I Built This Home For Me, For You

Chapter 28

She stayed in the hospital for another week, finding herself in and out of a drug-induced haze of lucid moments and hallucinations that seemed like a dream. Lauren couldn't remember some of it, and she was confused a lot of the time, especially when people brought up things they'd previously spoken about with her, or she repeated things they'd already talked about. Camila was there every day though, that much she could remember. She wheeled her up and down the hallway with a nurse, she brought books and read them aloud, and brought all of Lauren's favorite foods, feeding them to her while she filled her in on what she'd missed. Her whole family took turns coming, along with Dinah and Gayle and Lauren even recalled Ally showing up at one point, never giving her a moment alone. In some ways, it was a relief to always have Camila there, because she'd missed her so much, but with the pain medication and the broken bones, Lauren was irritable and had little patience for people chatting nonstop.

After dozens of tests and a bill of clean health, she was finally released, and she felt relieved to be going home. It felt like a long time since she'd been home, and she stared up at the big house while Camila got her wheelchair out, noticing the temporary ramp that had been constructed for hers and Daisy's use. Turning to look at Camila, Lauren gave her a warm smile, holding her heavy arms up for Camila to unbuckle her seatbelt and lift her out of the car. It took some struggling, but Camila had been doing the same with Daisy, who was half a foot taller, so they managed to get Lauren into the wheelchair without too much trouble, and then she was being wheeled up the ramp, an apprehensive look on her face as if she thought she was going to start rolling backward. Camila pushed her all the way up though, stepping around her to open the door, and wheeled her over the threshold.

"Girls, Clara, guess who's home," Camila called out, dumping the duffel bag filled with Lauren's stuff onto the floor before she took off her shoes and coat.

The sound of footsteps running reached their ears and Lauren smiled as Lily came racing out of the living room, looking unkempt in her wrinkled school uniform, but bright-eyed and happier than she'd looked in a while as she took in the sight of Lauren. "Mom!" she exclaimed, running over to bend down and hug Lauren, who awkwardly raised her lumpy casts to hug her back, "You didn't tell us you were coming home today."

"I didn't know until this morning," Lauren said, giving her a loving smile as she beckoned her close, pressing a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Good day at school?"

"Yeah, I got ninety-eight on my math test," Lily proudly told her.

Giving her a proud look, Lauren's eyebrows rose slightly, "Ninety-eight? Well you know what that means ..."

"Ice-cream and a present?" Lily said, an expectant look on her face. Lauren nodded, laughing at the excited look on her face, feeling a rush of love for her daughter and the simple act of making her happy. She tried not to take anything for granted, but lately she hadn't taken much time to appreciate the small things either, and it felt good to make her daughter feel proud of herself.

"Well done, I'm so proud of you," Camila said, kissing her on the cheek, "We might have to have our ice-cream some other time though. I don't think your mom will be able to come just yet."

Smugly arching an eyebrow in a way that was so much like Lauren it was almost shocking, Lily smiled, "Don't worry, I got grandma to take me to the store after school and I got all of our favorites so we can eat it right here."

Lauren laughed, shaking her head at her daughter's well thought out plan, and glanced at the top of the stairs as a flicker of movement caught her eye. Her mom was standing there, looking pale and thin, yawning as she tied a dressing gown, and Lauren smiled softly, a flicker of worry welling up inside. "Hi mom, how're you feeling?"