Torment (age regression)

chapter 41

(1 year later)

Things were still pretty much the same in the Jauregui household. Camila still lived with her and was more often than not little, Lauren still had her job at the art gallery and worked five days a week. The only thing different was the fact Camila was like a totally different person.

Sure, that scared little girl she had taken in a year ago still appeared often, when she was scared, overwrought or anxious or when she was simply just having a bad day, but when it came to their day to day life, it was like she was almost...a normal seventeen year old girl.

She had her friends over often, she'd gets invited to their houses for sleepovers, she could go numerous hours without having any physical contact with her mother, (which Lauren still found a little weird as she was so used to catering to her baby's every need) and most shockingly, she no longer nursed.

When Camila had brought that subject up one night while Lauren was reading to her, she had to admit she was actually stuck on what to say. Camila used be so dependant on nursing, so attached she asked for it countless times a day and if she didn't get her way she'd get pretty upset, but now she only ever nursed maybe once or twice a week.

Of course Lauren had understood and had let her milk dry up, but if she was being honest with herself, she thinks the change in routine had affected her more than it did Camila. Not only did Camila love to nurse, but she also loved nursing her and she herself had grown pretty attached to it.

Still, it was Camila's decision so she of course dealt with her emotions privately.

Looking up from her computer when quiet footsteps fill her ears, she forces a small smile onto her face and holds her arms out whilst placing her laptop to the side, "Hi baby" she murmurs when Camila climbs onto her lap, wrapping her arms securely round her small frame.

Camila brings her hand up to play with the chain of the woman's necklace, "Hi mama. What are you doing?" She asks, glancing upwards.

"Just finishing of some paperwork for work sweetheart. When's Dinah getting here?" She asks, knowing that the two were meant to be hanging out today.

"I'm not sure mama. She hasn't messaged me back" Camila murmurs, stifling a yawn.

Lauren smiles softly, "Why don't you lay down and take a nap? If she gets here while you're asleep I'll be sure to let you know" she replies.

Nodding, Camila pushes herself up off the woman's lap, "Love you" she says with a small smile.

"I love you too, now go take a nap otherwise you'll only be grumpy later on" Lauren chuckles with a teasing wink, waiting for Camila to head of to her bedroom before picking her laptop back up.

That's another thing that was different with the youngster. When out of little space, she was a hell of a lot more independent with just about everything she did. She no longer needed anyone to go nap with her, she no longer needed anyone to accompany her to the bathroom and as much as Lauren loved that, she also hated it. Sure, the bathroom trips weren't her favourite thing in the whole wide world but they were...almost becoming routine to her.

Sure, Camila still held some childish aspects when she was big, but they were no where near as severe as they once were.

Sighing, Lauren decides she just needs to take her mind off of everything. There was no point on dwelling on things that will never be what they once were.

A few hours later the doorbell rung, signalling that someone was here. Guessing it to be Dinah, Lauren was immediately up on her feet. She jogs to the door and pulls it open, opening the mouth to greet her baby's best friend, but when she see's this person definitely was not Dinah, she slams the door and bolt locks it.

She looks through the peep whole to make sure she wasn't seeing things but when she was greeted with the face of Matthew, she knows she wasn't.

What the hell was he doing here? Taking a deep breath to try and ease her nerves, she peaks through the peep whole again. He didn't look angry, in fact, her looked quite the opposite. Despite that, she knew she couldn't give him the time of day. Rushing to the coffee table, she grabs her phone and sends a quick message to Dinah's mom to let her know their daughters plans for today will have to be rescheduled, and after getting a reply, she sighs a breath of relief.

The last thing she wanted was for Dinah to get caught up in this mess.

She waits a few minutes, her heart hammering in her chest and when she hears a quite creak, she whips the head round to where it had come from.

Camila.

The girl goes to speak, but Lauren was quick to bring her her mouth in a shushing action silently telling her to stay quiet. Camila nods and walks to her mama, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

Of course Lauren returns the embrace, needing the security herself to be able to take control of the situation and after a while of silently holding her and praying this was just a bad dream, she once again checks outside. When she see's it was empty, she allows herself to sigh a breath of relief.

"Mama?" A small voice whimpers.

Lauren looks down and see's tears streaming down her baby's cheeks, and with teary eyes of her own, she lifts her up into her arms and holds her close, "sshh, it's okay" she attempts to sooth, heading into the kitchen and placing them both down onto one of the chairs.

Camila clings to her mama, her hands visibly trembling from their place clinging to the woman's shirt, "who was it?" She asks almost silently, scared that if she spoke any louder, whoever was outside would hear her.

Lauren closes her eyes as she tries to think of a reasonable way to answer the girls question. Does Camila even remember who Matthew was? Running a hand through her hair, Lauren sighs, "It was...It was Matthew baby. Do you remember him?" She asks hesitantly, tightening her arms around Camila small frame when she starts to tremble.

Pushing back her sobs that so desperately wanted to let escape, Camila nods her head, "I remember mama" she whimpers, beginning to scratch at her chest when she feels it start to physically ache. Why couldn't he just leave them alone?

"Sshh, I know you're scared. Mama is too but you need to calm down" Lauren was quick to say when the young girls breathing starts to pick up, manoeuvring her position so she was sat across her lap and her legs hung over the side of her thigh.

Camila nods in understanding and tries her best to control her breathing, but when she struggles to do so, she kicks her legs frustratedly and buries her head into her mama's chest, letting out a quiet sob.

Lauren cups the back of her head and lets out a shaky sigh. She hated this. Why couldn't they just get a break for once?

**

So, this is a little shorter as it's the first chapter, but the rest should be a decent length.

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