Lauren POV
"Mommy?" Haileigh said sounding panicked. "MOMMY?!" Haileigh sat up quickly and started shaking Camila. Camila, being the deep sleeper she is, didn't wake up.
I sat up and tried to pull Haileigh off of Camila. "Shh.. let mommy sleep." She shook her head and started sobbing as she pulled herself close to Camila again. "M..mommy breathe!!!" She screamed. Camila woke up startled and sat up quickly.
Haileigh threw herself into Camila's arms. Camila panicked for a moment before holding Haileigh securely. "Hey... shh. It's okay." Camz said softly as she kissed Haileigh's forehead. I scooted closer and rubbed circles on Haileigh's back. "Shhh.. mommy's okay." I whispered to Haileigh, who'd stopped crying at this point. She just sniffled and held onto Camila's shirt tightly.
"Buggy what's wrong?" Camz asked her. "She thought you weren't breathing." I whispered to her. Camila let out a sympathetic sigh and smoothed Haileigh's hair. I looked at my phone. It was 8am. Ally and Normani should be up by now.
"Babygirl don't do that." Camila said quietly, catching my attention. I looked down at Haileigh, who was sucking her thumb. Camila gently pulled Haileigh's thumb out her her mouth, causing her to cry. Camz quickly let go of her hand and she put her thumb back in her mouth and sniffled.
Camila looked at me worriedly, I wrapped my arm around her waist. "Let's go and get some breakfast okay?" Camila nodded. We got out of the bunk and walked to through the front lounge, to the kitchen, stopping to say good morning to Ally, who was the only one up.
Camila POV
Haileigh snuggled into my arms and sucked on her thumb as we walked to the kitchen. I didn't like her doing that, but I also didn't want her to cry and it's not like we keep pacis around. Also.. she's 10, but maybe it would be a good idea for when she's like this.
I cradled her in my arms like a baby because I was trying to comfort her. "What do you want for breakfast baby? Ally do you want something?" Lauren asked. "Umm do we have yogurt?" I asked. "I ate when I got up." Ally told Lauren, who looked in the fridge and got out 3 yogurts and 3 spoons. She handed me one and gave me a smile. I returned the smile and we sat by ally, who was watching a movie.
"What's on?" I asked. "One of the despicable me movies, I'm not sure which though. Um.. Mila, is Haileigh alright?" She replied. I looked down at Haileigh, who still had her thumb in her mouth while her other hand played with her hair gently as she rested her head on me. I nodded.
"Yea, she's a little shaken up." Ally nodded understandingly. Lauren and I ate our yogurts before she handed me one for Haileigh. I sat her up on my lap. She saw the yogurt and started to whimper softly and shake her head. "Just a little baby, please?" She shook her head again. "You don't need to finish it sweetheart, just eat some of it okay?" Lauren said softly.
Hesitantly, Haileigh nodded. I took the lid off of the yogurt and handed it to her with the spoon in it. She held the container with one hand and kept her thumb in her mouth, staring at the yogurt like it would kill her. I realized there was probably no way she was going to eat it on her own.
I picked up the yogurt and spoon, putting a small amount on the spoon and attempting to feed it to her, she turned her head away, hiding her face. I sighed, looking up at Lauren. "Okay, just eat half of it babygirl, please? For mommy?" I pleaded to the small child I was holding. She shook her head.
"Go get Demi.." I told Lauren. She nodded and got up. "Mama is gonna go get Aunt Demi." I told Haileigh. She shrugged before she started to cry when she realized i was serious. "Shhhh.. it's okay. It's only yogurt." I said softly, bouncing her gently on my lap to calm her down. She snuggled me as Demi walked in.
She got down on her knees in front of Haileigh. "Haileigh.. sweetheart. You have to eat. I don't care if you don't finish it but you have to eat." Demi told her. Haileigh shook her head again. "Haileigh. Now." Demi said a little more sternly this time, making haileigh flinch back. Haileigh slowly nodded and let me feed her, she wouldn't do it herself, I tried to get her to.
She only finished half before she refused to eat anymore. Demi sat there the whole time. "Good job darling, I'm proud of you." Demi said, kissing Haileigh on the forehead. Lauren took the yogurt and put it in the fridge for Haileigh to finish later before Demi went back to bed and Lauren, Ally, and I went back to watching the movie.
Haileigh closed her eyes and put her thumb back in her mouth as she gently played with her hair, slowly putting herself to sleep. Once she was asleep Lauren let out a sigh. "Babe?" "She worries me Camz." Lauren said, sounding concerned. "Me too, but were all gonna help her okay?" Lauren nodded and rested her head on my shoulder and continued watching the movie.
*time skip to after the interview*
The interview had gone smoothly and Haileigh was feeling better now, she'd just had a really rough morning, now we had to go straight to the venue and go in for soundcheck and then the concert. We were all back on the bus starting the 30 minute drive to the venue and relaxing in the mean time and Haileigh was taking a nap.
I just couldn't relax and my mind was racing and my thoughts were going so fast and I couldn't keep up. I started to get very bad anxiety.
