Disclaimer: I do not own the web series Carmilla, nor do I own the characters.
It had been a few weeks since the defeat of the Dean, and Silas had yet to calm down with the supernatural. The sub-basements of the library still had attacking books, just last week the food in the cafeteria became animated and attacked the students, and the Alchemy club had just had some strange ritual out in the courtyard the night before.
Laura figured these events probably shouldn't surprise her anymore, seeing as her roommate/girlfriend was a vampire whose mother had been taking female students as sacrifices for some La pie formula ritual every 20 years or so. She probably had something in there wrong, but it wasn't all that important. Still, despite knowing that crazy things happened at Silas, the attacking food had been a rather bizarre experience. The Alchemy club ritual she could handle, and she was used to the books attacking in the library now.
Of course, despite all the crazy happening at Silas, classes still went on and assignments were still due. So currently, she was located at the head of her bed, her laptop resting on her lap and a word document open. Her English Instructor had assigned them an essay, either depicting experience with losing a loved one or imaging what that might be like. They weren't sharing their papers, but apparently this assignment was something that was pretty important.
She had tried to write about her great grandfather, but she didn't really know him or how he died. After that, she had tried writing about a cousin she hadn't known who had died from a stroke, but even knowing the cause of death really wasn't helping her with the paper.
So now she was sitting, mentally convincing herself to write the paper on the topic she knew so well. That was how Carmilla found her, early in the morning.
"What's up, buttercup?" Carmilla questioned, eyebrow raising as Laura seemed to jump in surprise. "Laura?" Her voice was a bit softer, concerned.
It took Laura a few more moments than she would've liked to respond to Carmilla, and she knew it probably worried her a little bit. "Hm? Oh, hey, welcome back," she replied, forcing a small smile for Carmilla's sake.
Carmilla still had an eyebrow arched, Laura was very aware that she didn't buy into her act.
"Alright, creampuff, what's the problem?" Carmilla questioned, dashing Laura's hopes that Carmilla would decide to leave the problem be. She should've known, her girlfriend picked the strangest times to be supportive and lend an ear.
Huffing out a quiet sigh, Laura shook her head. "It's nothing, I should be going to sleep anyways, I have class in a few hours." Shutting her laptop, she set it on the bookshelf that was her headboard before slipping under the covers.
Laura had just finished getting comfortable under the blankets when she felt the bed dip next to her. Carmilla didn't say anything at first, and after a few moments of silence Laura couldn't really take it anymore. "Carm?" She asked softly.
She heard Carmilla sighing before the girl spoke. "Is it something you can't talk about with me?" She inquired, if Laura didn't know any better, Carmilla sounded a little bit hurt.
"What? No, of course that's not it," she consoled, even if Carmilla wasn't hurt by that thought she didn't want to risk it, because it wasn't true, she felt she could tell her anything.
The room was silent again for a few moments before Carmilla's voice sounded again. "So . . . then why do you refuse to tell me what's wrong?"
Laura mentally scolded herself for thinking she had to reassure her, Carmilla had basically just led her into a trap. She could tell her girlfriend nothing was wrong and likely tick off the vampire, who holds a very mean grudge. Or, she could just be honest, and risk Carmilla asking questions and learning about the one thing that Laura hated thinking about the most. She wondered momentarily if her grudging girlfriend would break up with her, she decided that wasn't something she wanted to chance.
"I was just thinking," Laura informed Carmilla, speaking slowly as she worked out what to say to her. "About my English paper."
She could practically feel Carmilla staring at her. "Your English paper . . ." she knew Carmilla was waiting for her to elaborate, she really didn't want to though. A sigh sounded through the room, and she could only begin to guess what it meant. "Alright, I'll bite. What's the paper about that had you so deep in thought?" It was still rather amazing that Carmilla insisted on using vampire puns, she never would've expected something like that from her surly girlfriend.
Shrugging her shoulders, Laura curled up on her side, facing Carmilla. "We're supposed to write about a death that greatly impacted us," her voice soft as she spoke.
