Two months later
Camila gently lays Marley back on the bed, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.
Marley moaned into Camila's mouth without meaning to.
Deepening the kiss even more, Camila runs her hands along Marley's sides.
Marley shivered under Camila's touch.
The kiss was growing heated and Camila had to force herself to pull away. "Are you sure?" She breathes out.
Marley searched Camila's face. She didn't want to hurt her.
"You won't hurt me." Camila promises softly, looking into Marley's eyes.
"I don't know." Marley admitted.
Leaning their foreheads together, Camila takes a deep breath. "I promise you won't hurt me."
Marley shook her head. "I don't think I'm ready."
"Okay, we don't have to do anything." Camila promises, kissing Marley's cheek before laying down beside her, holding her close.
"Mommy! Mama!" Mason yells from outside their door.
"Come in little guy." Camila called with a soft smile on her face.
Mason struggles to open the door before making his way into the room and trying to climb onto the bed.
Camila sat up and lifted him onto the bed. "Hey, bud." She ruffled his hair.
Curling up between them, Mason yawns tiredly. "Nap time?"
"Lie down and nap with us." Camila said softly.
Nodding his head, the three year old pulls their arms around him and closes his eyes.
"He's gotten really bossy." Marley mumbled.
"Wonder where he got that from." Camila mumbles jokingly.
Marley frowned. "Not me."
Chuckling, Camila kisses Marley gently. "Nope, me."
Marley nodded. "Definitely."
Mason shifts between them. "Shh, sleep." He mumbles.
Marley rolled her eyes at her son.
Mason slowly fell asleep in their arms.
Marley ran her fingers through his soft brown hair. "Would I suit blonde hair?" She asked randomly.
"I think you'd look sexy with blonde hair." Camila responds flirtatiously.
Marley blushed. "I want to go blonde."
Camila hums as she thinks of a blonde Marley. "You know, I'll struggle more with keeping my hands to myself."
Marley leaned back on the bed and bit her lip as she debated going blonde or not.
"I think you should do it." Camila breathes out, teasingly running her hand up Marley's thigh.
Marley shivered under Camila's touch.
Leaning in, Camila kisses Marley passionately, being cautious of Mason. She continued to gently run her hand along Marley's thigh.
Marley continued to shiver under Camila's touch as she kissed her back softly.
The older girl slowly slips her hand between Marley's thighs and puts pressure against her clit as she runs her tongue along Marley's bottom lip.
Marley let out a gasp into Camila's mouth.
Shifting slightly, Camila pushes Marley's panties aside and slips a finger inside her.
Marley's muscles tensed in surprise.
"Relax," Camila whispers against her lips, thrusting her finger into Marley slowly and gently.
Marley's breath caught in her throat.
Adding a second finger, Camila continues her movements, curling her fingers as she thrusts back in. "You like that?" She breathes out, she was growing hard and really needed release.
Marley's face scrunched up and her back arched off the bed.
Pulling her fingers out, Camila shifts and moves Mason slightly so that she can hover above Marley.
Reaching between them, she frees her erection and gently thrusts into her.
Marley's breath caught in her throat again.
Camila begins thrusting into the younger girl slowly and gently.
Marley moaned quietly.
Leaning down, Camila kisses along Marley's throat as she continues thrusting into her.
Marley suddenly became conscious of her son lying beside them.
"Relax, he's asleep." Camila whispers in her ear as she continues thrusting into her.
"He could wake up." Marley moaned quietly.
Camila begins thrusting slightly faster, the bed lightly rocking below them. "Shh, if you stay quiet he won't."
"The bed moving will wake him up." Marley breathed.
Camila just kisses Marley to shut her up, continuing her movements until she feels Marley clenching around her.
It wasn't long before they both crashed over the edge, Camila releasing deep inside her.
Marley breathed heavily, her head falling back against the bed.
Slowly, Camila pulls out of her and grabs the wipes beside the bed to clean them up before fixing their clothes.
Marley yawned, humming.
"Told you he wouldn't wake up." Camila brags as she lays beside Marley.
"No, we were just lucky he enjoys his naps." Marley said.
