Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

A/N: Sorry for not updating these past few days, but I've finally cranked out a chapter! Also, I've made a Twitter, where I'll be posting updates in regards to my books. You can follow my Twitter at KrissyJeanne24, and I'll follow you back! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Tomorrow. That was the thought to get Lauren through the day. It was the day before Camila could open her eyes for the first time, and that was all she could think about. But that wasn't all Lauren had to look forward to. Today was the first day that she worked for Annabelle and her family again. And she couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

Lauren had been in a rut for the past few days, so it was a relief to be able to get out of the house to do her job. Every day since she had moved in with her family, she had woken up, got dressed, and stayed home with her kids. Nothing changed, and it was driving Lauren nuts. But now things were going to change in her life for the better. She knew this as soon as she had woken up realizing that she wasn't rolling out of bed just to stay home again.

It was noon when Lauren had arrived at Annabelle's, and she just couldn't wait to see her favorite little girl again. Lauren hopped out of her car, then jogged up to the front door excitedly. After knocking a few times, Annabelle's mother Susanne came to the door quickly. The blonde woman smiled sweetly at Lauren, and she was very evidently excited to see her as well. 

"Lauren!" Susanne exclaimed. "It's nice to see you again! Come right on in, and I'll bring you to Annabelle."

Lauren nodded and followed Susanne, who closed the door just as soon as she came in, then was led into the living room of the house. In the room, Annabelle laid on the floor on top of her stomach while listening to an audio book of some children's novel that Lauren couldn't recognize. 

"Hey, Annabelle. I have a surprise for you," her mother said. "Could you pause the audio book, sweetie?"

"Sure, mom." Annabelle paused the book, then turned her head in her mother's general direction. "What's the surprise?"

Susanne replied, "Lauren is here to spend some time with you!"

The face that Annabelle possessed went from bored to excited in a split second, which made Lauren smile. Annabelle got up onto her feet quickly and held her arms out in the direction of Lauren and her mother. Lauren wrapped her arms around the small, adorable girl, and hugged her tight for at least a minute. The two girls had been separated for a while, so it was only natural that the two held out a long hug. When the two pulled apart, Lauren led the tiny girl to the couch where she would talk about Annabelle's problem with her. 

The night before, Annabelle's parents had called Lauren to ask her of something specific. They wanted her to ask their daughter why she had given up on fighting her cancer. Of course they knew why, but they never knew what they could do to help. So what they really wanted from Lauren was to have her convince their daughter to continue her nearly-finished battle. The problem with her parents doing the convincing is that Annabelle wouldn't want to hear anything from them. She needed a third party to give her a reason why she should want to live. That was Lauren's purpose.

"Lauren! I've missed you so much!" Annabelle exclaimed. 

Lauren replied, "I've missed you too, Annabelle! How have you been lately? Your parents say that you're trying to give up on your battle. I don't think that's the right thing to do."

"Is that why you're here, Lauren?" The little girl frowned, feeling defeated. "Not that I'm sad about it, it's just that they won't leave me alone."

"To be fair, Annabelle. Your parents and I love you. You have a lot to live for, just so you know." Lauren attempted to convince her. 

Annabelle shook her head in disbelief. "I don't think so."

Lauren frowned at the sound of how sad the little girl was. It broke her heart to hear this coming directly from Annabelle. Of course it was sad to hear it from her parents, but to hear it from a little girl was even more heartbreaking. "Do you want to tell me why? You might be surprised by how much you are actually needed in this world. There just might be something that you've forgotten to count. You're a very smart girl for your age, so I'm sure you'll find a way to be happy."

The little girl responded, "I can't see anything, Lauren. Every day, I wake up and open my eyes hoping that I'll finally be able to see light. All I see is darkness, and it's scary. This sickness that I have right now... I keep thinking that it's been given to me on purpose. I've been sad for my whole life because I can't see a single thing, so I just assume that this sickness is a way out."

"Annabelle?" Lauren questioned. "Where did you come up with that?"

"A book. All I do is listen to audio books. They are one of the few things apart from you and my family that makes me happy. I'm really glad that people were smart enough to create something to help people like me read." Annabelle explained to Lauren, causing her to drop her jaw in shock. 

"There is something that can help you, Annabelle." Lauren said to the depressed girl.

Annabelle shook her head and replied, "No there isn't. You don't have to lie to try to make me feel better."

"Oh, but there is. The person that I'm dating is blind, Annabelle. They recently got some type of operation that could actually make them see," Lauren said.

Annabelle's eyes widened. "Really? Did it work? I could really use an operation like that one. It'd solve everything!"

"Well, don't you get too ahead of yourself there. My partner needed a week to let her eyes heal before she could open them. And that week happens to end tomorrow. But let me make you a deal, Annabelle. If you can battle and win against your illness, I will pay for you to be able to see. There is also the matter of certain things that you need for it to happen, but trust me that if you win this, I will do this for you. If you needed a reason to want to stay alive, let this be it." Lauren spoke.

"I'll do it!" Annabelle cheered. "Are you and your partner going to get married?"

The question caught Lauren off guard. "I mean... eventually. But for now, her family doesn't seem to like me too much. Plus, we haven't even known each other for a year yet. I think it would be way too soon. Don't you?" She felt silly asking a little girl that question, since this was more of an adult conversation. But she knew that Annabelle was smarter than most girls around her age.

"I think that if you love someone, you should marry them. If you feel like you want to be with that person forever, you should let them know. Love is something that should be left between two people. And I don't think that her family has a say in what you two do. If she's eighteen or older, she can do whatever she wants! She's really lucky to have someone like you, Lauren. So I really think that you should tell her how you feel and marry her!" Annabelle said to Lauren, who was blushing insanely.

Annabelle's mother jumped in to the conversation. "Although she's young, she does make a good point, Lauren. What your girlfriend's family thinks shouldn't matter. It's what you think that truly matters. It's not really our place to say, but I also think that you should let her know how you feel. I'm also not trying to make you propose to her, but there are many relationships that get married within their first year of knowing each other that are still together. Personally, I know a pair of people who were engaged after just one month of knowing each other. They are now married and happier than ever. You wanna know how? Because they love each other with every fiber in their being, and they don't let anyone tell them what is right and what is wrong."

"Susanne... Annabelle... Thank you. You've both taught me some things about love that I never actually understood before." Lauren thanked the two of them. She turned her head back in Annabelle's direction. "So do we have a deal here, Annabelle? You fight, you win, you get to see?"

"Mhm!" Annabelle hummed with a bright smile. "I'll never give up this fight now! For the second time in my life, Lauren, you've made me realize what I was put on this world for!"

Lauren smiled, proud of what she had done. She had learned valuable things about love, while pushing a little girl to fight for her life. It wasn't until that moment that Lauren finally felt like she was making a difference in the world with her profession. Apart from that, Lauren knew of something important that she had to do.