Worse News (sequel to Bad News)

Worse News - Chap. 25

Chapter 25

 

After it had become pretty dark outside, Tyler started to make his way back to Mike and Clara’s house. He doesn’t know how long he’s been gone, but it’s got to be at least a few hours. Just before he knocks on the door, he uses his shirt to wipe away the tear marks off his face.

The door opens without knocking, and Normani stands in front of him. She doesn’t look mad. He had expected her to be mad. He had been gone for God knows how long, without telling her. But she wasn’t. She looks like she understands. Tyler swallows when the only thing his girlfriend does, is open her arms for him to fall into.

And he doesn’t waste a moment in doing so. Normani wraps her arms around him tightly, letting him quietly cry into her shoulder. She knows. She knows Tyler doesn’t like to show his emotions like this, knowing he wants to be the strong one for everybody. So they just stand there in the door opening, taking their time, and giving Tyler the space to calm down again.

‘’Are you okay?’’ Normani whispers after a while, and Tyler pulls back from their embrace, wiping his face clean once again. He nods. ‘’Yeah.’’ He says, his voice groggy and hoarse from the crying. Normani reaches out and wipes at some tear marks on his cheek and plants a soft kiss on his lips. Then she grabs his hand and takes him back inside.

As they walk through the hallway, and pass the stairs to go back to the living room, they fail to notice Lauren sitting on the stairs. As the door to the living room closes behind the couple, Lauren turns around and drags herself back upstairs, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

She loves how Normani and Tyler are able to support and comfort each other. It’s like they both know exactly what to do to make the other feel at ease or calm down. Just like Camila did. Lauren sighs as she steps back into her bed, burying her face in her pillow.

Oh how she wishes Camila was here. She has never felt so desperate to be with somebody. For somebody to just hold her like Camila would. But she knows nobody could ever do that. Nobody could ever comfort her like her wife could. So she cries.

She cries because she knows nobody could ever fill that emptiness in her heart, hold her like she  did, and because she knows that Camila herself will never be able to be there for her again. Not anymore.

Lauren stays in bed for a long time, ignoring the calls for dinner from her parents. She just lays there, thinking about all the possible ways Camila would try to be there for her if she was here. How she would comfort her. How she would hold her, or what she would say. Camila’s words always calmed her down. It’s like she was able to read not just Lauren’s mind, but her heart and soul too, and she could see what she had to do to comfort her.

She knew just how to hold her, what to say, how to kiss her. Lauren sighs and squeezes her eyes shut once more. She knew. Lauren shakes her head, trying to take push away every thought that reminded her about how Camila knew how to comfort her, or knew what to say or do. She doesn’t want to think about it. Instead, she’d rather pretend that Camila was still here. Or that she would at least come back to her soon. Though she knows that’s far from the truth, she just can’t accept it yet.