AFTER. (lxc version)

Chapter 49.

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"What kind of game are you trying to play here?" Lauren yells and moves towards me. She is angry, beyond angry.

"I am not playing a game Lauren! Didn't you see how much he wanted you to come over? He was trying to reach out to you and you were so disrespectful!" I'm not sure why I'm yelling back at her but I refuse to stand here while she shouts at me.

"Reach out to me? Are you fucking kidding me? Maybe he should have reached out to me when I was a kid, instead of abandoning his family!" The vein in her neck is strained under her skin.

"Stop cussing at me! Maybe he is trying to make up for lost time! People make mistakes Lauren, and he obviously cares about you. He has that room for you at his house, full of clothes just in case you ever decide to come over" I remind her and she shudders with anger.

"You don't know shit about him Camila! He lives in a fucking mansion with his new family while my mom works her ass off working fifty hours a week to pay her bills! So don't try to lecture me, mind your own damn business," she snaps and gets in the car.

"Fine Lauren! I will mind my own business but I'm going tonight whether you go or not." I say equally as harsh and climb into her car. So much for our argument free day. I knew the idea was not plausible but I had hoped it could be.

"No you're not!" She grabs her door handle and slams the door closed. If I had known accepting her father's invitation would lead to this I wouldn't have done it, but Lauren needs to understand that I will not be yelled at and told what to do. That's one redeeming quality I give my mother credit for, she showed me exactly how not to be treated by another people.

"You have no say in what I do and in case you didn't notice, I was invited. Maybe I should see if Normani wants to join me?" I'm completely aware that I'm being childish and mentioning Normani is a sure way to get Lauren to overreact, like now. It's obvious that I've pushed her too far when Lauren jerks the steering wheel and pulls onto the shoulder on the busy road.

"What did you just say?" The dirt and dust is flying all over her white car.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Pulling off the road like this!" I'm just as angry as she is by this point. Being around her makes me insane, I'm sure of it.

"What the hell is wrong with you is the question! You tell my dad I will go to his house for dinner, then you have the audacity to mention bringing Normani?"

"Oh yeah sorry. I forgot your cool friends don't know that Ally is your step sister and you're afraid they will find out?" I taunt her.

"She is not my step sister for one, and two you know that isn't why I don't want Normani there," her voice is much lower now, laced with anger.

Through my own anger, that ridiculous bubble of hope inflates again at Lauren's jealousy. I know it's more of a competition thing for her than actually caring whether I'm with someone else but it still makes my stomach flutter all the same. Even my common sense is imparied by Lauren.

"Well if you won't go with me, I will have to invite her" I say, faking an innocent smile. I would never actually invite Normani to Lauren's father's house but she doesn't need to know that.

"Camila, I really don't want to go. I don't want to sit around with my dad's perfect family. I avoid them for a reason." She sighs and I detect a hint of the vulnerability that she is a master at hiding.

"Well I don't want to force you to go if it will hurt you, but I would really like if you could come with me. I am going either way. He invited me and the look on his face was too much to turn down, I'm sorry." My voice is soft now as I try to diffuse the situation. Lauren and I have gone from eating yogurt to screaming at each other and back to calm again. My head is spinning, it has been since I met her.