Grace ↠ (Camren)

lauren's parents must really love her

Lauren was particularly nervous on Monday afternoon. The school day was ending, and Camila Cabello was coming to her house to hopefully complete their group project. She had made it clear that her own house was not an option for the project, but she couldn't really avoid the current situation because on Sunday night, via text, Camila had informed her that her house was being treated for an enormous wasp nest that had been discovered in the vents of her house.

Lauren's household had been quiet for the most part, her father still on a three-week business trip and her mother being oh-so-generous as to leave her daughter alone for two whole consecutive days. So that coupled with the hour Lauren and Camila had shared on Saturday night, she had laid off of her. They had actually settled into a comfortable routine with their project, finishing most of the research portion on Saturday night and texting throughout Sunday as they split the work between the two of them. It almost felt like things were normal, but neither of the girls threatened to make any efforts towards being more than partners for a project. They strictly talked about the assignment, but it was better than their previous situation, nonetheless.

Lauren's nerves were still racing at the thought of Camila coming to her house. Her first concern was obviously her daughter. Grace would have to sit in on their study session once again as her mother would be out, probably out with her friends, trying to put on a persona about her happy-go-lucky family. In reality, the Jauregui family was the furthest thing from the word happy. They didn't even touch it. Clara, being her usual self, warned Lauren not to do any "sinful actions" with the girl she would be bringing over, and Lauren rolled her eyes. Lauren was partly happy that her daughter would be with her instead of being with her grandmother, but she knew that bringing Grace around other people was risky, She hated acting like her baby wasn't her baby. It was an exhausting game of mental acrobatics.

Lauren had been completely alone in raising her daughter thus far and it got to the teenage mother more than she would ever like to admit. Her parents only halfway tolerated the baby, if you could call relocating Grace and Lauren's room on the other side of the mansion so that they wouldn't have to put up with her crying as tolerating her. And the baby's father wasn't even a topic that she could bare to touch on. She had nobody.

When Lauren brought Grace home from the hospital, she had to take an Uber to her home as she was unable to drive because she had just given birth and was advised not to operate a vehicle for ten days. When her daughter asked her about the day she was brought home from the hospital, she wouldn't have a sweet story of the baby's father in the driver's seat going 20 under the speed limit, Lauren in the back with Grace, ensuring that she would be okay. She would have to tell her that she had to take a cab because her grandparents were unwilling and they had nobody else.

There was nobody to share her new-mother fears as she had given the baby her first bath, scared of the newborn slipping in the water.

There was nobody to celebrate with when her daughter had first learned to crawl.

There was nobody to have a mini freak-out attack when Grace had first learned to hold her bottle by herself.

Lauren was alone. And she desperately craved to have someone to share the love she had for her daughter with.

Aside from her fears surrounding her daughter, Lauren's home environment was just not plausible to bring someone else into. Although things had been calm for a few days, Lauren wasn't naïve to think that things would magically be okay. There would always be a day where it would come crashing down again. To the naked eye, their house looked like the American Dream come true. And Lauren guessed that it some ways, it might be. The exterior of the house screamed a rich family that had everything they wanted and needed and that there was no way in hell they could be anything but happy. But the broken family that those walls cradled told a completely different story and although neither of her parents would be home, it made Lauren nauseous to think of letting another human in. She prayed to God or whoever was up there that the household would stay silent at least for the duration of the girl's visit. Hearing the final bell ring, Lauren exited her classroom before she went to her locker to gather her history materials. She then exited the school to make it on time to Grace's daycare before they both went home to prepare for Camila's 5:00 arrival.

Camila had arrived at Lauren's neighborhood fifteen minutes early. She decided to park a street away to let the remaining time pass, not wanting to seem too eager to the older girl. Camila was nervous. Never in a million years did she think she would be at her bully's house. And here she was, counting down the minutes until she would drive one more street over, park in Lauren's driveway, knock on her door, and enter her house. She was honestly terrified. When the clock hit a few minutes after 5:00, Camila decided to head to Lauren's house as to appear on time but not overly eager at the same time. She hoped it would work. When she stepped out of her car and arrived at the correct house, Camila took in the large building.

The modern home was crystal white with small touches of stone here and there and it was lined with ceiling to floor length mirrors. The vibrant green grass was freshly mowed and as Camila took in a deep breath to calm herself, she was comforted by its smell. Stones lined the pathway to the gigantic door and as Camila walked along the path, she noticed small handprints forever pressed into the stones. Starting at age one, Lauren's handprints were documented as she grew in size each year. They went on to age thirteen where they stopped.

Camila smile gently. Lauren's parents must really love her.

When she finally arrived at the door, she knocked lightly before it swung open and revealed Lauren Jauregui in all her glory. Camila was still cautious in Lauren's presence because she honestly never knew which version of her to expect. But Lauren's eyes were inviting, so she smiled and let herself in. Lauren had already informed Camila that she would be watching her baby sister for the evening, and the younger girl had told Lauren that it was okay. And Camila was being honest. Because of how good Lauren was with her sister, she knew that there was a soft soul under her tough exterior, some part that was capable of caring for and loving another human. Camila longed to know what had caused her to put her mask on in the first place.

Lauren led Camila to her large living room, and the brown eyed girl first noticed the aforementioned infant on a blanket laid out on the floor. She was joined by various stuffed animals and toys and she seemed content. "I thought maybe we could study in the living room today. She'll be happy on the floor for a while. She's a good baby. So if we buckle down we should be able to get this last chunk of our project done and call it a day." Camila smiled gently and nodded in agreement with Lauren. "What's her name?" she said in reference to the baby, attempting to make small conversation with the girl. "Grace Rhiannon," Lauren replied proudly, donning a large smile on her face. Camila could have sworn it went straight to her eyes. Grinning, she replied to Lauren. "That's beautiful."

Yeah, maybe things really were getting better.

Both girls settled into a steady study session, only being interrupted a few times as Lauren had to attend to Grace, feeding the girl a bottle once and changing her diaper. They had made good progress, and both girls were thankful. The first semester of their junior year was winding down as they entered the second week of November, and both girls were swamped with assignments and deadlines.

Knocking the two girls out of their study session, though, was the loud sound of the front door slamming open.

"Lauren, where are you and that bastard baby of yours?"

Michael Jauregui had returned home early from his business trip. Where a newfound softness had been discovered in Lauren's eyes, all Camila could see now was the fire and fury that made her shrink down in fear. And the words the man said had shocked her into oblivion.

A/N

Oops.

- K