Chap.31- Realization
Lauren paid the taxi driver and thanked him as he set her luggage on her front step. Rummaging in her purse, her fingers finally touched the cool metal of her house keys and she extracted them, placing the key in the keyhole and pushing the door open. She carried her luggage over the threshold and into the bedroom, finally dropping them onto the floor and collapsing in her bed.
Her thoughts wandered to Vaughn and she smiled. Despite all the arguments they had, she had counted down the days until she would come home. She rolled over to his side of the bed, burying her face in his pillow, searching for his scent.
She could only smell his sweat that lingered and she imagined him coming home from a vigorous workout and collapsing on the bed, just as she had. She wrinkled her nose and flipped his pillow over, preparing to fall asleep to a short nap.
Her forehead creased into frown lines and she buried her face in the pillow deeper, smelling a faint feminine scent that couldn't possibly be Vaughn's. Her frown lines disappeared and she began to smile, wondering what perfume of hers that he had sprayed in hopes of recapturing her presence in the house. She smelled the pillow again and she got up from the bed to look in her perfume drawer.
After smelling each one, her smile disappeared. It wasn't any of hers.
But she rationalized with the nagging thought in her head; maybe the scent came from the laundry or an air deodorizer. She silently admonished herself and she walked out of the bathroom, her eye catching on the full laundry hamper.
Lauren caught herself sighing loudly in frustration that Vaughn couldn't even do the laundry while she was away. She had only been gone for ten days and her house looked as if it had when they had first moved in. She located a laundry basket and started to transfer armfuls of clothing from the heavy hamper into the basket, just as she always had. But she soon began to weary of the time consuming act and gritting her teeth, she lifted the hamper up and dumped the contents into the basket.
Satisfied, she bent down to lift the basket when her eye caught a stranded article of clothing that had caught onto the bottom of the wicker hamper. Lauren straightened up again and moved to the hamper, squatting and releasing the clothing after a few moments of untangling.
She stared at what she had in her hand and broke into tears, falling into a heap on the floor.
He had cheated on her.
--
"Agent Voyer, you have a delivery." A secretary's voice said, ringing through the telephone of Sydney's desk.
"Thank you." Sydney replied, standing up and buttoning her jacket.
She walked down to the front desk where a huge bouquet of flowers was thrust at her. The vase was partially wet and the flowers were cluttered and uneven with petals and leaves falling as she walked. She reached her desk and set it down, extracting the card. She noticed the rip of the paper walked back down to the front desk.
"Excuse me, but has this been opened?" Sydney asked, showing the agent stationed near the desk the envelope.
He shrugged and looked at her apologetically.
"Sorry. It's standard operating procedure. We had to check for bugs."
Sydney nodded and walked back to her desk to read the card.
'Sorry that I haven't been there for you these past few days, the hospital's been hectic. I know that the flowers will probably be butchered by the security, but don't worry. I'll make it up to you. -Scott'
The smile on Sydney's face widened and the doubts that she had had vanished completely.
"Nice flowers." Mark commented, walking by while eating an apple.
"Thanks."
"From the hubby?" He asked.
"Yea."
"I don't even want to think about what you did." He grimaced.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused.
"Be right back." He said, walking in the direction of the front desk.
He came back with an even larger bouquet of flowers in his arms, almost tripping due his reduced visual field.
"What are those?" Sydney asked in wonderment, beginning to feel embarrassed due to the multiple stares and attention she was receiving.
"They were just delivered." Mark said, grinning widely to show that he was just joking with her before.
Sydney slapped him on the arm in good humor, but he winced from the blow. She laughed and slit the card open with her finger. Her eyes quickly scanned the card and she shoved the flowers at Mark.
"Bring these to security! I want him to check for bugs, cameras, anything!" Sydney said quickly, shoving the bouquet at Mark.
He hurriedly put his half-eaten apple between his teeth and carried the bouquet to security as fast as he could without falling. Sydney walked briskly to her father's office and swung the door open, interrupting the meeting that was being held.
Jack looked up, his mouth opened to protest, but he saw the expression upon her face. He excused himself from the other members of the room for a brief moment and followed her to an empty conference room.
"What is it?" He asked.
Sydney showed him the card and he scanned it quickly.
'Agent Voyer, I commend you for your spectacular fighting performance in Bosnia-Herzegovina although I do recommend you to brush up on your defense. I see that you have identified my agent and it makes me impatient to wonder when we will meet again. So sorry for your loss. -A Gentleman.'
Jack threw the card onto the table and remarked grimly,
"That is disgusting."
