A/N: Hey everyone! First story up in a long, long time. Let me know what you think! This story hasn't been looked over by an editor, so there's likely grammatical errors and such. Thanks!
"Laura? Hey, you still there?"
Laura blinked, looking down at her phone where she had her sister on speaker. "Uh, yeah, I'm here. Sorry. Thinking."
There was a pause before Laura sighed, her sister launching into a lecture about how she couldn't just stay holed up at home. "It's been eight months, baby sister. I know you loved him, but it's time to move on. It's what he would want." Laura gritted her teeth as tears sprang to her eyes unbidden, "You weren't married to him! You don't know what he'd want!" she snapped angrily before pressing the end-call button quickly.
The phone rang, her sister calling back. Laura threw the phone into her closet before she curled into a ball upon her bed, wrapping blankets around herself as she cried. A flag was framed, sitting on her desk next to the computer along with a picture of her and her late husband, smiling with their puppy. Laura glanced at it through watery eyes, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
"Good thing I don't wear make-up, huh Ethan? You never did like it anyways." She said with a tiny smile, still silently crying. After a few minutes, Laura got up, stripping as she filled the bathtub with warm water. She sat naked on the edge of the tub, swirling the water with her hand absentmindedly as she began to hum a song. Her phone continued to ring in the closet, the change in ringtone telling Laura that her parents were now trying to call her.
She ignored them, settling into the warm water with a sigh. "Everyone thinks they know what's best for me. 'You need to get a hobby,'" she said in a mocking tone of voice, mimicking her sister, "'Why don't you move back home?'," She said, now mimicking her mother. "Maybe I like it here! Maybe I don't want to leave what we had. I'm close to him here." She muttered as she took in a breath and let herself slip beneath the water, wetting her hair.
As she came up for a breath of air, Laura frowned, thinking she'd heard the front door open. She lived in a creaky, tiny little one-bedroom house. She could listen to almost everything from one room or another. "Jessica? You didn't need to come by!" Laura shouted as she stood up and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. "Just because I hung up on you doesn't mean you can just drop in unannounced!" She added in an irritated tone of voice.
Laura dried herself off a bit before she grabbed her bathrobe and tied it around herself, "Seriously, what were you thinking?" She asked loudly as she left the bathroom and rounded the corner to leave her bedroom, heading down the hall towards the living room. "Jessica? The least you could do is speak. Hey, Jess!" Laura asked, becoming more irritated by the second.
Her breath hitched as she entered the living room. A man stood there in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, back facing Laura as he held one of the photos of Laura and Ethan in hand from the fire mantle. Shaking, she reached for the pistol she kept in the desk next to the couch. She heard a thud and looked up, spotting the gun at the strangers' feet.
"I didn't think you'd need it." He said as he turned around. Laura blinked hastily, narrowing her eyes before she rubbed them, looking at the stranger again. "You. That's… that's impossible." The stranger grinned a little, "It's been awhile, hasn't it? How long? You don't keep a newspaper around here, as usual."
Laura stumbled backward, dashing the bedroom, for her phone. "Laura!" He shouted as he chased after her. She shut the door, but not fast enough. A strong hand pushed back, preventing her from closing it. "I expected you to be shocked but c'mon, please, listen to me!"
"Y-you're dead! Dead! I spread your ashes out! I dumped them out!" she shouted as she still tried to shut the door. Ethan added a little more body weight to the door, shoving it open, catching Laura's wrist before she could fall back against the corner of the dresser. She tried to jerk free but instead found herself pressed against the bedroom wall, kissing Ethan.
"See? See? It's me, Laura. I can explain all of this, but just… calm down. Please." He stared down into her eyes, "Please." She was shaking, and he stepped back, staring at him with wide eyes. "You can't... you can't be here. You're dead Ethan!" His eyes drifted to the encased flag, and he winced, remembering it seemed what she had had to go through. "I'm not dead, Laura. I'm alive, see?" he asked, spinning around, "Very much alive and okay."
She crept past him, never turning her back to him as she sat in the far corner of her room in a chair. Laura looked him up and down, realizing how much more built he seemed, stronger. "What? You just… didn't want to come home? Hated me? Did you find another woman or something?" she started asking, the questions spilling out one after another. Ethan raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "You think I didn't come home by choice? That I just… chose not to see you for the past, what? How long has it been?"
Laura frowned, "Did someone hit you in the head or something? It's been eight months." Ethan's eyes widened, "What? But… it's only been…" he shook his head, "That can't be right. You must be off. Off by a few months. I've only been away for like, three." Laura laughed but wasn't amused. "Yeah, you had to be hit in the head. Have you even called your Mom? Sister? Dad? They need to know you're back too. Preferably via phone instead of just showing up at their house. Don't wanna give your Mom a heart attack. She already had one when they gave her the news." Her tone wasn't joking or light. Ethan could tell she was angry.
