Shake Your Skeleton (Camren)

Chapter 3

Lauren shut the front door, not even pausing as she jogged up the stairs with her shoes still on. Entering her semi-messy bedroom, Lauren unzipped her backpack and turned it upside down, giving it one quick shake to dump it's contents carelessly onto the floor. Taking her now empty backpack, the brunette snatched her laptop off her dresser, gently sheathing it into her bag along with her headphones. Next, Lauren grabbed her wallet, flipping it open and shuffling through her cards until she found her library card. Slipping it into her back pocket, the teenager zipped her backpack shut and hoisted it over her shoulder, exiting her room.

Stepping quickly down the stairs, Lauren headed straight to the door again. "I'm going to the library, mom," she called over her shoulder, opening the door.

"Wait Lauren, come here for a second!" her mother's voice responded hastily, sounding offput. The brunette paused mid-step half way out the door, hesitating before sighing and stepping back into the house. Closing the door again, Lauren turned and walked slowly into the living room. However, she was taken completely off guard as she entered the room, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw who was standing before her.

"Dad?" she asked disbelievingly, eyes widening. She hadn't seen him since he'd walked out on Clara, and to be honest she would have been perfectly fine never seeing him again.

"Lauren," Michael responded, nodding stiffly in greeting. Her mom was seated on the couch, looking uncomfortable with the situation as she gave a weak smile up at her daughter. Lauren glanced at her mom questioningly.

"Mom, what's he doing here?" she asked the woman on the couch. Michael spoke before Clara could respond.

"I tried calling you yesterday and you never called me back, again," he said in a reprimanding tone. Lauren narrowed her eyes.

"I was busy," she responded curtly. Michael hummed in response, rocking on his heels slightly.

"And what about the time before that? And the time before that?" he retaliated.

"Not that I have to explain myself to you, but did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want to talk to you?" Lauren responded coldly.

"Lauren..." Clara said warningly, trying to intervene. The two ignored her.

"I'm trying to fix things, Lauren," Michael said exasperatedly.

"There's nothing to fix," the brunette said. "You shut me out, I shut you out, right? Simple as that. There's nothing for you to fix ."

Michael sighed, trying to look at Lauren with apologetic eyes, but all the teenager could see was the cold uncaring eyes that had left her to fend for herself on the school grounds. "Look, I know that after I left you and Clara-"

"You and I both know that's not what this is about," Lauren snapped, interrupting him. Michael tightened his jaw, lowering his gaze to the ground. The air became more tense than it had been a few seconds ago, and the brunette, not giving her father a chance to respond, cast her mom one last glance before turning and walking away, leaving Michael to watch her exit with an unsettled look. Just like he did, she thought bittersweetly, closing the door behind her as she stepped out into the sunlight.

Shaking any further thoughts of her dad out of her head, Lauren took a deep breath, blinking quickly to stop any frustrated tears. Remembering the initial task she had planned, the teenager composed herself before beginning down the sidewalk in the direction of the library.

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The library wasn't very busy, much to Lauren's relief, and she was able to snatch the secluded table in the back corner. Setting her sweater on the table so no one tried to take her claimed spot, Lauren warily approached one of the workers. After a few seconds of hesitation, the brunette finally summed up the courage to speak.