Lauren's heart broke in her chest as she called Camila's number yet again and the younger girl didn't pick up. Camila had told her she'd be back soon and it had already been twelve hours. Lauren hadn't slept or eaten, she couldn't.
Curling up on the couch, Lauren wraps her arms around her knees and fought back tears.
The front door opened and Camila slowly walked in with Lucy, she was helping the older girl walk.
Lauren stared blankly at the wall in front of her, fighting the tears back. She didn't want to cry. She was still only wearing Camila's oversized shirt and panties. She'd lost so much weight that Camila's shirt draped over her skin instead of sitting the way it was supposed to.
"I can walk." Lucy mumbles, pulling away from Camila and sitting on the couch.
Camila sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Would you like anything? Water? Tea? Something to eat?"
"An egg and cheese sandwich." Lucy responds quietly.
Camila nodded, she went to make Lucy the meal, not noticing Lauren lying on the other couch.
"Come here." Lucy calls out to Lauren softly.
Lauren slowly moved her head to look at Lucy. Her vision was blurry because of the tears and the fact that she didn't have her glasses on. She'd taken them off because they were giving her a headache.
"Come here," Lucy says again, holding her arms out.
Lauren pushed herself up slowly. Her body felt heavy as she did so. Her arms wobbled.
After a few minutes, Camila comes back with the sandwich to find Lucy and Lauren sound asleep in each other's arms.
A small smile crept onto Camila's lips. She never saw this coming. Grabbing a blanket, she gently laid it over Lauren and Lucy to keep them warm.
Shifting, Lucy's eyes flutter open and she looks up at Camila tiredly.
"Go back to sleep." Camila whispered, she kissed Lucy's forehead.
"My dad is going to keep the kids longer." Lucy whispers before curling into Lauren more and falling back asleep.
Remi was going to be staying with Clara for a bit because she had begged to stay with her.
Camila sat down on the other couch and watched Lauren and Lucy sleep.
When Lucy woke up, she swallowed thickly and looked for Camila. "Mila?" She calls out upon not seeing the younger girl.
Camila walked into the room from the kitchen and smiled at Lucy. "Hi." She whispered, seeing Lauren was still asleep.
"I have to pee." Lucy mumbles weakly.
"Okay." Camila moved over to them and helped Lucy untangle herself from Lauren.
Getting up with Camila's help, Lucy makes her way to the bathroom and shuts the door.
Camila sighed. She pushed hair out of her face and looked at Lauren.
The older girl was still sound asleep, her body looking smaller than normal.
Camila covered Lauren with the blanket again.
Slowly, Lucy walked back into the room and forced a smile.
"Are you okay?" Camila asked.
Nodding her head, Lucy looks down and moves to the opposite couch.
"Lucy, talk to me." Camila begged.
"I'm fine." Lucy mumbles.
"I don't believe you." Camila said.
Looking up, Lucy frowns and places her hand on her stomach, rubbing gently as she thinks about the baby she lost.
"I don't believe you." Camila repeated.
"Did I do something wrong?" Lucy asks softly, sadness in her eyes as she looks at Camila.
"What do you mean?" Camila asked, confused.
"You got angry and pushed me off of you. What did I do wrong?" Lucy asks, tears filling her eyes.
"That was my fault." Camila said. "This wasn't yours. It's all on me."
Shaking her head, Lucy curls in on herself. "I made you angry."
"I shouldn't have got angry. That was my fault. I can't control my anger." Camila said. She didn't want Lucy to take the blame when it was her fault. She needed Lucy to know it was her fault.
The older girl doesn't respond, her body shaking as she softly sobbed.
Camila moved over to Lucy and pulled her into a hug. "This wasn't your fault. It was mine."
Burying her face in Camila's neck, Lucy continued to softly sob, not realizing Lauren was waking up.
"Shh." Camila cooed. "It's not your fault."
"But I lost our baby." Lucy sobs out, gripping onto Camila's shirt.
"I pushed you so it's my fault." Camila said.
Lauren sits up slowly and frowns, was she hearing them right? Lucy was pregnant with Camila's baby and had lost it because Camila pushed her?
Pulling away, Lucy swallows thickly. "I'm sorry." She wasn't looking at Camila but at Lauren.
Lauren tilted her head to the side, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"I'm sorry." Lucy continues mumbling, tears filling her eyes again.
"Hey, stop that. This is not your fault, it's mine, do you hear me? It's mine." Camila said.
