Where love leads us (Sequel of BWYDT)

Chapter 32

Lauren got no warning as the door flew open and Michelle crashed against her in a tight hug. The older raven-haired laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders. "Normally I would say I miss you too but I feel there's more to this hug than just that."

Michelle pulled away and growled before inviting her birth mother in.

"That bad?"

"You have no idea. We had a good moment in there but then..." Michelle made an show of an explosion with her hands. "The last few days have been hell."

Lauren winced but followed Michelle into the house. It was the first time she had ever been inside. It was a nice house, set up a lot like the Cabello household minus the office and extra bedroom. Living room was on the right, dining room on the left with the kitchen behind it.

"How was the cruise?" The younger woman plopped down on the couch roughly, her right arm resting along the back of the sofa.

Lauren sat down in the matching armchair next to her. "It was good. Helpful. I realized that I have some shortcomings with the kids that I need to step up my game on, and Camila's book... is allowing us to have a better understanding of one another's path to our present selves. She has been sharing and I've been trying to do the same. It's not something we've really done before."

Michelle furrowed her brow. "Really? With as long as you two have been together?"

"It was different when we first got together. We knew each others past and enjoyed the women we had become, so the in between just sort of got lost. Little bits of it popped up here and there. Though they were normally my tattoo inspired stories and very few stories from her."

"Those tattoos..." the teenager smiled in interest. "I still need to know about them. I heard you have, like, nine now."

Lauren stopped and thought, mentally surveying her body and counted them. "Eight. Camila said no more after number six but... my body, my choice." The teenager smiled warmly. She had missed Lauren a lot. Their relationship was just so much less stressful. "So, did you talk to your mom?"

Michelle slouched slightly and tried diverting her eyes but she couldn't look away for long, knowing Lauren was staring right at her. "Sort of. She didn't really allow for much communication on unfavorable topics at first." Lauren gave her a knowing look. If Michelle had really wanted to, she would have forced the conversation to happen. "I did get to mention photography though. And we did talk about a few other things."

"Good." The photographer exclaimed with a smile, trying to remain supportive and motivating.

"I believe her response to photography was something about you not taking long to sway me to that path."

Lauren tried to chose her tone of voice carefully. She didn't want any irritation with Ariana to seep through but she didn't want to come off as a dismissal of Michelle either. "Just remember, you can't control her reaction. You are doing this for you in an attempt to strengthen your relationship with her."

"Our relationship is just fine." Michelle's eyes snapped to Ariana who emerged from the foyer. The older woman deposited the grocery bags on the floor and shut the front door roughly, never breaking her stare from the seated pair.

Lauren slowly stood up to face her. "I wasn't implying that it was weak. I assure you."

"You assure me? Do you know that before I let my daughter go to New York, under your care, we had no issues. We talked about everything and worked through any misunderstandings we may have had. But ever since she has come back, it's been nothing but attitude and defiance."