palaces out of paragraphs ~ camila/you

chapter three

"Who was that?" Lauren asked, as I came in smiling like an idiot.

"Oh, I just went out for coffee."

"With who? I thought Hurley wasn't in town." She pried, knowing that I don't really hang out with anybody else.

"This girl who came into the shop. She's really nice, and she knows her books." I hesitantly explained.

"Oh." Lauren abruptly said, going back to arranging a shelf.

"You sound a little mad." I intervened, walking over and lying on a pile of books.

Lauren looked at me, and stopped what she was doing.

"I don't have a right to be." Her gaze fixed to her shoes. "I've started seeing somebody else. After our last fight, this guy asked me out at my other job- and- I said yes."

Lauren worked two jobs- associate at the Book Nook and a bartender at this pub on weekends. She said it was just to help her roommate who was laid off, but she's been working there for months now.

"When are you gonna quit?" I moved the cart out of the way so I could help her stack the books.

"You know I can't, Y/N." Lauren laughed.

"I'm serious. Alexa shouldn't let you be the sole income of the apartment."

"We can't even afford there to begin with." Lauren told me.

"Lauren, you don't take that shit from anybody. Why is Alexa able to get away-"

"She's sleeping with the landlord."

"Wait. What?"

"He's a young guy. But, I'm praying they move in together. Or something positive. If he hurts her, I'm gonna get kicked out of the building for doing something bad."

I stopped for a second, leaning on the shelf.

"Since when did we keep secrets from each other?" I asked her. 

Lauren stopped, coming up to me. She was inches away from my face.

"Since you decided you were going to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald." Lauren bluntly stated, walking off and leaving me with the books. I decided to shake it off, assembling the final stack of books into the bottom shelve. Seconds later, I heard a mug shatter and her yell an explicative. I ran over to an overworked Lauren, grabbing the dustpan from under the counter.

"You don't have to do that," Lauren muttered.

"I know, Laur. But I want to." I got up, disposing of the cracked ceramic pieces in the garbage.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I get jealous, and I really shouldn't. But I'm working so hard and I just wanna get a plane ticket back home for my mom's birthday and no one gets that. And this- this guy? I don't even know myself, how the fuck is he supposed to know me? Why do I keep thinking that someone could be more patient and understanding with me than you?" She paused, slumping down onto the floor.

I took a seat next to her.

"Lauren, you've worked so hard for everything you've received in your life." I told her. "If you need to borrow some money, I have some I've saved up. I think you should go out with this guy. Who knows? He could be better than me."

"Shut up, no one's better than you." She sniffled, giving me a hug.

Just then, my mom walked in from the stairs.