"Whatever you say Mar, get some sleep." The older girl responds, closing her eyes.
Marley rolled onto her side. "Are you angry at me?"
Frowning, Camila opens her eyes and tiredly looks at Marley. "No."
"Then what's wrong?" Marley asked.
"Why do you think somethings wrong?" The older girl asks softly.
"I don't know. You just seem a little upset." Marley shrugged.
Shaking her head, Camila kisses Marley's cheek. "I'm not upset, just tired."
"Okay." Marley nodded. "Let's take a nap then."
Closing her eyes once more, Camila slowly starts to fall asleep.
Marley closed her eyes and released a long breath.
****
"Mama," Grace mumbles as she climbs onto Lauren's lap her and Jaden were finally a year old.
"Yes, Grace?" Lauren asked looking down at the little girl.
Grace points at Lauren's chest. "Ah," she says, opening her mouth.
"Grace, you're old enough to have a bottle now." Lauren said. "I've got no milk left."
Whining, the little girl nuzzles Lauren's chest. "Mama."
"Grace." Lauren said.
"Want," the one year old whines, pointing at Lauren's chest.
"No." Lauren said. "You can't demand things and I've already told you. There is no milk left."
Tears fill the little girl's eyes and she buries her face in Lauren's neck.
"Grace don't start this nonsense. You know the rules." Lauren said.
"Mama," Grace whines softly.
"Grace! Stop right now." Lauren said. "It's a bottle or nothing."
The little girl continues to softly cry.
Lauren rolled her eyes. "It's not happening."
Shifting, Grace begins to cry even harder.
"Grace, stop it right this second." Lauren said.
The little girl continued to cry, trying to pull up Lauren's shirt.
"Grace!" Lauren pushed her shirt down.
Flinching, Grace bursts into sobs.
"Stop this nonsense right now." Lauren said calmly.
"Laur, you should just do it, she's waking Quinn." Lucy says from the doorway.
"Why? She should be on milk now, she's big enough plus her teeth are coming in and it hurts but she doesn't understand that." Lauren said, looking up at Lucy.
Sughing, Lucy closes her eyes. "Well then you never should've started it."
Lauren looked down. She felt sick and just wanted to cry.
"Just feed her." Lucy says before leaving the room.
Lauren rolled her eyes.
"Mama," Grace whines out, pulling on Lauren's shirt, trying to lift it.
"Fine." Lauren moved Grace off her lap and stood up. She pulled her shirt over her head and sat down.
The little girl immediately climbs back onto Lauren's lap and latches onto her nipple.
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her face.
Grace's sucks were gentle as she relaxed against Lauren's body. Her eyes occasionally fluttering closed as she nursed, she rested her tiny hand on the side of Lauren's boob, opening and closing her hand occasionally.
Lauren leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes shut.
After a few minutes, Grace stops nursing, having fallen asleep.
Lauren sighed heavily. She brushed her fingers through her hair, suddenly becoming aware of the ring on her finger. She pulled her hand away and looked at Camila's wedding ring. She shook her head and took it off her finger, placing it on the coffee table.
Lauren moved Grace off her lap, stood up and pulled her shirt over her head. She lifted the little girl up off the couch and carried her to the nursery. She lay her down in her crib and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well." She mumbled, leaving the room.
When she walked back into the living room she found Camila sitting on the couch, playing with the wedding ring she'd just taken off.
Lauren stopped in the doorway swallowing.
The older girl closes her eyes and places the wedding ring down before dropping her head into her hands.
Lauren watched Camila, not making a move. She swallowed.
She could hear Camila mumbling to herself.
Lauren began backing out of the room, only to bump into Marley.
The younger girl moves past Lauren and makes her way into the living room, straddling Camila's hips.
Lauren froze for a second before making her way to her room and closing the door. She sighed heavily and leaned back against the door.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asks from where she was on the bed with Jaden who was playing with toy cars.
"Nothing... just tired and I don't feel right." Lauren said.
Frowning, Lucy gets up and moves over to Lauren. "Have you taken a test?"
Lauren shook her head. "I've been to busy taking care of Grace."
"Go into our bathroom and take a test." Lucy says softly.
