A.N. Written for and to a prompt by LostGirlz, will be a two-shot.
Warning: Rated M.
Chapter One: Empire
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This is bullshit,
I kick the door shut with my left foot, probably one of the only things left on me that doesn't feel like it's about to break off. My left hand gently rubbing my right wrist trying to get it crack back into place, Dyson had snapped it back in somewhat but he wasn't a doctor and Tamsin—well Tamsin wasn't touching me, girl freaked out when I had to snap my own knee back into the socket. I didn't need her starting and stopping halfway through fucking me up worse than I already am.
Already feel like Mr. Potato Head, don't need to look like it too.
Coming to the end of the hall I look around the dark apartment, lately I find myself using the terms 'apartment' and 'house' rather than home, it just doesn't feel like one anymore.
Three months and still no closer to getting Kenz back than I was the day she died. Not for lack of trying though—that's for certain.
A heavy sigh practically echoing through the space as I try to crack my neck, glancing over toward the fridge I contemplate food but then again what I needed to feed on couldn't be found in my pathetic excuse for a kitchen.
I should have took Dyson up on his offer-or Tamsin-hell with the way things are between them lately I could have had them both at once-that would have definitely healed me right up.
Lauren,
Her name echoing through my pain riddled mind puts an end to my contemplation before it even really begins—same reason I turned him—them down on the spot.
What was I doing?
No fucking clue but then again I tend to always be this way when it came to her. Never having a clue about her, about where we stood, about how or when I was fucking up-just never any clue. Our relationship may as well be an elaborate game of Where's Waldo—just with occasional spurts of mind-blowing sex—God I missed the sex.
Sighing again this time at my thoughts rather than my pain I begin into the living room letting my jacket fall onto the floor effortlessly as it seems to just slip right off, same as my shoes—I could seriously get used to gym shoes. Fingers slip under the hem of my blouse-what's left of the shredded cloth anyway, I knew it was going to hurt but like with a band-aid one quick, fluid motion.
"Fucking shit," I mumble to myself as I toss the ball of fabric down onto the couch as if I had a personal problem with it.
Note to self: Ask Dyson for a bulletproof vest.
Sure, I wasn't shot but the dame thing can stop bullets so it must cushion a blow or two, right? Logical assumption or stupid assumption? I'll ask Dyson or Tamsin, don't need to sound like an idiot to Lauren, she already thinks I'm a big enough one as it is without late night texts about random shit.
Would give me an excuse to text-after all I am paying her phone bill now.
Shaking off yet another thought of her I head through the hall, up the narrow staircase into my dim room—always kept the light on since Kenz—hated coming back to a completely silent, dark and empty apartment—just felt weird.
I stop just three steps in, succu-sense on full alert.
I look around the room quickly, mentally kicking myself for not leaving on a better light-or carrying a sharp object with me.
I feel a presence lurking behind me three steps back—two—one-I spin around left forearm slamming into this asshole's chest while the right grips his throat slamming him into the wall. Before my mind can even work my next move a heel to the side of my left knee sends my falling down onto them-may be sore but am still quick. As I find myself dropping I grab ahold of his forearms pulling him down with me. Though this asshole isn't stupid as he tries to counter my weight and ends up standing over me for a brief second-I'm still stronger.
I throw my weight back so I hit the floor with a thud and he goes crashing into the floor face first, shoulder slamming into mine earning a groan and really pissing me off. Shifting my weight in a second I have dickhead on his back, me sitting over his stomach, left hand holding his shoulder down as my right is cocked back in a fist.
"BO-LAUREN?!" the two of us let each other's names out in union, both just staring at one another in complete and utter surprise.
The asshole is Lauren? Wait-when was she learning to fight OR was I just so messed up that she could get a decent handle on me?
"What the hell are you doing?" I snap through a scowl, heart still pounding a mile a minute.
"I came to give you a letter from Markus, you weren't here so I was waiting." She snaps back at me.
"In my room?"
"Well I am your ex Bo not the mailman, didn't think it would be an issue."
"It's not."
"Then why are you still ready to hit me?" her voice still harsh and her eyes narrow through that scowl she only gets when she is really pissed. My eyebrow raises and I glance to my side seeing I was still in a position to hit her.
