Family Affairs

Chapter Seven

"No! No!" Oliver yells, smacking at Octavia as they sit in the playpen.

Octavia's bottom lip pouts out before she begins crying.

"Oliver!" Ally scolded, lifting her granddaughter out of the playpen. "That was very naughty."

"No!" Oliver yells, smacking at the air in front of Ally.

Octavia buries her face in Ally's neck, sobbing softly. She was an emotional baby.

"Oliver!" Ally gave him a look that made him become shy.

The little girl was still softly crying in Ally's arms.

"Shh, Octavia." Ally bounced the little girl to calm her down.

Slowly, Octavia relaxes and lays her head on Ally's shoulder.

"There you go. You're okay." Ally said softly.

Closing her eyes, the one year old plays with Ally's necklace.

Ally rubbed Octavia's back.

Slowly the little girl fell asleep.

Ally carried the little girl into the nursery and laid her in her crib.

"Mama, do you need me?" Camila asks softly, poking her head out of her room.

"No it's okay, go back to studying." Ally said softly.

Nodding, Camila goes back into her room to study.

Ally left the room and went to the kitchen to start dinner. She smiled softly at Lauren, Dinah, and Normani who were sitting at the island in the kitchen talking, well, Dinah and Normani were talking, Lauren was sitting quietly listening to them, looking at her phone and smiling occasionally as she talked to her friend Kendall. Lillie lay on the floor under Lauren's feet, chewing on her favorite toy.

"No!" Oliver yells from the playpen, he'd been in a mood all day.

Ally rolled her eyes and opened the freezer to see what she could make them for dinner.

"What's his deal?" Dinah asks, glancing toward the playpen.

"He's been in a mood all morning." Normani said, taking a drink of her water.

Frowning, Dinah watches as Oliver begins throwing the toys out of the playpen.

"Ignore him. He'll calm down eventually." Normani shrugged. She glanced at Lauren. "What're you smiling at?"

Lauren swallowed and looked up at Normani. "Nothing."

"Ooh, who's Kendall?" Normani asked, looking over Lauren's shoulder at the phone screen.

"No one." Lauren said, putting her phone down on the table. Her pale face turned slightly red with embarrassment as she looked down.

Dinah chuckles and looks over Lauren's shoulder. "Ohhh, somebody's got a crush."

"N-no." Lauren tried to deny it but it was completely true.

Chuckling, Dinah looks at Lauren and tilts her head. "What about Blake?"

"Yeah she texted me, said she was coming to visit for a few weeks." Normani says softly.

Lauren's face fell. "S-she's gone."

"You act like she's dead." Normani says calmly.

Lauren looked away. "S-she's not. B-but she left."

"She didn't have a choice Laur." Dinah says softly.

"I know that." Lauren mumbled, looking down.