I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 8

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Damn, that one was hard to do. Stirring up some bad memories and messing me up when I was getting better😬😳

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"Lauren," Clara said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she looked at her daughter, "I thought I'd make a stop and see Sinu on my way back from the meeting."

            The words sounded false, even to Lauren's ears, and she took a wary step further into the room, "Tell me what?"

            "Lauren," Camila quietly said, walking over to her and resting a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't-"

            "Tell me what?" Lauren asked again, her voice a little more strained as she started to panic slightly, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Clara slowly climbed to her feet, walking over to Lauren and giving her a small smile, "How about we talk on the porch?"

            Frowning, Lauren walked back down the hallway and opened the front door, stepping out into the cold and taking a seat on the swing. She looked up when Clara stepped out a moment later, a coat buttoned up, wringing her hands slightly as she walked over to the porch swing and sat down beside Lauen. The silence stretched on for a few moments, and Lauren could feel her heart racing in her chest as she waited for her mom to speak, but she didn't. Closing her eyes, Lauren let out a shaky breath, feeling her breathing hitch slightly. "Just say it," she quietly rasped, "You're sick, right? You have been for a while. What is it? Is it cancer? Parkinson's? Is it your heart?"

            "They ... they found a lump," Clara quietly told her, and Lauren climbed to her feet, feeling her heart stumble slightly as her breathing hitched.

            "No," She whimpered, her eyes filling with tears as she looked out at the darkness, the unspoken meaning behind Clara's words filling her with dread.

            "I'm going to be okay, Lauren. They said there's a good chance," Clara said. Letting out a sob, Lauren wrapped her arms around herself, her breathing increasing as she felt everything crumble. She'd been trying to balance Camila's slow spiral back into her old habits, work, and the children, and now this news left her reeling. "Lauren," Clara said from behind her, sitting on the porch swing, waiting for her daughter to process her words and sit back down.

            Instead, Lauren quickly ran down the front porch steps, taking off down the driveway and ignoring Clara shouting after her. She had never been much of a jogger, and usually complained when Camila dragged her along, but as she left the house behind, she found herself picking up speed until her lungs were burning, and she didn't feel the cold through her thin jumper - she hadn't put on a coat. By the time she stopped, the cold air was like a knife to her lungs every time she breathed, and the tracks left behind by her tears were starting to freeze slightly on her face. She knew where she was the moment she began to slow, her breath coming out in white puffs before her until she felt her stomach lurch and knew she was going to be sick. Bracing herself against the trunk of a tree, she was sick all over the tangled roots, and brushed her hair back with a shaking hand, before bursting into tears. Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she sank down to the ground, curling up at the base of the tree, making sure to avoid the vomit, and tried to suppress her sobs, not wanting to disturb the quiet of the night.

            She wasn't sure how long she was sat there, before headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the headstones scattered around the graveyard, and the door was opened. Hurried footsteps crunched the frozen grass as Sinu walked over to her, crouching down before her and reaching out to rub some warmth into Lauren's arms. She didn't realize that she was shivering, and her teeth chattered slightly as she hugged herself as tightly as possible. "Oh god, honey you're freezing," Sinu murmured, reaching out to uncurl Lauren's cold fingers and rub some warmth into them, "Come on, let's get you into the car."