Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 49

A/N: Meh, here you go guys....I hope you like it. On a side note, I've had some interesting asks about TaT. What do people think? Does Lauren get enough attention as a character? I personally thought we got a lot of insight in to her feelings but maybe I'll wrong. Anyway, let me know x

"Camz, that's because it is a puppy." Lauren returned, chuckling lightly to herself and placing a hand on Camila's upper arm, smiling at her affectionately. "Yeah, but, who's puppy is it?" Camila asked, her eyes turning towards Lauren and away from the small canine where they'd been fixed. "Is it like, a relatives' of yours or something?" she queried seriously, apparently not understanding that it was in fact now

hers. "I mean, it's so cute," Camila voiced, turning her attention back to the tiny animal that was sat on its hind legs watching her, its leash hooked loosely beneath the leg of a patio chair in order to stop it from escaping. Camila crouched down in front of the animal, patting it on the head tenderly, a small smile appearing on her lips as it started to lick the back of her hand. "I can't believe that you'd borrow it for the day for me." She finished and Lauren quirked her head, finally realising Camila's misunderstanding. "Ugh no," Lauren said, crouching down beside the smaller girl and lifting up the dog's name tag so that Camila could see it, the word 'Jasper' clearly printed on the small shiny gold disc where it hung from the collar around his neck. "I didn't borrow him Camz," Lauren informed her, watching as Camila mouthed the word on the tag, a look of comprehension crossing her features. "He's yours." "Wh...wait, what?!" Camila replied, turning to look at her girlfriend in complete shock. "You bought me a puppy? Are you crazy?" she asked, glancing back down at the petite dog again, her features softening almost instantly upon seeing it. She shook her head for a moment, trying not to let herself get distracted by the small creature. "You can't buy me a puppy," Camila told her, trying to be practical about the situation, no matter how adorable Jasper was, or how much she wanted to keep him. "They won't let me keep him here and my parents can't look after him..." "Camz," Lauren said, laughing at her girlfriend's response. "Trust me, it's all taken care of I promise." "Lauren, it's such a nice gesture,

really it is and he's so cute. I mean, look at him," she prompted, turning her attention back to Jasper, her smile widening as her eyes fell across the small brown bundle who was lowering himself onto the patio, resting his head on his paws tiredly. "I mean, he's so cute, like, he's adorable and I really, really love that you would do something like this for me but, I can't keep him, not when I'm still in rehab. Plus, it's too much," Camila shared with her. "Dogs aren't cheap Lauren, how could you even afford him?" "Ok," Lauren said, placing a hand on the side of Camila's neck to quiet her. "Perhaps I went about this the wrong way," she recognised. "I probably should have explained a few things before I just went in to the big reveal." She acknowledged and Camila watched her expectantly as Lauren lowered herself on to the patio and crossed her legs beneath her. Camila mirrored Lauren's position, her hand gently stroking the small dog beside her subconsciously as she waited for her girlfriend's explanation. "So," she began, reaching for Camila's other hand with her own and holding it in her grasp, her thumb tracing small circles on the back of it as she spoke. "As you know, you kind of just unexpectedly reappeared back in my life again after six weeks apart and I hadn't given any thought to what I'd get you for Valentine's day because, well, if I'm being truthful, I didn't even know whether I could still think of you as my girlfriend until a few days ago, yet alone whether we'd

be exchanging gifts." She enlightened Camila. "Then we kind of resolved everything between us and I wanted to get you something meaningful, something that I knew you wanted and would love as much as I love you," she divulged. "I couldn't think of anything," she admitted. "My mind was drawing a complete blank and then the day of the deposition, I was sitting at lunch and I remembered how happy you'd been when we'd seen the dog outside Jimmy's," she continued. "I thought about the conversation we'd had, how you said that you'd always wanted one and that your parents had agreed that you could perhaps have one when you were older..." "Did you think I was hinting?" Camila interceded, evidently distressed by the thought. "I wasn't, I promise! God, please tell me you didn't buy me him because..." "Hey," Lauren said, one hand reaching up to cup the side of Camila's cheek and stopping her midsentence. "I didn't think you were hinting at all." She reassured her girlfriend. "It's just that you looked so happy when you were outside coddling it and I thought that maybe it'd be good for you to have something to take care of and look after for a change." She revealed. "I thought that it'd be a nice role reversal for you, because I know how much you hate feeling like everyone is always having to look out for you, how you sometimes feel useless and inadequate, even though you're not." She added pointedly. "Plus," she continued, "It'll be nice for you too, you know, to have some company when you're feeling low or alone, to have something that loves you unconditionally and that