"Oops." I chuckle nervously as I use the edge of the bed for leverage while I push myself up and off of her before extending my hand which she takes. "I'm sorry, I just reacted and then you reacted which made me think asshole- not Lauren."
"Well, I have been called an asshole before." She gives a slight chuckle, brow still tightly furrowed.
"By who?" I sound a little defensive—like I am about to go kick their ass-how very girlfriend of me. I smirk at my own thought which earns an unusual look from her rather than a scowl—progress is progress. "I'm really sorry though Lauren."
"Its fine, I shouldn't have snuck up on you I just got scared that you weren't, well you." She gives me a grin and her features relax to their normal perfection though it's only for a moment before they are scrunching back up and she is taking a step toward me, her hand going to my shoulder. "Bo, my God. What happened?" she glances over my body before meeting my eyes.
"Um," it's all I can get out once I realize not only is she standing within my personal bubble but she is touching me and I'm shirtless. A rush of nervousness mixed with excitement spreads through me like a wildfire before settling in the pit of my stomach. "We were out in the woods searching for a Baxlebee, supposedly he had info on Kenz—know what he had?" I raise brow, irritation from my night's activities rushing back.
"Sharp teeth, sixteen pointy claws not including the ones on its feet and a six-foot tail laced in hundreds of fine pointed needles."
"Okay—maybe you do know." Damn, why was she so adorable and brilliant-and adorable. "Well doctor," I giggle out as I glance down at her. She is sort of bending down, left hand gripping my wrist as she traces her right fingertips over a nasty bruise starting under my ribcage and spreading upward.
"These are bad Bo."
"What can I say, I'm a bad-bad girl." I smirk down at her as she glances up into my eyes.
"Oh I know," she smirks, a flicker in her eyes but the way my body jerks to her light touch brings her back into doctor mode. "I'm serious, you need to heal and quickly."
"Sure let me just call up Subway and order the Caesar salad wrap with a side of extra spicy chi." I chuckle a bit—she is unamused as she moves down onto her knees, my eyebrows shooting up ever further. "Okay—um, yeah this is one way to shut me up."
"Bo," she does that half scowl, half grin as she glances up at me and I would have backed off had she not actually been undoing my jeans as she was doing this.
"I'm really not sure what is happening here but let me be the first to say-I am all for it."
"You went down way to easily when the heel of my foot collided with your patella, it shouldn't have been that easy given several factors including the difference in strength, weight, age—"
"I was all for the geek-speak until I think I heard you call me fat."
"When did I say that?" she halts with her fingers looped inside the waist band of my jeans.
"Um—doesn't even matter," I chuckle nervously. "What does me falling down like a weeble-wobble have to do with taking my pants off-again not complaining."
"Weeble-wobbles don't fall down Bo hence their name." another grin as she pull my pants down around my ankles—glad I wore panties today. "You wear extremely tight clothes so I could have struggled trying to get your pant leg up which would have resulted in me getting angry and your pain being furthered in my would be failed attempts or I could just take the easy route and remove them altogether."
"Doctor Lewis take the easy way out?"
"Once again Bo I am your ex and actually your physician for the past four years-"
"Not my mailman?" I smile, looking down to catch her glancing up again.
She is genuinely worried about my injuries there is no doubt about that and even if you couldn't tell just by looking at her or notice the concern in her eyes or feel it coming off of her in waves you could tell by how professional each and every single touch is.
But the feel was changing, like when it's a hundred degrees and all of a sudden a cool breeze comes out of nowhere breaking the stillness in the air.
It's different—my nervousness and uncertainty slipping away with every heartbeat.
"No, I am most certainly not your mailman." She says as she stands suddenly—she's felt it too. She wasn't a succubi, wasn't even Fae but she had a skill for noticing things-things like this.
"That's good—the uniform does nothing for me." My tone nothing more than a low and somewhat husky whisper.
"Get on the bed." She orders and my eyes widen a bit, but I just nod as I kick off my jeans and move to the bed. This was NEW but hey-why couldn't I have a nice surprise at the end of a bad week. "Wasn't aware you liked taking pictures." I chuckle as she pulls her cell phone from her pocket.
"What? Cute, no I am calling Dyson."
"You suddenly need help for lil' ol' me?" I flash a smile, teasingly opening my legs and closing them to half mass.
