green ➸ camren

thirty seven

"C'mon, kiddo," Lauren laughed softly when Presley attempted to feed the last of her muffin to Wolf. "Let's get you dressed."

"Camz, can you get out the stuff for pasta salad and see if we have enough rolls for sandwiches?" Lauren asked, balancing Presley on one hip and walking over to kiss her wife on the cheek. "I'll come help you once I'm done."

"Got it," Camila giggled and crinkled her nose. Lauren stole one more kiss before disappearing down the hallway with Presley.

She glanced at the smaller girl, who seemed to be content in just observing everything around her. Lauren was anxious to see when the child would talk, but she also understood how important it was to be patient in these types of situations.

It was all about control, she'd figured out. When Camila went silent, it had been when everything else around her spiraled out of control and she felt as if she was losing grip on reality. But the one thing she could control was her words. Lauren figured that it was probably the same for Presley.

"I, uh, I put the clothes you brought with you away," Lauren nodded, setting Presley down in front of the dresser. "It's sorta chilly outside so let's pick out something that'll keep you nice and warm, yeah?"

Ten minutes later, Presley stood in front of Lauren, donned in black leggings and a knitted white sweater. Lauren helped her slide her small hand through the second sleeve before sitting back on the bed and giving her a small smile.

"Now let's do something about your hair, yeah?" Lauren laughed and ruffled the smaller girl's wavy hair that had been tousled in her sleep. "C'mere, bug," she scooted back on the bed and patted the space in front of her.

Presley shyly crawled onto the bed, allowing Lauren to guide her to sit in front of her so she could smooth out her hair.

"I figure I should tell you a bit about who's coming over today just so you can be a little prepared," Lauren laughed softly, combing her fingers through the girl's caramel waves.

"You'll like Ally. She's super sweet. Plus she's really good at baking," Lauren nodded. "She's the oldest out of all of us so she's the one that usually keeps everyone out of trouble." Presley giggled softly.

"Then there's Dinah and Normani. They're dancers, kinda like you were when you dressed up on Halloween, remember?" Lauren asked, beginning to part the girl's hair. Presley nodded.

"Except they like hip hop more, I think. Sometimes they can be kinda loud. Well, mostly Dinah. But they're super fun. Dinah loves little kids like you," Lauren laughed quietly. "But just stick by my side if you get overwhelmed or anything, yeah?"

Once the smaller girl nodded, Lauren smiled and tied off a section of caramel hair on the girl's head. "All done," she whispered, turning Presley around and fixing the two pigtails she had gathered on either side of her head.

"Well look at you, little one, you look so beautiful," Lauren nodded. The smaller girl smiled shyly, reaching up to run her small fingers through the pigtails. She shook her head, giggling when her hair bounced back and forth.

"Now c'mon, let's go brush our teeth and then help Camz get lunch ready," Lauren smiled, nudging Presley in the direction of the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Camila stood in the kitchen carefully slicing up a tomato. She paused when she heard small footsteps behind her, feeling something tug at her sleeve. When she looked down, Presley stood beside her with her hands stretched out towards the older girl.

"You want to help?" Camila asked, setting the knife down and bending down to pick up the smaller girl. Presley nodded, and Camila glanced around the kitchen in thought.