Can't have you.
24.
Once at the hotel, Lauren checked in and slumped against the closet bed. She pulled out her phone and quickly text Claire the room number so she could just come up. A few moments later she got a reply from Claire telling her that she was on her way to the hotel. Lauren smiled, even though Claire and Lauren hadn’t spoke much when Lauren moved to LA, Claire was still always there for her.
Lauren moved slowly off of the bed and walked to the balcony. She opened the doors and let the cool evening air flow through the hotel room. It had been a while since she had been able to appreciate the amazing air that flowed though the doors. As Lauren leant against the door frame, images of Nick and the incident before she made him leave her alone at Emily’s apartment flowed through her mind. Shaking her head as if to rid of the images, Lauren sighed. Just as she did, the door knocked. Lauren stood straight, flattened her clothes and then skipped to the door.
As she swung open the door, Lauren’s plastered on smile slipped and her breath caught in her throat. Nick stood there, smiling while he wrung his hands together.
“Hi.” He said nervously.
“Hi.” Lauren replied, her nervous tone matching Nicks.
“Can I come in please? We need to talk about before.”
“Yeah sure, Claire’s coming back soon so when she comes you have to leave though.”
“Ive already spoke to them, Joe stopped off at home to grab some things. There hanging out for a bit, to give us time to talk.”
“Oh, ok right.”
“Im sorry.” Nick blurted, obviously not thinking about what he was saying.
“Don’t be. Im sorry for the way I acted, I promised I wouldn’t react and I did.” Lauren said, looking at her suddenly very interesting shoes.
“I am though. I blew it again. I obviously don’t deserve you.” Nick said sadly.
“No, your wrong there. I don’t deserve you. Im stupid and every time I think I can win you back I screw things up.” Lauren said, suddenly very angry.
“Listen to us, we sound like total idiots.” Nick laughed.
“I know. Nick im sorry, please forgive me.” Lauren said, she looked like she was going to cry.
“Im sorry too. Ill forgive you if you forgive me.” Nick said, looking Lauren in her eyes as his hand reached out to stroke her cheek.
Lauren didn’t flinch or move away, she moved her hand though and placed it on top of Nick’s hoping she could hold it there forever.
“Ok.” Lauren said smiling.
“Lauren, would you stay here? Well obviously you would need to go to England and sort things out but would you come back and live here?” Nick asked, hope filling his eyes as he took in every aspect about Lauren’s face.
“I don’t know Nick. All there is here now is Emily and we aren’t even how we used to be. And you, but I don’t have you.” Lauren said sadly.
“Would you stay if you had me?” Nick said, hope still filling his eyes.
“Yes.” Lauren replied quickly.
“Well then, would you take me back?”
“The question is would you take me back, Nick?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Lauren smiled.
As Lauren said her thanks, Nick moved steadily and slowly towards Lauren until their lips met. He kissed her softly but passionately. Lauren smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Nick’s neck, hoping that she could keep him there with her forever. Nick’s arms soon snaked around Lauren’s waist, hoping that by placing them there they would entangle Lauren and make her stay with him forever.
When the 2 pulled apart, Lauren smiled at Nick before moving her head to his chest and her arms around his waist, hoping to make him stay with her for a long time. They stayed like that for a while until there was a knock on the door, knowing it would be Claire, Lauren pulled out of Nick’s grasp reluctantly and went to the door. She opened it to see Joe and Claire stood, they had their fingers entwined, smiles placed firmly on both their faces.
“I think Claire needs to tell me something.” Lauren sung, also having something to tell Claire.
“Yes she does.” Claire sung back.
“Come on, get in so you can tell me then.” Lauren said, grabbing Claire’s and Joe’s arms and dragging them into the room.
Lauren waltzed over to the sofa where Nick was sat. She sat down next to him where he automatically placed his arms around her again, pulling her on to his lap while he smiled.
“Looks like Lauren has something to tell me too.” Claire said laughing as her and Joe sat down on the floor together.
Joe’s arms wrapped around Claire, pulling her onto his lap the second they were sat down together.
“Right, you first.” Lauren said as she moved closer to Nick.
“Well, im moving out here soon. Joe and I hit it off quite well and well, look.” Claire said, gesturing towards her and Joe.
“Im so happy for you both.” Lauren said, smiling like the cat on Alice in Wonderland.
“Now your turn.” Joe said, smiling at Nick.
“Well, I guess you could say Lauren’s moving back baby.” Lauren almost squealed.
“Are you serious?” Joe asked, a look of shock on his face.
“Yes.” Lauren said, smiling.
Nick smiled at Lauren before nuzzling his head against her neck, before mumbling something only loud enough for Lauren to hear.
“Thank you Lauren, I love you so much.” He said.
“So, when do we move out here?” Claire squealed excitedly.
“We move once ive sorted everything out back home.” Lauren replied.
“Ok, just get sorting.” Claire laughed.
“The second I get back to England ill start arranging things ok. Now I think I need to tell Emily the good news.” Lauren said, laughing as she stood and pulled her phone out of her pocket to ring Emily.