Lauren nodded. "Okay." She went into the bathroom.
Lucy turned to Jaden. "Yes, sweetheart?"
Much like his sister, Jaden was clingy but only with Lucy. He didn't whine or cry as much as Grace did either.
"Up." The little boy asks, reaching for Lucy again.
Lucy moved over to the bed and lifted him up. She ran her fingers through his floppy brown hair.
Curling into her, Jaden releases a soft yawn. "Sing?"
"Sing... what?" Lucy kissed the side of his head.
"Song," The little boy responds, not understanding what she meant.
"What song?" Lucy asked.
The little boy just closed his eyes. "Sing mama,"
"Okay." Lucy swayed them as she sang to Jaden.
Slowly, the little boy closes his eyes and falls asleep.
Lucy rubbed his back softly before laying him down on the bed with a few pillows around him.
"Luce," Lauren says softly as she walks into the room, tears in her eyes.
"Laur?" Lucy moved over to Lauren. "What's wrong?"
"I-I'm pregnant." Lauren breathes out, a wide smile growing on her lips as tears roll down her cheeks.
Lucy smiled softly and pulled Lauren into a hug. "Congratulations."
Lauren immediately relaxed into the hug and closed her eyes.
Lucy kissed the side of Lauren's head.
"I didn't think it had worked," Lauren says quietly.
"Well, it did. So be happy." Lucy said softly.
Nodding her head, Lauren relaxes and just holds onto Lucy. "It worked." She whispers.
"It did." Lucy said softly, rubbing Lauren's back.
After a few minutes, Lauren pulls away and takes a deep breath.
"You okay?" Lucy asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm just debating on how to tell Camila." The younger girl responds softly.
"You don't have to tell her yet if you aren't ready." Lucy said softly.
Lauren bit her lip. "I want to tell her."
"Okay." Lucy smiled softly.
"Mama," Addison's soft voice says from the doorway.
Lucy looked up. "What's wrong Addison?" She asked softly.
The five year old rubs her eyes tiredly. "No feel good."
"You don't feel good?" Lucy repeated. "What's wrong?"
Addison moves closer to Lucy and holds her arms up. "Tummy hurts."
"You're tummy hurts... in what way? Does it feel like you're going to be sick or is it just sore?" Lucy asked.
"Both mama," the little girl responds, laying her head against Lucy's stomach, she was burning up.
"Let's get you some medicine and into a cool bath." Lucy said softly, taking Addison's hand.
Nodding her head, Addison slowly follows Lucy.
****
Camila groans softly as she wakes up and shifts on the bed, finding Marley straddling her hips.
The younger girl was sound asleep, her head resting on Camila's chest.
Sighing, Camila gently moves Marley off her. She'd noticed how clingy Marley had become since they'd been home.
Marley let out a quiet groan, trying to move back over to Camila.
Getting up, Camila quietly leaves the room.
She sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair. She didn't realise she'd walked right into Lauren.
"Oh, sorry didn't see you." Camila says softly.
Lauren stumbled backwards, shaking her head.
"You okay?" The older girl asks softly.
Lauren looked up, she nodded slowly.
Sending her a soft smile, Camila moves to walk past Lauren.
"I'm pregnant." Lauren mumbled just loud enough for Camila to hear.
Stopping, Camila turns and smiles softly. "Really? That's amazing."
Lauren nodded slowly. "Yeah... It is."
"So how is this going to work?" Camila asks softly.
Lauren shrugged, she leaned against the wall.
"Will I be allowed around them?" Camila asks softly.
Lauren shrugged. "Depends on Marley's schedule."
Camila shifts and bites her lip. "Marley said that after this tour, she was done."
"And you really believe that? Performing is her life." Lauren said.
"She told me." The older girl responds softly.
"Do really believe her?" Lauren raised her right brow.
Nodding her head, Camila frowns, not understanding Lauren's look. "Why wouldn't I?"
Lauren shrugged. "Because... plans can change."
"You left," Marley mumbles as she walks up behind Camila and slides her hands under her shirt.
Camila turned her head. "I needed a drink."
