got over their little fight and grew closer. Camila only worked a few hours a day leaving a lot of time to spend with Normani with Lauren gone. This made Lauren increasingly uneasy with having Camila in the house and came up with a plan to spend some time alone with Normani.

"Hey, babe," said Lauren one evening to Normani who was watching TV in bed. "I'm thinking about going on vacation soon. We should go on a road trip or travel somewhere."

"I don't know, Lauren," Normani replied. "The last time we tried to spend time alone, it was a disaster."

"That's not going to happen again," Lauren promised.