"Hm." She scoffs at the idea and I think I've actually offended her but none the less she looks back to her phone. "You need to heal and you continue to refuse to feed off of me, so."
"Well call me old fashioned but I like my women breathing."
"Are you saying I'm your woman?" she looks up from the phone, a familiar feeling coming over me at the nature of this banter.
"Are you saying you want to be?" bluff called doctor.
"I am saying that you have been running yourself rugged taking on Fae after Fae and not sleeping nor feeding—in either respect."
"Not true, I had a half a hotdog this afternoon and a half of a busboy on Tuesday."
"Oh, yeah Bo you've proven me wrong. Half of North America's most unhealthy food and half of a chi-treat three days ago." Did she just say chi-treat? ADBORABLE.
"What can I say, my appetite has suppressed."
"Bullshit." She snorts earning a chuckle from me.
"Doctor, language-my sensitive young ears."
"Six years Bo, you are six years younger." She scowls finally lowering her phone. "It's actually only like five and a half."
"Whatever you say doctor."
"Nice try by the way, I didn't forget." She smirks and starts raising the phone again, this time I spring off the bed, hand covering her wrist pushing it back down. "Bo, you need to feed."
"I will."
"Now."
"I am busy." My words seem to linger as I tempt fate and lean in, lips hovering over hers while my eyes move up her face to her gaze. "I am very busy." A whisper of playfulness that gives her the opportunity to pull away.
"Okay-I can be a temporary fix." She says so matter a fact as she pulls off her own shirt but I take a step back, features tightening. "What?" she asks innocently as she is already kicking off her shoes while untying the knot in her scrub pants.
"I—just—I don't know that was—"
"What?" she pushes her pants down, eyes alternating between me and her task literally at hand.
"Forgive me for being all girly here but that wasn't the most romantic thing to say."
"Romantic?"
"Lauren it's been months since we kissed, months before that since I felt you in my arms and months before that since we—I don't know I just had this expectation that if we were to—if we were to have sex again it would be about," I trail off realizing just how far into a topic I didn't want to go into I already was.
"Be about?" she asks softly, her eyes dancing over my face.
"Us." I take a deep breath, wave of embarrassment smacking into me before I take a step away from her.
She grabs my wrist and pulls me back against her, body falling into hers. Her hands going to my face as her lips slip between mine. My own hands sliding across her waist to the small of her back pulling her closer to me.
Didn't matter how tired I was, how much pain I was in, how upset I could be-none of it mattered with her—my body always reacts to her.
My drug of choice—my kryptonite.
Her thigh slips between mine and then mine follows her lead—maybe it's the other way around—it doesn't matter. What does matter is sensation it causes—the pleasure that shoots through me.
A simple touch from her can bring me to the edge of bliss—it could also pull me over but she has her ways of keeping me in place until SHE was ready.
I may be the succubus—but she was the dominate one in the bedroom.
Slender, cool hands sliding from my cheeks to my neck and then over my shoulders as she teases my lips with her tongue—she was such a playful kisser.
We maneuver ourselves back two steps and then over one until the back of my legs are pressing against the edge of the mattress. Her hands running down my arms to my hands before making the jump to my hips.
She bites my bottom lips before drawing it in between her own to sooth the pain with a suckle which earns her, her first audible moan from me.
Tongues teasing each other but neither will grant the other full permission.
Her hands sliding to the small of my back, traveling down until her fingers had slipped underneath the cotton material that once clung to my body.
"So doctor," a labored whisper as my eyes drift open to half mass, a smile on her lips—she had a thing for when I called her 'doctor'-I did too.
"Hm," her lips teasingly grazing mine once—twice—three times.
"You still want to call Dyson for a little backup?" I smirk as I see her left eye give the slightest of twitches.
For a moment she is silent. For a moment she is still. For a moment the world is still.
Her hands slam into my shoulders pushing down onto the bed, her body covering mine before conscious thought can be formed. Her thigh back in between mine with a new amount of pressure that she can now achieve from this position.
Hands slide up my tensing stomach to the start of my bra which causes me to lean up though by the way she pulls it over my head in a single swift motion she makes it clear she needed NO assistance. Hands back on my shoulders, shoving me down onto the mattress as she begins the sweet torture that is her beyond skillful hips settling into a rugged rhythm.
She drops her mouth to my left breast skipping the teasing as she takes my hardening nipple between her teeth drawing it into her hungry mouth—my own hands flying into her hair.
