Laura was already fully dressed by the time William opened his eyes and sat up. Sitting on the edge of his bed she put her shoes on and did the laces. Turning her head she saw him awake and just kept doing what she was doing.
"Don't think too far into this," Laura said and stood up when she finished her shoes, "I just like fun."
"How much of what I've seen is a play? The sweet innocent is a lie, obviously. Are you actually a tech geek?" William asked, Laura turning to him and smiling.
"Four point six GPA, I built my computer, and I attend expos and conventions for fun. Don't need to fake that," Laura said with grin.
"Why Jeremie?"
"I sized up that room pretty quick. I see Ulrich, and he's not budging. If you don't know, they're already sleeping together and haven't told anyone yet," Laura said, and William tried to think if that was true or not, "Odd's too easy. I can't read you because you know this game. Jeremie, my adorable little virgin. I play cute, innocent…"
"You're playing a blonde Aelita," William said, making her shrug, "Just so you know."
"Minus the needy clinglyness and jealous outbursts. Not to mention minus the sexual shutoff. All I have to do is poke Aelita and she'll do most of the leg work for me."
"You know you're talking about one of my friends, right?" William asked, making Laura laugh.
"Go ahead and tell them what I'm really doing. Tell them you saw right through me and bedded me because of what I'd call an anthropological intrigue," Laura said and touched his nose with one finger playfully.
"Does wrecking relationships turn you on or something?" William asked.
"What was the name of the first girl you slept with? I can tell it wasn't me," Laura said and William sighed.
"Heidi," William answered.
"What was the name of the second?" Laura asked, and William paused to think, "You remember the first, you forget the rest. I have a thing for virgins, it's powerful to be someone's first. They look at you like you just showed them the face of god. Jeremie is closer to leaving her than all of you think."
"You're wrong about that," William said and decided he wanted to get dressed so found his clothes and put them back on. Pulling up his jeans to his waist he said, "For one reason you're missing."
"What's that?" Laura asked, William smiling.
"All of their sexual frustration, is on Aelita's end," William said, sitting on his bed and putting his shoes on, "He's what's holding them back."
"How do you know?"
"She told me," William said put his shirt on and opened his door. Looking both ways down the hall he gestured for her to leave, locking it behind him, "Breakfast?"
"Sure," Laura said with a shrug walked down the hall with him.
"How have you been since our last talk?" Dr. Sentry asked, purposefully avoiding words like session considering Aelita already demonstrated a low opinion of the general process. Her therapy was to be wrapped in context of words like conversation, talk, and spoke. It made it feel less doctor to patient and more person to person.
"My sleep is better, when I get it. Nightmares are still very real," Aelita answered, deciding not to sit, Dr. Sentry noting her posture, pacing, and the fact Aelita had eyed all the exits of the room.
"How many hours on the average night?"
"Six, maybe less," Aelita said, scrolling through her books again. Dr. Senty wrote down her forthcomingness and not outright refusal to speak. Aelita wanted to talk, but on her terms and in an environment she controlled and could leave at any time.
"What are the nightmares about?"
"I'm being chased. I'm alone, I'm scared, jolting awake when the shadows drag me screaming into darkness," Aelita said, looking at Dr. Sentry as she finally decided to sit. Progress. She felt secure here, like it was a place she can lower her guard.
"Is someone chasing you, or something. Like a past finally catching up? A memory of another time you ran from something?" Dr. Sentry asked.
"Something...I think," Aelita said sighed, "It always ends with me being attacked."
"Do you feel this…"
"I want to talk about my boyfriend," Aelita interrupted, Dr. Sentry leaning into her seat, "Sorry to jump like that.'
"It's your hour. I'd still like to explore those dreams when we have time," Dr. Sentry replied with a smile, "What about your boyfriend?"
"The first night in a long time where I didn't have those dreams was when I was with him. He held me and I felt safe. Jeremie is the anchor to any normalcy I have," Aelita said and Dr. Sentry made notes. Dependent relationship with boyfriend.
"How did you and Jeremie meet?"
"..I guess the internet…"
"...you guess?"
"We met online, and we didn't know we went to the same school," Aelita said as her excuse, making it sound as sincere as possible.
"How long have you two been dating, defined as when you agreed you were in an exclusive romantic relationship," Dr. Sentry asked, Aelita thinking.
"Last year and a half."
"Are you and Jeremie sexually active?"
"Umm…"Aelita stuttered, flushing red now, "Define that please."
"Does he put his penis in your vagina?" Dr. Sentry asked and Aelita let out an awkward laugh and looked away.
"Geez Doc…"
"I'd rather not guess…"
"Not yet, no," Aelita answered.
"How long has that bothered you for?" Dr. Sentry asked, Aelita wondering how she came to that conclusion, even though she was right, "You were a late bloomer, weren't you? If I had to guess, you didn't have your period until maybe later fourteen early fifteen? You don't have to say when, just yes or no you were a late bloomer?"
