right there in the details | camren (au)

16

XLVIII.

When you wake up, Lauren is looking at you.

She's tracing her fingers softly over the skin of your stomach and her gaze is still a little sleepy, but there's something else in her eyes, too, something that immediately sharpens your senses.

"Hey," you say, shifting a little. "How are you feeling?"

Lauren bites her lip, looking away from you when she mumbles, "I'm really scared about going to the hospital."

You slowly nod and stay quiet, not really knowing what to say to that. Instead, you interlace your fingers through hers and pull her a little closer into you. For a moment you just lie next to each other, not saying anything.

Then you breathe out, "Ok - let's get up. I'll make you breakfast."

You dress silently. Neither your parents nor your sister are awake yet, so you let Lauren sit in the kitchen, while you quickly prepare some breakfast for the both of you.

On the way to the hospital, you notice that Lauren is getting tenser with every passing minute. She keeps clenching and unclenching her hands and you can feel her shutting herself off for you again, as she stares out of the window, falling into the depths of her own thoughts. You don't try to push through it, though. Not today. Today you just need to be there for her in any way you can.

Your chest feels a little tight when you walk into the hospital entrance area. Lauren states her mother's name at the desk and then you're both sent up to the seventh floor. As soon as you step out of the elevator, the same nurse that talked to Lauren yesterday approaches you.

"Miss Jauregui," she says. "Good morning, thank you for coming. Will you follow me please? Doctor Trenton would like to talk to you about your mother's situation for a moment."

You halt a little, before turning to Lauren. "Are you - Laur, do you want me to..."

She nods, before you can even finish your question. "Yes, please."

You both follow the nurse into a small office. Behind the desk is another woman. She shakes both your hands, introducing herself, before gesturing at you to take a seat in front of her.

"First of all," she says, turning to Lauren. "I'd like to inform you that your mother is doing very well. She's conscious and we've been able to move her into a regular hospital room, since her situation is no longer critical. She's definitely doing a lot better than yesterday."

Lauren exhales heavily in relief.

"However," Doctor Trenton continues, the expression on her face shifting. "We'd like to discuss something with you."

You can feel Lauren tense beside you and you quickly grab her hand in yours. She lets you, but doesn't take her eyes off the doctor when she says, "I already know what you're going to say."

Doctor Trenton raises her eyebrows. "You do?"

Lauren nods. "She needs to be admitted into a mental health institution."

The woman seems a little taken aback. "Well," she says, "Yes, actually. We'd like to discuss those possibilities with you. The hospital offers excellent placements for people like your mother, people with bipolar-"

"It's not going to work," Lauren interrupts, a little roughly. "I'm sorry. We've tried that many times before already, but it never works. She doesn't want to. She doesn't take it seriously enough."

Doctor Trenton nods. "I understand. It's a difficult situation." She bites her lip and then folds her hands into each other. "Perhaps you can try to talk about this to your mother, though."