Replacing Them (Camren)

9.

CAMILA

"How was school Camila?" Michael asks as we have dinner.

It was just the four of us as per usual with Lauren in her room doing whatever she does. 

I nodded finishing off my food. "It was actually really good" 

"Yeah, everyone loves going there" Michael replies. 

Maybe Lauren went there when she actually went to school. She has to have gone to school. She was such a mystery to me, I wanted to know everything about her. 

"I made some friends and they asked if I wanted to go to Texas this weekend." I looked up at Mum hopeful she would say yes, but her facial expression told me her answer. 

"Mila, I'm happy you've made friends but you only just met them" 

I wasn't too disappointed to be honest, I felt the same discomfort as she did "I understand, don't worry about it" 

No one spoke for a good few minutes after that.

"What about you Sofia, how was school?" Michael turned to Sofia. 

Michael was sweet, he made us feel welcome and he was always trying with us. I thought he would have thought we were just extra baggage with Mum but he's making us feel at home, unlike his daughter. 

"It was okay. This one girl Katie stole my pen and she didn't give it back" 

I couldn't help but laugh, if this is the types of things that make her day less okay she was going to suffer when she grows up. "Sorry" I mumbled.

I looked up and and saw Lauren entering the kitchen. I could just about see her over the kitchen counter. She rummaged through the fridge spotting what she wanted she closed it again headed back upstairs. 

My eyes followed her until she was out of sight. Everyone else on the table was still discussing Sofia's day at school whilst my mind trailed off to Lauren. I thought about her at least once a day, about how she's so sad and so closed off. How she was going to tell me something outside of her door the other day but Sofia interrupted. How I am so intrigued by her. How caring and loving she is even though she tries to hide it. If only she showed the real her. 

I finished my food and headed upstairs whilst the rest of them carried on their chat. I stopped outside Lauren's room contemplating knocking on her door. Why would I? Knock on the door and say what? 'Hi, I think you should open up a bit more'. No I wasn't going to do that. 

"Fuck off" I could hear Lauren say grumpily. 

That was it. I opened her door and burst through, making her jump slightly. I closed the door so no one downstairs would hear  "Wanna say that again?" I tested. 

"What?" she looked confused and annoyed. 

"Telling me to fuck off" 

She laughed then, the second time I've heard her laugh, at least this time I didn't know why.

"What's so funny?" 

"You" her laughter died down. "I wasn't telling you to fuck off" 

I began to get embarrassed. "Oh.. but then.." 

"I just got a message I didn't want that's all" She cut in explaining herself. She pointed at her phone at the end of her bed that she probably threw. I walked to her bed and grabbed her phone passing it to her. 

She took it and neither of us looked at each other. I felt weird. I don't know how else to explain it, like I felt weird, my body didn't feel normal and I didn't know why.