Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Come on, Lauren! What's my surprise?! I'm dying to find out!" Camila exclaimed from the other phone line.

Tonight was the first night of live performances on 'The Voice' and Lauren was going to surprise Camila by going to watch her performance in person. One of the perks of living in Los Angeles now allowed her to go to all of her fiance and best friends's performances. Speaking of which, Lauren still hadn't even told the girls that she had made the large move out to California yet. It was just another thing that she planned on surprising Camila with. Tonight was the night where she'd make the big reveal.

"Camila... If I tell you what your surprise is now, then it won't even be a surprise anymore!" Lauren laughed happily.

"Hah!" Camila screeched, causing Lauren to nearly jump out of her own skin. "That's where you're wrong! If you tell me now, I'll be just as surprised as I would be later!"

Lauren released an exasperated sigh. "Hey! I'm doing this for you! No need to be a smart aleck!"

Camila giggled playfully. "Oh, hush! You know I'm only messing around with ya!" There was a short pause, and Lauren noticed that someone had been talking in the background. Seconds later, Lauren knew what was happening. "I hate to cut this short my love, but I have to go to my final rehearsals for my performance tonight. This is really important because this is the very first night. I have to draw people in if I want to win the competition."

Lauren blushed when her fiance said 'my love', nearly causing her to giggle like an idiot. "Alright, Camz. Good luck! I'll be rooting for you from behind a television tonight!" Lauren lied, hiding the fact that she would actually be closer than Camila thought.

The engaged couple shared their I love you's, then hung up the phone. Lauren flung her cell phone onto her bed, then threw herself on the bed as well. She was so relieved to finally be in her own bed again. After the countless days of moving and being on the move, it was great for her to be able to kick back and relax for once. Granted, she still had Cameron and Laurie to look over, but overall, she was able to lay back on her bed and think about the future. 

Lauren began to think about how she'd actually carry out her surprise for that night. Because she was Camila's fiance, she was allowed to go backstage and have a reserved seat for herself in the live audience. She didn't know if she'd surprise her backstage or if she was going to make a large sign that would capture Camila's attention during her first performance. Lauren then came to the conclusion that she'd meet her before the show, since she wasn't even sure that she'd be able to read a sign if she made one yet. 

For that night, Annabelle's parents had offered to take care of the twins while Lauren was out surprising Camila. Initially, Lauren was just going to do it, but the two insisted on watching Cameron and Laurie. 

During the next few hours before the show, Lauren was able to feed her twins, lull them to sleep, and even dig into some dinner for herself. After dinner, she played another round of Marco Polo with Annabelle in her new room. Because they had just moved in and Annabelle was unaware of how her new room was set up, the game was much more entertaining for the both of them. But soon enough, it was time for Lauren to head down to the studio where the show was taking place. 

Half of an hour later, Lauren found herself in the backstage area of the studio. She glanced around, noticing many of the contestants from the commercials that she had seen on television about the first week of live shows. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Camila, Normani, Dinah, and Ally all standing together in a group. They appeared to be fixing each other's hair and making sure that they all looked perfect for their first time on the stage.

"Camila!" Lauren shouted, causing her fiance to turn her head in Lauren's direction.

The group of four girls all looked to Lauren with surprised looks on their faces. Lauren jogged over to them and embraced each and every one of them in a hug. 

"So this was the surprise you were talking about!" Camila exclaimed ecstatically. "Are you staying in a hotel room while you're here? Or are you staying with someone for a while? What's the plan, Stan?"

"That's another part of the surprise, Camz. You know the young, blind girl that I've been working to take care of lately?" Lauren questioned her fiance, making her recall the memory.

Camila raised an eyebrow in interest. "Sure, I remember. What's up?"

"Well... her family moved all the way to Los Angeles, and they've offered for me to live with them as long as I care for Annabelle whenever they want to get out of the house! They even had a spare room that Cameron and Laurie could live in. You can live there with me when this whole competition thing is over!" Lauren explained with much excitement.

Her fiance shrugged and let out a loud sigh. Camila didn't look at all amused by this half of the surprise, and Lauren couldn't understand why. "Um, Lauren... There's something that you should know before you make any definite plans for our future... I don't exactly want to move out to Los Angeles when the show is over."

"Huh?" Lauren's jaw dropped at the sound of this. "Are you sure, Camila? If you win this competition, you'll be here all the time recording your very first album. Don't you want to be living closer to where you're going to be working most of the time? I thought you wanted to move all the way out here?"

"I don't want to disappoint you, but I don't exactly want to leave Miami. Initially, I wanted to move as far away as I could, but now I just want to go home. Los Angeles is great, don't get me wrong. I'm just getting a little homesick. Not for my family, not for my old home, but for being in a house with you and our children together in Miami. It's cool to get out and enjoy an environment that is entirely different from Miami's, but I miss where I'm from. Honestly, I think I'd much rather raise Cameron and Laurie in a place that is more well-known to us." Camila explained to her fiance.

Lauren lowered her head, realizing that she hadn't thought this whole thing through. Lately, she had been thinking about what was best for her when she should have been thinking about Camila as well. It was probably better if she had asked Camila instead of just throwing everything at her all at once. As the two girls discussed their plans for the future, Ally, Dinah, and Normani walked off so they wouldn't impede on such an important conversation.

"I'm sorry, Camz. I was just thinking about myself I suppose." Lauren admitted to her faulty plan. "I was just thinking about this, since I'm going to be going back to school again to be a doctor. The classes are all here in Los Angeles, so I don't know how I'd be able to do it all if I were to live in Miami."

"Lauren, it sounds like you're not really leaving me a choice. Miami is my home town, and I really don't want to leave it behind. Asking someone to move from their home on the east coast to the west coast is a lot to ask of someone. You know that I'm not trying to destroy your hopes and dreams, but I want to be happy too." Camila added to her reasoning for wanting to live back in Miami.

Lauren was about to add more reasons for her wanting to move to Los Angeles, but she was interrupted by a voice over an intercom that called all contestants over to their designated places. Camila immediately rushed off, giving Lauren some more time to think. 

What was Lauren going to do? Would she stay in Los Angeles against Camila's wishes? Or would she give up everything to go back to Miami, in turn breaking her promise to Annabelle?