Lauren went out onto the balcony to ring her friend, she thought the conversation she was about to have would be best in private. The phone rang a few times before Emily answered, with a very cheerful answer.
“Hey.” Emily said.
“Hey, Em. I have some good news.” Lauren said excitedly.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Emily said as she wound the cord of her house phone around her finger.
“Nick and I are back together and im moving back out here.” Lauren screamed down the phone, a smile spread across her face.
Emily gasped in surprise and spat out the water she had just drank.
“Are you serious?” she squealed.
“Yup, deadly.” Lauren laughed.
“Ohmygod. You have to move back in.” Emily screamed, getting excited about Lauren moving back to LA.
“Well that’s the thing, Claire and Joe are kind of an item too now and she’s going to move out here too. So I don’t think she should like live on her own.” Lauren said, suddenly shy.
“Claire can move in too then. Or in next door, the couple there are moving away.” Emily said, determined to get Lauren back.
“Where would Claire stay though? There’s only 2 rooms and then Kevin being there as well would make it a little cramp.” Lauren said worried.
“Fine then, Claire moves in next door. You can come back and then we all have keys to both apartments and then come and go from both as we please.” Emily said.
“Sure, ill talk to Claire about it, it might not be a while until we leave England though. I mean there’s a lot of stuff for me to sort out, I don’t just want to get up and leave like I did when I went back to England.” Lauren said sighing.
“Ok. Well talk about it tomorrow or something.” Emily said, pleased.
“Alright, ive gotta go, I can feel myself falling to sleep. Night Em.”
“Yeah ok, night Lauren.”
Lauren hung up and then walked back into the room, closing the balcony doors behind her. She walked slowly over to the sofa where she collapsed in a heap. Nick pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he continued to talk to Joe and Claire.
“You ok?” Claire asked Lauren, looking at her properly.
“Yeah, just tired. Today’s been a really long day.” Lauren replied.
“I guess so.”
“Do you want us to leave?” Joe asked Claire.
“I don’t mind. If Lauren wants you to then go I guess.” Claire laughed.
“I don’t mind. Im just gunna go to bed.” Lauren said, standing up.
“Well, im off then. Ill see you tomorrow maybe?” Nick said, also standing.
“No you can stay. Im going to change and then ill crash out on the sofa for a bit.” Lauren said as she walked into the bathroom to change.
When Lauren had changed she went back into the room to see Joe and Claire curled up watching the TV while Nick sleepily texted on his phone. Lauren snuck up on Nick and jumped onto him slightly, making him gasp in shock. Once he had realised it was Lauren, he instantly wrapped tight protective arms around her as she curled up against him, her legs tucked under her body. After about half an hour, Lauren drifted off to sleep, Nick still holding her.
Lauren moved slowly off of the bed and walked to the balcony. She opened the doors and let the cool evening air flow through the hotel room. It had been a while since she had been able to appreciate the amazing air that flowed though the doors. As Lauren leant against the door frame, images of Nick and the incident before she made him leave her alone at Emily’s apartment flowed through her mind. Shaking her head as if to rid of the images, Lauren sighed. Just as she did, the door knocked. Lauren stood straight, flattened her clothes and then skipped to the door.
As she swung open the door, Lauren’s plastered on smile slipped and her breath caught in her throat. Nick stood there, smiling while he wrung his hands together.
“Hi.” He said nervously.
“Hi.” Lauren replied, her nervous tone matching Nicks.
“Can I come in please? We need to talk about before.”
“Yeah sure, Claire’s coming back soon so when she comes you have to leave though.”
“Ive already spoke to them, Joe stopped off at home to grab some things. There hanging out for a bit, to give us time to talk.”
“Oh, ok right.”
“Im sorry.” Nick blurted, obviously not thinking about what he was saying.
“Don’t be. Im sorry for the way I acted, I promised I wouldn’t react and I did.” Lauren said, looking at her suddenly very interesting shoes.
“I am though. I blew it again. I obviously don’t deserve you.” Nick said sadly.
“No, your wrong there. I don’t deserve you. Im stupid and every time I think I can win you back I screw things up.” Lauren said, suddenly very angry.
“Listen to us, we sound like total idiots.” Nick laughed.
“I know. Nick im sorry, please forgive me.” Lauren said, she looked like she was going to cry.
“Im sorry too. Ill forgive you if you forgive me.” Nick said, looking Lauren in her eyes as his hand reached out to stroke her cheek.
Lauren didn’t flinch or move away, she moved her hand though and placed it on top of Nick’s hoping she could hold it there forever.
“Ok.” Lauren said smiling.
“Lauren, would you stay here? Well obviously you would need to go to England and sort things out but would you come back and live here?” Nick asked, hope filling his eyes as he took in every aspect about Lauren’s face.
“I don’t know Nick. All there is here now is Emily and we aren’t even how we used to be. And you, but I don’t have you.” Lauren said sadly.
“Would you stay if you had me?” Nick said, hope still filling his eyes.
“Yes.” Lauren replied quickly.
“Well then, would you take me back?”
