the cards that life deals you {camren}

four

Next month was a warm, beautiful October filled with preparations for the annual Halloween fair down by the beach. Camila and Lauren bought their costumes a week after Camila has gotten sick. They were going to the fair as a dead little girl and her Raggedy Ann. Lauren would be Camila's beat up looking Raggedy Ann and the green eyed girl was elated to have her costume be an accessory to Camila's.

The past couple of weeks, they had spent their afternoons working to set up the fair. Dinah and a few of her musician friends were performing the music throughout the entire night. Lauren was spending so much of her free time with Camila that she didn't notice her parent's relationship slowly crumbling to pieces. She saw the first sign of it on a Friday, when she overheard them screaming at each other downstairs from her bedroom.

She wasn't completely sure, but it felt like they were arguing about her. All of a sudden she heard a crash and then it went silent. The next morning, her dad presented her mother with a bouquet of flowers during breakfast. It wasn't enough to make her worry quite yet, so she never mentioned it. The next time was the night before he fair, when she was walking down the street from Camila's house.

Her parents had stopped picking her up and dropping her off because apparently she was old enough to make the trip on her own. She saw her dad sitting a couple houses down in his car and making out with a woman that had auburn hair and a nice tan. She stopped in surprise for a couple of minuets, but it was enough for Mr. Jauregui to glance up from the passionate kiss and catch her eye.

Lauren ran in the opposite direction toward her home and locked herself in the bathroom for the next hour. She sat in the dark and contemplated exactly what was going on. Later that night, her father stopped by her room and assured her that it wasn't happening anymore. In other words, there was no reason for her to mention what she saw to her mother. Lauren felt conflicted, but she didn't cry.

Did she tell he mother and risk ruining her parents relationship, or did she keep it to herself and let it eat her up inside. Damn it, she was only eight. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell Camila so that she'd have someone to talk to, but she promised her dad that she'd keep it to herself. With a sigh that sounded that sounded much too old for her age, she snuggled deeper into her sheets and attempted to go to sleep for the long day ahead of her.

Lauren woke up bright and early to Camila's voice floating up to her room from downstairs. Her eyes snapped open and she nearly tripped on the carpet trying to zip down the stairway. Camila looked up at the noise and watched in amusement as Lauren slid to a stop at the Latina's feet. A tinkling laugh came from the brunette's lips as she leaned down and picked Lauren up to throw the eight year old over her shoulder and tickle her sides. The green eyed girl let out a shrill scream that dissolved into uncontrollable giggles.

"Lolo! You're awake! You know, you're usually dead to the world until at least noon." The tanned girl chuckled jokingly and sat the girl back down on the floor.

"Yeah, but you're here, so I can't sleep!" Lauren explained with her childlike logic. As long as Camila was around everything else came second. Lauren caught sight of her father from the top of the stairs and she placed her bottom lip between her teeth again.

The night before came flooding back and she stepped closer to Camila and wrapped her thin arms around the teenager's thighs since she couldn't quite reach her waist at a comfortable angle. Sometimes she hated being so short, even though Camila assured her that she'd have her growth spurt later on in life. Lauren wasn't so sure. Camila noticed her closing herself off and put her hand on Lauren's head to play with the girl's hair.

"What's up, Monster?" Camila asked with a confused frown as she looked down at Lauren. The smaller girl shook her head quickly and made herself yawn in an effort to slip away and go get dressed. She made it toward the bathroom and began to get herself ready. Out in the living room, Mr. Jauregui made his way down the stairs with a slow pace and a calm smile on his lips. Camila sensed that something was amiss but she couldn't put her finger on it so she let it be.