There's Always Tomorrow (Prequel to BWYDT)

Chapter 23

A/N: Okay. There will be two more chapters. This will end on chapter 25. I know that the last chapter threw a few of you off. I understand this fic started off with a different feel and has moved into something else, but the deeper emotions didn't really hit the couple until the end. The beginning was all about Lauren and her acceptance. The middle is about how they adjusted to each other once Lauren found herself and in a lot of ways no longer needed Adrianne. And the end is about how they were falling apart yet still managed to hold it together for another year.

Two chapters ago was the beginning of that last phase and this is the continuation of it. Reality hits here. There's no more sugar coating life or how the world and emotions work. This chapter shows what each is thinking and more importantly, we get into Lauren's head a bit. We finally get to see a good chunk of what she is feeling with only more of it to come in the next two chapters.

Thank you, everyone, who has stuck in there this long and to those of you who have liked or sent me messages. Two more chapters and you'll have your ending. For good or for bad. And for those of you who keep asking, yes after this ending we get started with the Sequel of BWYDT. Thanks for the interest. Enjoy!

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Time had passed relatively smoothly since the couple arrived in New York. They were kept busy, settling into a new apartment, a new city, and a new studio. But this time it was different. Lauren wasn't being guided and pulled away from Adrianne by her creative peers but was rather relying on her close relationship with the brunette to keep her head above water with her busy schedule. While Lauren was running on emotional autopilot, unable to decide what she thought or felt about anything she was doing in regards to work, home, Adrianne, Camila, when to sleep, when to work, Adrianne was feeling that she was finally where she needed to be.

She had partial control over their lives again, an equal and needed standing with the raven-haired, one that she had been lacking when they were in Chicago. To her, it was almost like old times when they had first met. Doing what came to them, never saying no to an opportunity, and just getting up to do what they needed to, enjoying every minute of their busy schedule because it was a moment of productivity, moving them towards something. Somewhere the couple's communications were crossed because that was not at all how Lauren was feeling. She needed something lifted from her before she crumbled under all of the pressure.

"Hey. How did the appointment go?" Lauren asked while she put her camera back into its bag as Adrianne stomped into the studio and straight to the office.

"Fine."

Adrianne wasn't in the mood but Lauren figured it was simply because of the cold she had that prevented her from getting a decent night sleep. Perhaps this was the opportunity to lighten both of their loads, eliminating any doubt once and for all. Or so Lauren told herself. She had tried to play her part and honestly tried to believe that Adrianne was right about her attachment to Camila steaming from lingering feelings that would never be returned. She may have become more confident in herself but she still didn't like looking like a fool, and with the long shot that was Camila Cabello, that's exactly what she would look like if she honestly thought it would be as simple as telling the woman how she felt and embracing each other as if nothing ever happened. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't ever fully ignore that feeling that something was missing. "Anything other than 'fine'?"

Adrianne dropped her purse on the desk and let out a long sigh as Lauren strolled into the office, wanting to know what the doctor had said like the attentive girlfriend she was. "It's just a cold. He gave me some antibiotics that I have to take for two weeks. So I'll be fine."

"Do you want me to cook tonight then?" The brunette arched an eyebrow and the raven-haired smiled widely. "I make a mean chicken noodle soup. I even take it out of the can."