Raising Laila

Chapter 35 - Sick

If you haven't already make sure you check out my newest book, The Stars! :) :)

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she needs time like we all do. time to be ok with being ok. because sometimes feeling right after feeling wrong for so long is the hardest thing to get used to.

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June 10, 2018: 7.45pm. 

"Laila? Are you going to let Leigh-Leigh help you in the bath?" Jade asked hopefully. Since the little girls behaviour had been getting so much better, the girls had been working on getting her more confident with other people. 

"And you?" she checked. 

"Yeah, and me," Jade confirmed. 

"We can have a bath party!" Leigh Anne cheered. "Come on, come and help me but the bubbles in!" 

Despite looking nervously at Jade who just nodded her head encouragingly, Laila followed the older girl into the bathroom and together squeezed a little too much of the kids bubble bath into the hotel rooms tub. 

"D'you want to go and get the bath toys from your bag?" Leigh Anne suggested. A few weeks ago Jade had bought a bath letter and number set for the little girl, she had thought it would help with her spelling and maths, which it had. Laila loved playing with them in the bathtub, and she liked the praise she got when she spelt a word correctly. 

"Do you want to get in?" Leigh Anne asked turning to taps off and checking the temperature with her arm. 

"Wait for Jade first," the six year old said, as Jade opened the bathroom door. 

"I've put your pyjamas on the bed," she said, unbuttoning the girls dress without saying a word and lifting her into the bath. 

Laila whines as she loses contact with her sister who quickly shushes her. "Sshh, it's okay. I know your tired, and the sooner we get you clean the sooner we can get you in your bed," she reassures. 

All she gets in response is a soft nod to the head as the girl settles in the bath. 

"Hey Laila, can you spell 'dog'?" Leigh Anne asks smiling. 

"That's a easy one!" the little girl giggles sticking the correct letters to the wall. 

"Okay, that was an easy one! What about.." Leigh Anne though about the words and phonics that Jade had been teaching the little girl during the day. "Play? Can you spell 'play'?" she asked remembering Jade talking to her about the 'ay' sound. 

"I know that one!" Laila smiled, enjoying the praise she got when she spelt the word correctly. 

"You are so clever!" Leigh Anne said as she spelt 'because' correctly on the wall. 

They carried on the simple game for a few more minutes until Jade had finished cleaning the little girl and Leigh Anne wrapped her in a towel and carried her through to the bedroom. 

The girls helped her into her pyjamas before moving into the attached smaller bedroom of the suite the three were sharing and reading her a story. They knew that sometimes they treated the almost seven year old a little younger that she actually was but she was so tiny and little, with her behaviour and attachment it was easy to do. 

By the time the story was over Laila's eyes were closed in content and the two older girls tiptoed out of the room so not to wake her. 

June 11, 2018: 3.45am. 

It only felt like a few hours since they had fallen asleep that Leigh Anne was woken up to quiet sobs in the doorway between the two bedrooms. Jade still slept peacefully in the second bed next to Leigh Anne's so without thinking much about it, Leigh Anne was up and out of bed. Her tiredness suddenly gone.