reasons to go, reasons to stay ➸ camren

chapter twenty ➸ don't wanna sleep alone

Camila thanked the taxi driver, pulling off her hoodie as soon as she set foot in the driveway. This was home. Her home. She took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, sea air.

Giggling brought her out of her trance and Camila’s lips curved into a smile, throwing her backpack onto the front lawn and heading around the side of the house. She kicked off her shoes somewhere along the way, hopping out onto the warm sand and giggling excitedly.

“Roooooowan,” she sung as she reached the back of the house, spotting her daughter digging in the sand. Blue eyes flashed up from what she was doing, and the small child squealed with glee when she saw her mother walking towards her. 

“Mommy!” Rowan gasped, hopping to her feet and scrambling over to Camila, kicking up sand as she ran. She leaped into her mother’s arms, and Camila lost her footing and slid to her knees in the sand, too busy giggling to pay attention to the soreness in her legs.

“Lauren bought us a beach, see?” Rowan exclaimed when they pulled away from the hug, pointing to the ocean.

Camila giggled. “I see that, Ro. Do you like it?”

The small child nodded furiously, tugging on Camila’s hand. “Come see my bedroom?” Her mother laughed, pushing herself up to her feet and brushing the sand off of her knees.

“What’s for breakfast?” Camila smirked, smelling something cooking as Rowan led her into the back door. Ally’s head shot up when she heard Camila’s voice, and her lips curved into a smile.

“Mila!” she sighed happily, throwing the dish towel in her hand down and walking over to hug Camila gently. “How do you feel?” the smaller girl asked, eyeing Camila up and down.

“Glad to be home.”

——

“Get a good night’s sleep, Laur.”

“Yeah. And we’ll ‘accidentally’ see you as soon as we can, okay?” Nomani added on to Dinah’s comment.

Lauren nodded and stood up carefully, moving to pull both of the girls into a tight hug. “I’ll miss you guys so much,” she whispered.

“Girl, don’t you dare act like this is the last time we’ll ever see you, okay? I’m about to hunt down the whole state of California just to find you and meet your little dream family,” Dinah laughed, squeezing Lauren’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

Lauren nodded. The girls hugged one last time before her eyes followed them until they disappeared down the hallway. She smiled to herself, closing the door behind her and walking over to the bed.

Lauren pressed the button next to her bed to call the doctor.

Normani had told her to get a good night’s sleep.

She knew there was only one way she would be able to do so.

——

“Mommy, watch this!” Rowan called, and Camila peered over the edge of the deck to get a better look at her daughter. The small girl tore off a small piece of her pizza crust and tossed it in the air. Seconds later, a seagull dived down and caught the food in midair. Rowan squealed giddily and turned to see if her mother had seen.

“You’re already making friends!” Camila called out to her, and Rowan gave her a thumbs up before running further down the beach. Both Camila and Ally burst into laughter when the crowd of seagulls that had collected around Rowan continued to follow her.

“She takes after you,” Ally laughed, taking a sip of her drink. Camila turned back to her, reaching across the table and nudging her shoulder playfully.