Reunion (Camren)

Chapter 7

"Have you guys seen Rey?" Lauren looked around the kitchen that both Ally and Normani sat in along with Eric and Devon who spoke at the table about their own things.

"No..." Ally said, raising an eyebrow. "How does one lose a child exactly?"

Normani snickered but silenced quickly when Ally pushed her arm.

"Easy, you put her down for a nap and return five minutes later to find that she's gone. I left her on the couch and now she's not there," Lauren said, shaking her head as she too began to wonder how she managed to lose a child.

"How about Dinah?" Normani offered, popping an almond into her mouth.

"She's outside flirting with the delivery boy," Devon answered, pointing to the front door where the translucent windows showed two silhouettes talking. "Damn, now our East Indian food is going to be cold," He added as an after thought. "For real babe, we need to go grocery shopping. We eat take out every day."

"We'll go tomorrow," Ally said with a wave of her hand, looking back to Lauren who was now showing a face of slight fear. "Go check with Mila. She went upstairs to change into her pajamas a while ago. Maybe Reagan found her."

"Yeah, thanks guys," Lauren quickly headed for the stairs and took them by twos, praising herself mentally for not slipping on the hardwood. Sure enough, light chatter echoed through the hallway and soon enough Lauren found Camila and Reagan sitting on the floor of the second guest room, both speaking adamantly about something.

"So, why are you a tiger?" Camila asked the small girl, playfully using the stuffed animal to tap her nose.

"Because mommy calls me cubby. Also, I got this cool mark," the little one turned around and showed the back of her neck where her birthmark was shown. Similar to stretch marks, the lines looked like tiger stripes. The unique marking was what encouraged Lauren to call the little one her tiger cub as an infant.

"Woah, you are part tiger!" Camila exclaimed, making the girl giggle.

"Told ya! Why are you a dragon?" Reagan asked as she plopped down on the floor again and began to play with Camila's fingers.

"Hmm," Camila hummed, thinking of a good response. "When I was a little older than you I didn't feel like a strong person. There were and still are a lot of bigger things than me. But dragons are big, right?"

"Yeah, they're super big!" Reagan said, using her hands to show just how big they could be.

"See, if I imagined myself being big, then all the stronger things didn't seem so bad. I felt brave and I knew I could protect the people I loved."

"Like unicorns and tigers?" Reagan asked, her emerald eyes sparkling with interest.

"Yeah, wild thing. Like unicorns and tigers. Dragons have magic powers that keep people safe from bad things," Camila went on to explain.

"Is it hard?" The blonde asked curiously, tilting her head.

"Sometimes," The brunette admitted.

"So why not pick an easier job?" This earned a chuckle from the older girl and the mother who observed outside the door.

"Well, I like this one. I only ever want to protect the unicorns and tigers, even if it means I mess up a few times or get hurt in the process."

"Thank you for protecting them, Mila," Reagan crawled into the lap of Camila and wrapped her in a hug, making the brunette melt slightly from how precious the blonde was.

"Of course, wild thing. You can always count on me," Camila pressed a kiss to the side of Reagan's head and smiled to herself. Just as this happened Lauren knocked on the door frame and entered the room.