Lauren POV
I looked over at Camz. She didn't look okay. "Camz, what's wrong baby?" I asked her, pulling her into my arms. She flinched and let out a small whimper as I held her close. "Hey.. talk to me." I whispered calmly. "Anxiety." She whimpered. I let out a sympathetic sigh and held her close to me.
"It's gonna be okay baby, breathe, it's alright." I cooed, tracing gentle circles on her side as I held her. I heard soft sniffles and I knew Camila was crying. "Hey.. no tears beautiful. It's going to be okay." I kissed her forehead and she stopped crying. "It's all gonna be okay." I said softly .
"Hey Laur, he- Mila what's wrong..?" Dinah said, walking over and putting a gentle hand on Camila's shoulder. Camz sniffled. "Her anxiety is acting up, but she's gonna be juuust fine." I said, looking down at Camz. "Awe, Mila it's gonna be okay." Dinah said, laying down to hug Camila. "Thanks you two." Camz said with a small smile as she cuddled closer to me.
"Relax until we get there okay Walz? I don't want you getting your anxiety up." Dinah said in a gentle tone to Camila, who nodded and closed her eyes.
*time skip to the venue*
I don't know what was making Camila so anxious, but I was worried because I was having trouble just getting her to the venue without her having a panic or anxiety attack. "Come on baby, it's alright. We have to go change okay?" She finally nodded and held onto my hand tightly, I could feel her shaking, poor Camz. I caressed the back of her hand with my thumb.
Ally had carried Haileigh in with her since she was still sleeping. We quickly changed and freshened up our hair and makeup with a few minutes for me to spare to try and talk to Camila. "If your anxiety or anything gets too bad or you get overwhelmed tell me and I'm sure everyone will understand." She nodded and the girls and I all got mics and head out to the stage for soundcheck, having left Haileigh with Demi.
Haileigh POV
I woke up from a scary dream and something bad happened to Mama and mommy in it and it seemed real.. maybe it was real. I didn't see mama or mommy. I looked up and I saw Aunt Demi. But.. No mama and no mommy.
Demi POV
I was just finishing my makeup when I heard crying from behind me. I quickly got up and went over beside Haileigh. I picked her up and held her close, "what's wrong sweetheart.. talk to me." I whispered softly. "W..where's m..mama an m..mommy?" She sobbed. "Awe, sweetie I'm sorry. They're just on stage doing soundcheck. They're safe okay?" She nodded and sniffled, resting her head on my chest and holding onto the hem of my shirt.
I ran my fingers through her hair and it calmed her down. "I want mama a..and mommy." She sniffled. "Wanna see if you can go with them? It'll probably be okay, so if you wanna change go ahead okay sweetheart?" She nodded and got up to change while I went to go ask the girls if Haileigh could come out.
"Can Haileigh come out, she wants Lauren and Camila." I asked. They all nodded and I went back to tell Haileigh it was okay. "Buggyyyyy you can go sweetie." She smiled weakly and cane up to me in a cute little outfit.
"Come here darling." She walked closer and I wiped away her tears. "Now go ahead out. I'll sit alongside the edge okay?" She nodded and ran on stage.
Haileigh POV
I ran onto the stage and up to mommy and mama. Mama picked me up and I cuddled into her while they finished up the soundcheck. We went back stage afterwards and everybody went straight into hair and makeup and costumes and all that stuff.
"Are you gonna come on with us for the encore baby?" Mama asked me. I nodded. "Okay, go get into your costume and then go to hair and makeup okay? Your hair and makeup will be right next to mommy and I." "Yes mama." I said before doing what she told me to do.
*time skip to mid performance*
Camila POV
We were in the middle of the opening act and I felt my heart start racing faster than it already had been and I tried to keep dancing and singing, but things around me kept changing and the audience was turning into shadows and crawling up on stage to try and get me... I panicked and ran to Lauren.
Lauren POV
In the middle of worth it, Camila ran to me and held onto my one piece tightly, whimpering into me. She was trembling. I moved my mic. "What's wrong baby?" I whispered to her. She buried her face in me and cried, her breathing starting to go all over the place. "Hey.. shh. It's okay. Come on Camz, walk with me." I cooed softly, leading her backstage. I sat down with her in a nearby chair, pulling her onto my lap.
"Shhh, breathe. Deep breaths baby. In. Out. In. And out." I said, tracing my fingers along her arm. Her breathing slowed down but she kept crying. "Talk to me baby..What happened?" I whispered, wiping away her tears. Mani ran backstage, "you guys mics are still on, here." She said quickly, turning our mics off before running back onstage. I mentally thanked her for that.
"Now baby talk to me and tell me what happened, I've got you, okay?" She nodded as she laid her head on my upper chest. "I..I was singing and t..then the fans s..started to t..turn to shadows a..an cr..crawl on.. stage." She cried. "Awe.. I've got you, I promise. Relax baby girl, it's okay." I said softly, feeling bad that she has to go through these things.
