Page 53 of Loving Lauren
Classes were starting back up at the community center after the summer break. Sierra felt jittery walking over there. It was good jittery, but still jittery.
She unlocked the art room and hit the lights. The fluorescent bulbs always took forever to stop flickering. While she waited, she started putting out supplies for everyone. Charcoal sticks, oil pastels, all the usual stuff. The familiar routine helped calm her nerves a little.
Her students started trickling in, already talking and laughing before they even sat down.
“Miss Sierra, you’re so tan!” one of the younger girls exclaimed.
“Okay, spill. Where have you been all summer?” asked another with a knowing smirk.
Sierra couldn’t help grinning. “Hawaii. Work assignment, but also a little vacation thrown in.”
She let their comments and questions wash over her like warm water, their laughter and gentle teasing providing a comfortingsoundtrack as they dove into today’s lesson. They focused on sketching, expressive line work, and light studies that had everyone’s hands stained with charcoal by the end. After days of feeling down, Sierra felt a little lighter.
After the last student packed up and left, she wiped down the counters and pulled out her phone to text Lauren:
Sierra:Just finished teaching. Are you feeling up for some company tonight?
No reply.
Sierra gathered her supplies and walked the familiar route home, phone clutched in her palm. Every few blocks, she checked the screen. Still nothing.
Just as she reached her front door, her phone finally lit up.
Lauren:Not feeling great today. I just wanna be alone right now.
A cold sweat prickled Sierra’s skin, and the floor seemed to tilt beneath her feet.
She typed back quickly:
Sierra:Let me bring you something. Soup, medicine, whatever you need. I want to help.
Lauren’s response came a few minutes later.
Lauren:I’ll be okay. I’m gonna try to sleep this off. I might feel better tomorrow.
Inside her apartment, Salem wound himself around her legs, meowing with obvious concern. She scooped up his chunky black form and pressed her face into his fur.
“Our Lauren’s not feeling well, buddy, and I don’t know what to do.”
He meowed again, a softer sound this time, and he just melted into her arms, as if he understood her perfectly.
“I know. I wish we could fix everything for them too.”
She tried watching TV, flipping through channels, watching nothing. Eventually, she gave up and started scrolling through her phone instead, getting lost in her camera roll from Hawaii. Ocean sunrises. The two of them in silly flower crowns. Lauren passed out on the couch with Salem curled under their arm like a spoiled stuffed animal. Sierra smiled before it slipped away.
She opened Lauren’s socials, scrolling slowly. Each post is bursting with color and light. Her heart ached, remembering the joy of just days ago.
The apartment felt way too quiet. Too empty. She cleaned the counters. Then cleaned them again. Dusted shelves she barely noticed most days.
After a while, she gave up. The silence was too much. She went to bed early, holding the half-heart keychain in her palm until her fingers ached.
By morning, she was at the counter with a mug of coffee gone cold, phone in hand, typing out another text.
Sierra:Hope you’re feeling better today. My bed feels empty without you. I love you.
Still nothing.
She tried to shake off the heavy feeling as she walked into the photo studio for work.
