Darkness Inside

Chapter Five

Lauren gently lays Taylor in her bassinet, flinching when Camila walks up behind her.

"Hey," Camila says softly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Lauren swallowed. She shook her head but didn't say a word.

"I was just coming to see the twins." the older girl says softly.

Lauren nodded. She stepped away from Taylor's bassinet  

Moving up to the bassinets, Camila smiles softly as she looks down at Taylor and Carson.

Carson was wide awake and squirming while Taylor was sound asleep.

Lauren leaned against the wall and sighed heavily. "You woke them up last night."

"What do you mean?" Camila asks in confusion, lifting Carson up and turning to look at Lauren.

"They heard you... I heard you... You and Lucy... You woke them." Lauren muttered.

Swallowing thickly, Camila takes a deep breath. "She couldn't sleep,"

"So you had to wake them up to get her to sleep. She's an adult. She could have gone for a walk or something." Lauren muttered, sliding down the wall and bringing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and sighed.

"I didn't think we were that loud." Camila responds softly, shifting Carson in her arms.

"Well, you were." Lauren shrugged. She buried her face in knees and closed her eyes.

Frowning, Camila looks at Lauren. "Are you okay?"

Lauren lifted her head out of her knees and took a deep breath. "Yeah." She forced her eyes open.  "I'm fine."

"You're tired, go get some sleep. I'll take care of them." Camila says softly,  sitting down beside her.

Lauren shook her head. "I'm fine." She repeated.

"No you aren't." the older girl says softly.

"You can't tell me if I'm not alright." Lauren muttered, shifting away from Camila.

Sighing, Camila shakes her head. "I don't know what happened with us."

"You fell in love with some else, that's what happened." Lauren mumbled quietly to herself.

"I'm sorry." Camila whispers, looking down at Carson.

Lauren didn't say anything in response.

****

A soft cry from Summer's nursery catches Lauren's attention.

Lauren pushed herself up off the floor and moved over to the bassinet. "Hey, baby. Shhh."

The tiny baby was squirming in her bassinet, occasionally releasing a soft cry.

Lauren reached into the bassinet and gently brushed her fingers across the baby's cheek. "Shh." She cooed.

After a few minutes, Summer began to cry louder, trying to get Lauren to pick her up.

Lauren lifted the little girl into her arms.

Relaxing, Summer turns her head toward Lauren's chest and closes her eyes.

Lauren let out a long breath and sat down in the chair.

Slowly, the tiny baby relaxed and started to fall asleep.

Lauren watched the little girl sleep.

"Oh, hey." Lucy says softly as she walks into the nursery.

Lauren glanced up at Lucy but didn't say a word.