So when Natalia decided to abandon the movie all together and managed to somehow get Bolt to his feet, Camila wasn't far behind her. A game of tag ensued only moments later, Bolt never quite understanding it but chasing after one of them nonetheless.
Natalia's high-pitched giggles rang through the house and Camila had expected that she'd want to quiet the little girl down but, it was the opposite. Camila found that she could listen to the sound of the girl's laughter for the rest of her life, she was sure of it. If that were the only sound she'd ever hear again, she would be okay with that.
She stopped for a moment and watched as Natalia lifted the puppy from the ground and spun around with him in her arms, that laughter still spilling from her lips with no intention of silencing any time soon. And Camila smiled.
It was a soft smile that she felt warm her heart. Because she loved that image. She loved seeing Lia smiling, she loved being present for it.
And she understood why both Lauren and Ashley had been so hesitant in them meeting, because Camila could feel that same protectiveness encase her. She never wanted anything to jeopardise that little girl's happiness and she would die before she ever became the reason that girl stopped smiling.
"You're staring at me funny." Natalia cut through the woman's inner thoughts.
"Hang on, give me a minute, I'll stare at you serious instead." Camila narrowed her eyes and tried wiping the smile from her own face but found it hard after watching Natalia tilt her head in confusion.
"You're weird."
"You're weird." Camila shot back, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"My mama talks about you a lot."
"That's because I'm super cool and pretty much her favourite." Camila shrugged.
"I'm her favourite!" The little girl shouted passionately.
"Ooh, yeah, you're right. I'm her second favourite then, is that okay?"
"I guess," The little girl sighed and Camila could see trouble befalling those once wild eyes. "My mom was her second favourite. They don't like each other a lot anymore."
"That's not true," The older woman was quick to interject before sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Natalia. "They still love each other very much, just...different now."
"They yell at each other a lot."
"Yeah, well, adults are silly that way." Camila the hair out of the girl's face and smiled, trying to elicit one from Natalia. "But I promise, they will always be there for you. You will never be alone. You will always have them, even if they yell at each other, it will never be to you. You have them and you have your aunt Lucy and you have Dinah and...well, now you have me too."
"My mama has you too."
"That's true," Camila smiled and watched as a small one started to play on the little girl's lips. "She'll always have me."
"Promise?"
The older woman lifted her little finger up and held it up to Natalia. "Pinky promise."
"You can't ever break those!"
"Then you must know how serious I am by making one." Camila winked, locking her pinky with the offered one by Natalia. "You'll always have me now too, chicken."
And the little girl surprised her by dropping down right into her lap and hugging Camila around her neck. It took her a second to understand that this was the first time Natalia had ever hugged her, or so much as initiated contact, but once that moment of surprise passed her, she couldn't help but hug the girl back.
The day you confessed and still smiled
Start from the beginning
