Worthless (Camren)

"We're going to New York!"

"I'm in love with Camila."

Mike Jauregui sighed and set down his cup of coffee. "I know."

"You do?" Lauren's eyebrows shot halfway up her forehead.

"You two are not as subtle as you think you are."

"And you're not... mad?"

"Why, because you two have feelings for each other?" Lauren's dad looked at her levelly. "I would only be mad if you were taking advantage of Camila or disrespecting her in any way. Are you?"

Lauren scoffed. "Of course not."

"Are you sure? You aren't pressuring her into anything, are you?"

"Dad!"

"What? I did just find you two in bed together."

"Only because Camila knocked on my door in the middle of the night and asked for permission to stay so she wasn't alone. I couldn't have her sleep on the floor, come on."

"Oh." Her dad looked relieved. "So you're not... you know–"

Lauren's eyes widened. "No! Oh my god, Dad, who do you think I am?"

"A teenager?"

"We've only kissed a few times since Valentine's Day – and noteven last night. I can't believe you thought we were having sex! I would never pressure him, and I..." She blushed, but pushed through. "I am not nearly ready for that myself."

"Alright, I was just making sure." Mike picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

Lauren huffed.

Her dad put the cup down again with a sigh. "But I gotta admit, I'm not thrilled about you two."

Lauren nodded. "I know it's not ideal, considering the world we live in. But Dad, I can't help it. And you know of happy relationships between slaves and free people. Just look at Alejandro and Sara."

"Alejandro and Sara are older than you and Camila. And they met just two years before Alejandro gained his freedom; they didn't have ten years of hiding their relationship to look forward to. And even then, Sara's family pretty much disowned her when she announced they were getting married."

"You aren't going to disown me though, are you?"

Her dad looked at her wearily. "Come on, Lauren. Of course not. But you have to realize, it will make you unpopular in certain circles, sometimes extremely so. It can put both you and Camila in danger if you act as a couple in public. Even just rumors about it may cause you problems at school, or affect your future career. You've got to be aware of all that. And that's before taking Camila into consideration."

"What do you mean?" Lauren frowned.

"Well, how sure are you of your heart? You're eighteen, it's your first love, how certain are you that it will last?" The words were blunt, but Mike's face was kind. "Because there's much more at stake here than if you were dating a free girl, Lauren. Like it or not, Camila belongs to you. If things go south, she will still belong to you. What do you do then? Do you sell her, or give her away, because you can no longer stand to be close to her?" Her dad paused to let it sink in. "You don't only hold her heart in the palm of your hand. You hold her whole life. You must be sure you can handle it no matter what, because otherwise you can hurt her more than any of her previous owners did. If you're not sure, don't start this relationship. It's the responsible thing to do."

Lauren nodded solemnly. "Thanks, Dad." She stared at her untouched coffee for a moment, and then pushed it away. "Would you mind if I went back to my room? I don't want her to wake up alone."