"Lauren," her name rolls off my tongue effortlessly, hips arching up to meet her movements-top or not I was still stronger than her so despite the fact she is blissfully riding me with the intent to keep my from 'participating', it does little to nothing to stop me.
She pulls her mouth away but not before delivering one sharp bite that earns a whimper of pleasure, warm and wet mouth leaving a trail of kisses across my chest to my neglected nipple—another whimper being pulled from me.
"Fuck," my back arching as I press my head into the mattress, my hands running up and down her back every so often digging my nails in which only earns moans against my tender flesh.
I'm quickly being dragged toward the point of no return, conscious thought seeming to be escaping me as I can feel my actions becoming less controlled.
Nails dragging up her back to the clasp of her bra—ripping it open, then off of her throwing it somewhere. Our moans echoing through the room till it's all that can be heard. My hands grabbing her face and pulling her away from my breast to meet my lips.
Tongue needing no permission this time around as it slips passed her swollen lips, skilled tongue fighting with my own for dominance as she does but she won't win—not this time.
Somewhere lost in the pleasure of this kiss we find ourselves flipped, I know the movements of my hips are too rough for her and there is a tiny part in the back of my mind praying that she will say something-do something to push me back into check but instead I find hands gripping my hips 'helping' me as her left leg wraps around my waist.
I can feel my restrain slipping away with every movement-every moan of hers begging me to know what I really am once and for all, begging me to see that part of me that she has yet to experience.
My hands grab fistfuls of sheet beside her head, wrists resting against her shoulders. Her head tilted to the right, eyes closed but her lips parted against my wrists—nipping, sucking, biting to keep from moaning any louder.
Further slips my shackles with every spike in her aura-with every faint hint of her sweet scent filling my nostrils.
Mind beginning to fall into a dizzy tailspin as all I can think about is fucking her-the ways I want to—boundaries I can test and most certainly want to cross-the ways I can show her exactly what I am—the ways I can show her a me that she has desperately wanted to know—tasting her—teasing her-
I jerk my head back in an abrupt moment of clarity, eyes flying open as my body comes to a still. Fears ripping through my body as I try to catch my breath.
"Fuck—Lauren are you okay?" it doesn't sound genuine-doesn't fully grasp the amount of concern I have at the moment due to the pants and laced huskiness of my tone.
"Wh—why did you stop?" she swallows, tongue darting out over her lips.
"I didn't mean to feed I was-" my eyebrow raises as I realize her hips are still moving teasingly against me, her eyes darker than I have ever seen them before, hands still clawing at my hips.
She wasn't turned off-she wasn't as depleted as she should have been for a human—she was in fact I think further excited by it than anything else.
A new wave of exhilaration and desire spreading through me as I feel my mind slipping towards its previous train of thought—the one that I sort of blacked out in.
She reaches up pulling my face down to her, kiss so dominate and passionate and rough I almost forget its Lauren I am kissing.
It's a second—maybe a minute and my mind is spiraling toward that unknown intoxication with her-the taste of her filling my mouth—the actual taste of her.
I've tasted her mouth, her wetness, her cum, her sweat, even tasted her blood on occasion when a bite was a little too rough—each enchanting, intoxicating, addictive, delicious, delectable.
None can compare to the taste of her essence.
"Lauren," her name a breathless and frantic whisper as I bolt upright.
Looking down beside me I lean over, eyes dancing over her face—body-back to her face.
Please God, please God, please God.
My inarticulate prayer answered in the form of a groan as she makes the tiniest of shifts hiding her face further into the pillow.
Swallowing back a wave of relief I look over what I can see of her body that remains uncovered by the sheet searching for marks—for something.
Eyes lingering on her shoulder blade flashes of last night-my nails ripping through her flesh—the memory proven fact rather than fiction as I spot the small blood stain on the sheet. Pulling the sheet down further, slowly as careful not to wake her, my eyes linger to the curve of her side. Another flash of me biting down hard enough to draw blood—sucking rough enough that she should at very least have a sever bruise but there is nothing but flawless, silky skin.
I run my fingertips over the area and earn the sightless of moans-did I feed her?
Shaking off the thought I slide from the bed and quickly slide back into my jeans before grabbing my bra and vest-shirt thing off the floor and heading downstairs.
