Never Let Me Go (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 5: Fly High, Angel

Trigger Warning: Brief mention of self-harm

As much as her stomach was churning, Camila knew the last thing Lauren needed was someone who was going to judge her, and make a big deal of it. She chose her words carefully. "If you ever find that there's enough pressure on you that would drive you to want to mark your body, then you need to come to me and I'll make sure you understand how irrelevant it is, I don't want you to have to talk yourself out of it alone ever again."

Lauren tilted her head to the side slightly. "Wait, that's it? No sappy comment on how you couldn't stand waking up in a world without my face in it? How I'm super beautiful and one of a kind, and you couldn't live without me?"

Camila laughed softly. "The thought never crossed my mind because I know it could never be reality."

It could never be reality.

***

It was an hour and a half wait alone in the office. Lucas took the time to blow through most of his homework, leaving only the questions that he knew his mothers could answer for him without complaining that he didn't give it a fair shot. Once finished, the boy leaned back in the large desk chair and took a long sip from a carton of orange juice.

He had been instructed to ignore all calls and not touch any of the papers that were scattered around the room, not that there was much of a mess. Lucas knew very well that Camila was the neat half of the family, always tidying and organizing papers and books in the most unnecessary fashion possible. Lauren however, preferred to leave things wherever she could, including clothing, which had scarred the nine year old more than once.

Peering around the room, the boy's gaze landed on a tall bookshelf that stood from floor to ceiling and was covered in large dusty books and a series of picture frames. Getting out of the chair, Lucas left his homework where it was to take a look, scanning the shelves.

There were pictures of the whole family, past and present photos of him and his brother, as well as some shots that he was unfamiliar with. There was a picture of his mother and Aunt Sofi when they were younger, standing in the snow and smiling in front of a massive igloo-like creation. Picking the frame up and studying the contents, Lucas couldn't help but smile.

He moved to another picture, one of his parents and their roommates early in university. Each of the five members of the group were there, all of which were dressed head to toe in winter garb and standing in front of a large water fountain. From his numerous aunts, Lucas had heard an endless number of stories from these years, full of antics and crazy adventures that were had during their time together. Picking up the frame, the boy turned it over, noticing that there was something wedged in the back.

Naturally, he removed it. The item was a smooth slip of paper that was just a touch larger than a credit card and off-white in colour. Unfolding it, he grinned when he immediately recognized the polaroid that featured his parents in their younger years, poised in a selfie that in any other scenario, Lucas would have found terribly embarrassing. He turned it over once more, holding the polaroid at a distance and squinting, determined to make out the smudged, illegible writing on the back.

"The way to love." Lucas murmured, seemingly satisfied. "Cool."

Sliding the picture back into the reverse of the frame, he stretched up higher on his toes to scan the upper shelves. There were pictures of his grandparents, landscape shots of New York, Miami, Michigan and Cuba. Lucas couldn't help but wonder if someone in his family dappled in photography as he continued to scan the shelves. He found himself smiling again when he came across a framed photo of a German shepherd puppy, which he knew his mother's often referred to as their true first child.