Imaginary Lover // Camren Fanfiction

Chapter 1

WORDS COUNT: 3752, prepare yourself

Lauren's heart hammered loudly against her chest. She banged the front door behind her and paced the hallway in uneven strides. With the phone pressed hard between her ear and shoulder, she balanced herself against the hall table and pulled off her broken-heeled shoe. Another bit of chaos to thank her sister for.

She stopped pacing long enough to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her greens eyes widened with horror. Rarely did she allow herself to look so bedraggled. So out of control. Strands of her dark hair were fleeing from the tight French plait and mascara nestled in the lines under her eyes. Her lipstick had faded, leaving only her plum-colored lip-liner as a frame, and her foundation clung to the dry patches of her olive skin. Gone was her usually pristine look. This caused her heart to beat faster, the panic to accelerate.

Breathe, Lauren, just breathe, she told herself. She ran a trembling hand over her tousled hair, forcing down the strays. She wiped the mascara away with a wet finger, pursed her lips together, smoothed down her suit jacket, and cleared her throat. It was merely a momentary lapse of concen- tration on her part, that was all. Not to happen again. She transferred the phone to her left ear and noticed the impression of her Claddagh earring against her neck; such was the pressure of her shoulder's grip on the phone against her skin.

Finally someone answered and Lauren turned her back on the mirror to stand to attention. Back to business.

"Hello, Miami Garda Station."

Lauren winced as she recognized the voice on the phone. "Hi, Ashley, Lauren here again. Taylor's gone off with the car," she paused, "again."

There was a gentle sigh on the other end of the phone. "How long ago, Lauren?"

Lauren sat down on the bottom stair and settled down for the usual line of questioning. She closed her eyes, only meaning to rest them briefly, but at the relief of blocking everything she kept them closed. "Just five minutes ago."

"Right. Did she say where she was going?"
"The moon," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?" Ashley asked.

"You heard me. She said she was going to the moon," Lauren said firmly.

"Apparently people will understand her there."
"The moon," Ashley repeated.

"Yes," Lauren replied, feeling irritated. "You could perhaps start looking for her on the motorway. I would imagine that if you were heading to the moon that would be the quickest way to get there, wouldn't you? Although I'm not entirely sure which exit she would take. Either way, I'd check the motor—"

"Relax, Lauren; you know I have to ask."

"I know." Lauren tried to calm herself again. She was missing an important meeting right now. Her nephew Luke's fill-in babysitter had fled. Lauren could hardly blame the girl. Her nephew's mother, Lauren's younger sister Taylor, was unmanageable and the frantic young babysitter had called Lauren in a panic. Lauren had to drop everything and come home.

Luke's nanny, Ariana, had left for the three months of traveling she had threatened Lauren with for the past six years. She was, however, surprised that Ariana, apart from the current trip to Australia, was still turning up to work every day. Six years she had been helping Lauren to raise Luke, six years of drama, and still after all her years of loyalty, Lauren  expected a phone call or her letter of resignation practically every day. Being Luke's nanny came with a lot of baggage. Then again, so did being Luke's adoptive parent.

"Lauren, are you still there?"

"Yes." Her eyes shot open. She was losing concentration. "Sorry, what did you say?"