Buttoning the last button as I walk into the living room I go for my jacket pulling my phone out and search through a series of texts.
Dyson: Bo let me know if you are alright? (10:22 p.m.)
Dyson: I need to know that you are alright, please. (10:39 p.m.)
Dyson: I am worried Bo, you did not look well. If you do not want to feed at least let me bring Lauren to look over you. (11:06 p.m.)
.
Ha. Yeah, she looked over me alright.
.
Trick: Bo we need to talk, call me first thing when you wake. (5:27 a.m.)
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Unknown: I know we aren't supposed to break silence except in emergency but Lauren didn't return last night. Is she safe? (6:01 a.m.)
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Lauren is fine—at least I think so.
I toss the phone onto the coffee table and look around the lonely apartment-this is one of those seriously needing to talk to Kenzi moments.
Something isn't right.
I am too healed, I am too-off.
I don't even get this charged off of Dyson or Tamsin—two completely different tastes, different levels of satisfaction but this was different.
I can see myself losing a little control in the beginning due to lack of feeding and sleeping and my injuries but it was just different—it was like being drunk only if you weren't and the hang over left you feeling amped and better than ever.
I settle down into the corner of the couch, memories of last night drifting back to me. I mean I remember it as a whole—I know what we did-so why were certain things having to 'Come back' to me?
"Hey," she says with a sleepy smile, walking the few steps over toward me. "Everything okay?" no chance to answer as she leans down giving me a peck on the lips before taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch, her legs folded off to the side as she leans against the arm.
"Yeah."
"You don't seem okay."
"I—I'm just—confused."
"Um, well that isn't what a girl wants to hear." She smiles and extends her leg, foot tapping my thigh. She means to pull it way but I hold it, guiding it into my lap. "Bo, what's wrong?"
"I need to ask you something, and I really don't want to."
"What is it?" she asks, her tone beginning to resemble normal Lauren whether than sleepy and affectionate Lauren.
"I know how bad things have been for a while and I know you have become even more badass as, Doctor Evil within the past few months. I mean changing Taft and then changing Evony human—all brilliant and badass—sure they had their consequences hence you learning to be a ninja and bringing a new meaning to the word hiding but—"
"Bo." She says firmly but softly, her brow furrowing.
"I know our history is complicated to say the least and-I want you to know that no matter your answer I will be here for you. So please be honest," I pause giving her foot a squeeze as I glance over at her. "Lauren, did you-did you experiment-on yourself?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did you—turn yourself?" she pulls her foot back as her features twist between confusion and anger but doesn't speak. "I never would have thought it but—last night-you—we—have you?"
"You of all people are going to sit there and ask me if I have turned myself Fae?" she snorts as she sits up right. "Sure, you're absolutely right. I've managed to make the serum and perform the procedure all on myself out of Glad's Tupperware, turkey basters and sewage." She snorts through a chuckle running her hand through her hair.
"Lauren,"
"Bo, seriously. Besides why-where the hell do you think I would get the means to do what I would need to do—for anything let alone that?"
"Maybe left overs?" I shrug which only earns me a glare. "Lauren, listen to me, God knows that this is not how I wanted this morning to go but I need to know the truth."
"You do."
"I—you're lying to me."
"You're calling me a liar?"
"I may not be brilliant—or even smart but I do know about some things." I snap not liking the extra emphasis she put on the 'you're' in her sentience. "You aren't human—you don't taste human."
"Jesus Bo-I knew I would end up regretting this." She practically jumps to her feet.
"For the sake of this conversation I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt." I snare as I bring myself to my feet. "You are mind-blowing and addictive and amazing, you blow any human out of the water and Fae too—on a normal day. But last night, last night was maddening, it was intoxicating-it was so many things I don't even have words for but am willing to look through a dictionary to find them just to accurately describe to you—but of all the things you were last night-human isn't one of them."
"You've lost your mind."
"Lauren," I snap grabbing her wrist as she tries to pass me undoubtedly to go back upstairs to get her shoes and jacket. "Listen to me," I say firmly but gently, staring into her eyes. "I love you and despite my track record I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you or upset you and I think you know that." Her eyes shift down to the floor for a moment before moving back to mine. "So why would I lie, why would I come up with something so ridiculous as this?"
