A Change Of Directions (Camren)

Chapter 37: Home is where the heart is

So maybe I had lied one year ago when I had said I had gotten over my absent fathers, but now, when these words came out of my mouth, I didn't feel like lying anymore. Not completely a lie, at least.

I didn't know how, but it suddenly got easier to think and talk about my parents after Jake had this little angry outburst about them. I wasn't trying to push their memory away anymore, I was trying to sort them out and let myself deal with them. I had avoided this for far too long.

Lauren at first hadn't believed me when I had told her that I was okay again, but she didn't argue, seeing as this was a sensitive topic.

I didn't want to dwell on the past, I wanted to make the most of the present. And right now, I was with my wonderful girlfriend in this wonderful city.

So as soon as we got on our feet the next day, we met up with Jake in a Starbucks for breakfast, talking about our plans for the day. We let Lauren choose what she wanted to visit and do, and she could hardly make a decision without wanting to see ten sights at the same time. We had to calm her down and remind her that she had almost two weeks' time.

"Then I want to see Times Square first."

So we took a cab to Times Square which probably wasn't a very smart idea because the cabbie was one crazy driver. We feared for our lives when he reenacted scenes of a car racing movie, throwing us around in his backseat everytime he flew around a corner. He sometimes even drove on the wrong lane when the cars on his own side were too slow for him, getting honked all the way. How he dared to drive like this on the full streets of New York was beyond me.

By the time we finally got to get out, we all but jumped out of the car, heads first and Jake was so green in the face that he carelessly threw a couple of bills into the cab driver's hand, leaving an undeserved large tip.

"We're taking the subway next time," Jake mumbled, wiping away the sweat drops on his forehead.

But Lauren had already forgotten the horror car ride as soon as she had looked up and realized where she was. Her eyes widening, she turned on her heels a full 360 to take in everything that Times Square had to offer her.

Jake and I only watched her in amusement, following her every move with our grinning eyes.

"Camila?" Jake lowly said beside me, not looking away from Lauren who was taking photos of her surrounding with her phone.

"Yeah?" I smiled contently.

"Have you ever wondered if karma exists?"

Surprised, I took my eyes off Lauren and turned them to Jake instead who didn't answer my astounded gaze. He kept looking at my girlfriend with a thoughtful expression.

"Where's that question coming from?"

Jake ran a slow hand through his ruffled hair, then he slowly said, "Because I think it does exist if I look at your life."

Huh. Jake had always been the one to sprout out random questions before answering them himself.

"Enlighten me."

"I mean - I look at Lauren and it's so obvious that she's this one-in-a-million girl, a unique and gorgeous pearl among the plastic ones in Lima. And then I think about how you got so lucky to get a hold of this precious pearl, and it's leading me back to your fathers."

Involuntarily, my shoulders tensed at the mention of my fathers, but I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing my muscles again.

"Think about it," Jake said, his voice rising a bit, "think about the reason why you flew to Lima in the first place. Samantha suddenly wanted to get to know you and pleaded your fathers to let you live with her for a year. And we both know you could've stayed here if you really wanted, but you kind of wanted to see her, too, so you left."