I smoothed her hair comfortingly to try and calm her down. Poor Camila... she was still crying when the girls were done performing and Demi was going out. "Can one of you take Haileigh to do something while I get Camila stable? Please?" I asked the three. "I'll take her, there's a little store next door and judging by the sign there's some cool stuff in there." Ally offered as she picked Haileigh up.
"Thanks Ally, you're a life saver." I said with a small smile. "Don't sweat it." She replied, carrying Haileigh out of the room. "Mila..." Dinah said quietly, bending down next to me and moving a stray hair off of Camila's teary cheek. Camila let out a small sob and pulled herself closer to me. Mani looked really concerned.
"Is there anything we can do?" Mani asked. "Ummm, I don't think so, I'm just gonna take her into the lounge and help her relax, maybe put a movie on or something, wanna come with?" They nodded and I stood up, still carrying Camila since she was trembling so badly still and was still crying pretty bad at this point.
The four of us got to the lounge and I grabbed the iPad and laid down with Camila on the couch. She snuggled into me, starting to calm down. I put on happy feet because I knew she liked that movie. I positioned the iPad so she could see and played with her hair while she rested her head on my chest. Dinah and Mani were sitting behind us, watching the movie as well.
Camila had pretty much stopped crying by now, which I was glad for; I hate seeing her cry. Halfway through the movie, I heard little snores coming from the smaller girl who was cuddled closely to me. I smiled down at her before texting Ally, telling her thank you and saying it was alright to bring Haileigh back and that we were in the lounge.
It wasn't long before Ally and Haileigh came back looking like they bought the entire store. "Woaaahhhh." Dinah said laughing. "She picked out things she wanted to get for you all." Ally said with a smile. "Aweeee Buggy, you're so sweet." Mani told Haileigh, who blushed. "Faaaanks." Haileigh replied, reaching into the bag and pulling out a large stuffed Simba with a 'Tonga' tshirt on it.
"This one is for Auntie Dinah." Dinah pulled Haileigh into a big hug. "I love it munchkin thank you." Haileigh giggled. "You're welcome. And Mani, This." She went back to the bag and pulled out a big stuffed hello kitty, "Is for you." Haileigh smiled as she handed the gift to Normani, who also gave her a big hug. "Now Mama, this is for you and mommy to have." I raised a curious eyebrow at her because my mind went straight into the gutter.
"Close your eyes mama and noooo peeking." She instructed me. I laughed. "Okay, okay." "Noooow open your eyes." I opened my eyes to see that Haileigh held a sun necklace and a moon necklace that both fit together. "Awe, babygirl this is beautiful. Mommy will love it when she wakes up, thank you."
I gave her a kiss on the forehead and she smiled bashfully as she skipped back over to the bag, pulling out a teddy bear that was pretty damn big. "I tricked Allybear into buying a bear for herself. Here you go Ally." Haileigh giggled and handed the bear to Ally. "Thanks buggy, gosh what did we do to deserve you." Ally spun Haileigh around, making her laugh.
"One more thing, this is for Aunt Demi when she's done performing." She pulled out a stuffed kitten wearing a leather moto jacket that had a cherry patch, a skull, and a music note. Aweeee she's gonna love that. "I understood why she chose to have them iron on the music note and skull, but I don't get the Che- OMG!" Ally said before realizing why Haileigh had chosen the cherry patch. I mentally face palmed while everyone laughed at ally's reaction.
*time skip to right before encore*
Camila was still sleeping and all of us and Demi were about to go up for the encore. We decided that we should let Camila sleep, I hope she's okay for about 20 minutes. Haileigh had given Demi the kitten and she loved it. All of us minus Camila ran back on stage and Haileigh performed with us.
We did a few songs and at the end, we'd just taken our bow when I heard a scream. Camila's scream. I shared a look with the girls and Haileigh before quickly getting backstage without causing too much of a scene. As soon as I knew I was out of sight from the audience I ran to the lounge I'd left Camila in. My heart broke when I laid eyes on the small girl.
She was trembling horribly as she cried. A layer of sweat coated her body, causing little baby hairs to stick to her forehead as she took raspy breaths in her sleep. I calmly approached her, not wanting to startle her. "Baby.. wake up." I cooed, siting on my knees in front of the couch, gently stroking her hair.
She reached out and grabbed hold of the hem of my onepiece. I let out a worried sigh and picked her up before sitting where she'd been laying. "Camz.." I said softly to Camila, who's breathing had managed to slow down some by now. She whimpered into me as I rubbed circles on her back. Haileigh came and climbed onto the couch, cuddling into Camz. "Mommy you're okay." She whispered.
Camila wrapped an arm around Haileigh, calming down some and not much later, waking up. "LAU-.... ren. Sorry I..I just." Camila said as she woke up. "Shhh, it's okay, just relax baby." I said softly. "It's okay mommy, I know it was scary, but it isn't real." Haileigh told Camz, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Aweee." We all cooed at them.
"Why don't we head back to the bus and eat there? We can relax and watch movies all night?" Ally suggested. Everyone agreed so that's what we did. Everything was going great, but I was worrying about Camila and Haileigh... these past couple days have been kinda rough for the both of them. Hopefully everything gets better with time.