I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 29

A few days passed, with Lauren stretched out on the sofa, doing paperwork while her bruises faded and her cuts healed, and broken bones slowly knitted themselves back together. It was a slow process that was more of a nuisance than anything else, and Lauren was growing impatient at the fact that she could barely move. The living room was doubling as a bedroom for Lauren and Daisy, as neither of them were in a position to walk or even be carried upstairs, and the room was feeling smaller and smaller with each passing day. The worst part was that with their broken arms, they couldn't even wheel themselves around downstairs, and Lauren envied the fact that Daisy got to go to school, while she was stuck at home all day.

It wasn't all bad though, and Camila stayed home every day with her, after dropping the girls to school and Clara to work, letting Lauren beat her at poker and chess, made chicken noodle soup for her, and kept up a constant stream of chatter while she wheeled Lauren between rooms and did chores. In some ways, it was exactly like it had been when Camila had come home from the hospital, except Lauren had been the one fussing, and she suspected that she liked being fussed over a lot more than Camila had. It was like they'd gone back to how everything had been, long before they'd fallen into this mess. She was worried about Camila though, because she ignored any of her own problems, choosing to focus on her family instead, and Lauren was worried that she'd have another relapse and slip back into the behaviors that had slowly been coming back. Not wanting to bring it up at the moment, Lauren let it go, keeping a watchful eye on her wife whenever they were together.

Camila seemed fine - better than fine - and Lauren was surprised at the exuberant look on her face when she walked into the living room a few nights later. Everyone was watching TV together, with Lily curled up beside Lauren and Clara sitting with Daisy propped up against her. Eyebrows rising slightly at the wide smile on Camila's face, Lauren gave her a questioning look. "You look happy."

"I quit my job," Camila brightly proclaimed.

"What?!" Lauren spluttered, while Clara whipped her head around to look at Camila.

"You can't quit, I'm your boss," Clara stubbornly told her, giving her a stern look, "I don't trust anyone else to run the company when I'm not there."

Laughing, Camila walked over to the sofa that Lauren and Lily were currently occupying, and sat down at their feet, giving her mother-in-law an apologetic look, "Sorry, Clara, but I told you I was going to do this."

Lauren frowned as she looked at Camila, "Wait, what? Why? You love your job."

"Yes, I do," Camila agreed, "But I love my family more, and there's a lot that needs to be fixed here. I know better than to ask you to give up your work, and I'd never ask you to begin with, so for the time being, I'm staying home."

Lauren sighed, gently nudging Lily to sit up before she awkwardly tried to prop herself up more, "Would anyone like some hot chocolate? Camila, how about we go and make some?"

"Can you please not fight," Daisy sighed, a look of concern on her face as she looked at them both. Clara stroked her dark hair, placing a kiss to the top of her head, and whispered something to her, and Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat as she gave her daughter a soft look. She'd been somewhat better over the past few days as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders, and Lauren and Camila had tentatively danced around her, making sure she was okay without being too confronting about it.

"We're not going to fight," Lauren reassured her, swallowing the lump in her throat at the fact that things had gotten so off track that her daughter was worried about them even talking, even though she and Camila rarely fought. "I just think your mom and I should talk about this alone. Now, extra marshmallows on your hot chocolate?"