Irresistible

Chapter 20

"Mommy!" Prue yelled, tears filling her eyes.

She was standing in the doorway of the living room where the adults were having a movie night while the kids were sleeping.

"What's wrong baby?" Camila asked, sitting up slightly on the couch.

The five year old ran over and climbed onto Camila's lap, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Camila sighed, rubbing Prue's back. "Shh, you're okay." She said softly.

Alice's crying came from her room and Lauren sighed, getting up to check on the young girl.

Shaking her head, Prue cried even harder, and that's when Camila noticed how warm the five year old was.

"Mani, can you grab a washcloth and put some cold water on it and bring it to me?" Camila asked, looking up at Normani.

Nodding her head, Normani got up and did as Camila asked, coming back with the cool cloth.

Prue buried her face in Camila's neck, tears streaming down her face as her still quite small body shook.

Camila smiled at Normani thankfully and took the cloth from her, placing it on the back of Prue's neck to cool the younger girl down.

After a few minutes, Prue began to cool down, but was still crying softly.

"Go back to sleep." Camila whispered in the young girl's ear.

Eventually Prue fell asleep and Camila sighed, leaning back on the couch.

Lauren hadn't returned from Alice's room yet.

"I'm going to check on Lauren and Alice." Normani said, making her way into Alice's room.

Lauren was bouncing Alice on her hip, the young girl was crying. Prue had woken her up and she wasn't too happy about it.

Smiling softly, Normani took Alice into her arms, rocking the little girl until she fell asleep. "Better?"

Lauren ran her fingers through Alice's hair and sighed, yawning.

Laying the baby in her crib, Normani wraps an arm around Lauren and holds her close. "Want to go to bed?"

Lauren leaned against Normani and sighed again. She rubbed her eyes before nodding.

Normani lead Lauren into her room and laid the younger girl down, kissing her forehead and moving to leave the room.

Lauren grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Lie with me?" She pleaded.

Smiling softly, Normani climbed onto the bed and pulled Lauren close. "Okay."

Lauren curled up, resting her head on Normani's chest. Even though she was tired, she couldn't quite fall asleep.

"What's on your mind?" Normani asked softly, rubbing Lauren's back.

Lauren bit her lip and released a low breath through her nose. "My mom has cancer." She said slowly.

"What?" Normani asked, shock coursing through her veins.

"My mom has cancer." Lauren repeated. This was the first time she'd actually said it out loud and worry hit her like a truck. Tears sprung to her eyes and she bit her lip.

Sitting up slowly with Lauren in her arms, Normani held the young girl close. "Do you know how advanced it is?"

Lauren frowned in confusion. "Advanced?" She sniffed.

"What stage of cancer? That's how you know if chemo will work or not." The older girl said softly.

Lauren shrugged. "She only told me she has it. She didn't want to worry me, I guess." She mumbled as the tears fell from her eyes. She held in a sob and curled into Normani.