Back to You

chapter four

Lauren watched as the teenager ran off as she buried her face into her palms before she looked at the view that Cindy was just looking at.

"The poor girl," she shook her head, looking down at her phone.

Another person stepped out into the dark.

"I was requested to come up and check if there were people up here, up here is off limits," the boy said respectfully.

"I'm sorry, I'll go now," Lauren stepped on something, she looked at her heel but found nothing there. She turned around and headed back to the party.

The bellboy walked toward the light switch to double check if there was anyone else on the rooftop. He walked toward the place where Lauren and Cindy were and saw nothing.

As he turned around to leave something flashed, there he found Cindy's locket and picked it up.

///

Camila looked at her daughter with pity.

"She didn't want me," Cindy shrugged.

"How do you know that?" Camila looked at her daughter.

"She said she didn't have a daughter. It was as if she didn't know me..." Cindy told her and the rest of the crowd in the room.

"Lauren doesn't know about you, baby..." Camila confessed as Cindy shot her mother a confused look.

Lauren and Camila sat there talking about their future together.

"Do you want to marry me?" Camila asked shyly.

"Of course I do, baby just not now."

"When?" Camila bit her lip.

"A year, maybe two from now."

"Oh... What about kids?"

"Not for another ten years," Lauren shook her head.

"Are you being serious?"

"Of course I am, I've got too much going for me to settle down and have a family. You've got to understand I have dreams too."

"I do..." Camila hugged her and stood up, "I need to do something."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"It's a secret," Camila tried to hide her tears.

"Okay..." Lauren kissed her on the forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too," Camila walked out of the room.

Lauren didn't understand why she was acting so strange.

"That's why she doesn't know about you," Camila said sadly, "she wasn't ready to settle down and have a family. She had so many dreams and I just couldn't take that away from her. She didn't want a child and I wanted to keep you, so I left."

"Mom," Cindy walked over to her mom and wrapped her arms around her as Camila wiped her tears.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that what I was doing was right."

"No, mom. You are an amazing mother," Cindy smiled at her.

"Yeah, Chancho. And an amazing woman to be able to walk away and have a child and I don't know anyone who's raised a child better than you have."

"And you're right, I've known Lauren since we were babies. She wouldn't have wanted the baby then at least," Normani pointed out.

"It's okay, I know she didn't want me. You should've seen her eyes when I told her," Cindy shook her head, "they were full of anger and frustration. It was horrible."