center"You don't tell me what to do
And you don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display."
-'You Don't Own Me' by The Blow Monkeys/center
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"I think the hospital will be pleased to hear about all of this money they're about to receive for the research labs." Alaric Hollis says, sipping from a mug of coffee.
"Well what can I say, when you have as much money as I do, you don't really know what to do with all of it, so I'm glad I can put it into something that'll do some good." Andrew Lawrence said in a casual tone, one that if you weren't paying to his every word, would take away from how awfully arrogant he sounded.
Laura fought the urge to roll her eyes, as she watched the waiter with short red hair refill their water glasses.
Mr. Lawrence looked up at them, "Ah, LaFontaine."
"Yes, sir?" They asked, looking up as they continued pouring their drinks.
"Could you tell Lola that the updated schedule has been laminated and is waiting for her at the front desk?"
LaFontaine nodded their head, turning away from the table, and heading off towards wherever Lola was.
Laura waited a beat before wiping her mouth with the corner of her napkin, and excusing herself to the bathroom.
On the way there, she caught sight of Carmilla and Ell speaking in hushed tones and a hurried pace. Neither looked too happy, as Carmilla quickly kissed Ell's cheek, nodding to her once more, and headed off in the direction of the parking lot.
Laura saw her chance, continuing over to the bathrooms, and stopped in front of Ell. "You're a really great dancer." She said kindly, hoping Ell would understand that she wasn't saying it just to say it. She really meant it; she was great, especially when she danced with Carmilla.
"Yeah well when you get kicked out by your mother at sixteen, you don't have much choice but to run with your passions." Ell said, her tone bored and dismissive.
"Well I certainly envy you for sticking to your guns."
Ell scoffed, giving Laura a look of distaste, before walking away, leaving Laura confused and with a full bladder.
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Laura stood beside her father inside the gazebo once more, waiting for their turn in the dance lessons.
Carmilla was the only dance instructor present, currently dancing with a woman in her mid-forties, and Laura couldn't take her eyes off of her.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" Mr. Lawrence asked, coming to a stop in front of them.
Alaric smiled warmly at the man, motioning towards his daughter. "Laura here's just waiting for a waltz."
Laura fought the urge to roll her eyes, and as if things couldn't get any worse, Danny showed up then to harass Carmilla.
"Where's Ell, she's being asked for." Danny asked the dancer, loud enough for Laura to be able to hear from across the gazebo with the music on low.
"She's on a break." Carmilla said as she twirled the woman in her arms.
"She's been on an awful lot of breaks lately."
Carmilla stopped dancing, glaring up at the ginger. "She needed a break."
Danny chuckled darkly, shaking her head. "Let's just hope it's not a break that lasts the whole night again."
Please don't come over here, please don't come over here, Laura thought as she watching Carmilla go back to dancing, and Danny make her way over to where she stood.
"Want to go for a walk?" Danny asks once she reaches Laura.
Laura looks to both of their fathers, before nodding her head timidly, "Just for a little while."
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Laura swung her feet off of the dock, staring out at the water lit up by the glare of the moon and stars above.
"Beautiful night tonight," Danny says from the spot next to her, Laura can see her moving closer in her peripheral, "But not nearly as beautiful as you."
Laura stifled a laugh, choking back the feeling of wanting to vomit, and stood to her feet. "My dad's probably looking for me."
Danny stood with her, shaking her head with a smirk. "If your dad thinks you're with me, he'll be the happiest father at Lawrence's."
Faking a smile, Laura looked away from Danny, and back out at the line of woods across the lake. What she would give to simply hide within them for a single night.
"You know, I'm your best bet around here anyway," Danny continued, "Karnstein on the other hand, she's definitely someone you want to stay away from, nothing but a deadbeat who's got her head in the clouds." She turned to Laura then, "But enough about her, say, are you hungry?"
At Laura's quick nod, anything to change the subject, she was dragged down to the dining hall, her arm nearly coming out of its socket.