Shifting, Marley leans slightly over Camila's shoulder and kisses her passionately, trying to show Lauren that Camila now belonged to her.
Lauren rolled her eyes and walked away.
Turning toward Marley, Camila keeps their lips connected as she leads her back into their room.
Marley pulled away. "Lauren now knows you're mine." She turned to leave the room.
Frowning, Camila grabs Marley's hand and pulls her back into a kiss.
Marley stumbled into Camila. "Ouch."
Cupping her cheek, Camila slightly deepens the kiss.
Marley's eyes fluttered closed and she relaxed into Camila's touch.
After a few minutes, Camila pulls away. "Don't kiss me like that if you aren't going to finish."
Marley rolled her eyes. "I'm hungry." She turned to the door.
"No," Camila responds, pulling Marley back and kissing her once more before laying the younger girl down on the bed.
"I'm hungry." Marley whined as Camila pulled away and began kissing down Marley's neck.
"After." The older girl responds, sliding her hands into Marley's shirt.
Marley shifted uncomfortably on the bed.
Shifting them, Camila pulls Marley's shirt off before attaching her lips to Marley's nipple.
Marley didn't have the energy to fight Camila off. She was really hungry but couldn't be bothered with the argument fighting Camila off would cause.
After a few minutes, Camila strips their clothes and gently thrusts into her.
Marley squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers curled around the sheets beneath her.
"Mmm," Camila moans as she begins thrusting slightly faster, the bed beginning to rock beneath them.
Marley begged her muscles to relax but they didn't.
"Relax," Camila breathes out as she switches to a slow and teasing pace.
Marley's muscles slowly relaxed and the younger girl kept her eyes squeezed shut.
"Open your eyes and look at me, its just like when you were younger." Camila tells her softly, twisting her hips and hitting Marley's gspot.
Marley's body shivered. She gripped the sheets tightly, her stomach growled.
Camila's thrusts grew faster, causing an intense amount of heat between Marley's thighs.
It wasn't long before the two girls fell over the edge, breathing heavily.
Slowly pulling out of Marley, Camila kisses her gently before laying down on the bed and closing her eyes.
Marley sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Wanna order chinese?" Camila asks softly, rolling onto her side and rubbing Marley's hip.
Marley shook her head. "No."
"Pizza?" Camila asks softly.
Marley shook her head again. "I want a home cooked meal."
"I can make chili." Camila responds softly.
"Chili?" Marley asked.
Camila nods her head. "And we can put it on some spaghetti."
"Sure..." Marley shrugged.
Kissing Marley gently, Camila moves to get up. "But first, a shower."
Marley nodded. "Yeah." She didn't move though.
Chuckling, Camila holds her hands out for Marley.
"You shower. I'll go in after you." Marley told Camila.
"Okay," Camila kisses her gently before making her way to the bathroom.
Marley sighed heavily. She ran her fingers through her hair.
After a few minutes, Camila walked out completely clean and began getting dressed.
Marley got up and went into the bathroom. She locked the door behind herself.
Once she was dressed, Camila left to go make everyone some chili spaghetti.
She found Lauren in the kitchen. What she didn't expect to see was Lauren nursing Grace.
Frowning, Camila tries to figure out how to react.
Lauren hadn't noticed Camila. She was too focused on the book in her hand.
"Um Laur?" Camila asks questioningly.
Lauren jumped, dropping her book and losing her place.
"What's going on?" Camila asks softly.
Lauren's eyes widened as she froze.
"I'm not mad, I just want to know why you're nursing her." Camila says softly.
"Because Marley wasn't around to do it." Lauren mumbled.
Nodding her head in understanding, Camila sighs. "Move to a different room, we don't want Marley finding out."
Lauren sighed heavily. She ran her fingers through her hair. "She's asleep now. I'm going to put her in her bed."
"Okay, just be more careful in the future." Camila says softly before moving to make lunch.
Lauren nodded slowly, pulling Grace away. She pulled her shirt back up.
She was shocked that Camila didn't flip out on her.
Standing up, she carried Grace out of the room.
The little girl shifts in her sleep and releases a soft yawn.