Shaking her head, Lucy moves to get up. "I'm sorry."
"Stop saying that." Camila said, pulling Lucy back into her arms.
Lauren quietly got up and moved to the door. She slipped on a pair of old shoes that were too small for her and grabbed her car keys, slipping out of the house. She decided to give them some space so they could sort out whatever was going on. She didn't care that she only had underwear and Camila's shirt on, no one would see her anyway, she'd be in the car.
****
When she came home, Lucy was sound asleep on the couch and Camila was cleaning up glass.
Lauren slipped off the shoes. Her feet had cuts on them because the shoes had dug in and rubbed against her skin.
"Where'd you go?" Camila calls out softly, still picking up glass.
"For a drive." Lauren said honestly. She took a few step forward until she was near the couch and felt a sharp pain the sole of her foot. She'd stood on some glass that Camila hadn't picked up yet.
Standing up, Camila moves over to Lauren and moves her to the couch. Leaving the room she grabs the first aid kit before coming back and cleaning her feet.
"What happened here?" Lauren asked, looking around.
"Lucy got really upset and freaked out." Camila responds as she gets the glass out of Lauren's foot before wrapping both of them in rolled gauze.
Lauren nodded. "Why?"
Swallowing thickly, Camila looks up at Lauren. "She was pregnant with twins and I followed her to where she was. We got into an argument and because she was on my lap, I pushed her off." Looking toward the still sleeping girl, Camila takes a deep breath. "She lost one of the babies because of me and blames herself."
"Oh." Lauren looked towards Lucy.
Nodding slowly, Camila moves back over to pick up the rest of the glass.
Lauren stood up and moved to help Camila.
"I've got it." Camila says, picking up the last thing.
Lauren stood up. She carried what she had in her hands to the trash can.
Throwing the glass in the trash, Camila takes the bag out and takes it outside.
When she walks back inside, Lucy is wide awake on the couch and staring blankly at Lauren who is talking to her.
"Are you okay?" Lauren asked gently. She took one of Lucy's hands in her own and began massaging the back of it with her thumbs.
Nodding her head slowly, Lucy looks down at her stomach.
Lauren tilted her head to the side. "No you're not."
Swallowing thickly, Lucy looks up at Lauren and tears begin to fill her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Don't cry." Lauren reached out and gently wiped the tears off of Lucy's cheeks. "It's okay to not be okay."
The older girl moves closer to Lauren and releases a soft sob. "I can't, the baby was Camila's."
"You can't?" Lauren asked, confused.
"I-I made her cheat on you." Lucy sobs out, trying to catch her breath.
"No you didn't." Lauren said. "She made her own decision and that's okay because she needs release."
Shaking her head, Lucy pulls her hands away to wipe her eyes. "It's not okay."
"It is." Lauren said.
Lucy flinches when Camila sits behind her.
"I'm not going to touch you." Camila said.
"It's okay." Lauren repeated, looking at Lucy.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy looks between the two girls and swallows thickly.
Lauren leaned back on the couch. She pushed her hair out of her face and sighed.
"I-I'm sorry." The oldest girl stutters out, bumping into Camila.
"Hey, it's okay. Calm down." Camila said softly.
Closing her eyes, Lucy takes a deep breath. "I'm hungry."
"Okay. I'll go make you something. What would you like?" Camila asked softly, she stood up.
"I don't care." The older girl mumbles.
"Okay. I'll make you some pasta." Camila went into the kitchen.
Relaxing on the couch, Lucy takes a deep breath.
Lauren turned her head and looked at Lucy.
"What?" Lucy mumbles, not opening her eyes.
Lauren shook her head. "Nothing."
"I can feel you staring." The older girl responds.
"Sorry." Lauren looked away.
Lucy sighs and runs her hand through her hair.
Camila came back into the room with Lucy's pasta.
Grabbing the plate, Lucy smiles softly. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Camila said softly, she sat down on the other couch.
Slowly, Lucy eats her pasta and relaxes.
"Are you feeling better?" Camila asked.
Shrugging, Lucy continues to slowly eat.
"Okay." Camila said softly.
"I'm going to take a shower." Lauren said, she got up and walked into the bathroom.
Lucy finishes her food before putting the plate on the table. "I'm tired."
"Okay." Camila said softly.
Getting up, Lucy makes her way down to the basement.
