Finding Home

Nightmare

"Goodnight girls," Dinah said.

"Nigh' Mama, mommy, Nani, Lolo."

"Goodnight girls."

"G'night Ally, Dinah, Cami, Boo."

Lauren just let out a hum, letting her sleep take over.

-

Normani was really sad. Lauren hadn't wanted to be with her since she pushed the other girl in her sleep. Normani couldn't blame Lauren. The only people Lauren knew before Dinah, Ally and Camila were their foster parents and Normani. And Normani was the only person to not hurt her. But now Normani had.

She saw Lauren sitting on the couch, alone, eating cheerios. She looked over to see that Lauren was watching some cartoon.

Lauren grabbed a handful of cheerios, took one out and stuffed the rest into her mouth. Lauren place that remaining cheerio in front of Nala (along with six others), probably feeding Nala.

"Laur?"

Lauren froze, as she turned to look at Normani.

"I'm sorry Lauren," Normani said, feeling the tears in her eyes well up.

Lauren stared at Normani, a frown on her face.

"I didn't mean to hit you. You just scared me."

Lauren looked at her plate. Normani took the chance and walked closer to Lauren.

"I'm sorry. I love you."

Lauren looked up when Normani said those last three words.

"I love you, okay?"

Lauren frowned, before nodding. She offered some cheerios to Normani, who smiled. She took grabbed some and gave Nala one. She moved to sit next to Lauren on the couch.

"What are we watching?"

Lauren just pointed to the television.

-

Dinah nodded, as she listened to what Selena was saying. She clenched her teeth, but staying on the line.

Ally watched, not sure what to say. She just watched, as Dinah got angrier and angrier.

"Thank you," Dinah said, before hanging up.

"What did you find?"

Dinah sighed. "So, you know the closet Normani was talking about?"

Ally nodded.

"So it turns out, they used to sleep in there sometimes. Selena said that the investigator found blankets on the ground, covered in urine. They never cleaned those blankets. Lauren or Normani probably stayed there for hours, maybe days, we don't know. The door was scratch marks and holes. They probably tried to fight their way out. Their bed was a crib. They both shared. There was nothing there that would stimulate a child. Other than a bed, there was nothing in the room, nothing."

"What's going to happen to them?"

"Give what they found, they are going away for a good amount of time."

Dinah looked angry. She was tensed, and there was a fire in her eyes.

"What else? You're too angry for it to be just that?"

"They found what the Martins used as punishment. The belts, shoes, sticks. One of the belts still had some blood on them."

Ally quickly ran to Dinah and hugged her wife while the other woman started to sob. "Who does that? Who hurts a child?"

"The world is filled with people who hate. They love to hurt others because it makes them feel better about themselves. Don't think about them? Think about your daughter, think about those two girls who need you to be strong for them, who need you to love them. Who needs us as a family."

Dinah nodded, taking a deep breath. She pulled away and wiped her tears. "Yeah, be there for them."

Ally gave Dinah a gentle kiss. "I love you."

Dinah smiled. "I know."

Ally rolled her eyes and grabbed her wife's hand. She pulled her to the living room, where the three girls were.

Lauren was eating her cheerios. Nala had about ten cheerios in front of her. Normani was sitting next to Lauren, sleeping, but was holding one of Lauren's hands. Camila was on the other couch, knocked out. She was sprawled like a starfish.

"This is our family," Dinah whispered, putting her arm around Ally. "Our perfect family."

-

The next chapter will have loads of Camren and Normila (more so the former).

So when planning out this story, there seemed to be a lot to cover in 50 chapters. So instead of it being just one story, it'll be split into three, thirty chapters.

Finding Home will be the first, duh. So this will cover just the first year.

Home Found will be the second part. It will cover the first school year of Camren and the last elementary/primary schooling of Normani (5th grade).

This is Home will be the final part. It'll cover high school and hormones and college stress.

Finding Home and Home Found have been outlines. So I know what those sixty chapters will be. This is Home has six empty slots. Once I figure that out, this whole series will be figured out.

So this will be a trilogy.

- Tipsy Breakstick calling out, ADIOS!

P.S. I have an assignment due midnight that I have not started. I suck at sound editing, someone pray for me to finish it! I was lost in class when we were learning it, I'm lost now that I have to do it alone.