"I know, but aside from that, we can assume that this man has been following me. But I don't how. I don't know why. He has to have resources, money, power..."
"Sydney. I told you that I would take care of this and I will. You have to give me time though, to research, and to analyze. We won't be able to figure this out overnight."
--
Vaughn left the office earlier than he normally would, knowing from Lauren's phone call last night, that she would expect him too. He walked into the house and was unnerved to find it silent and dark, as if there wasn't anybody home.
Panic rushed through his body and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. He checked the bedroom and the study. Without any further inclination to why he had found the house as it was, he walked into the kitchen to see Lauren sitting silently at the dining room table.
"Lauren! How was your trip? Why are you sitting here in the dark?" Vaughn asked. He frowned when she didn't answer him. "Lauren, what's the matter?"
Lauren lifted her eyes to meet Vaughn's and she shot him a look.
"I was hoping you could explain something to me." She started airily.
"Yea, whatever you need..."
"Whatever I need?"
"Yea...Lauren, why are acting like this?"
"Michael. What I need...is for you to explain why you let another woman sleep in our bed." Lauren slurred.
"What?" Vaughn asked in panic. "Are you drunk?"
"Drunk? No. I don't get drunk." Lauren laughed.
"You need to sleep." Vaughn started, grasping her by the upper arms and starting to lift her up.
She stood up indignantly, shaking herself from his grasp.
"Don't. Touch. Me." She hissed.
"Lauren, I did not cheat on you. You have to believe me. You have to let me explain." Vaughn pleaded, although he had no idea how she knew that Sydney had slept in their bed.
"Sure. Of course you didn't. I can still smell her, Michael. You better have a good explanation." Lauren cackled, jabbing her finger at her.
"A woman did sleep on our bed. But I didn't sleep with her!" Vaughn explained hurriedly. "She was depressed....she didn't have anybody else."
"So she came running to you. How convenient for you. I suppose you just slept on the couch then, didn't you?"
"I did." Vaughn said earnestly.
Lauren began to laugh deliriously and she threw the article of clothing that she had found under the hamper in Vaughn's face.
"That..." Lauren said, "Is not mine."
Vaughn looked at the lacy black underwear and his mind went back to the incident where he and Sydney had accidentally switched suitcases. When he dumped her clothes back into the hamper, it must have dropped and...
'Oh, shit.' He thought.
Lauren looked at him with a look of disgust.
"It's my co-worker's." He started. "We accidentally switched suitcases and we didn't know..."
"Stop it." Lauren said, glaring at him and cutting him off. "Michael, those are probably the worst lies I have EVER heard in my life. Why don't you, just have the dignity and pride to admit to what you've done."
"Because I didn't do anything," Vaughn cried, well aware of how lame his "excuses" must have sounded, although they were the complete truth.
"Always the agent," Lauren said, walking into the master bedroom leaving Vaughn standing in the kitchen.
She picked up her suitcases that she had not yet unpacked and walked into the kitchen to confront Vaughn again.
"Where are you going?" Vaughn asked, although he already knew her answer.
"I was hoping that it wouldn't have to end this way." Lauren said, ignoring his question. "I guess I knew that our marriage could never work. There was always someone else, wasn't there?"
Vaughn nodded. In fact, throughout all the years Sydney had always been there, physical or emotional, she had taken a toll on his marriage and now the damaged ties were being severed completely.
"Lauren..."
"Just tell me." Lauren said, cutting him off again. "Is she prettier than me? Funnier? What does she have that I don't? I gave my whole self to you, Michael, and you didn't even give me half! Tell me, what did I ever do to you?"
"Please, Lauren. Don't do this..."
Tears streamed down Lauren's face and she bit her lower lip.
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer, Michael Vaughn."
-- Author's Note: WHOOO.....that was a great pleasure to write. Are we all happy now? ::nods:: Bye bye, Lauren!!!
Teeheehee. That was mean.
But anyways here we go:
Linz- Ahah! Your review totally cracked me up. That was great. And yes, I totally agree with you. I would love to have somebody like Scott. Hehe, maybe you'll find something wrong with him....later on.
Jayme- You're doing your French project on Michael Vartan? Good girl! That's what I would do...why not make it fun while you're at it, right?
Thank you EVERYBODY who reviewed. They make me so happy! Oh poo...FF.net is being a poohead, which means that I'll have to upload this some other time than now. =(
I'm sorry! Ahh! I'm so frustrated! Stupid AMAs...taking my beloved Alias' time slot for next Sunday!!!!
