Untitled

Untitled by nadiaa featuring high heels

[FLASHBACK]

I flipped through my book as I could feel another presence in the living room. I looked up and saw Camille, walking out of the shadows. I gave her a small smile, "Hi honey. What are you doing?"

She shrugged and shook her head, "Nothing… Where's Dad?" She said very quietly.

I furrowed my brows, "He went with Ava to go apartment hunting. Is there something you needed from him?" I asked, worried since she never sought out Miles.

She shook her head, "No… I wanted to talk to you." She said, biting her lip, and twiddled her thumbs.

I nodded with a smile, "Of course, come sit down." I told her as I set my book down and grabbed my wine glass, "What's going on baby?"

She sat down next to me quietly, not saying a word. I eyed my second child as she licked her lips, "Mom…" She swallowed, "I've done something bad..." She trailed off.

I sat up straighter and set my glass down. My heart was beating a mile per minute and every single bad situation possible was going through my head, "What is it?"

She parted her lips, but no words came out and she didn't speak for minutes. She just had a dazed look on her face and I was wondering what was going through my daughter's mind and what she needed to talk to me about… It wasn't like her to need to talk to me like this… 

I sighed besides her and squeezed her knee, making her jump slightly, "Camille," I said in a reassuring tone, smiling and urging her to go on.

"Mom, I…" She trailed off as she looked down at her hands…. Now I was definitely worried. When I had my children I had decided that they came first and my job would be put on the back burner… Luckily I was still able to have a career, but even if I couldn't, it didn't matter, because my children were the most important thing to me. I always wanted what's best for them, even if they didn't see that.

"You can tell me anything honey." I told her honestly, as I squeezed her knee once more.

She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile, "It's about me and Ben… We're-"

My face dropped as the door opened and closed, Miles and Mila's laugh drowning us out, "We have pizza!" They yelled out from the foyer.

"We're in the living room!" I yelled out as I kept my eyes on her, lowering my voice, "Did you two get married?" I asked the only question coming to mind.

"No." She said, closing her eyes as Mila and Miles joined us, Noah being at a friends house.

Mila stared at the two of us, "Is everything okay?" She asked us, making 

eye contact with her sister.

Miles set down the box, "What? What did I miss?" He asked, kissing my cheek as he smiled at Cam, "Are you hungry?"

"I'm going to be sick." Cam said quickly, running out of the room towards the bathroom and Mila followed her.

Miles looked at me confused, "What was that?" He asked me and suddenly my stomach dropped and I felt like I was going to throw up… I was trying to not think the worst, but now it was all that was clouding my thoughts.

"Let's go check on them." I said as we walked towards the bathroom and I could hear hushed voices.

"What is going on?" Miles asked me under his breath once more.

I shrugged, shaking my head, "I have no idea…" I trailed off, "Okay, we're coming in…" I said as I slowly opened the door. Both my daughters were leaning against the counter with a somber look on their faces. I was officially worried now, "What's going on?" I asked simply, "Ava." I said, only calling her that when I was upset or worried.

"Cam has something to tell you two…" She said, grabbing her younger sister's hand.

Cam wiped her face, "Mom… Dad…" She paused, swallowing, "I'm pregnant."

I couldn't believe I just heard what I did. Pregnant? My daughter was pregnant? The four of us stood there silently as we took in the news…

"Mom. Dad. Say something." Cam said staring at the two of this.

"This is a joke." Miles spoke up, "Please tell me it's a joke."

"Dad… it's not." Cam said.

"How?!" He started raising his voice, "You'd have to have sex…" He trailed off, trying to not lose his temper.

"Daddy.."

"No! Stop. Why Camille? WHY?!" He yelled at her, "Your mother and I didn't plan Mila and there was a lot of trouble! I know if we had planned it, things would have gone much smoother."

"Miles, please." I said, trying to calm my husband down.

"No! Harper, are you listening to this?! I'm going to f.cking kill Ben." Miles said, walking away, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

I grabbed it out of his hand, "Stop this now! Before you do anything, we need to talk about this with Camille! We need to talk this out as a family."

He shook his head, "She is 17 years old Harp! Do you think she can do this?! She's smarter than this! How'd she get into this mess?!" Miles yelled at me and I knew what was racing through his mind. He didn't want his baby girl to grow up this way…

I grabbed his hand, "Relax." I said calmly, not sure where this side was coming from, but it was all I could think of doing, "We need to talk to her. Calmly, not accusingly. This is our daughter! It doesn't matter what she's done, but we're her mother and father and that means we have to stand by her side!" I raised my voice at him.

His face went stoic as he calmed down, "Okay…"

I grabbed his hand, "Camille! Mila! Come out here now, please." Our daughters walked out and took a seat across from the two of us, "Okay, we're here to talk." I said calmly.

"Should I…" Mila started awkwardly, shifting besides Cam, "Don't you want to talk to Cam alone?"

"It's fine." She said quietly as she looked down, lost in her own thoughts.

