A Little Love

Chapter 5

Lauren blinked sleepily as she sat up in bed, stretching her arms out behind her as she adjusted to being awake. She glanced at her clock, which showed that it was five to six, before lazily pulling herself out of bed. Even though it was earlier than she really needed to wake up, she had found that Camila did better when she wasn't in a rush. As well as that, it was always a challenge getting her ready for school and so it took much longer than it would with a normal child.

She jumped into the shower. Half an hour later, she was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a slightly more formal white silk shirt.

After two cups of black coffee and answering a few emails, she made her way to Camila's room where she found the little girl fast asleep in her crib. She opened the curtains, despite the fact that it was still dark outside, and then walked over to the crib, reaching down to gently shake Camila's arm.

"Good morning," Lauren said animatedly as Camila's eyes fluttered open. The small girl whined, reaching up for Lauren. "Hang on, have you meds first," Lauren said, handing her the small blue tablet. "Good girl, up we get," she said, lifting Camila out of the crib and putting her down on the floor. "Did you sleep well?" she asked as Camila lay down on the changing mat.

"Yes," Camila said, starting to wake up. "Can we walk to school?" Camila asked hopefully as Lauren started to change her.

"I think so," Lauren agreed. "You have sports today, don't you," she said, pulling Camila's PE kit out of the cupboard. "You're going to be wearing a diaper to school today instead of a pull-up, how do you feel abut that?"

"Why?" Camila asked.

"Because it's a better option for you," Lauren said, choosing her words carefully. "I'll see you at lunchtime for a change anyway, but if you find it really unmanageable, tell Miss Epseley and I'll get you into a pull-up as soon as possible."

"Okay," Camila said quietly, sitting up so Lauren could help her change.

"Good girl," Lauren hummed as Camila cooperated with her. "Right, go brush your teeth and I'll help you with your hair when you come down," Lauren said, giving Camila a reassuring smile before jogging down the stairs to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

She poured some cold milk into a sippy cup and placed it on the table before making a plate of toast and fruit for for Camila.

"Look!" Camila exclaimed, running down the stairs, smiling widely to show Lauren her freshly cleaned teeth.

"Good job," Lauren praised. 

"Can I have chocolate milk?" Camila asked.

"No, love, you know that you like having it after school and you can't have it twice, it's too much sugar," Lauren said, nodding towards the sippy cup that was already on the table.

"Can I sit on your lap?" Camila asked, grabbing the sippy cup and reaching for Lauren. Before the older girl could reply, Camila was distracted by the garden, quickly running outside into the cold morning air.

"Camila!" Lauren called, moving towards the garden door. 

"What?" Camila asked, looking over her shoulder.

"We need to get ready for school," Lauren explained.

"I want to play," Camila shrugged.

"Five minutes, doll," Lauren called out before walking back inside. 

She decided to go upstairs and grab Camila's favourite stuffed bunny from her crib, hoping that him sitting at the table would encourage her to calm down a little bit. She picked up the rabbit, but as she did, something blue and familiar caught her eye. She pushed the other toys in the crib to the side to reveal a stash of tiny blue pills that had been carefully tucked away. She sighed heavily, realising what had been happening, before putting the teddies back and going downstairs with the bunny.