Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Forty-Two

A/N: You guys! We got this story to #199 in Fanfiction now, which means that we're not in the 200's anymore! You're all so incredible! Thank you for all that you've done. <3

It's been a few weeks since Lauren last left her fiance and three best friends, and she couldn't help but wake up with a large smile on her face. Sure she was apart from the four most important people in her life, but everything had gone so well for her recently. Not only was she engaged to the love of her life, but Annabelle was going for her last doctor's appointment that day. It was that day that she found out if Annabelle was cancer free or not. And as for Camila's 'The Voice' endeavors, she and all of the girls were doing excellent. 

"Lauren! Lauren!" Annabelle calls her name while running up to her the second that she walks through the front door. She knew her house well enough to not bump into anything while she ran, which was common for any blind person who has lived in their house for some amount of time. Although, it would have been hilarious if it wasn't actually Lauren coming through the door, but she was the only one who would ever arrive at that time of day.

"Annabelle! Annabelle!" Lauren responds, embracing the young child when they meet. When the two pulled apart, Lauren began to question her about how her morning had gone. "How was your morning, sweetie? Did you have a nice breakfast?"

The little girl shook her head quickly, excited to hear about what the doctors had to say about her sickness. "My mom made me bacon, eggs, and toast with a side of orange juice! Also, I've found a really good audio book on my tablet! My mom found it for me and thought that I'd like it a lot."

"That's great, Annabelle! So how excited are you to hear back from your doctor? I can tell that you're pretty darn excited!" 

"I'm literally so excited, Lauren! I have a good feeling about what he's going to say! I've been feeling so much better lately, and I can really tell that I'll hear some good news today." The small girl bounced up and down, causing Lauren to giggle. Annabelle grabbed Lauren's hand, missing the first time, but getting it on the second, then tugged her along to the living room where they would spend most of their time until it was time to leave for the doctor's office. "Let's play a game, Lauren! Can we play Marco Polo without the water?"

This was a common game that the two played together. Since Annabelle was blind, it wasn't considered to be any harder for her than it would be for a person who could see since you had to have your eyes closed. Actually, Annabelle had the upper hand in the game, because she could sense the vibrations in the steps that Lauren took to get away from her. It never stopped fascinating Lauren how many things that a blind person could do that a person with vision couldn't. They gain some type of intelligence that was so hard to explain, and Lauren found out something new every single day like she had with Camila. 

"Of course we can play!" Lauren exclaimed. She was more than happy to see Annabelle's face light up at the sound of the answer. This caused Lauren to giggle to herself and smile from ear to ear. Honestly, this is what she lived for; to make people smile and to improve their lives for the better.

Annabelle started to yell, "Marco!"

"Polo!" Lauren would shout back. 

This process repeated a few times over, with Lauren struggling to find the little girl sometimes. She'd often bump into Annabelle's dressers and nightstands in the act of finding her, but she always managed to find her in the end. Annabelle never had a problem finding Lauren, since she knew her room well and she because she could feel Lauren's footsteps on the wooden floor.

"Annabelle? Lauren? It's time to head off to the doctor's office!" Susanne called from the entryway to Annabelle's room.

Lauren opened her eyes to see that she had actually walked herself all the way out to the hallway, causing her to laugh at herself. She was really bad at Marco Polo anyways. Annabelle clung to Lauren's hip as the three girls made their way out of the house and into the car. 

"I want Lauren to sit in the back with me!" Annabelle exclaimed.

Susanne turned to Lauren and asked, "Do you mind sitting with her? She really looks up to you, Lauren. You're literally her role model, you know."

Lauren nods with a smile, then climbs into the back seat next to Annabelle. On the ride to the office, they three talked about their plans if they were to find out that Annabelle was cancer free. They talked about all of the wonderful things that they would do for their young, blind daughter as well.

Annabelle's mother went on to explain the family's plans. "So if we find out that she's no longer sick, we're probably going to apply her for the operation that your fiance has gone through. We did kind of promise it to her, so it's not like we can't. But also, I think our time here in Miami has come to its end. Of course my mother and father live here, but I don't think that I should stay here for only them. My husband has been offered a huge job in Los Angeles, so if all goes well, that's where we're headed."

"Oh, really? Everyone seems to be going to Los Angeles lately. So if all goes well, I think I might actually go there too. That's where Camila and my three best friends are, so I think that I'll relocate myself too. Although, I don't know where I'd live. Houses there aren't cheap, and I need at least a two bedroom house where I could keep the twins. Staying at a hotel would cost far too much money," Lauren explained.

"Sounds like a tough situation. You must get pretty lonely without having them here with you."

Lauren sighed. "It's true that it does, but we are all living out our dreams. That's what really matters. It would be selfish to keep them with me where they can't be doing what they love to do."

This conversation went on until the three arrived at the doctor's office. As they exited the car and entered the building, nervousness overcame them all. They all expected good news, but they prepared for the worse news. The group entered the waiting room, and pondered over what they'd hear as they sat. An appointment that was supposed to occur right away ended up taking twenty minutes to process. The wait made them anxious, and they had no idea what was taking so long. Was something going wrong? Lauren always expected the worst in any situation, especially when Camila had her operation done.

Finally, the group was greeted by a friendly doctor who wore a bright smile on his face. "Come on it, guys! Lauren, you can come along too."

The three girls nodded, then led Annabelle into a room with four chairs set up around a desk. This was it, where he'd says the news to the group. Lauren's hands shook nervously, and she had no idea what to expect from the meeting. She hoped that Annabelle was going to be dubbed as cancer free, but again, she couldn't help but think of all of the things that could go wrong in the situation.

"So good news," the doctor began, causing a wave of relief to wash over the girls. "Annabelle is one-hundred perfect cancer free! I could have just told you out there, but I just need you to sign some papers." He slid a few papers over to Susanne, and she signed them sloppily. Usually she had a neat signature, but she was far too excited to care about penmanship. Plus, it was difficult write neatly with a bouncy little girl right next to her. 

Soon enough, the girls were out of there and were on their way home. As Susanne drove home, she excitedly called up her husband to talk about the news with him. While she did this, Annabelle and Lauren talked excitedly until the car finally stopped back at the house. The group ran inside, where Susanne made them all a PB&J sandwich to celebrate. It wasn't much, but all of that excitement really made them all hungry.

During the meal, Susanne struck a conversation with Lauren that she didn't expect. "So, Lauren. We just so happened to buy a house with two extra rooms. You know how California is. How would you like to move in with us in Los Angeles? Rent is free as long as you take care of Annabelle for us while we're out and about."

Lauren's jaw dropped at the offer. How could she say no?