Jauregui.

twenty three

I gulped before replying, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice. "Nooooo. It's boring and cold. Plus, I don't have a swimming suit," I lied.

"You live in Los Angeles," Taylor replied, unimpressed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I joked and she rolled her eyes before giggling.

"Let's go see if Cammie's home," I changed the subject and Taylor nodded, getting up.

"Lo, we're gonna go see if Camila's home, because you are lame as hell!" Taylor screamed across the hall and Lauren appeared seconds later.

"Mhm. Like Miss Banana Socks is more fun than me," She mocked Taylor before turning to me.

"You have your phone? And are you cold? Text me if you need anything," She continued.

"Mom, relax. I'm only going two houses down and we're indoors," I told her.

"Okay...Watch Tay!" She shouted as we exited the apartment.

"Not funny!" Taylor yelled back.

"You guys are sister goals," I told Taylor.

"You guys are mother-daughter goals. So many people would kill for your position," Taylor replied and I just smiled.

Seconds later, we arrived at Camila's house and knocked. The door opened and Camila stood there, with her earphones in, but instantly took them out.

"Tay! AJ!" She squealed and pulled us into a hug. "How've you been?" She asked, more to Taylor, who replied.

"Do you have something to eat? Lo's tryna starve us, I think," Taylor joked and I looked down awkwardly when I sensed Camila's gaze on me.

"Yep. Go in the pantry and get whatever you want,"Camila told her, and Taylor nodded before pulling me with her.

She started to hand me snacks, one after another, and I began to feel lightheaded and suffocated.

"Hey Averi, can you come help me with something?" Camila's voice asked and I felt the food being lifted from my arms, and someone pushing me towards Camila's voice.

Camila's POV:

At the mention of food, Averi's face dropped and she looked down. Taylor pulled her along, but I stayed close, in case Averi needed me. Taylor was handing her snack after snack, and her breath quickened, which I realized was the beginning of a panic attack.

"Hey Averi, can you come help me with something?" I lied to get her out of there, and soon, she walked out and I took her to my room, locking the door.

"Breathe Averi. Follow me. In. Out. In. Out," And we repeated that for a few minutes until her heart rate went down to normal.

"I'm sorry Mila. I'm supposed to be getting better and I can't even look at food without having a break down," She softly said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"No no no, baby. You're in RECOVERY. Which means you still have a long way to go, even though you've come a long way. It's normal to be overwhelmed honey. I promise. You're doing great," I told her and she looked at me before slowly nodding.

"Now lets go back to Tay," I told her and we exited my room.

"Hey, thanks for helping me. I was way too big to fit in the cabinet," I covered for Averi as we entered the living room and she just smiled and nodded.

"Do you two want to watch a movie?" I asked the two girls, both of them nodding.

"Okay! Let's watch Soul Surfer !" I exclaimed, picking one of my favorite movies and beginning it.

Halfway through the movie, I heard snoring and turned to see both kids asleep, with Taylor sitting up, and Averi's head on her lap, holding her arm, and my heart melted. I took a few pictures before picking up Averi and waking up Taylor.

"Hey Tay. Wake up so we can go to Laur's room and you can sleep there," I whispered and she nodded groggily, before standing up and putting on her shoes, and grabbing Averi's.

We made the short walk to Lauren's room where I put Averi in her bed and talked to Lauren for a bit before leaving to my own apartment.

Taylor's POV:

Once Camila dropped us off, all the sleep disappeared from my body, so I lied next to Averi on my phone when something caught my eye. I turned on my flashlight and rolled to my stomach before illuminating the light onto Averi's arm which was turning a lighr shade of purple because of the amount of bracelets she had on, cutting her circulation.

Quietly, I decided to take the bracelets off, so her blood flow would return. As I took off the second bracelet, I noticed a raised red line, and my breath hitched.

No Taylor. Stop it. She's only ten. She wouldn't. It's probably only a cat scratch.

But as I shakily took off the rest of the bracelets, I realized they weren't 'cat scratches' but indeed, my hypothesis. 

Her arm was filled with hundreds of cuts, varying sizes and directions. Hundreds of thoughts were racing through my head, as I felt tears coming out of my eyes. What would make such a young child want to hurt themself so badly?

And as I silently criend, for my baby niece, one thing was clear. I needed to help her, which meant I needed to tell Lauren.

Slowly, I got up out of bed, and began to walk over to the door, when I stepped on something slippery and fell to the floor, making a parade of noise. I gave myself a once-over before getting up, but stopped dead in my tracks.

"T-Taylor?" A small voice interuptted my plans.

-

Here we have it! Taylor knows! What should happen next?

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm a bit disappointed in it.

Comment any ideas for future chapters here!

Stay safe&Stay Strong.