It's A Long Ride Home, I'm Afraid. {Camren} ✔️

~{10}~

"Welcome to LA." Normani greeted. "Where dreams are continuously crushed every passing day."

We got picked up by Lauren's management after leaving the airport, and were now traveling by van to get to wherever the hell we were supposed to be staying.

I figured Lauren and I should wait till we're alone before we could have that talk we were promising to have on the plane.

Because honestly, I felt really out of place sitting in that van.

I'm not even kidding when I say there were like three security guards sitting in the back seats watching us like hawks every second of the ride despite the fact that we were in literally no danger whatsoever.

Lauren seemed to realize how tense I was, because she began talking as if she were trying to lighten the mood.

"It isn't so bad here." She told me. "Trust me, after a week or two, you'll get used to it and you'll start getting more comfortable."

"Lauren has been telling me so much about you." Normani said, ignoring the green eyed girl. "You seem like you have real talent, even though I only heard one of your songs. I just have this feeling about you. You're gonna be good."

She walked up to me and firmly placed her hands on my shoulders.

"I'd like to hear more of your original music as soon as possible. How much have you produced on your own?"

"Almost a whole album's worth of songs." I replied. "There's still a few I'm finishing up."

Normani smiled. "Okay, sounds good. I'll let you settle into your home with Lauren. I'd assume you'd probably like to be left alone to do that for the rest of the day."

Did she just say my home with Lauren?

I thought we were staying in some sort of hotel, but a home?

A house?

What the fuck?

"You're intelligent enough to get there by yourself, correct Lauren?" Normani mused. "Or do you need an escort?"

Lauren scoffed. "I know where I'm going. Where's my truck?"

"Outside the studio. That's where we're pulling into as we speak."

The van parked beside a huge building.

"See ya later, Mani." Lauren said as she rushed to leave the vehicle. "I'll text you when we get there."

"I'm not your mother Lauren, you don't need to text me." Normani shot back, but then seemed to reconsider a moment later.

"Actually, text me. I almost forgot about the whole paparazzi situation the last time I let you go on your own."

Lauren nodded. "My point exactly."

A part of me didn't wanna know what they were talking about.

I followed her out of the van after saying goodbye to Normani, and we were now on our way to the house.

Lauren led me to her truck which, as a lowly truck driver myself, was not what I expected at all.

It was a Jeep, but I wasn't entirely sure what model. It was obviously an older one though because it looked pretty scrappy.

I kinda expected her to own a nicer vehicle, but I wasn't complaining. I liked the fact that it wasn't a crazy expensive car.

"I know it's kinda dumb," Lauren began to say. "But this truck is special to me. You probably expected a nicer ride, but I just haven't and will maybe never bring myself to scrap it for something newer. It originally belonged to my dad. He got a new truck so he passed this one down to me."