I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 24

Lauren was standing in the corner of the room, a glass of water in hand as she lingered at the fringes of the party. She hadn't spoken to Camila since that morning, where they'd had a stiff conversation about canceling the party, with Camila in favor of it, and Lauren opposed to it. It had been planned for weeks, and it would've been too late to cancel it, and Camila had spent the rest of the day shut up in her photography room while Lauren directed the caterers and signed for deliveries. Even when they'd had their photos taken together, at Lily's insistence, they had smiled as warmly as usual, their arms around each other's waists while they didn't speak a word. It was better though because Daisy was there too, and that made them both feel a little less tense. Still, Lauren hated the tension between everyone, and it wasn't just between her and Camila, and them and Daisy; there was a tension in the way that Clara talked to them all, awkwardly trying to navigate the situation without interfering, while Lily was left on the outskirts, even though Lauren and Camila both separately made sure to check on her.

"Why are you lurking in the corner?" Maggie drawled as she sidled up next to Lauren, breaking her out of her self-pitying thoughts.

"I'm not lurking," Lauren bristled, clutching her glass in her hand as she scowled, her eyes trained on Camila. It was killing her to be standing on the opposite side of the room, not speaking to her wife, who she loved with her whole heart, and drinking water so that she wouldn't make things worse later on in the night with a clouded mind and a loose tongue. "She's doing this on purpose," Lauren muttered, a longing look on her face as she looked at Camila.

Maggie followed her line of sight, and frowned slightly, "What's she doing?"

Lauren looked at Camila, feeling her pulse race slightly as she took in the fitted red dress and the perfectly matching lipstick, the expensive necklace Lauren had bought her for Christmas framing the delicate curve of her neck perfectly. "The dress, the lipstick, the jewelry."

"And that's a bad thing? She looks nice," Maggie said, giving Lauren a confused look.

"She looks beautiful," Lauren earnestly told her, "And she's being a stubborn idiot and won't let us talk. Petty games are my thing, and she knows what she's doing dressing like that."

Laughing, Maggie clapped Lauren on the back, "Tough break, I guess. Perhaps she'll be a little happier with some wine in her system. Do you want me to get her drunk for you?"

Making a sound of disapproval, Lauren gave Maggie an exasperated look, "You're not very helpful, are you?"

"I mean, I just spend the last week looking after your kid, who definitely has your flair for the dramatics, so I wouldn't say I'm unhelpful," Maggie said, giving Lauren a wry smile.

Letting out a sharp laugh, Lauren took a sip of water, staring straight at Camila as she replied, "Oh yeah? Did she happen to tell you she's already enlisted in the army?" Maggie was silent as she took a sip of her scotch, and the bitter smile on Lauren's face dropped as Maggie's silence stretched on. Turning to look at her, Lauren blanched at the glint in Maggie's eyes and the slightly raised chin, as she looked at Lauren with unabashed confidence. "Tell me you didn't know," Lauren hoarsely told her, her voice dangerously low.

"Lauren," Maggie sighed, grimacing up at her.

"Maggie, I swear to fucking god, if you knew and you didn't tell us-"

"Sofi is fixing it," Maggie soothingly told her, "No one wanted to stress you out even more."

Lauren spluttered as she looked at her sister-in-law with anger, "No one? Who's no one?"