"I can't call them." He responded as he crossed his arms, "I… I only came to visit you. For a good reason." He added with a sigh. Laura lifted an eyebrow, "Only visit me? You aren't home to stay?" Ethan shook his head, "No, I'm not." He could see Laura beginning to get upset, though whether she was angry or sad, he couldn't tell. Her eyes started to well up with tears, and she was focusing on her breathing, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down.
Ethan closed the distance between them and knelt in front of her, placing his hands on her thighs, "Hey, look at me Laura," he said, "Please." She took in a few shaking breaths before she opened her eyes, cheeks stained with silent tears, "What?" she asked. He looked at her quietly for a few moments, waiting to see that she'd calmed down a little bit before speaking. "Do you…" he glanced away with a sigh and looked back at her, "Do you remember the books you read?"
She laughed harshly, "I read a lot of books or did you forget that too?" she asked as she wiped away tears with the back of her hand. Ethan frowned, "The books about the people that were enslaved." Laura rolled her eyes, "You'll have to be a bit more specific." Ethan groaned, "Zequire. The books about Zequire, Laura." She appeared confused for a moment, "I haven't read them in awhile, why?" Before Ethan could respond, Laura stood up, backing up to the wall as she shook her head with a disbelieving laugh, "Oh please don't tell me that's where you've been! They're fiction! Fiction, Ethan!"
Ethan straightened as he stood up, cocking his head to the side, "Really? Is that a challenge?" he asked. "You must have hit your head a lot harder than you thought, than anyone thought. We should take you to a hospital. Get you seen." She said as she continued to shake her head. Laura tried to pass him, but Ethan grabbed her upper arm, stopping her. "Going to get some tea, I assume?" he asked. She hesitated but nodded; it was Ethan all right. "Let me get it for you. Sit down and—for the love of God—don't call the police or anyone, please?" Laura didn't respond immediately, and Ethan waited until she nodded. "Vocal response?" She sighed, "I won't call anyone." He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed again in an irritated manner, "or message anyone. Happy?" Ethan let her go, apparently satisfied with the response as she sat down on her bed and he left to the kitchen.
Laura pulled a blanket up around her shoulders, taking in a deep breath. Her husband, her supposedly dead husband, was in the kitchen right now getting her a drink. Shouldn't she be in hysterics? Breaking down, crying, maybe even passing out? She made a face before she looked up, Ethan walking back into the room. "Here," He said as he handed her the glass of sweet tea. "Um, thanks." She said as she sipped on the tea. She didn't realize how thirsty she was and downed the glass quickly, glancing at Ethan who was laughing softly, shaking his head. "What? What is it?"
He waved a hand, "Nothing, nothing. You just… you haven't changed. It's nice." He looked at her with a soft smile. "What, you go away for eight months, and I'm supposed to change all of my habits?" She asked, irritated. "No, I suppose not. It's just nice to see something familiar, that's all." Ethan replied with a shrug. Laura set the glass on the table next to her bed, fixing the blanket around her as she looked back to Ethan. "So… you really think you've been on… on Zequire for the past eight months?"
Ethan shrugged, "I go by what I've been told." He admitted and sighed, "It's… an interesting place. I remember you telling me about it, a little I mean. Are you okay?" He asked, noticing Lauren had started to rub her eyes. "I'm fine. I didn't sleep well last night, and I was in the middle of a rather nice, hot bath before you so rudely interrupted." Lauren responded with a yawn. "How long are you staying?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "A little bit longer, I think. I'll stick around if you want to take a nap though."
Laura narrowed her eyes, "You promise me you'll still be here?" Ethan nodded, "I swear on my Mom's life." Laura didn't change her look, still staring at him. He stood up, "Scooch over. I'll be right next to you. You're a light sleeper; you'll wake up if I move. Is that okay? Sound alright?" Laura relented, nodding as she moved over, allowing Ethan to arrange himself before she snuggled down next to him. "I missed you," she murmured with another yawn. He kissed her head, "I missed you too. Get some rest; we can talk when you wake up." She nodded, closing her eyes.
Ethan waited until Laura's breathing had evened out and whistled, hearing heavy footsteps in the living room come down the hall. A tall man with shaggy, dark blonde hair appeared in the doorway, "She out?" Ethan nodded, "Yeah. Thankfully she was pretty thirsty and downed it quick; she was tired already too." The man grinned, "She'll be out for awhile then. Ready to go?" Ethan was already straightening his clothes out and reaching to pick up Laura from the bed, the blanket wrapped around her.
"You know she can't keep that. She can't keep anything she's wearing. Be better if you just stripped her here." Ethan shook his head, "I'm going to show you why I fought to come back for her. She's a natural." The man frowned but shrugged as he moved out of the way, Ethan walking down the hallway with Laura in his arms. "Suit yourself. They're going to ask questions as well when we get back to the ship though." Ethan grunted in response, "Just open the door, will you Cadmus?" The man in question did as requested with a sigh, "Yes sir."