Normani was grateful when she finally got Lauren to calm down. They were still at their same spots in the kitchen, Lauren sat on the counter while Normani stood right in front of her and held her close to her chest.
The sobbing turned into a panic attack, which lasted roughly twenty minutes. Normani held Lauren the entire time, not once letting go or loosening her hold, showing the little girl that she would never leave her.
After taking deep breaths together and getting wet cheeks wiped clean, Normani rubbed Lauren's aching chest and spoke to her softly.
"Do you want to tell me what made you sad?"
"Mami's song," Lauren replied in a small whimper, confusing her foster mother briefly before she nodded in understanding.
"Would you like it if I sang a different song?" She offered, not wanting to make the little one any sadder.
"No. I like it. P'ease finish."
"Sure, sweetheart. But first, can I put some of your cream on your chest? I'm sure all of that crying made it super sore?"
It was true. The large bruise that covered a major portion of Lauren's chest still hurt and her awful crying didn't help make it feel any better. Besides, after an intimate comfort moment similar to the one a mother and her actual child shared, Lauren couldn't say no to the offer of more comfort. Normani was offering to fix things and Lauren, for once, wanted her to do that.
After gaining approval and grabbing the unopened prescription cream for Lauren's chest, Normani eased the top off the child and bit back a gasp at the sight of her bare body.
Lauren was littered with week-old bruises. Some crawled over her ribs, up her shoulder, along her stomach. There were fingerprint markings that were fading in various spots. Normani didn't want to imagine the girl's back but she was sure it was just as bad. The worst spot, though, was Lauren's chest. It was still a deep purple and was obviously painful enough to make Lauren's chest quiver with each exhale.
Normani wanted to cry because all along their foster daughter was in pain and they didn't notice. They were unaware that Lauren was good at hiding pain, especially to the extent she was. It hurt her to think that she could have done something.
"Oh angel," Normani sighed, not even knowing where to start with the cream.
"I's okay," Lauren whispered, looking down at her bony chest.
"You're hurting. Aren't you?"
A weak nod was given in response, fresh tears falling down Lauren's cheeks as she finally showed off how much pain she really felt.
"P'ease make better," she tearfully begged, looking to her foster mother with wet green eyes.
"Of course, my love. I'm going to make you all better. You don't have to be in pain anymore."
Normani went into action, snapping out of her stupor as she carefully began applying the cream all over the bruises, getting Lauren's back as well, which, not to her surprise, was in varying shades of blues and greens and yellows as well.
After getting the cream on and tying Lauren's hair up in a bun to allow her upper body to dry, Normani quickly threw the rest of the pie together and put it in the oven that was still off. She would just bake it later.
"Now, I believe I promised a little someone a song," Normani said as she opened the freezer and grabbed out an ice pack to ice Lauren's chest in hopes of getting rid of the pain quicker. She wrapped it in a yellow cloth and showed Lauren where to hold it before picking her up (Nala as well) and walking them upstairs to the master bedroom.
YOU ARE READING
The Story of Our Life
Fanfiction"There's something about wanting to protect a person that is hurting more than you that takes away the pain of losing your baby." Normani and Dinah love their little family. But something was missing. Something that could only be filled by the love...
