A Stolen Minute

Chapter Seven: Tues, Day 18

It was well after midnight, Lauren and Normani were sitting on the shore. Earlier having met up after Normani caught up on some much needed sleep, they met for dinner before doing what now seemed to be a habit for them. Walking. This time it took them to same familiar ocean.

They sat far enough back so the tide wouldn't touch them, but since the weather wasn't the best, every couple of minutes one of the tides would come up just enough to get where they were sitting. The cold from the water was a background feeling though; being overseen because of the conversation that struck up from almost an hour of silence and just watching the water.

"No seriously. But because I'm so smart instead of picking just one, I put the lipstick inside of the purse. So my mom bought the purse and I opened it in the car and was like 'oh look! It came with lipstick anyways.'"

Lauren giggled while Normani laughed, shaking her head and bringing their joined hands up to her mouth as a way to cover her laugh.

"So you're telling me that you're also a thief."

Lauren shrugged as Normani brought both of their hands in between the hole her crossed legs made.

"I gotta get it how I live."

Normani inhaled turning to Lauren before laughing again.

"Don't ever say that again."

Lauren laughed along with her until Normani spoke again.

"I bit my cousin once because she tried to take a doll I was playing with first."

"What?!"

"Yeah. She came over and snatched it from me so the only logical thing I could think of was to bite her. I left teeth marks and everything."

Lauren scoffed, taking her hand from Normani's hold.

"The only logical reason? You're crazy."

"I'll show you crazy if you don't give me that hand back."

She held out her hand as Lauren slowly put her hand on hers.

"Only because I don't need to know how mature this biting thing has gotten."

"Whatever."

Normani looked at Lauren's hand in both of hers, manipulating it as she wanted.

"This might just help your little biting fetish but my sister bit me once."

She rotated the arm that Normani had, pointing to a brown scar on the inside of her arm near the crease.

"We were arguing about something that would probably seem so fucking stupid now. But her response to whatever I said was to bit me."

"What'd you do?"

"I cried. Hard. I was the oldest so I could easily make my parents believe that she did it for no reason. To this day they tell the story of how Taylor randomly bit me."

"And you never told them different?"

Lauren scoffed, shaking her head.

"Of course not. She hates that I won't change the story too. It's so funny."

"That's horrible."

"I was the one left with the scar. That's nothing compared to this."

She moved her arm slightly acknowledging the scar.