pretty girl (Lauren/You- first person)

chapter eleven.

"And no one KNOOOOOOOOWS! How far it GOOOOOEEEESSSS!" Lauren, Anthony and Delilah seemed to be having a competition of who could sing the loudest. On a regular day, Lauren had a beautiful, raspy voice and I really enjoyed listening to her sing. But for some reason, hearing her throw the idea of hitting any notes completely out the window in favor of being as loud as possible, with two other voices doing the same, it just wasn't as enjoyable. I was in the front seat, Ally was driving and the hot mess chorus was in the back of Ally's SUV.

Ally and I shared a knowing, tired look as she tapped the gps with the tip of her nail, signaling that we were almost there. Neither of us had said a word in at least forty five minutes, there was no point because we wouldn't have been able to hear each other over our family's rendition of Disney's Greatest Hits. I grabbed my Frappuccino from the cup holder, shook it a little bit and took a long, slow sip. Ally leaned her head straight back against the seat and sighed. The screaming had quieted down a bit, but the song was also ending so it would probably pick up again in thirty seconds. Suddenly I felt a soft, slender hand snake it's way from my elbow that was bent on the armrest, up to my own hand. Before I could react Lauren had stolen my drink and was taking a sip before handing it over to Delilah, who seemed like she was all set to finish it off. Never mind that they both had ordered something when we stopped at the Starbucks drive through before our mini road trip.

"Um, yeah, yeah go ahead. I wasn't thirsty." I deadpanned, turning big around and giving Lauren an unamused look.

"Babe, you always get the best drinks! It's not fair. So because yours is the best you're kind of obligated to share." I tried to fight the smile appearing on my face, so I turned around hoping I wouldn't crack. Her logic was flawed, very flawed, but she was just so damn cute.

"That's not how it works." I finally gave in to the smile and turned around because I wanted to look into those sparkling emerald eyes that stole my heart. "You could order ten of any and every drink imaginable all at once and I would buy them all for you, so if you wanted a drink like mine you could've ordered it along with what you got. Any size too." I winked and changed the smile to a teasing smirk.

"I'd take advantage of that if I were you." Anthony spoke up, directing his statement at Lauren. "Any size? You can't beat that!" He widened his eyes in exaggeration and we all laughed. Even Delilah laughed, though she probably didn't know why we were laughing, just wanted to join in.

After a three hour car ride, Ally finally pulled into the mall parking lot. She stopped the car in the drop off lane next to one of the entrances. "Okay, so just call us when you're done and on your way and we can figure out if we're gonna meet up inside or go somewhere else to eat or whatever." She said to Anthony and I. I unbuckled myself and got out so I could properly say goodbye to my daughter and fiancé. Lauren helped Delilah out of the car and the small girl immediately wrapped herself koala style around my legs.

"Have fun Mama!" I heard between giggles. The four of us had agreed that it was best to stay as honest as possible with Delilah, as far as she could comprehend. She knew we were going to talk to her uncle and that he was in jail, but when I expected an onslaught of prying and curious questions, she was more interested in going back to her toys. We explained that she was allowed to ask anything, and she agreed but still didn't show much interest in the topic, so we left it at that and figured if she did ever want to know anything, we would all be prepared to tell her.

Delilah gave me a final hug and kiss and then ran around to do the same for Anthony, while I said goodbye to Lauren. "You ready?" She asked simply. She had a look in her eyes that said, I know you're nervous, so even if my answer was confident she already knew how I was feeling, she always knew.

"I'm not ready, but I'm gonna do it anyways." I chuckled, trying to brush it off.

"You don't have to stay if it gets uncomfortable or if you get emotional. Anthony's gonna be right there, he'll get you out of there if you have to go." She gently stroked my cheek with her thumb as I brought my hand up to hold her wrist, bringing her palm to my lips and placing a few soft kisses there.