Camila got up and picked up the plate to take it into the kitchen and wash it.
****
Five months later
"Mama!" Blake yells, reaching for Camila.
"What is it buddy?" Camila asked, lifting Blake up.
Lauren walked into the room with her headphones in. Her phone was sticking out of her pocket. She was dressed for jogging.
"Mommy sick!" The three year old yells out wide eyed.
"Sick?" Camila asked.
Nodding, he points to the basement. "Sick!"
"Okay. I'll go see her." Camila put him down. She turned to Lauren. "Where are you going?"
"For a run." Lauren slipped her shoes on and left the house.
Sighing, Camila made her way downstairs to find Lucy throwing up in a trashcan.
Camila moved over to Lucy. She pulled the older girl's hair back and rubbed her back gently. "Shh, you're okay." She said softly.
After a few minutes, Lucy coughed and looked up at her. "I hate this." She mumbles.
"I know but it'll be over soon." Camila said softly.
"Three weeks." The older girl mumbles.
Camila nodded. "Three weeks."
"We still haven't talked about names." Lucy mumbles.
"We can do that now if you want to." Camila said softly.
Nodding her head, Lucy stands up. "Let me brush my teeth first."
Camila nodded. "Okay."
After a few minutes, Lucy moves back over and curls up on Camila's lap.
"What names were you thinking of?" Camila asked softly.
Lucy bites her lip and looks up at Camila. "Leila?"
"That's pretty." Camila smiled.
"You pick the middle name, and then we'll think boy names." Lucy responds.
"Okay, um... Leila Cassidy?" Camila suggested.
Shaking her head, Lucy curls closer to Camila.
"No... okay... um..." Camila said in thought.
Lifting her head, Lucy kisses Camila slowly and passionately.
Thankfully Ally, Dinah, and Normani were upstairs with the kids.
Camila pulled away. "I've got it! Leila Rose."
"I like that." The older girl responds, smiling softly.
Camila smiled. "Now, boy's name."
Camila's phone began ringing.
"Hold that thought." Camila said. She pulled her phone from her pocket and answered it. "Hello?"
"Is this Camila?" A woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Yeah, Who is this?" Camila responded.
"I'm Avery. I'm a doctor from Miami Hospital." The women replied. "Someone found a girl collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk and your number was the first in her phone."
"I'll be there in ten." Camila says immediately.
"Okay." The woman hung up the phone.
Lucy frowns, and shifts on Camila's lap. "What's going on?"
"Lauren collapsed on her run. Someone found her unconscious in the middle of the sidewalk." Camila said.
Frowning, Lucy climbs off of Camila. "Go to her."
"Are you sure?" Camila asked.
"I don't have a choice." Lucy mumbles.
"Lucy. I'm sorry." Camila said. "You can come, y'know."
Swallowing thickly, Lucy keeps her head down. "Is that a good idea?"
Camila shrugged. "I'd like you to come."
Getting up, Lucy pulls on her shoes. "Okay."
Camila smiled. She pulled on her own shoes and shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbing her keys. She let Dinah, Ally, and Normani know where they were going before she and Lucy left the house.
It wasn't long before they were at the hospital. Camila and Lucy walked in and up to the reception.
"Lauren Jauregui?" Camila asked.
"Ah, you must me Camila." A woman's voice caught their attention and they turned to look at her. "She's still unconscious but we've hooked her up to an IV drip to try and boost her metabolism." The doctor swallowed. "However, she's extremely thin and it's worrying."
Camila runs a hand through her hair. "I don't understand."
"What don't you understand?" The doctor asked.
"How she got like this." Camila responds slowly.
"Sometimes when people are hurting themselves they don't know they are doing it because if feels good and it feels right." The doctor said.
Nodding slowly, Camila takes a deep breath. "When can I see her?"
"Right now... if you want." The doctor said.
Lucy bites her lip and steps back to get out of Camila's way.
"Yeah." Camila nodded.
"I-I should go home." Lucy mumbles.
"No." Camila said, she reached for Lucy's hand. "Come with me. We can think of boys names while she's unconscious."
Swallowing thickly, Lucy nods and grabs Camila's hand, following her.
The two girls followed the nurse to Lauren's room. The green-eyed girl was lying on the bed in a hospital gown with an IV in the vein in her right and and a heart rate monitor attached to her.
Lucy bites her lip and moves closer to Camila.
Camila led Lucy over to the chairs and sat down.
