I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 25

 "Where's Lauren?" Camila murmured to Sofi, frowning slightly as she scanned the room, "And Daisy? Are they arguing somewhere."

"Oh, uh, no," Sofi said, "They, uh, went to get some ice."

Camila narrowed her eyes at her sister, "We have a whole freezer full of ice, Sofi, where are they?"

Sighing, Sofi shrugged, glancing down at her watch, "I don't know. She's been gone for almost two hours. I thought she'd be back by now."

"Wha-"

"Time for the cake!" Sinu excitedly said, taking both of her daughters by the hand and pulling them towards the middle of the room. Everyone gathered around while Lily and Carter carried in a massive cake between them, lit up with dozens of candles and beautifully decorated.

Camila plastered a bright smile on her face as everyone burst into a chorus of happy birthday, standing around her in a circle while she awkwardly waited for them to finish. She couldn't help but feel hurt though, and her eyes prickled with tears because Lauren wasn't there and neither was Daisy. Despite everything, they were a family, and it hurt Camila more than anything to think that they'd just left, for no reason, and hadn't come back. Apparently birthday parties weren't important when you were fighting, and Camila swallowed the lump in her throat, blinking quickly as the song came to an end and she blew out all of her candles. Smiling brightly as everyone clapped, she took the offered knife and smiled as Sofi took photos of her cutting the cake.

Sinu and Maggie took the cake back into the kitchen to cut it into slices for everyone, and Camila smiled and hugged her friends, chatting animatedly to Zayn, Gigi and Shawn, before turning to thank other people. She couldn't help but feel ridiculous though, wearing the dress she'd picked out specifically for Lauren, hoping she'd like it, and the red lipstick that Lauren usually favored, just to look different for her wife. And she wasn't even here. Camila felt even worse for not realizing sooner, but Lauren had wanted to keep her distance, so Camila had left her alone all night, not wanting to pester her by constantly popping up, because she didn't want them to argue later on. Now she wondered if maybe she'd made more of an effort, Lauren would've stayed.

"Camila," Ally said, looking panicked and pale as she pushed through the crowd, "There's police here, at the door. They're asking for you."

"Police?" Camila scoffed, "We have a whole estate, we can't have gotten a noise complaint. I doubt I'd even hear us from the third floor."

Shrugging helplessly, Ally gestured vaguely towards the door and Camila sighed, draining her drink and quickly brushing past guests, she walked out into the foyer, shivering slightly as cold air flooding in through the door hit her exposed arms and legs. "Officers, hi, how can I help you?" Camila politely asked.

"Roebuck? White? What're you doing where?" Maggie's voice rang out from behind Camila, "Shouldn't you be ... dealing with that problem you called me about?"

"Captain," the older officer said, giving Maggie a quick nod, "We, uh, we did, but ... we got a call, and, well, considering the personal nature to you, we thought we'd come ourselves. We weren't sure how long the hospital-" He took a deep breath, turning back to Camila, "Mrs. Cabello-Jauregui, we received a call at ten-nineteen this evening about an accident on Fifteenth and Richmond involving two passengers identified as a Mrs. Lauren Cabello-Jauregui and Miss Daisy Cabello-Jauregui."

"What," Camila hoarsely replied, feeling faint as the words registered in her mind.

"Both of them are currently being transported to Jacksonville City Hospital to be treated. I can't say what condition they're in, but you should be expecting a call from the hospital to inform you-"