the three of us {chim}

Piece 52

Cheryl's POV

"Baby..." I stepped towards Camille and saw her slightly flinch.  Me heart dropped as she looked frightened of me and Kimberley.

"Let me see your hands." Kimberley told Camille and took a soft approach on her.  When Camille stepped back, it shocked us.

"No...I-I can't." Camille whispered, breaking me heart into a million pieces.

"Can't what, sweetheart?" Kimberley asked and didn't push Camille to rush.

"I don't want to scare you." Camille still whispered.  It's like she didn't want anyone else to hear.

"You won't scare us." I said, regretting my loud and harsh tone with her. Maybe I shouldn't have taken it to the level I did.

"You don't understand-" Camille said, speaking clearly this time. I saw her chin quiver and wanted to hold her so badly. But, I know that if I step towards her, she'll just step back.

"Just let me see them." Kimberley took an even softer approach, getting Camille to give in. Camille took her hands and held them out for Kimberley.

"Camille..." Kimberley trailed off as she took Camille's hands in hers.  She had turned over her hands to look at Camille's palms.  There were four bleeding cuts on each hand where Camille had been pressing her nails into her skin.

"W-Why did you do this?" Kimberley stuttered to ask her question.  I could tell that she's not sure if she really wants to know.

"Because if I don't, I might do something that I'll regret." Camille said to us as she looked me dead in the eye.  It made me bones shiver at the way she innocently looked at us.

"Like what?" Kimberley looked at me little girl with sympathetic eyes.  I looked back and forth from me girlfriend to me daughter.

"Like that." Camille choked out and looked at the scratch she made on me arm.  When I was waking her up from the nightmare, she accidentally scratched us.

"Why would you do something like that on purpose?" I asked, wanting to know exactly what's going on.

"I don't know-" She started, but Kimberley wasn't buying it.

"No, Camille.  Talk." Kimberley demanded, knowing that it's the only way she'll tell us more.

"Depression is powerful.  It makes you do stupid things that you can't control.  Your emotions take over and you can't do anything to stop it." She explained as she looked the both of us dead in the eye. We didn't say anything, because we knew she had more to say.

"If I were to hurt you, I don't even know what I'd do with myself.  I'd be devastated.  I can hurt you and you can't underestimate that." Camille said, slightly scaring us. I know I told her I wouldn't be scared, but something is off about her.

"Camille, do you need...to..." Kimberley tried to ask a question, but couldn't say the words.

"Have my medication again? Yeah, probably." She answered Kimberley's unasked question.

"C'mere." Kimberley said as she saw Camille starting to lose it. She embraced our daughter and held her as she cried. I didn't know what to do or say. I don't know anything about depression or how to handle a child who has it.