I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 3

Lauren pulled up outside Sofi and Maggie's house and put the car in park, climbing out and walking up the garden path. As she raised a hand to knock, the door was yanked open, and Lauren came face to face with Maggie, who was in the middle of tucking in her shirt.

            "Captain," Lauren mocked her, giving her a lazy salute.

            "Oh look, my favorite asshole," Maggie drily replied, before turning to look inside, "I'll see you tonight." There was a moment of silence, and Maggie rolled her eyes. "Sofi! I'm leaving."

            The distant sound of Sofi replying drifted towards them, and Lauren smiled slightly, arching an eyebrow as she let herself into the house, watching as Maggie walked to the car parked in the driveway. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

            "I'm not stupid enough to get stabbed," Maggie smirked as she climbed into the front seat, and Lauren could see her laugh as she flipped Maggie off. Quietly laughing, Lauren stepped inside and shut the door behind her, stepping past the messy pile of shoes left near the door, alongside the abandoned school bags.

            As she passed the bottom of the stairs, Sofi came out from the kitchen, looking flustered as she carried a basket of laundry under one arm. Seeing the mess of shoes near the door, Sofi sighed. "These bloody kids. Carter, will you please come and put your shoes away."

            "Need a hand?" Lauren asked, taking the basket off Sofi, who gave her a grateful smile, and followed after her. She leaned against the dryer as Sofi shoved handfuls of clothes into the washing machine. "Is Carter still staying over tomorrow night?"

            "Yeah, if that's okay. Me and Mags are both pulling graveyard shifts," Sofi sighed.

            "No problem," Lauren assured her, walking back through the house as Sofi made her way back to the kitchen. All three girls went to the same private school - the best one in Jacksonville, which Sofi and Maggie had been hesitant to agree to when Camila and Lauren had offered to pay the hefty tuition as a gift - and they often carpooled and stayed at each other's houses to work around everyone's busy schedules. Lauren liked how close the three girls were, even if Daisy and Lily were prone to arguing a lot, which Sofi and Camila assured her was very normal, and it made her heart feel warm to know that she finally had a normal family.

            The sound of three sets of feet running downstairs reached their ears, and three teenagers appeared in the doorway, with Lily running over to Lauren to give her a hug. "Are you staying for a cup of coffee?" Sofi asked, setting the pot on.

            "No, I'd better get home and start dinner," Lauren said, "Thanks for picking the girls up. Come on you two, get your stuff."

            Daisy and Lily walked out to the hallway, and Carter jumped up on the kitchen counters, taking an apple from the fruit bowl and taking a bite out of it. "Hey, is your homework done?" Sofi asked, prodding her daughter off the unit, and shooing her over to the table, while Lauren patiently listened to the sounds of her girls putting their shoes on as she chatted to Sofi.

            "Mom," Daisy impatiently called, walking back into the kitchen and gesturing expectantly towards the door. Rolling her eyes, Lauren fished her keys out of her bag and moved towards the door. "Thanks, Aunt Sofi," Daisy said, giving her an angelic smile, and Lily darted up the hallway to poke her head in and echo her thanks.

            Shooing them both down the hallway, Lauren looked back over her shoulder and smiled at Sofi, "Thanks, Sofi. I'll see you tomorrow, Carter."

            Seeing herself out, Lauren unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat, waiting as both girls climbed in and buckled themselves in, before she turned the key in the ignition. Pulling out onto the road, Lauren set off towards the outer limits of the city, turning the radio down as she looked at Lily in the rearview mirror, and Daisy sat in the passenger seat. "So, how was school?"