For the rest of that day, my two friends did their best to cheer me up and in their eyes, I believe they actually thought that they were succeeding. Deep down though, I knew that that was not the case at all because I still felt like complete shit until the minute they walked out of the door in the evening. Although that was the point where everything seemed to head south even more if that was possible at this point. I was left alone with my thoughts once more and that was the one thing that I dreaded most about the whole subject. My mind loved to conjure up all kinds of scenarios that made me feel like she when it was completely out of my control on what I truly wanted to believe. After the two had walked out of the door, I leaned back against the same wooden barrier as I sat on the floor, sulking. Who knows how long I spent doing that but I eventually forced myself to at least get into bed which was where I currently was, well into the night though.
It was past midnight and the girls left at like six so it wasn't even them keeping me up. The only thing I could blame at this point was myself and that's exactly what I was doing now; blaming myself for feeling like this. If I hadn't done what I did then I wouldn't be here, but it had to be done at the same time. I knew that when I would return to work the next day... or later... that I would look and feel like complete shit. I could only roll my eyes at the thought as I turned on my side from my back. Throughout the whole night I couldn't find one comfortable position that would allow me to get an ounce of decent sleep and before I knew it, my alarm was blaring through my room signaling that I needed to get up for the day. I groaned out loud while throwing the blankets off of my frame but I didn't get out of bed just yet. I wanted to make myself worse by sulking some more before I had to get into the shower.
It had been over ten minutes before I forced myself to get up and get myself ready for the day that I would have to endure. My morning routine took longer than usual but I still wasn't late just yet, and either way I didn't have any appointments this early in the morning on a Monday. Usually I would be busy on Monday's since people have been waiting over the weekend to see a doctor but today was going to be slow, so that was going to make it that much better for myself if I could be any more sarcastic than I was being right now. I dressed myself in light blue button up shirt and black slacks with some white dress shoes. I slipped on my watch and put on some deodorant and spray before leaving my room with a sigh. I grabbed my keys and bag sulkily before sliding my coat over my shoulders and locking the door behind me as I exited the apartment. All of my movements felt way too mechanical but I dealt with the feeling while I slid into my car and started it up to pull away from the curb.
I knew I needed some kind of food and coffee so I made my way towards the nearest Starbucks to place in my order. As I was sitting in line waiting to pay, I felt my phone ringing in my pocket which caused me to take it out. My eyebrows furrowed in response as soon as I saw Clara's name flash across my screen. I hesitantly slid my thumb across the bottom of the screen and lifted the phone up to my ear. "Hello?" I answered, my voice betraying my confusion and hesitance. It was my turn at the window to pay so I handed the cashier my card before turning my attention back to my phone. The only thing I could hear for a couple seconds was some frantic rustling and hushed voices, clearly coming from the other Jauregui family members. I was slightly distracted by the cashier handing my card back to me before I was handed my order. I quickly pulled away from the window and into a parking spot that was deeper into the parking lot. "Clara?" I called out after another couple of seconds. That seemed to snap her out of her daze because I could hear her frantic voice soon after I called her.
"Y/N! Oh my god, thank heavens you picked up! I don't know what to do! We can't find her and she's not in her room or anywhere around the house or-" I had to cut off the older woman since she was rambling too fast for me to understand anything. I instructed her to slow down and repeat herself so that I could follow what she was trying to tell me. I could feel my heart rate pick up in response to the unsettling feeling that was quickly arising. I didn't like the sound of what Clara was trying to say and I almost didn't want to stay on the line long enough to do so. If I didn't hear it then it wasn't happening. "Lauren is missing Y/N. She wasn't there when I went to wake her up this morning and we can't find her anywhere near the house. I'm freaking out and I don't know what to do so that's why I called you." Clara began to let out sobs the longer she talked until she was in a full out cry. My heart dropped to my stomach as the words that I already knew were coming, came out from Clara's mouth. I cursed to myself before rubbing my hand over my mouth several times as if the older woman could hear me.
"Thank you for calling me Clara. I will do my best to look for her but I really have to get to work to do that. I can try to come up with a plan of some kind to try to help but I'm in the middle of a parking lot and I could get in a lot of trouble if I'm late." I pulled out of the parking spot at that thought and started making my way towards the office in which I worked at like I had told Lauren's mother. The drive to the office wasn't long at all but I remained on the line with Clara as I tried to calm her down from her hysterics. I pulled into my usual parking spot as no one else was here just yet. I had to open the office but as soon as I saw the figure sat by the door, I sighed into the phone. "Clara, there's no reason to panic anymore. She's here at the office, was here when I pulled up. I'll get her back to you." I rubbed my forehead in frustration and I could hear Clara telling her family what was going on and she sounded much more relieved than before.
"Oh god, thank you so much Y/N. Please let me know what's going on if we need to pick her up. She obviously went there for a reason and if you're okay with it, she obviously needs to tell you something. If it goes south, I'll come pick her up." The older woman spoke, her voice much happier now. We bid our goodbye's which left me to hang up the phone and face Lauren with another sigh. I took a couple steps closer until I could hear the quiet sobs coming from the younger girl which caused me to stop in front of her. I slowly dropped in a squatting position before Lauren who didn't seem to notice that someone was now in front of her. My heart clenched at the wretched sobs that escaped her lips as she covered her face with her hands. I reached out to hesitantly touch her arm so as not to scare the shit out of her. When I had finally come in contact with the smaller girl, she gasped and pulled her hands away from her face with a start, looking for what caused her worry. Her green eyes searched mine for a split second before the raven haired beauty launched herself into my arms which effectively knocked the both of us down to the ground, me landing on my back with a groan.
Lauren's sobbing seemed to intensify as she stuffed her face into my neck where her tears landed on my skin. I pushed myself into a seated position but Lauren still remained straddling my lap where we were smack in front of the office building; thank god there was no one else arriving just yet or else this would be a very awkward sight to walk up on. The fact that Lauren was in my arms again though washed away all my worries because I didn't realize how much I actually missed this feeling. I allowed myself to snuggle my own way closer to the smaller girl so that my chin rested on top on her shoulder. I was glad to hear that Lauren's cries began to lessen until they were mere sniffles. I continued to rub her back in hopes that it would calm her down some until she was able to face me again. That took a couple more minutes than I originally thought but eventually I was met by my favorite pair of eyes. Lauren sniffled a couple more times before she wiped at the underside of her nose with one hand as the other wiped at her eyes to rid of the tear stains.
"Why are you crying, Lauren?" I asked even though I had a pretty good idea of the answer. I just didn't really know how I was supposed to begin this conversation with her when neither of us seemed exactly ready for it. The emerald eyed girl shook her head before leaning against my chest while I ran my fingers through her hair. "You have to tell me about it so I can make it better." I tried to barter but it seemed like Lauren wasn't having any of it. So, with a sigh, I moved to stand up so that we didn't have to be sitting outside in the cold. Lauren was watching my every move as I unlocked the office doors to allow us inside, the shorter girl clinging onto my arm that was unoccupied. I led the emerald eyed beauty to my personal office where I set down my belongings for the day. I motioned for Lauren to sit down in the single chair in front of my desk as I came to stand in front of her, leaning against my desk in an almost sitting position. Lauren rubbed at her eyes and I could bet money that it was because she was tired in addition to all the crying she must have endured. "Why did you come here Lauren? Your mom is worried sick about you."
