and I'm home (fifth harmony kidfic)

To lose hope, to find hope

Get ready for some pure moments with Lauren

!!!fuck I'm sorry when I first posted I completely forgot to put a trigger warning!!

but yes there is talk about self harm in this!
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Lauren
14-16

Demi is woken up to knock on her door. She tiredly opens her eyes and sees in the darkness Lauren's figure. She looks at the clock and sees it's only four-thirty in the morning. She furrowed her eyebrows in concern and sits up. She can see form the light spilling in from the hallway that Lauren has one arm around the Nala, and the other fidgeting at her side.

"Hey Lo, something wrong?" She asks softly. Lauren nods and hesitantly walks into the room. Her pajamas are still on, but her shorts are bunches ups little. Demi takes her hand and guides her to sit on the bed. Lauren avoids eye contact and stares at the floor.

"What's wrong babe?" Demi asks again, knowing well that a silent Lauren means a deep in thought Lauren. And that usually never ended well. She rubs her daughter's hand and waits for her to get the courage to respond.

"I'm sorry." Lauren whispers, meeting her eyes with a guilty look. A sympathetic look falls on Demi's face as she finally gets where the brunette is vaguely speaking about. She lifts her hand and gently places in under Lauren's chin. She brings her head closer and kisses her hair.

"Where, baby? Can you tell me that at least?" She asks softly. Lauren anxiously runs her closed hand on her leg before nodding with her eyes squeezed closed.

"My thighs." She whispers in a wavering voice. Even through the difficult moment, Demi smiles a little.

"Good girl, thank you for telling me. I'm really proud of you. Can you let me help you?" She asks now, using her thumb to gently brush the girl's cheek. Lauren nods a little and feels like sinking into the motherly touch. Demi takes her hand and leads her to the bathroom. She lets Lauren sit on the counter as she pulls out everything. She takes a deep breath before meeting Lauren's anxious eyes. She smiles a little when green meets brown.

"There we go. I'm gonna look at them now, are you sure you're okay for this?" She asks. Lauren nods again, still keeping her eyes shut. Demi sighs before rolling up Lauren's shorts. Her eyes meet the cuts on the girl's pale skin. She nods and squeezes Lauren's hand in support. She knows they've been worse, much worse, but still seeing them there is hard sometimes.

"I'm going to start cleaning them, it's going to burn a little. Squeeze my hand, okay sweetheart?" Demi starts carefully. Once she gets a nonverbal consent from her daughter, she begins to pour the alcohol on the cuts and Lauren clamps her mouth shut and groans st the burning. Demi works quickly to clean them and bandage them. Before they know it, Demi brings Lauren to her bed and pulls her to her. Demi tucks Lauren's loose strands from her braid.

"I know it's hard Lauren, and I'm not mad at you. It's all a part of the recovery process. We'll keep working on it and we'll get there. Come on, let's get back to sleep."

Lauren is silent for a while before she speaks up,"Demi?" Lauren asks timidly. The woman hums at the girl's voice.

"You love me, right?" She asks shyly.

"With all my heart." Demi responds.

"C-Can I call you mom?" She whispers. Demi's eyes snap open. She sits up and Lauren follows the action. The woman's eyes water and suddenly she feels as if she's looking at the scared and frail little girl again who looked hopeless. She pulls Lauren in for a hug and the teenager melts at the hold.