Sighing, Lauren placed the little girl in her crib. She stood up right and placed her hand on her stomach. She closed her eyes for a long moment.
"You okay?" Lucy asks softly.
Lauren let a long breath out through her mouth. She nodded slowly.
Moving up behind her, Lucy gently rubs Lauren's stomach. "No you aren't, what's wrong?"
"Camila... she caught me nursing Grace." Lauren mumbled.
Turning Lauren to face, Lucy looks into her eyes. "What did she say?"
"She didn't understand why but she wasn't mad... I don't get it... why wasn't she mad?" Lauren mumbled.
Biting her lip, Lucy takes a deep breath. "She loves you."
Lauren shook her head. "She doesn't love me anymore."
"Yes she does, if she didn't she wouldn't be willing to help you have a baby and she definitely would've gotten mad because you were breastfeeding Grace." The older girl responds, pulling away from Lauren.
"If she still loved me... she wouldn't have stayed with Marley." Lauren mumbled.
Sighing, Lucy looks into Lauren's eyes. "Laur, you haven't seen it when she looks at you."
Lauren ran her fingers through her hair, keeping a hand on her stomach.
"Maybe you should talk to her." The older girl whispers, she hated to admit it but she knew Lauren needed Camila.
Lauren looked at Lucy. She shook her head. "She's just going to leave." She shrugged.
"Laur, talk to her." Lucy says calmly.
"What's the point? It's not going to change anything." Lauren mumbled.
Rolling her eyes, Lucy runs a hand through her hair. "Talk to her."
"It's not going to change anything." Lauren repeated.
"Give it a chance Laur." Is all Lucy says before leaving the room.
Lauren shook her head.
****
A month later
Marley groans as she leans over the toilet in the bathroom. She gripped the side of the toilet tightly.
She didn't hear anyone come in and flinched when cool hands touched her back before pulling her hair up.
Marley coughed and leaned back against the cold wall. She closed her eyes.
"What's wrong baby?" Camila asks softly, rubbing her back.
Marley took a deep breath, pushing her hair out of her face.
"Baby, what's bothering you?" Camila asks softly, turning Marley's head to look in her eyes.
Marley let her shaking hand fall to her stomach.
Dropping her hand to Marley's stomach, Camila rubs it gently. "Is it hurting?"
Marley nodded slowly sniffing.
Rubbing her stomach, Camila kisses her forehead.
Marley shifted against the wall and pressed her face against the cool tile.
"Let's get you into a warm bath." Camila says softly.
Marley shook her head. She felt too warm.
"A cool bath baby," Camila explains softly.
Marley shook her head again. She couldn't be bothered moving.
"How about we lay down?" Camila asks softly.
Marley shook her head again. The wall was cold against her warm skin.
Sighing, Camila tries to think of what to do. "Come on." she says softly, gently lifting Marley up.
Marley groaned, wrapping her arms around herself.
Slowly, Camila moved over to the sink to help Marley brush her teeth.
Marley groaned again, resting her head on Camila's shoulder.
"I've got you." Camila says softly, rubbing Marley's back.
Marley's skin felt really warm against Camila's bare shoulder.
After brushing Marley's teeth, Camila carries her to their room and gently lays her down.
Marley rolled onto her side and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I'll go get Lucy and have her check you over." The older girl says softly, kissing Marley's forehead.
Marley didn't respond. she let her eyes fall closed.
"Luce?" Camila calls out as she leaves the room and makes her way toward the kitchen.
"Yeah?" Lucy called back. "What's the problem?"
"Can you check on Marley? She's burning up." Camila responds, stopping in front of Lucy and Lauren in the kitchen.
Her eyes immediately landing on Lauren.
"Sure." Lucy stepped away from Lauren and made her way to Marley's room.
Lauren's eyes remained staring out of the window.
"Hey," Camila says softly, walking up beside Lauren.
Lauren kept her gaze out of the window. She was watching a squirrel in one of the trees.
"How are you feeling today?" The older girl asks softly.
Lauren shrugged, she looked kind of tired.
Moving closer, Camila caresses Lauren's cheek. "You look tired."
Lauren hummed tiredly and reached up to rub her eyes.
