Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 45

A/N: This gave me a headache, lol. Hope you guys like it x

"I'm so sorry," Camila said hurriedly, wrapping her own arms around Lauren and holding her tightly, her small fingers grasping on to the back of the top she was wearing desperately, dropping her phone on the floor in the process. "I was such an idiot," she continued in a rush. "I don't know what I was thinking, I mean, I wasn't thinking, not really...and, well, that was the problem," she rambled, her chin resting atop Lauren's shoulder. "I was being selfish and stubborn," she went on. "I should have at least text you to tell you that I was ok, or, I don't know, got a message to you through Dinah, but, I couldn't...I was so scared...I thought that if I spoke to you or asked about you then, well, I don't know, I just...I didn't think I could deal with the thought of you hating me after what I'd done." She admitted. "I thought that it was better to just pretend," she told her and Lauren leant back for a moment to look at Camila as she continued speaking, her girlfriend's eyes looking past Lauren at the wall over her shoulder. "I thought that if I just pretended that we were still alright then everything would be ok," she said truthfully, "but, we weren't...and then I thought about how you were doing and if you were upset, but...I didn't

really want to know, not really, because if you were, you know, upset...then, I would feel guilty and I didn't want to feel guilty, but, I didn't want you to be upset and..." Lauren dipped her head forward, pushing her lips against Camila's forcefully, silencing her almost immediately. "No wait," Camila breathed, pulling her head back a little in order to look at Lauren, after the initial surprise at the kiss had worn off. "You can't just kiss me like nothing's happened Lauren, like the last six weeks didn't..." she started, but Lauren hushed her again, crashing her soft lips against her girlfriends, craving the feel of them, the way they tasted, the way that they made her feel like her whole stomach was alive with a small army of butterflies. "Lauren," Camila protested as she pulled her head back again and Lauren laughed, wrapping her arms around Camila's torso and giving her a hug once more. "Lauren, what the hell is going..." Normani started, trailing off as she walked in to find her friend still embracing Camila, her arms reluctant to let the small girl go for fear of losing her again. "On?" she finished in disbelief, stopping in her tracks for a moment just as Lauren stepped back slightly from Camila to look in her direction. "Oh my God," Normani said, a huge smile appearing on her face at the sight of Camila a few feet away from her. "Camila? What are you doing here?" she asked surprised, walking over to where the two of them stood. "I'm just...I came to see Lauren," Camila answered and Normani walked over and pulled the smaller girl into a warm hug, nudging Lauren out of the way slightly in the

process. "It's so good to see you," Normani told her truthfully, placing both her hands on Camila's upper arms when they'd parted and pushing her back a little to study her better. "You look really well." She noted. "I don't know what it is but...." She trailed off, noticing the pointed look she was getting from Lauren. "You know what?" Normani asked, brushing one of Camila's arms with her hand for a minute, "I forgot that there's somewhere else that I need to be," she said and Camila frowned in confusion. "Wait, didn't you just get here though?" Camila asked puzzled and Normani turned to look at Lauren briefly. "Yes, but, I only came over because Lauren owes me some money and I need it for tonight," she lied. "So..."she said, turning back to Lauren again and holding out her hand, "if I could just get it so that I can be on my way," she told the brunette meaningfully. Lauren shook her head subtly at Normani and reached in to her jeans pocket, depositing her phone inside and pulling out a crumpled ten dollar bill which she promptly handed to her friend. Normani frowned at the money in her hand for a moment before glancing back up at Lauren again. "I believe I loaned you a twenty." She commented dryly and Lauren reached in to her pocket again pulling out two five dollar bills which she quickly stacked on top of the previous one. "Great," Normani said happily, shoving the money in to her purse. "Well, I should be going." She said returning her attention to Camila. "I've got a