Another Reason to Love

chapter 15

A/N: Here's another chapter. It's kinda short, but I thought you guys would enjoy two in one day :)

Lauren used the last of her remaining strength to flush the toilet. She slowly scooted herself so that she could lean back and the bathtub would keep her in a sitting position. Even if she didn't have much strength, she still had a sliver of dignity that would not let herself lie completely on the bathroom tiles.

She rested her eyes for a few moments, only to be decently surprised that there was a little girl standing there. Brooklyn studied her mama, wondering if it was okay to touch her. Lauren perked up considerably when she realized that she might look scary propped up there on the bathroom floor.

"Mama, are you okay?" Brooklyn asked, slowly inching closer to where her mother sat.

Lauren nodded, a little too quickly and she immediately regretted it. Thankfully, she was able to regain her composure and open her eyes again. Brooklyn placed her tiny hand on Lauren's shoulder.

"Do you want me to go get Mama?" she asked in a soft voice.

It was a Monday morning and Lauren knew that Camila was racing around trying to get breakfast made. She could smell the eggs and bacon, which was part of the reason she had spent a good amount of time hugging the toilet. "No, baby girl. I'll be just fine," she insisted.

Lauren stood up and looked in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was a pale color, paler than normal, and her hair was a mess. Her clothes were tight and she felt anything but desirable.

Brooklyn stood on the stool that was put there to aid her in reaching the sink and looked through the mirror at Lauren. "Mama, do you love yourself?"

Lauren felt her heart sting at the always-perfect timing of her daughter's questions. "I try, Brooks, but it's hard sometimes."

"Just say, "I love myself," Brooklyn suggested.

"I love myself," Lauren said, the pang in her heart going deeper this time because her heart knew dishonestly well.

Brooklyn smiled at Lauren through the mirror. "See Mama? Sometimes it's hard to believe but it's easy to say. Just keep saying it."

Lauren leaned down to kiss the little girl on her head. "How did you get so smart?" she asked.

The little girl shrugged, jumping off the stool and running out of the room. Lauren grabbed her toothbrush and vowed to start the process of feeling better, not only on the outside, but on the inside too.

*****

Camila followed Brooklyn down the hallway to her classroom. The little girl had a habit of running as soon as she got through the front door. Camila hoped that she would always be that excited for school, although she highly doubted that would happen. When she finally got to the doorway, she was a bit out of breath.

"Whoa, try not to pass out in my classroom, Mila. You're going to scare all of the children," Dinah said sarcastically.

If she wasn't out of breath, Camila would have responded vocally. Instead, she looked to see if any little ones were watching and when she was in the clear, she slapped Dinah as hard as she could.

"Ouch!" Dinah said softly so that she wouldn't bring any attention to herself. "I was just kidding. What's going on?"

Camila finally felt the air make it's way to her lungs. She sighed with relief. "She has way too much energy. It also may have something to do with how I haven't been exercising much lately, you know, due to having a pregnant wife."

"Are you really blaming Lauren for your laziness?" Dinah asked.

"Yes," Camila nodded her head. "Yes, I am." She smiled at her friend. She was always excited to drop Brooklyn off and school and pick her up in the afternoons because that meant she had time to chat with one of her best friends.