Slowly, Camila leans in and kisses her, resting her free hand on Lauren's stomach.
Lauren relaxed into Camila's touch, closing her eyes.
Keeping the kiss slow and gentle, Camila gently pulls Lauren closer, getting lost in the younger girl.
Eventually, Lauren pulled away, needing air.
Grabbing her hand, Camila leads her outside and they make their way to their hidden spot from when they were younger.
"Why are we out here?" Lauren yawned.
Instead of responding, Camila sets up the pillows and blankets before laying Lauren down and looking into her eyes.
"Why are we here?" Lauren asked again.
"To be alone." The older girl responds softly, kissing Lauren passionately.
Lauren pushed Camila away. "Can we just sleep?" She asked sheepishly.
"Yes, I was just finishing my kiss." Camila responds before pulling Lauren close and pulling a blanket over them.
Lauren curled up and buried her face in a pillow.
Closing her eyes, Camila slowly falls asleep.
Lauren drifted off slowly.
By the time they woke up, Camila was in a mood, she wanted Lauren but didn't think Lauren wanted her.
Lauren yawned and rolled onto her other side, facing away from Camila.
Sitting up, Camila runs a hand through her hair.
Lauren rubbed her eyes and let out a long breath.
"Hey," Camila says softly.
Lauren sat up and turned to Camila. "Hi."
Shifting closer, Camila kisses her slowly and passionately.
Lauren kissed Camila back for a long moment before pushing her away.
Frowning, Camila tries to kiss her again.
"Stop." Lauren said, standing up.
"What's wrong?" Camila asks softly.
"I don't want to." Lauren mumbled.
Confusion filled Camila's eyes. "Want to what?"
"Nothing... let's just go home." Lauren mumbled.
"No, tell me Laur." Camila responds softly.
"I just want to go home." Lauren mumbled.
The older girl becomes even more confused. "Laur, what just happened?"
"Nothing." Lauren mumbled, looking for her phone.
"Stop, look at me." Camila says softly, cupping Lauren's cheek.
"I just want to go home." Lauren responded.
Swallowing thickly, Camila cups her cheek. "Please don't pull away."
"I need to go to the bathroom." Lauren said.
"There's one near us." Camila responds, referring to the bathrooms in the park.
Lauren shook her head. "Morning sickness." She whispered.
Nodding, Camila puts everything back and leads Lauren back to the house.
Lauren bit her lip.
****
"We're heading out now." Camila says softly.
"Heading out where?" Lucy asked.
Frowning, Camila looks toward the bag in her hand and Lucy. "The rest of the tour. There's only five months left."
"Oh. Okay." Lucy shrugged.
Nodding, Camila runs a hand through her hair. "Call me if anything happens?" She asks, glancing toward a sleeping Lauren.
Lucy nodded. "Sure."
"Thanks, I'll call as much as I can to video chat with the kids." Camila says before hugging Lucy and leaving.
Lucy sighed, she ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Lauren.
The younger girl shifts on the bed and releases a soft groan, her hand on her stomach.
"This isn't going to be easy." Lucy mumbled to herself.
"Luce," Lauren mumbles weakly.
Lucy moved over to the couch and sat down beside Lauren's head. "Shh, go back to sleep." She ran her fingers through Lauren's hair.
Slowly, the younger girl relaxes and falls asleep.
Lucy kissed Lauren's forehead.
"Mama," Grace cries out through the baby monitor.
Lucy got up off the couch and made her way into the nursery.
The one year old looks up at Lucy with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Lucy asked softly. She lifted the little girl up.
Curling into her, Grace continues to softly cry. "Want mama,"
"Mama isn't well." Lucy said softly.
The little girl continues to softly cry, unlike her usual fits about Lauren, the little girl was just slightly fussy.
"Hey, Hey, calm down." Lucy said.
Slowly, Grace calms down, sucking on her thumb.
Lucy kissed the little girl's forehead.
Closing her eyes, the little girl hums softly, listening to Lucy's heartbeat.
"Are you hungry, kiddo?" Lucy asked softly.
Looking up, Grace frowns and tilts her head to the side. "Boo," she mumbles, meaning boob which is what she called nursing.
