She has nobody...will it always be that way?
Nine year old Camila was desperate to be saved, but the last person she expects to do just that was her teacher; Miss Jauregui.
*another book I wrote whilst just getting started with this whole writing th...
Lauren had no idea why this had suddenly come up. Camila had been with her for quite a bit now, and while she's been dealing with her past in her own way, not once has she brought up the people who had hurt her.
Was that on purpose? She didn't really know.
But what she did know is that she was going to do her damned best to reassure her baby that she's safe. No one deserves to go through the fear of being taken away from their loved ones, let alone a child.
Sighing heavily, she breaks herself from her thoughts and brings her attention back to the small girl on her lap, "You trust mama, right?" She asks, placing a lingering kiss on top of Camila's head.
Even herself, an adult, who hadn't even been through any of the crap Camila had, was a little unsure about what was going to happen to Derrick and Anne, so she could only imagine how the young girl was feeling.
She feels Camila nod her head against her chest, and she sighs in relief.
"Then you need to trust me when I say those horrible people will never, ever, get near you again. It wasn't just you they hurt baby, they hurt a lot of people, and for that, they're going to be put away for a long, long time" she explains quietly, squeezing the girl a little closer to her when she feels her shivering.
In all honesty, she really didn't know how long they'd get behind bars. Maybe they would get a life sentence, maybe they would only get a few years, Lauren didn't really know for sure, but she hoped for the former.
She knew the court case was happening soon, and she was so so grateful Camila didn't have to face them personally, instead, they would record the interview they have with her, and then they would show it to the room full of witnesses, the jury, attorneys, lawyers, and most importantly, the judge, and hope for the best outcome.
Camila nods against her again, once again not saying anything out loud. Lauren didn't blame her, she knew it was a lot to take in.
She sighs and stands, holding Camila bridal style in her arms, "lets get you dressed and then we'll go cuddle. Does that sound good?" She asks as she walks out of the bathroom and into her room, setting the young girl down onto the end of her bed.
Camila nods her head, holding the towel a little closer, "Yeah mama, onesie?" She asks, watching as Lauren grabs a pull-up from the dresser.
Lauren nods and sets the pull-up next to her on the bed, "of course baby, which one?" she asks, walking back over to the dresser.
"Pink" the small girl murmurs quietly, hoping her mama would know which one she was on about. Thankfully, she did, as just seconds later she walks back to the bed with Camila's favourited onesie in her grasp.
Lauren helps Camila into a fresh pull-up and pulls it up so it's securely sat on her hips, she then helps her into the onesie, guiding her arms through the holes before zipping it up.
"There we go, my little pink princess" the green eyed girl says gently as she stands back up, a small smile on her lips.
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Camila smiles halfheartedly at the nickname and holds her arms up to be held, a slight whine slipping past her lips when it didn't happen fast enough.
Lauren frowns at the girls impatient attitude, and lifts the girl into her arms, sliding an arm underneath her so she wouldn't fall, "there's no need for that my love" she scolds gently as she holds the girl close, rocking her gently.
Camila tangles her hand in Lauren's hair and rests her head on her shoulder, "sorry mama" she whispers hoarsely, blinking away tears.
The green eyed girl sighs and pulls her baby a little closer, hating the fact that she was so close to tears again, "it's okay baby" she murmurs.
She knew the young girl was overthinking just about everything right now, so getting mad at her would just be pointless. Honestly though, she was kind of expecting this to happen sooner or later, I mean, what kind of previously abused child who gets taken in by someone who loves them, doesn't have any worry's or insecurities about their past?
It was just a thing that was bound to happen.
But still, she wished it could be different.
**********
Camila small body trembles underneath the covers as she hears mama's bedroom door slowly creak open, and she brings her hands to her mouth to stop the whimpers from escaping and letting the person knew where she was hiding.
She tries to steady her erratic breathing as she hears heavy footsteps approach the bed, but all of that's soon forgotten as the covers get ripped off of her, and a loud scream escapes her lips as she see's that all to familiar face stood by the bed, holding his finger to his lips as if he was trying to silently shush her.
His face was just as she remembered, dirty, unshaven, and just full of pure evil.
Heavy sobs escape pour out of her mouth as he gets closer to her, and she backs away as much as she can. She screams as a large hand attaches to her ankle, and she desperately grips onto the covers.
Where was her mama?!
Lauren looks up from her laptop as she hears loud, heartbreaking screams coming from her bedroom, and without hesitation, she's on her feet. She practically tosses her laptop onto the couch before running as quick as she could to her room, slamming the door open.
The sight she's greeted with breaks her heart. There her baby was, thriving on the bed with the covers tangled round her legs, loud screams and cries escaping her mouth, filling the large room.
She quickly walks over to the bed and climbs on, pulling the covers completely of of the thriving girl. She doesn't try and hold her, as she knew restraining someone who was having a nightmare would only make them panic more, and she really didn't want that happening.
"Wake up, come on bug, wake up for mama!" She calls loudly as she rests her hand on Camila's shoulder, shaking her a little more roughly than she normally would.
She knew Camila was a light sleeper, and normally just the slightest touch would rouse her from her sleep, so she knew shaking her would wake her easily, despite her nightmare.
And she was right, the reaction was almost immediate.
"It's okay, it's okay, it wasn't real baby, I've got you" she soothes as a hysterical Camila clambers into her arms, tightly wrapping her arms around her neck to the point where it hurt.
She knew there was no way in hell she would tell her to let go, not after this.
It wasn't real.
It wasn't real.
It wasn't real.
It wasn't real.
Camila reminds herself, going over her mama's words in her head, trying to get herself to believe it. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long long time, and it had scared her so much that every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face looking at her, an evil grin on his lips.
But it wasn't real.
He wasn't really here.
He was just in her head, and that scared her more than she'd like to admit.
********
Just so you guys know, I don't write about every single second of their life's. A few of you were concerned about Camila not asking about Normani, and I just wanted to say that she did, I just didn't write about it.