"...yes," Aelita struggled to say with any volume.
"The reason you want to talk about Jeremie has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with Jeremie. You really want to ask 'Doctor, why doesn't my boyfriend want to have sex with me?'"
"Why doesn't he?" Aelita asked.
"I haven't the faintest idea, I'm not his therapist. Believe me if I was I would be asking him why is a perfectly healthy sixteen year old boy not trying to sleep with his very cute girlfriend," Dr. Sentry said, causing Aelita to laugh, "Have you told him you're ready?"
"Well I hint it…"
"Not what I asked."
"I've never just said it if that's what you're asking."
"It was, and you should consider doing that. Just tell him. Did he know you were having nightmares and would wake up screaming, or did you tell him? You cannot withhold information from him and then get angry when he doesn't know something. No one just knows something," Dr. Sentry explained.
After their hour was up Aelita left Dr. Sentry's office. When she arrived at the street she saw Alain leaning against the building.
"Inspector?" Aelita asked.
"Alain," he corrected, "I went to the lab, Jeremie said you'd be here. Dr. Sentry, I have a feeling that woman still hates me even she wouldn't remember why," Alain said gestured to walk her back, "Found some more."
"My mom?"
"Yeah," Alain said, them crossing the street, "Your mom is currently using an assumed identity. Lana Pausch, she's the CEO of a company called Fabius Security, which operates mostly on military cyber security contracts. She uses that to fund and play as a front for Lowel's work. His identity is now Lawrence Pausch. Most of their research is your father's which your mother legally took when she divorced him…"
"...What," Aelita interrupted, "They're both Pausch. They're married?"
"Yes," Alain said, stopping when Aelita stopped walking.
"I keep trying to be positive, and say my mother didn't know what was going on. Every time we find something else, the cement moves a little closer to dry," Aelita said and looked at her feet, "What do I do with that?"
"I don't know, and I think we've found as much as we're going to short of knocking on her door. This is where I get off," Alain said, Aelita looking up at him with smile.
"I understand. I can't even begin to thank you for everything you've done," Aelita said, extended her hand, Alain shaking it.
"If you need anything else," Alain said reaching into his pocket and handing her a sheet of folded paper, "It's her address, do with it what you will."
Alain walked away from Aelita who continued to the school, him walking to his office and sitting at his desk to hopefully get back to work. Two minutes into going over a real case, he received a knock on his door. Looking up he saw a man in a suit with a visible side arm on his hip under his jacket. He was tall with cropped blonde hair and stood with a military demeanor.
"Yes?" Alain asked.
"Sorry to interrupt your work inspector," the man said in an accent Alain assumed was German or Austrian, "Agent Donovan Houser, INTERPOL crimes against children."
"Inspector Alain Beaumont," Alain answered, leaning over his desk to shake hands, "How may I help you?"
"I'm a liaison for a kidnapping that may have cross borders from Switzerland to possibly somewhere in Paris. This is a very old case but recent events have incited a reinvigorated interest," Donovan said, Alain nodding.
"Be happy to help my former department," Alain said.
"You were INTERPOL?"
"Crimes against children, long time ago," Alain said, taking a file Donovan handed him and placing it on his desk. Sitting down Alain opened the folder and said, "How old is this case?"
"Over ten years," Donovan said as Alain saw the picture of Aelita when she was a little girl, "Aelita Schaeffer, kidnapped by her own father in 1992."
Alain stared at the photo and tried not to react in any noticeable way. Pretending to looking through it he turned a page and continued the charade. The only question remaining was whether or not this man was actually INTERPOL or working for Lowel.
"May I see your credentials?" Alain asked, Donovan tilting his head, "No offense, just thorough."
"Not a problem," Donovan said and extended his ID to him. Anyone but Alain would have been fooled by it, but Alain knew the number for the department was wrong.
"You ever worked any other department?" Alain casually asked, perhaps he worked somewhere else and his ID didn't reflect that yet.
"Nope, children since day," Donovan said and Alain handed it back to him.
"You're better off looking for her father. She'd be in her twenties at this point, maybe a college student," Alain said and Donovan nodded.
"Her face familiar at all?"
"I think I'd remember a girl with pink hair. I'd imagine her father would dye such a distinguishing feature," Alain said, Donovan chuckling.
"Thank you for your time," Donovan said and turned to the door. What he heard a moment later was Alain draw his pistol.
"Hands up slowly, interlock your fingers on the back of your head, go to your knees. Reach for the side arm and I drop you," Alain said and stepped around his desk carefully.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"You think I don't know what that ID was supposed to look like. Nearly flawless by the way," Alain said and finished his approach, reached around and grabbed Donovan's pistol and tossed it behind him, "You're under arrest for impersonating an INTERPOL agent."
"You'll regret this."
"Unless that ID checks out, I doubt it," Alain said and cuffed him.