The doctor left them alone.
"I like Logan." Camila says randomly.
Swallowing thickly, Lucy looks up at Camila. "What?"
"Boys names?" Camila asked. "I like Logan."
"I like Ben." The older girl responds softly.
"Hmm, what do we do?" Camila asked. "Maybe Logan can be his middle name."
Lucy nods her head with a smile. "Benjamin Logan?"
Camila smiled. "Beautiful. With a name like that, he's going to be amazing... if it's a he of course."
The older girl smiles and kisses Camils gently.
Camila smiled against Lucy's lips.
After a few minutes, Lucy pulls away and frowns, grabbing her stomach.
"Lucy?" Camila asked, worry filling her eyes.
Closing her eyes, Lucy takes a deep breath. "Baby kicked."
"Are you sure it was just a kick?" Camila asked.
"I think so." Lucy responds.
"Maybe we should get a doctor just to be safe." Camila said.
Shaking her head, Lucy curle into Camila. "Focus on Lauren."
"She's unconscious, she's not going anywhere anytime soon." Camila said.
Closing her eyes, Lucy flinches slightly and grips her stomach again.
"I'm getting a doctor." Camila stood up and ran out of the room.
By the time Camila walks back into the room with a doctor, Lucy is curled in on herself and holding her stomach. A puddle on the floor that is a mix of water, blood, and mucus.
The nurse and doctor moved over to Lucy, pushing Camila out of the way gently.
The older girl looks up at them and swallows thickly. "I-I think the baby is coming."
"Okay, we have to get you to the maternity wing." The doctor said.
Nodding her head, Lucy looks toward Camila. "I'm sorry."
****
When Lucy wakes up she hears the sound of a baby crying. Shifting, she looks toward the sound to find Camila sat beside her and holding a baby.
"Shh." Camila cooed. "You're okay."
The baby continued to softly cry.
"He or she is hungry." Lucy says softly, moving her bed into a seated position.
Camila stood up and gently placed the baby boy into Lucy's arms. "Ben meet Lucy, Lucy meet Ben."
Smiling softly, Lucy runs her finger along Ben's cheek. "Hi baby."
The baby whined and turned his head towards her finger.
Shifting the little boy, Lucy pulls her gown down and helps Ben latch onto her nipple.
Camila gently ran her hand through Lucy's hair. "You did really well." She kissed Lucy's forehead. "I'm proud of you."
Closing her eyes, the older girl leans into Camila's touch. "Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you for bringing such a beautiful little boy into my life." Camila said.
Ben squirms in Lucy's arms as he continues to nurse.
"I'm not the only one who brought him to you." Lucy responds weakly.
"What do you mean?" Camila asked softly.
"If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have him." Lucy responds softly.
"You carried him for nine months." Camila said softly, she pushed Lucy's messy hair out of her face.
Looking into Camila's eyes, Lucy smiles softly. "I love you." She says without thinking.
"I love you too." Camila said, she couldn't hold back her smile.
Ben releases Lucy's nipple and stretches in her arms.
"He's so perfect." Lucy whispers.
"I know." Camila said.
"He's sleepy." Camila said. "I can put him down if you want."
Nodding her head slowly, Lucy smiles. "Okay."
Camila gently took the now sleeping Ben into her arms and carried him over to the bassinet. She lay him down and covered his body with the blue sheets.
"Thank you." Lucy whispers.
"Get some sleep." Camila said softly. She kissed the top of Lucy's head. "I'm going to run to the restroom and then get something to eat."
Nodding, Lucy lays down and closes her eyes tiredly.
Camila left the room, she went to the restroom.
****
Lauren groans as she wakes up, her eyes fluttering open. "Camz."
She reached up and pressed her hand to her forehead which was killing her. The IV tugged on her hand and sent a stinging sensation up her arm.
Running a hand through her hair, Lauren takes a deep breath.
She squeezed her eyes closed. "Camz?" She groaned again. Her heart began beating faster in her chest, alerting the doctors.
"Shh, I'm here." Camila says softly, grabbing her hand.
Lauren forced her eyes opened. "Where-?" She shook her head. She was so confused and it was scaring her. The lights stung her eyes as they invaded her pupils. All she could see was a white light.
Leaning over her, Camila smiles softly. "Right here."
"Where?" Lauren asked. She blinked but all she could see was white.
Leaning down, Camila kisses Lauren gently.