Carmilla was quiet for a little while, and Laura worried she had said something that had upset the centuries old vampire. Finally, Carmilla spoke up, and that would have comforted Laura if Carmilla's voice wasn't so quiet and hesitant. "Is this about me almost dying?"
Laura's eyes widened in surprise. She had of course thought about using that, but had quickly discarded that idea. Carmilla was still alive, and she didn't want to write about or think about those few days.
"No, that wasn't on my mind," Laura replied, finally looking up to Carmilla so she would know that Laura was being honest.
Carmilla hummed thoughtfully; Laura noted she looked a bit relieved though. The vampire remained quiet for a bit before finally speaking up. "So? What were you thinking so hard about then?" Because something was bothering Laura, and despite Carmilla's insistence that things like worry and concern for others weren't emotions she experienced, when it came to Laura it was obvious they did.
Laura sighed quietly, it was obvious that Carmilla wasn't going to drop it now, maybe if she was vague but truthful it would be enough for her unusually interested girlfriend. "I was trying to decide what to write about . . ." Carmilla continued to stare at her, and she knew she wasn't going to get out of this as easily as she had hoped. "I started wondering if I should write it about my mom. But then I started thinking about her and I got kind of sad and started wondering if writing about that was really a good idea." Thankfully, she was able to reel in her rambling so that she didn't wind up just spilling all the details to the vampire. She was aware that Carmilla would have to process what she had said. She never mentioned her mother to anyone, she'd never implied that her mother had died.
After a few moments of silence between the two Carmilla slowly slid down, until she was lying next to Laura. "Will you tell me what happened?" The vampire questioned softly, because obviously this was a sensitive subject. The fact that, despite how it obviously still affected Laura, the young woman was willing to try and write about it said a lot about her.
Laura shrugged her shoulders helplessly, but Carmilla waited patiently for her to speak. "I just . . . She . . . my mom was murdered," she admitted hesitantly, to the surprise of her vampire girlfriend who stilled immediately. They lay in silence for a few moments, Carmilla letting Laura open up at her own pace. "She was attacked on the street, she had left work late and was heading to her car."
Laura grew quiet again, soon finding herself being pulled into her girlfriend's arms.
"What happened to her attacker?" Carmilla inquired in a soft whisper.
Laura stiffened just the slightest, pressing her forehead against Carmilla's shoulder. "The police called it a 'crime of convenience'. They didn't have any leads and they dropped the case quickly," her voice was the slightest bit bitter. If the quiet hiss and tightening arms around her were any indication, Carmilla was just as upset hearing about this as Laura was remembering it.
The room was quiet again for a bit, Carmilla trying not to become overly upset, Laura trying to calm down. When she calmed down, she spoke again. "That's when my dad became super protective. He didn't want anything to happen to me, too."
Carmilla breathed in a shock of air at the mere idea of Laura being injured or even dead. Laura felt Carmilla holding her just a little bit closer, and she let out a quiet sigh, finally relaxing in her girlfriend's hold.
"Is that why you were acting all Lois Lane when the stuff with my mom was going on?" Carmilla questioned quietly. It would make sense, if it was true.
Laura managed a slight nod. "I didn't want those girls' families to have to wonder what happened to them, to not get some sort of closure." Her heart twinged at the thought, and she could feel her eyes watering a bit. She could feel Carmilla's hand rubbing lightly against her back, soothingly.
"You're too much sometimes, cream puff," Carmilla mumbled quietly, though the affection was obvious in her voice.
Laura huffed quietly, but didn't bother pulling away from her, instead snuggling closer. "You'll miss class," Carmilla warned, already hearing Laura's breath beginning to slow and become more even.
"'s fine," Laura mumbled tiredly. She had been up all night and now that she had shared her worries she could feel the exhaustion pulling at her mind.
Carmilla chuckled softly, pulling the sheets over the both of them. "You're amazing, by the way, cupcake. Your mom would be very proud of you," her voice was very quiet, a soft lull that was the last thing Laura heard before she succumbed to the darkness of sleep, a content smile on her lips.