Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Thirty-Three

The clock finally struck eight, and it was finally time for Lauren to give Camila a call. She was excited yet nervous at the same time, and she had no idea what to expect from their talk that was to come. Lauren quickly picked up her phone and selected Camila's number from her contacts in order to call her. The phone rang three times before Camila answered it.

"Hello?" Camila asked into the phone. "Lauren, is this you?"

"Of course it's me." Lauren smiled, happy to hear Camila's voice again even if it had only been a few hours since they last spoke. "You told me to call you at eight, so here I am."

Camila replied, "Good, I'm glad. Now, I really wanted to apologize to you for what I said and did last night. My feelings were just all over the place when I first found out that you weren't going to do the show anymore. I was tired from the operation, and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep at that point. It must sound pretty stupid to you that I'm blaming this all on my operation, but I really don't know how else to explain it. I was confused and upset when you told me that you were staying in Miami, and it really didn't help anything that I was just plain exhausted. What I'm really trying to say is, I'd like to be your girlfriend again. If you'll have me, of course. There are two people in a relationship, so I'll need you to want to be a part of it if we're going to be together."

Lauren sighed, then finally replied, "Of course I'll have you as my girlfriend, Camila. It isn't a silly excuse that you were tired, since the medication given to you during the surgery can make your feelings be more extensive. The only thing that I will say to you is that we really need to stop going on and off like this. It's been driving me a little nuts. I know you can't help it, but we need to work together to fix our problems, not break apart to try to make them all go away."

"You're right, Lauren. You really are. I don't exactly know why I do it. For some reason, it's in my mindset that we won't have as many problems if we're apart. Clearly I was wrong, and I don't know why I ever thought that was how things were. You're right Lauren, we should stay together and work out our problems as a couple. And although I hate long distance relationships, I think you're worth the wait. I love you, Lauren. I really am sorry that I've been acting so stupid lately. Is it possible to just disregard everything that I said last night?" 

"Of course it is." Lauren answered with tears of joy in her eyes. "But I'm going to try to visit you when I get enough money to come down for a weekend. I hate long distance too, but I know for a fact that you are worth the wait."

Camila replied, "I'm really glad that we worked things out, Lauren. I can't wait to see you again. But I'm going to let you go, because I'm exhausted from the plane ride here. It was a really long ride, and I just couldn't get any sleep during the whole time."

"Okay, Camz. I love you, have a goodnight." Lauren said sweetly.

"Goodnight, Lauren. I love you too." Camila replied, hanging up the phone shortly afterwards.

Once the call had finished, Lauren laid back on her bed. It wasn't the same without her other half being there, and it brought a feeling of loneliness to her as she thought more and more about it. Although she was back together with Camila, she still felt alone. She had no one to talk to other than herself and the twins, but they couldn't even bear a single word yet because they were far too young. 

Lauren also thought about living with her mother until someone was sent home, but she didn't want to possess the feeling of being under her parents's roof again. Sure she missed her family, but she didn't want to make them responsible for housing her again. Lauren liked to be alone sometimes, just not all the time. And with her family always being around, she'd never get the alone time that she desired. 

As she laid in bed, she also thought about the friends that she had besides Ally, Dinah, and Normani. Lauren thought first of Vero, and then of Dylan. They were both gone, which left her without a single friend. Lauren had lost and gained so much in the past few months, that it was beginning to feel like she was a completely new person. She realized that nothing in her life was ever constant. Everything was deleted and replaced, which left her with nothing to cling on to. The only constant thing in her life was family. Her family was unchanging, which was something that Lauren loved. She hated change, which helped her embrace the things that she had before. 

Eventually, Lauren passed out due to boredom and began to dream about her and Camila's future together. She dreamed of their future wedding, where Lauren and Camila both chose to wear the dress. In the dream, Lauren had voluntarily chose to wear the tux just so she could see Camila in a beautiful, white wedding dress. However, Camila insisted that Lauren did the same. 

Everyone was there in the dream, which made it pretty unrealistic. Vero, Dylan, Ally, Normani, Dinah, Lauren's family, and even Camila's. But Camila's mother would never approve of their relationship, and would definitely not want to attend their wedding. Lauren wished that she would be allow it and that she would actually want to make a good relationship with her daughter's girlfriend. If Lauren were ever going to marry Camila, she would hope to gain her father and mother's blessing, since that was the professional thing to do. But that was nearly impossible. To do that, Lauren would have to do something extraordinary in order to get her mother to like her. But what could she do, really? If she couldn't get Mrs. Cabello's blessing, maybe her father's would be able to suffice. 

A wedding between Camila and Lauren was a long way's away, however. The two had only known each other for so long, and Lauren didn't even know if she could afford a ring in the near future. A wedding was costly, too. Lauren would need to save up a lot of money if she was going to afford one. Since she was living with four other adults, paying for the house and her expenses would be easier than it would have if Camila and Lauren were living alone. And with Lauren's new job, she'd be able to earn the money over time. But a marriage to Camila would be a few years away at most.

Lauren awoke the next morning, still thinking about her future marriage to Camila till she came up with a plan. She was going to attempt to talk to Camila's mother to make peace. Lauren hadn't realized how important a relationship with her was until she actually started to think about a future with Camila. Even though nothing was really Lauren's fault, she wanted to apologize to Mrs. Cabello about anything and everything. Lauren noticed that she was all about protection when it came to Camila, so she figured that she may as well say whatever her mother wanted to hear.

Lauren shuffled out of bed, dressed in something presentable, then phoned her mother to make sure that she would be able to watch the twins for a little while. Luckily, Lauren's mother was always open to babysitting. After all, the twins were her first grandchildren, and she would do anything to spend some time with them.

As soon as Lauren was all ready to go, she grabbed the twins and set out for her mother's house and then to the Cabello household. Lauren didn't exactly know what to expect from today, but she just hoped that she could settle some falling outs while she was home alone.