"You can have whatever you want, Laura. What are you in the mood for?" Danny asked as she led her into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she starts rattling off desserts. "We've got rice pudding, lemon meringue pie, chocolate mousse."
Laura's attention was off of Danny now though, hearing someone crying quietly close by, she turned her head to see Ell hiding near the freezers with her head pressed into her knees. At closer inspection, Ell looked up, making eye contact with Laura, and that's all it took for her to know that something was wrong.
Cutting Danny off from her grocery list, Laura spoke up. "I should really get back, I just got a text from my dad. He wants to see me."
"Oh, well alright," Danny said dumbly, shutting the fridge, "I'll walk you back."
Laura ditched Danny near the gazebo, quickly grabbing Kirsch's attention, "It's Ell."
Nothing more had to be said, Kirsch quickly got Carmilla out of dance lessons, and they were off, walking at a brisk pace back to the dining hall.
Entering the hall, Carmilla turned around to glare at Laura. "What's she still doing here?"
"Incase Danny comes back." Kirsch says quickly, looking at Laura apologetically.
"What's wrong with Ell?" Laura asks, ignoring the rude way she was being spoken about.
"She's pregnant." Kirsch supplies, as they round into the kitchen.
"Kirsch, what the fuck? You don't think do you?" Carmilla yells, giving Kirsch a look as if to tell him that she would kick his ass later for spilling Ell's secret.
"Do you know who's it is?" Laura asks.
"If I knew the shit weasel, I'd wring his fucking neck." Carmilla grits out.
"You don't know who it is?"
"Ell won't tell her." Kirsch said when Carmilla failed to respond.
They find Ell curled up in the same position Laura had found her. Carmilla immediately falls into protective mode, dropping to her knees, and wrapping Ell up in her arms, whispering small reassurances into her hair.
Kirsch stands over the both of them, looking down at them helplessly.
Laura watches from further away, stopping short so as not to infiltrate their little bubble. She listened as Carmilla told Ell that she was okay, and that she wouldn't let anything happen to her, feeling something clench in her chest and tug around her heart.
Carmilla stood slowly, picking Ell up, and cradling her to her chest. "Let's get you home."
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Kirsch and Laura walked in silence back to Ell's cabin. It was dark and quiet, the majority of the resort asleep.
Carmilla's voice traveled though as they opened the door- "I'll take care of it."
Ell shook her head, sitting up on the couch, pulling the blanket further up her legs. "I can't take your money Carm, it'll burn a hole right through your entire savings."
"That's my business." Carmilla spits out, angrily pacing the floor in front of the couch. "I'll figure it out, I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."
"So what, I'm not allowed to worry about you?"
"You've been taking care of me almost my entire life Ell, let me take care of you." Carmilla said her voice filled with guilt and worry.
Ell blows out a shaky breath, leaning her head back on the couch, "This is hopeless. I'm just going to have to have the baby."
"And what, say goodbye to your career? If Lawrence finds out you're going to be out of a job." Carmilla says, stopping her pacing for the moment as she stares pointedly at her closest and oldest friend.
Laura moved further into the room, hearing the door shut behind Kirsch. The sound was deafening as the two who already occupied the room turned to face them.
"There's got to be a way to work this out." Laura said, biting her lip nervously, afraid that she had overstepped.
Ell looked Laura over, wiping at the corners of her eyes with the tip of her finger so as not to ruin her makeup further. "Laura, is that your name?" At Laura's nod she continued, "Well Laura, you don't know shit about my problems."
"Actually, I told her." Kirsch says, swallowing around his words, hoping that Carmilla doesn't decide that now was the time to throttle him for his talking out of turn.
"Aw Kirsch, now why would you do that? She's just going to go tell Lawrence, and we're all gonna get fired." Ell said exasperatedly.
"No I won't, it's none of their business." Laura said angrily.
"Yeah, well it's none of yours either," Ell said bitterly, "Please Laura, save yourself the waste of time, and get lost."