"I—I don't know." She admits sternly with a shake of her head.
"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are you. I know the feel of you, the taste of you—in more ways than one. I know the movements you make, the words you say and how you say them. I know the rhythm of your heart—I know all of this so I know that you are you—but you are—" I cut myself off swallowing down the lump in my throat, noticing for the first time the hint of fear in her eyes. "You aren't human, at least not completely."
"Bo, this is crazy." She pulls her wrist away but takes two steps back rather than trying to pass me.
"I know, I don't know maybe—could your family have been?"
"No Bo—" she stops herself only for a second before shaking her head at me. "Bo, I think your senses are off because there is no way that I am anything other than human. If I was don't you think someone would have noticed after all of this time?"
"Do you have a lot of succubi feeding on you?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Bo,"
"Lauren,"
"Look I don't know, maybe I am just you know like one of those sour-patch-kids, you know sour than sweet—or is it sweet than sour?" her brow furrows as she looks down at the floor, I assume trying to remember.
"Lauren," I say again firmly making her look at me. "Do you think maybe you left some serum out or the recipe and someone was playing evil genius?"
"The recipe so to speak is in my head only that is too dangerous to have laying out and about for the taking."
"Okay, well what about your parents or maybe your grandparents?"
"You want to have a discussion about my genealogy when you can't even make time to discuss us?"
"Wow, you re batting a thousand here Doc." I scowl but a sigh escapes and I remind myself that however nerve wrecking this is on me and off the wall it must me ten times as much for her. "Lauren, please." I motion toward the couch as I take a seat. "You got me I am avoiding the talk about us. You got me again with the fact that I maybe never asked much about your past but it's not because I didn't care I just—I've spent my life running from mine and sometimes I got the same feel from you."
"Bo, you avoid conversation as a whole with me."
"That isn't true."
"Yes-it is. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with you and I meant what I said—I am yours but in reality the things we know about each other are," she takes a deep breath, letting her eyes fall to the floor. "What do you want to know?"
"I—I don't know I mean is there a thing as natural hybrids or ones at all? Is there a possibility about your parents?"
"I don't know, theoretically a hybrid could exist, theoretically. But I haven't found anything on them. With the Light I wasn't given access to files that would go that far back and with Evony I was busy searching for—other things."
"Okay, what about your parents?" I repeat for the fourth or fifth time.
"Bo," she sighs looking over to me as if pleading not to push this. "I don't think so."
"You don't think so?"
"I don't know, I don't remember much about them, hardly even remember what they look like anymore."
"God, how long has it been since you seen them?"
"Thirty years, give or take a few days." Her voice breaks as she looks away from me again. "They died when I was five, I don't remember it happening but I'm told it was a house fire—only took minutes for the entire house to be gone, we nearly made it out."
"We?" my question a whisper as I scoot closer to her, I want to rest my hand on her back—be comforting but I don't know how she would respond.
"Yeah we," a heavy sigh as she looks up into my eyes. "I have a brother, Aiden. He's two almost three years older than me."
"What?" I don't mean to sound so taken back, I mean I can understand her parents being a secret but her brother too?
"We were close once upon a time,"
"What happened?"
"Bo,"
"You say I don't take an interest, well here I am—" I'm cut off by the sound of my phone vibrating over the table, DYSON written across the screen which makes her look away from me once again. "Hey," I whisper softly, left hand resting on the small of her back as I lean over and press ignore with my free hand. "Lauren, it's only me and you here now."
"Shit." A mumble before she turns a bit to face me. "Back with everything with Taft you found out that my name—it isn't Lauren."
"Yeah, Karen right?" I try to remain gentle despite the stab of pain shooting through my heart.
"No, I mean yeah but no."
"How many names do you have?" I chuckle softly but my slight grin fades seeing the seriousness in her features.
"To date, twenty-two." My eyes widen a bit despite my best effort. "You think I am brilliant at being a doctor well when it comes to running I've written the book on it. You wonder why I tell you I am okay with hiding and the conditions that I find myself in recently—it's because I've been doing it for the better part of my life. Karen was the name I got when I went to live with my aunt, took her last name and got a new first because she didn't want people to find out I was the poor little girl from the fire who lost her parents—said it would save me a lot of grief."
I just nod, hanging on her every word.
"My real name—well my birth name is Rebecca Deveraux-Pierce."
