How Are You True?

Chapter 29: Unlearning & Learning

A/N: This chapter is more light than dark, hope y'all like it. 😊

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May 17th, 2032
Monday, 2:42pm - Arcadia High School, Miami, FL

"I vow to honour us and the family we've created and will keep creating. I vow to cherish, love, and support you through thick and thin. To be there for you and to care for you in sickness and in health. I vow to support you at your best moments and to encourage you at your lowest. I vow to be faithful and give myself to you completely for now and always. I vow to be an amazing wife and mother and always work at it when I find myself lacking. I vow to stay up and tell you your favourite scary stories when you can't sleep, to improvise movie scenes that do not exist with you when you feel a sudden burst of inspiration, to protect you and unwelcome all of the spiders when you wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I vow to always work out our problems and never have you go to sleep angry. I vow to dance with you even long after the music stops, to let you stand under my umbrella, to listen to you rant like a child that has never been told to shut up before, to provide room for you to yell and be angry like there is when you're happy and jumping for joy. I vow to never be boring... But most importantly, I vow...I vow to never leave—to never walk away from us, Laur."

"I vow to dance with you even long after the music stops..."

"...But most importantly, I vow...I vow to never leave—to never walk away from us, Laur."

Some kind of mental and emotional torture to play those parts on loop over and over. To have a video of their ceremony in the palm of her hands, Camila's voice projected through her earphones, and the inability to stop rewinding as if it was going to change anything. She watched this video every day now since the separation, crying to it and sometimes staring blankly because there was nothing she could do about it. If something as beautiful and sacred as their promises and marriage could be broken, then love was overrated and to search for it again was a fat waste of time. Lauren meant what she said: Camila was and will always be her greatest love until she was six feet underground. Nobody else.

She leant against the wall by the lockerooms, next to the double doors that'd take her out to the track and soccer field, dressed in maroon shorts and a black and gold t-short, old cleats on her feet. The Arcadia Raiders had just finished their practice she assisted in and were readying themselves to fly out the door and do whatever the kids did nowadays after school. She was going out to play by herself to clear her head, but as she roamed the halls and passed the gymnasium, she got distracted by the nostalgia and somehow ended up right back on her phone, wanting to relive the happy times from her younger days stored in her gallery.

"Coach Jauregui!" one of the players shouted. Team captain, McKay. He spun his soccer ball between his hands, out of uniform, gym bag slung over his chest. There were two others behind him, center midfielder and winger: Evan and Tobias.

"Yo—I mean, what do you need?" Lauren took out her headphones and hurriedly put her phone into her bag.

"You going out there or nah? We'd like to watch you play."

"If that's okay with you, of course," said Evan.

"Just wanna pick up more skills for the championship game next Saturday. Know what I'm saying?" said Tobias, McKay agreeing with him. "See any tricks you got up your sleeve and jack that."

"Of course! Let's head out," Lauren warmly invited them to join her and held the door open, seeing to it that all three seniors got out before she let the door go.

They chatted animatedly behind her, discussing God knows what about God knows who—Lauren couldn't tell nor did she care to, it wasn't any of her business. When they crossed the track, the boys didn't claim a spot on the bleachers, they chose to sit on the grass by her things for a closer view. Lauren gave herself a sip of water to quench her insatiable thirst, no thanks to the high levels of heat coming from the sun today. She warned them to not go through her bag, and to pay close attention if they wanted to learn something. And of course, they listened. Like usual. No retorts, rebuttals, protests, just compliance for their idol they've heard all about from her Varisty reputation to her highly successful career and wealth status.