I took a deep breath before I said anything. I knew I needed to tread lightly, "How far along are you?"

"Three months." She said and I processed the information. She was keeping this a secret for over three months now… My stomach hurt.

"Three months," I repeated, trying to help myself understand and Cam nodded in agreement.

"You've known for three months?!" Miles said angrily as I turned to him and shot him a look, telling him to stop, "You know what that means, don't you Harper?"

I blinked my eyes as my daughter stared at me, "I'm keeping it." Cam said, reading my own mind.

"Oh my god." Miles shook his head as he rolled his fingers into fists as he looked at Camille, "You're seventeen, a minor still, and while you're living under my roof? You'll follow my rules."

"I'm going to have this baby." Cam said instead, speaking stronger than I had ever heard before.

"Then you won't be living here," He retorted, making me glare at him.

"Well that is your decision." Cam said, standing up.

"Please baby." I interrupted her, "Miles, stop this."

"Do you believe she can do this?!" Miles yelled and I knew he was furious. His daughter was pregnant and I knew that he wanted more for her.

"I can Dad!" Camille interjected, "I know you don't believe that, but I can! Ben and I-"

"And what does Ben think about all this?!" Miles yelled at her.

Cam sat quietly, "He wants this baby too…."

Miles placed her head in his hands, "You two are kids! You really think you can do this?!"

"Were you any better when Mila was born?!" Cam yelled back at her father, "If I heard correctly from aunt Kayla, you told Mom she was a wh.ore who was trying to trap you!" 

"Camille!!!" I yelled at her, knowing she shouldn't have said that, "Apologize!" 

She shook her head, "No Mom! I'm mature enough to do this! Dad, if that's how you feel, then I'll go to the Lindsell's. "

"Stop!" I told my daughter, knowing the last thing I wanted was Cam to leave, which wouldn't solve anything, "Camille, sit down."

"No-"

"I didn't ask!" I told her firmly, "Sit. Down."

She slowly sat back down and stared at me, "I'm sorry Dad…" She said quietly.

"I need a few minutes." Miles said quietly as he walked down the hall towards our bedroom.

"I didn't mean to lash out at him like that." Cam told me with an upset look.

I nodded, "I know baby… He's just upset. He was really excited for you to go to London."

"I can still do that… Eventually." She reasoned.

I nodded, "It's going to be hard honey… Everything changed when I had Mila. I was terrified and eventually my job was at risk-"

"And you still had her! You and Dad got married and had Noah and I!"

"You're right…" I trailed off, "But if you think this is supposed to keep Ben and you together, you're wrong. It worked for Daddy and I, but you have no idea how hard it was. How many times we almost ended things and how many times we fought. If you want to do this, you need to prepare for the possibility that Ben and you might not end up together…"

[PRESENT]

"Try it again Gabriel." I said, urging my grandson on as he struggled with the words in the book.

"Grandmama…" He whined as I smiled at him, kissing his temple

"One more time, for me." I gave him a smile.

He pouted, "I don't know it." He sighed in defeat.

"You can do it!" I smiled at him, "Try again and I'll give you ice cream." I said, sweetening the deal.

His eyes lit up as Camille appeared, squatting next to gave, "Only if your maman says it's okay, right?" She whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Hi maman!" He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Hi baby." She smiled at him as I started to clean up Gabe's books and toys. "Thanks for watching him."

"Anytime." I smiled as I looked at Gabe, "I think you have a question to ask your mother."

He looked up at Camille, "Can I have ice cream? Please?"

"Were you good today or did you give your grandma any problems?" She asked him with a grin.

He sighed and shrugged, looking back at me, waiting for an answer, "He was perfect." I told her as he looked back at Cam with a smile.

"You can have ice cream then, but you'll have to read me a book tonight before bedtime."

"Deal." He said before bolting to the kitchen.

"He's growing up so fast." I said, my eyes following him.

"I know."

"Do you think you'll ever have another baby?" I asked her with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Did Mila tell you that I'm seeing someone?"

"No." My daughter eyed me, "Okay, she did, but you know I want more grandchildren!" I told her honestly.

"Tell Mila that! She's the oldest." Cam eyed me with a small grin.

I shook my head, "I do not want that awful boy as my son in law, let alone the father of my grandchildren." I said, shaking my head as I picked up a few toys off the floor.

Cam was smirking at me, "You should tell her that."

I shrugged, "I've tried darling and you know what happened? She gave your father and I the silent treatment for two weeks."

"If you two reacted the same way you reacted to my pregnancy, I'm sure she would dump him." Cam gave me a small smirk… I knew she had resentments towards Miles and I for that, but it was our first big family problem… I regretted the way we reacted and so did Miles…

"Ha ha." I gave her a tiny glare, "You learned that passive aggressive behavior from me, so I'm immune."

Cam rolled her eyes as I heard the front door open and shut and a tiny voice yelled out, "Grandpapa!!"