Lucy shook her head. "Mama is sick."
Whining, Grace buries her face back in Lucy's neck, it was still a struggle to get her to eat regular food.
"Don't whine." Lucy said.
"Boo," the little girl cries softly.
"No." Lucy said. "I think there is some boo milk in the fridge."
Nodding her head, the little girl points toward the door.
Lucy sighed. She carried Grace out of the room and into the kitchen.
Grace was shifting in her arms, she was growing upset but tried to stay quiet.
Lucy opened the fridge and looked for the bottle. She cursed inside her head when she didn't see one.
"Want boo!" Grace cries out, shifting in Lucy's arms again.
"No." Lucy said. "How many times do I have to tell you, Mama is sick."
The little girl bursts into tears and begins shaking her head. "Boo!"
Lucy sat down and lay Grace on her front on her lap. She smacked the little girl's bottom. "Stop it right now. Mama is sick there is nothing I can do about it. Stop it or you'll wake her."
Grace begins sobbing and trying to get away from Lucy.
"What's going on in here?" Lauren asks softly from the doorway.
Lucy lifted Grace up, turning to look at Lauren. "You should be lying down and sleeping."
"I heard Grace crying," Lauren responds weakly, moving into the room to pick Grace up.
Lucy sighed. "She wanted your milk but you were asleep and there's none in the fridge."
Nodding her head, Lauren sits down and pulls her shirt down slightly for Grace to latch on. "I'll have to make more."
The one year old immediately latches on and closes her eyes.
"She needs to get off your milk. Her teeth are coming in and it hurts you. What happens when this baby is born? You can't still feed her." Lucy said.
Closing her eyes, Lauren takes a deep breath while rubbing Grace's back. "I don't know what else to do Luce, I've tried weaning her and it hasn't worked."
"Have you taken her to the doctor?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, and all the doctor tells me is to wean her slowly." The green eyed girl responds.
"How slowly? Does she know you've got a baby on the way?" Lucy asked.
Lauren nods her head and sighs softly. "I don't know what else to do."
"She's too attached... maybe we should leave her and the rest of the kids with Remi or Alex and go on a vacation, just the two of us." Lucy suggested.
Swallowing thickly, Lauren looks down at Grace before looking at Lucy. She couldn't admit that she was attached to the little girl as well.
"That's a no, isn't it?" Lucy asked.
Biting her lip, Lauren looks down. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" Lucy frowned.
"I upset you." The younger girl mumbles sadly.
"You haven't upset me." Lucy said.
Grace shifts in Lauren's arms and releases her nipple, laying her head on Lauren's shoulder.
"She's finished." Lucy nodded towards Grace.
Fixing her shirt, Lauren runs a hand through Grace's hair, surprised the little girl wasn't whining.
Grace blinks tiredly as she stares at Lucy.
Lucy turned around to make herself a cup of coffee.
Grace shifts on Lauren's lap and looks up at her, she was trying to fight sleep.
"Sleep." Lauren said softly.
Shaking her head, the little girl shifts again. "Mama,"
"What?" Lauren asked.
Looking up at her tiredly, Grace points toward Lucy. "Ouch."
Lauren furrowed her brows. "What?"
Lucy wasn't paying attention as she made her coffee.
"Ouch mama," Grace responds, lightly smacking Lauren's hand before pointing at Lucy again.
Lauren still didn't understand what Grace was trying to tell her.
Growing frustrated, Grace looks up at Lauren. "Hurt."
"Don't get annoyed at me, I've not done anything." Lauren said, putting Grace down on the floor.
Tears fill Grace's eyes and she immediately reaches for Lauren. "Mama,"
"You can walk on your own, you don't need me to carry you anymore." Lauren said, turning to leave the room.
Grace releases a loud scream. "Mama,"
Lucy puts her coffee down and pops Grace on the mouth. "That's enough,"
The little girl immediately begins crying, her bottom lip bleeding.
Lauren had already gone into the bathroom and didn't see Lucy hit Grace.
Grace quickly runs out of the room, trying to find Lauren, blood running down her chin from her lip.