"O—okay."
"I don't know what you're looking for Bo, I don't remember anything other than being raised by my aunt with my brother. I don't remember my parents, I don't remember the fire or how we got out—it's all just blank to me."
"Okay, wh—why were you on the run?" I ask one of the several questions that has been pestering me for almost a year now.
"Bo,"
"Hey—after all of that you really think I can't deal with whatever this is."
"I um, I wanted to change the world and it turns out that sometimes you can lose yourself in an idea if you're not careful. Wanting to change the world for me and my brother went from rallies and protests to pipe bombs and riots. It was one of those escalating things, one protest goes from peaceful to violent and you're doing what you have to do to help your brother or friend and then you see these people you know and love being beaten and arrested and all for what? Because they want change for the same thing you do? It starts to change your prospective, and makes you acceptable to the idea of making a bigger statement, making people take notice-like pipe bombs in closed factories and oil mines and plants."
"You were trying to make a difference, no one can blame you for that." I try and sooth her, my had going to her arm as I lean down ever so slightly trying to get her to look at me without forcing her to do so.
"The eleven people who died can."
"What?"
"The last time, I—they weren't supposed to be there—they weren't supposed to be there but they were. Seven of them had families, had kids. Two were just months from retirement—from that golden time where they could go and play with the grandkids and fall back in love with their wives. I took that away," she looks up to me, tears slipping down her cheeks and it takes a conscious effort to keep my own at bay.
"Hey, hey—it's horrible yes but I know you. You would never do that on purpose."
"Purpose or not doesn't change the outcome." A small sniffle from her as she tightens her jaw. "It was life in prison or run, I ran—though karma had another thing in mind. Sort of funny how it all worked out, huh?"
"Lauren, you don't deserve what has happened to you. I know you-I may not have known this stuff, there is more I don't know-but I know your heart and I know your soul, I know you would never hurt someone intentionally, not someone innocent. I also know that despite what happened, what's been done to you-you don't deserve it."
"Is that what you tell yourself?" she swallows hard and stares into my eyes, peering into my soul. I know she isn't asking about my feelings on her anymore rather than on my own failures—I suppose we have more in common than I ever dreamed of—than I ever hoped for. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."
"You did but it's okay because it's true."
"Still," she reaches out hand cupping my knee. "Apart from giving you a history of me, I don't know what you thought you would find."
"Me either." I cover her hand with my own, mind racing over her story. "Is it normal that you don't remember about the fire, I mean I remember quite a bit from when I was five and your brother was like seven so didn't he tell you?"
"It's all dependent on the person, the memoires are repressed I guess. I used to ask him about it and I would either get an answer that he didn't remember or that he didn't want to discuss it. Over time it just, it's not that important anymore I guess."
"Well, I think it just became very important."
"Bo," she sighs pulling her hand back as she looks away from me.
"Lauren, nothing changes the fact that you don't remember and have no clue how you are no longer human-if you ever were."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does." I plead, reaching up cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at me. "Baby, please."
"Baby huh?" she smiles softly through glassy eyes.
"Yeah, baby." I whisper with a tiny nod before leaning in, lips lingering atop of hers. It's not sexual, just loving-comforting, something that will convey everything that I can't say aloud.
"Even—even if it's possible and even if I wanted to go down this rabbit hole-I don't know how. I remember nothing."
"I may have a way."
"What?"
"Trick has been pestering me to see this Oracle chick-what if we got her to—I don't know, give you a once over. Just check if something has been tampered with, no pressure to let her read you unless you want but just see if—"
"Trick won't go for it."
"He owes me."
"Bo,"
"Lauren, you may think I am crazy and you may not believe me but then do it for a piece of mind for me, just let her do the Jedi mind search deal on you-just to see if something is off?"
"And if it isn't?"
"Then we will look into what else it could be."
She sighs looking around the room as I can see her debating this with herself. She is scared but curious—luckily curiosity always won with Lauren.
"Okay." She looks back to me, fear swallowing the depths of her eyes. "For you."
I give a soft smile and nod, left hand holding onto hers as I reach for my phone with the other.
This wasn't something that could wait—if it was just misplaced DNA and family history then so be it, I would be a shoulder to cry on but if it was something else-I could never live with myself if something happened to her and I didn't do everything to try and protect her.