That night Willa wet the bed again, however, the towel did help to prevent the bed sheets from getting soiled, which allowed Lauren and Willa to get more sleep as they only had to clean up Willa's lower half and change her pajamas.
The following day all the girl's went to target, picking up groceries as well as the pull-ups that Willa was only excited about once she saw the various Disney designs. She got two bags, one with Disney Princesses and the other with Mickey Mouse characters.
As soon as she started using them she stopped waking up in the middle of the night due to the stickiness of her urine coated pants, however, it did nothing to prevent her nightmares from sending her into a fit of screams of sobs, which, Lauren had to bring her out of every time.
It was now the sixth night in a row that Willa woke up shrieking, Lauren instantly cradling the child to her chest as she whispered little words and hummed gentle tunes.
Usually, Willa took ten minutes to calm down. Usually. Tonight was one of those nights that she had a full blown panic attack, her rigid body shaking with broken sobs as she clung, yet pushed away from Lauren all at once.
"Talk to me, Lala. Tell me what's wrong," Lauren whispered, trying to pat down the brown hair that was soaked with sweat.
"N-o," Willa cried, shaking her head as she clenched her eyes shut. "Bad thoughts."
"I'm here. They can't hurt you if I'm here," Lauren explained, earning no response as Willa persisted with the shaking of her head.
"No more. Stop. No more," Willa sobbed, suddenly releasing Lauren's shirt only to clench her fists on her own hair, tugging harshly as she erupted into a coughing fit.
"Don't do that. Don't hurt yourself," Lauren said, pulling the hands from the tangled hair and holding them to her chest. "You need to breathe, Willa. You're not getting enough air," the woman urgently stated, seeing Willa's face turn even more red as she worked through more coughs, never seeming to catch her breath. "In and out."
"Out. O-ut!" Willa whimpered, withering side to side in the hands of Lauren as she couldn't decipher what was a threat and what was safe anymore.
"Let's go get some water, nugget. Come on, bug," Lauren said, keeping a sturdy hold of the child in her arms as she stood up and moved downstairs as quietly as possible, certain she woke up the girls along the way with Willa's cries.
In the kitchen, Lauren pulled a water bottle from the fridge, balancing the five-year-old on her hip all the while pulling the cap off and bringing it to Willa's face.
"Let's take a minute, pretty girl. Shh, shh, shh. Just breathe," Lauren said, sitting Willa on the edge of the countertop, allowing the child the press to her front as she continued to sob. Willa coughed a little more and finally took two gulps of the water before speaking again.
"Bad thoughts. They hurt," Willa whispered, closing her eyes to the soothing touch of her Lolo's fingers.
"How can I fix it, baby? How can I make it better?" Lauren asked, pressing gentle kisses to the crown of her daughter's head.
"No more dreams," Willa said, whimpering as she began to remember her darkest memories.
"We'll figure it out, niña. I promise. Try to go to sleep," The Latina suggested, pulling Willa back into her arms, allowing the child to koala bear her as she began to rock her around the kitchen, gently running her fingers over her little girl's back and neck.
"Another nightmare?" Normani's voice spooked Lauren, making the woman jump slightly. She glanced down to see Willa knocked out on her shoulder, her face instantly crumbling as she began to cry silent tears to her best friend. "Hey, shh, what's going on?" Normani asked, approaching the woman and cupping her cheeks, brushing away the tears that marked them.
YOU ARE READING
Piece Of My Heart - Fifth Harmony Adoption
Fanfiction"This world isn't as bad as you have been made to believe." From the moment Willa was born her world was like a dark cloud. She was born into the hands of those who wanted to inflict pain. She never knew what it felt like to be loved. Maybe it wa...