Lauren's eyes fluttered closed and she relaxed a little.
Pulling away, Camila frowns slightly. "Why haven't you been eating?"
"I wasn't hungry." Lauren responded.
Caressing Lauren's cheek, Camila sighs softly. "I love you."
"I love you too." Lauren responded.
"Lucy had the baby." The younger girl says softly.
"She did?" Lauren asked.
Nodding her head, Camila can't help but smile widely. "She did, his name is Benjamin Logan."
"What does he look like?" Lauren asked. "I can't see."
"You can't see?" Camila asks in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I can't see." Lauren repeated.
"I'm going to get your doctor." The younger girl says immediately.
"Okay." Lauren swallowed, she was scared.
Camila kisses Lauren's forehead before leaving the room to get a doctor.
Lauren bit her lower lip nervously.
****
Two weeks later
Lucy groans softly as she shifts the crying baby in her arms.
"Here." Camila came into the room and handed Lucy a pacifier.
Ben kicks his feet and cries even louder.
Camila sat down on the couch beside Lucy as the older girl put the pacifier in Ben's mouth. He began sucking on it and slowly he calmed down.
The baby slowly relaxes and falls asleep in Lucy's arms. "Thanks."
"No problem." Camila kissed Lucy's cheek.
Leaning into the younger girl, Lucy closes her eyes and holds the baby close.
"You're doing amazing." Camila whispered.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy relaxes against Camila. "I'm so tired and the other four get so angry when I don't give them all of my attention."
"I know. They'll be starting school soon though." Camila said.
Nodding tiredly, the older girl releases a large yawn.
"Go lie down." Camila said softly.
"I can't, as soon as I do he will wake up." Lucy mumbles.
"Give him to me then. I'll take him. You go sleep." Camila said.
Shifting the two week old, Lucy looks up at Camila. "He'll wake up."
"He won't." Camila said softly. "I promise."
Moving to lay the baby in Camila's arms, Lucy frowns as Ben wakes up and begins to softly cry.
"Go to bed, I'll deal with him." Camila said, she rocked Ben until he calmed down and fell asleep.
Getting up, Lucy makes her way to her room.
Camila held Ben while he slept. She looked down at her small son and smiled.
The two week old was extremely small even though he was only born three weeks early.
Camila was really glad she was there for his birth. She'd missed all the other ones.
She was late to Blake's birth because of being at fight club and she missed the triplets birth because her and Lucy weren't together anymore.
She missed Remi's birth because she was too scared to tell Lauren that the kid was her's and not some random guys.
"Mama," Rowen mumbles, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
Camila looked at her daughter and smiled softly. "What's up buttercup?"
The three year old yawns tiredly and rubs her eyes again. "Sleepy."
"Come lie down with me." Camila said softly.
The little girl climbs up on the couch and curls into Camila's side.
She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Camila gently runs her fingers through Rowen's hair, watching the little girl sleep.
Ben shifts in his sleep and releases a grunt.
She felt guilty for missing their births and if she was honest, she'd go back and do it all again. Her mind wandered to Lauren who had been kept in the hospital for observation and to make sure she got up to healthy weight before she was allowed home.
"Mine!" She heard Lucas yell before Braelynn suddenly began crying.
Camila sighed. "Stop it, both of you." She said sternly. "Lucas apologise to your sister and go to your room. You are grounded young man."
The three year old releases a loud scream that wakes Rowen and Ben.
"Lucas!" Camila scolded.
"What's going on?" Lucy asks tiredly, making her way into the room and rubbing her eyes.
Camila sighed. "Lucas was being naughty."
Frowning, Lucy sits down on the couch and holds her arms out for the three year old. "Come here buddy."
"He was naughty. He should be in his room." Camila said.
"You can't just send him to his room Mila, he's three." Lucy responds ad she picks the little boy up.
"What the hell am I supposed to do? If we don't put him into timeout when he's naughty now he'll think he can walk all over us when he's older." Camila argued.
Closing her eyes, Lucy takes a deep breath. "You have to talk to him first, see if he realizes what he did wrong."
Ben was still crying in Camila's arms while Rowen had slowly relaxed and gone back to sleep.
"That'll never work." Camila said, she shook her head.
Tensing, Lucy narrows her eyes. "Are you questioning my parenting skills?"
"No. I'm just saying that what you are trying to do is never going to work because he doesn't know what he did wrong, he's three." Camila said.