"Your father is home." I told her as Miles walked into the living room with Gabe, who had a chocolate mustache from his popsicle, in his arms.

"Look Maman! Grandpapa!" He grinned at the two of us. I remember when we found out about Gabe, Miles had a hard time accepting it, but the second he saw his grandson, his heart melted.

"I see." Cam smiled, "Hi Dad."

"Hi sweetheart." Miles walked up to her and kissed her temple.

Camille wrinkled her nose, making Miles laugh as he pulled away, "You look like Gabe when you do that."

"You mean he looks like me." She grinned. Gabe looked exactly like her… I loved my grandson more than anything in the world and I loved how my daughter was with him.

Gabe's eyes widened as he shook his head, "I look like papa instead."

I eyed Camille as she let out a small laugh, "He's going through the phase where he wants to be Ben." Ben wasn't a bad kid, he was a great one; Corey and Ava raised them right… but he did impregnate my daughter at 17…

"I like the way you are, Gabriel." I said as I caught him and pressed a kiss against his cheek, making him groan dramatically and ran off again, following Miles.

"So tell me about Dante." I asked as she sighed, looking behind me to make sure Gabe was out of hearing distance.

"What do you want to know, Mom?" She asked, giving me another sigh.

"Don't get all dramatic on me," I smirked. "I simply want to know about him. It's the least you can do since you told me nothing about him the first time you two dated."

"Well…" She trailed off, biting her lip, "He's older."

"Older?" I raised a brow.

"He's 35." Even I had to admit that was older than normal, but age didn't matter.

"Is he a good man?" I asked her, looking on my middle child as the wheels in her head started turning.

She swallowed, "He is Mom. He's got a great job, very responsible and he's even got a son, so he understands what I'm going through and he'll enjoy Gabe-"

"If you ever introduce him to Gabe, right?" I grinned at her.

"I don't want to bring someone into Gabe's life if there's a chance he might disappear." She shrugged, "But he's gone through a divorce and he's really sweet-" She said with words on the tip of her tongue.

"But he's not Ben?" I finished for her. She avoided my gaze, "Remember what I said when you got pregnant…"

"I know Mom," She said with a sigh, "But that doesn't mean I'll ever stop loving Ben. He's the father of my child."

"Don't compare every man to him though… It will never work out, unfortunately." I told her as I rested my hand on her cheek. "I want you to be happy darling… That's all I want for you." I said with a sigh.

"Mom, I'm only 23 years old. I will find someone. I have lots of time." She told me.

I sighed, "I know, but I worry. You do so much for everybody else. When is it time to think of yourself. Honestly, once your sister came around I had gotten all my selfish behaviors out, thank god. If she hadn't come along, then I probably would have still been that way. All I have to say is that, I have no idea where you got that trait from." I gave her a small smile.

"Speaking about doing something for myself, I'm taking a vacation this month," She gave me a smile.

I lifted my brow, "Really? Where? And with who?"

She chuckled, "Côte d'Azur, with Gabe and Ben."

"Gorgeous place." I nodded my head as my head wandered to this trip… with Ben, "And very romantic. I take it you'll be staying at the Lindsell's home?" I asked as she nodded.

"Yes, but it's not that… it's for Gabe."

"Just that?" I said skeptically.

"And a vacation. I couldn't tell you the last time I just laid out in the sun and did nothing." She admitted.

"And that's all?" I asked once more.

She sighed, "I'm in a really good place right now, I'm dating an amazing man and me and Ben are in a good place, I'm happy."

I smiled at my daughter, "As long as you're happy, I'm happy." I told her honestly as I held her head in my hand. That's all I wanted for my children since the day they were born. Just to be happy.

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Really?"

I grinned, "Of course baby. That's all I want. I know I don't say it often, but I'm proud of you." I blinked at my daughter, "You're an amazing mother. Better than I was at your age and Gabe is perfect."

"And extremely tired." I heard Miles as he walked into the living room with Gabe in his arms, leaning his head against Miles's shoulder.

"Maman…" Gabe groaned out as he wiped his eyes.

Camille smiled at her son as she grabbed him out of his hands, "It's time to go home baby. Thank you for watching him Mom."

"It's no problem baby." I kissed her temple and then turned to kiss Gabe's, "And bye angel."

"Thank you grandmama, grandpapa. I love you." He said quietly as he leaned his head against his mother's chest.

"I love you too." I smiled at him and he immediately warmed my heart.

"Bye Mom." Camille smiled as she left the apartment.

I felt Miles's lips of my cheeks, "Did you have a good day with Gabe?" He asked.

I nodded as I turned around and leaned into my husbands body, "Perfect. I want more." I gave him a little pout.

He smirked, "Do you really want Braden as the father of your grandchildren? Or Noah having children with three different women?"

I gave him a little chuckle, "I guess not… but I still want more. I wish our children were more normal in this sense."

"Neither of us are normal.. there was no chance our children would be."

I nodded, "I know. Considering what we went through, I think we did pretty well."

He kissed me, "We did amazing."