When she couldn't find Lauren, she sat down in the middle of the hall, screaming, until Lucy came over to her and lifted her up. The woman smacked Grace's bottom again. "Enough." She put the little girl down on the floor in the nursery and closed the door.
Grace curled up in a ball, she didn't understand why Lucy was always hitting her.
She heard the bathroom door open and close.
"Mama," the one year old cried out, loud enough for Lauren to hear, it was her pained cry.
Lauren let out a silent breath and rolled her eyes. "What is it Grace?"
"Mama," the little girl cries out, getting up and standing by the door.
"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Lauren said.
Grace struggled to open the door, crying softly.
The problem was, she wasn't tall enough to reach the handle.
"Mama, out." The one year old sobs, her lip was still bleeding.
"Out?" Lauren asked confused. "Isn't it nap time?" She looked at the watch on her wrist.
"Hurts," the little girl cries.
"What hurts?" Lauren asked.
The little girl continues to try opening the door.
"What hurts, Grace?" Lauren asked again.
"Mama," Grace just cries out, trying to get Lauren to open the door.
"Grace, lie down and go to sleep. I'm sure you're fine." Lauren said, moving to walk away from the door.
Grace releases a louder cry and Lucy makes her way down the hall. She was frustrated and getting tired of Grace always whining and crying.
Lauren had gone into her and Lucy's room for a nap.
She woke up when she heard loud and pained screams coming from the nursery.
Lauren groaned quietly and pushed her hair out of her face. She yawned tiredly.
After a few minutes she gets up and makes her way to the nursery.
She found Grace in her crib with a bloody lip and nose, the little girl had a cut on her cheek along with a bruise and Lucy was nowhere to be seen.
"What happened?" Lauren frowned in confusion.
"Wucy," the little girl sobbed out.
"Lucy?" Lauren was even more confused.
Grace nods her head, continuing to softly cry.
"Grace calm down." Lauren said.
"Hurts," the little girl sobs out.
"I know it hurts... but you need to calm down so I can help you." Lauren explained.
Reaching up for her, Grace cries softly.
"Stop crying." Lauren said.
Slowly, the little girl stops crying but continues reaching for Lauren, she had a dark bruise around her arm in the shape of a hand.
Lauren lifted Grace up, being careful of her sore back.
Grace curls into her but doesn't lay her head down, she was extremely sore and needed cleaned up.
Lauren carried Grace into the bathroom.
Shifting slightly, Grace cries out in pain.
"Shh." Lauren said.
She starts up the bath water and waits for it to warm up.
Grace watched Lauren, trying not to think about the pain.
After the water is warmed up, Lauren strips the little girl and gently places her in the tub.
Grace stared up at Lauren.
The water wasn't too hot but it still hurt because of the cuts and bruises on her body.
"Ten minutes, that's all I ask." Lauren pleaded.
Grace shifts uncomfortably. "Hurts mama."
"I know. Try to relax." Lauren said.
The little girl slowly relaxes, her eyes falling closed.
Lauren cleaned the little girl up.
As soon as she's clean, Grace reaches for Lauren.
Lauren lifted the little girl out of the bath.
Lauren dressed the little girl and began putting bandaids on her wounds.
After a few minutes, Grace falls asleep in Lauren's arms..
Lauren put the little girl into bed.
****
"What?" Lucy asks, noticing Lauren's look, she was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.
"Why did you hit Grace?" Lauren asked.
The older girl rolls her eyes. "She wouldn't shut up."
"That's no reason to ever hit a kid." Lauren responded.
Rolling her eyes, Lucy runs a hand through her hair.
"Lucy?" Lauren frowned.
"I'm tired of her Lauren, she needs to go." The older girl says calmly.
"Go? Where? She's a kid. She can't go anywhere." Lauren said.
Rolling her eyes, Lucy begins drinking her coffee. "Just call Camila."
"No." Lauren said simply.
"Then you can deal with her alone." Lucy snaps out.
Lauren flinched and took a step back. "What?
"You can raise Grace alone. I'm done helping." Lucy responds coldly.
"Why?" Lauren was confused.
Instead of responding, the older girl gets up and leaves the room.