“The question is would you take me back, Nick?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Lauren smiled.
As Lauren said her thanks, Nick moved steadily and slowly towards Lauren until their lips met. He kissed her softly but passionately. Lauren smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Nick’s neck, hoping that she could keep him there with her forever. Nick’s arms soon snaked around Lauren’s waist, hoping that by placing them there they would entangle Lauren and make her stay with him forever.
When the 2 pulled apart, Lauren smiled at Nick before moving her head to his chest and her arms around his waist, hoping to make him stay with her for a long time. They stayed like that for a while until there was a knock on the door, knowing it would be Claire, Lauren pulled out of Nick’s grasp reluctantly and went to the door. She opened it to see Joe and Claire stood, they had their fingers entwined, smiles placed firmly on both their faces.
“I think Claire needs to tell me something.” Lauren sung, also having something to tell Claire.
“Yes she does.” Claire sung back.
“Come on, get in so you can tell me then.” Lauren said, grabbing Claire’s and Joe’s arms and dragging them into the room.
Lauren waltzed over to the sofa where Nick was sat. She sat down next to him where he automatically placed his arms around her again, pulling her on to his lap while he smiled.
“Looks like Lauren has something to tell me too.” Claire said laughing as her and Joe sat down on the floor together.
Joe’s arms wrapped around Claire, pulling her onto his lap the second they were sat down together.
“Right, you first.” Lauren said as she moved closer to Nick.
“Well, im moving out here soon. Joe and I hit it off quite well and well, look.” Claire said, gesturing towards her and Joe.
“Im so happy for you both.” Lauren said, smiling like the cat on Alice in Wonderland.
“Now your turn.” Joe said, smiling at Nick.
“Well, I guess you could say Lauren’s moving back baby.” Lauren almost squealed.
“Are you serious?” Joe asked, a look of shock on his face.
“Yes.” Lauren said, smiling.
Nick smiled at Lauren before nuzzling his head against her neck, before mumbling something only loud enough for Lauren to hear.
“Thank you Lauren, I love you so much.” He said.
“So, when do we move out here?” Claire squealed excitedly.
“We move once ive sorted everything out back home.” Lauren replied.
“Ok, just get sorting.” Claire laughed.
“The second I get back to England ill start arranging things ok. Now I think I need to tell Emily the good news.” Lauren said, laughing as she stood and pulled her phone out of her pocket to ring Emily.
Lauren went out onto the balcony to ring her friend, she thought the conversation she was about to have would be best in private. The phone rang a few times before Emily answered, with a very cheerful answer.
“Hey.” Emily said.
“Hey, Em. I have some good news.” Lauren said excitedly.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Emily said as she wound the cord of her house phone around her finger.
“Nick and I are back together and im moving back out here.” Lauren screamed down the phone, a smile spread across her face.
Emily gasped in surprise and spat out the water she had just drank.
“Are you serious?” she squealed.
“Yup, deadly.” Lauren laughed.
“Ohmygod. You have to move back in.” Emily screamed, getting excited about Lauren moving back to LA.
“Well that’s the thing, Claire and Joe are kind of an item too now and she’s going to move out here too. So I don’t think she should like live on her own.” Lauren said, suddenly shy.
“Claire can move in too then. Or in next door, the couple there are moving away.” Emily said, determined to get Lauren back.
“Where would Claire stay though? There’s only 2 rooms and then Kevin being there as well would make it a little cramp.” Lauren said worried.
“Fine then, Claire moves in next door. You can come back and then we all have keys to both apartments and then come and go from both as we please.” Emily said.
“Sure, ill talk to Claire about it, it might not be a while until we leave England though. I mean there’s a lot of stuff for me to sort out, I don’t just want to get up and leave like I did when I went back to England.” Lauren said sighing.
“Ok. Well talk about it tomorrow or something.” Emily said, pleased.
“Alright, ive gotta go, I can feel myself falling to sleep. Night Em.”
“Yeah ok, night Lauren.”
Lauren hung up and then walked back into the room, closing the balcony doors behind her. She walked slowly over to the sofa where she collapsed in a heap. Nick pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he continued to talk to Joe and Claire.
“You ok?” Claire asked Lauren, looking at her properly.
“Yeah, just tired. Today’s been a really long day.” Lauren replied.
“I guess so.”
“Do you want us to leave?” Joe asked Claire.
“I don’t mind. If Lauren wants you to then go I guess.” Claire laughed.
“I don’t mind. Im just gunna go to bed.” Lauren said, standing up.
“Well, im off then. Ill see you tomorrow maybe?” Nick said, also standing.
“No you can stay. Im going to change and then ill crash out on the sofa for a bit.” Lauren said as she walked into the bathroom to change.
When Lauren had changed she went back into the room to see Joe and Claire curled up watching the TV while Nick sleepily texted on his phone. Lauren snuck up on Nick and jumped onto him slightly, making him gasp in shock. Once he had realised it was Lauren, he instantly wrapped tight protective arms around her as she curled up against him, her legs tucked under her body. After about half an hour, Lauren drifted off to sleep, Nick still holding her.