Jen
Lauren paid the taxi driver and thanked him as he set her luggage on her front step. Rummaging in her purse, her fingers finally touched the cool metal of her house keys and she extracted them, placing the key in the keyhole and pushing the door open. She carried her luggage over the threshold and into the bedroom, finally dropping them onto the floor and collapsing in her bed.
Her thoughts wandered to Vaughn and she smiled. Despite all the arguments they had, she had counted down the days until she would come home. She rolled over to his side of the bed, burying her face in his pillow, searching for his scent.
She could only smell his sweat that lingered and she imagined him coming home from a vigorous workout and collapsing on the bed, just as she had. She wrinkled her nose and flipped his pillow over, preparing to fall asleep to a short nap.
Her forehead creased into frown lines and she buried her face in the pillow deeper, smelling a faint feminine scent that couldn't possibly be Vaughn's. Her frown lines disappeared and she began to smile, wondering what perfume of hers that he had sprayed in hopes of recapturing her presence in the house. She smelled the pillow again and she got up from the bed to look in her perfume drawer.
After smelling each one, her smile disappeared. It wasn't any of hers.
But she rationalized with the nagging thought in her head; maybe the scent came from the laundry or an air deodorizer. She silently admonished herself and she walked out of the bathroom, her eye catching on the full laundry hamper.
Lauren caught herself sighing loudly in frustration that Vaughn couldn't even do the laundry while she was away. She had only been gone for ten days and her house looked as if it had when they had first moved in. She located a laundry basket and started to transfer armfuls of clothing from the heavy hamper into the basket, just as she always had. But she soon began to weary of the time consuming act and gritting her teeth, she lifted the hamper up and dumped the contents into the basket.
Satisfied, she bent down to lift the basket when her eye caught a stranded article of clothing that had caught onto the bottom of the wicker hamper. Lauren straightened up again and moved to the hamper, squatting and releasing the clothing after a few moments of untangling.
She stared at what she had in her hand and broke into tears, falling into a heap on the floor.
He had cheated on her.
--
"Agent Voyer, you have a delivery." A secretary's voice said, ringing through the telephone of Sydney's desk.
"Thank you." Sydney replied, standing up and buttoning her jacket.
She walked down to the front desk where a huge bouquet of flowers was thrust at her. The vase was partially wet and the flowers were cluttered and uneven with petals and leaves falling as she walked. She reached her desk and set it down, extracting the card. She noticed the rip of the paper walked back down to the front desk.
"Excuse me, but has this been opened?" Sydney asked, showing the agent stationed near the desk the envelope.
He shrugged and looked at her apologetically.
"Sorry. It's standard operating procedure. We had to check for bugs."
Sydney nodded and walked back to her desk to read the card.
'Sorry that I haven't been there for you these past few days, the hospital's been hectic. I know that the flowers will probably be butchered by the security, but don't worry. I'll make it up to you. -Scott'
The smile on Sydney's face widened and the doubts that she had had vanished completely.
"Nice flowers." Mark commented, walking by while eating an apple.
"Thanks."
"From the hubby?" He asked.
"Yea."
"I don't even want to think about what you did." He grimaced.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused.
"Be right back." He said, walking in the direction of the front desk.
He came back with an even larger bouquet of flowers in his arms, almost tripping due his reduced visual field.
"What are those?" Sydney asked in wonderment, beginning to feel embarrassed due to the multiple stares and attention she was receiving.
"They were just delivered." Mark said, grinning widely to show that he was just joking with her before.
Sydney slapped him on the arm in good humor, but he winced from the blow. She laughed and slit the card open with her finger. Her eyes quickly scanned the card and she shoved the flowers at Mark.
"Bring these to security! I want him to check for bugs, cameras, anything!" Sydney said quickly, shoving the bouquet at Mark.
He hurriedly put his half-eaten apple between his teeth and carried the bouquet to security as fast as he could without falling. Sydney walked briskly to her father's office and swung the door open, interrupting the meeting that was being held.
Jack looked up, his mouth opened to protest, but he saw the expression upon her face. He excused himself from the other members of the room for a brief moment and followed her to an empty conference room.
"What is it?" He asked.
Sydney showed him the card and he scanned it quickly.
'Agent Voyer, I commend you for your spectacular fighting performance in Bosnia-Herzegovina although I do recommend you to brush up on your defense. I see that you have identified my agent and it makes me impatient to wonder when we will meet again. So sorry for your loss. -A Gentleman.'
Jack threw the card onto the table and remarked grimly,
"That is disgusting."
"I know, but aside from that, we can assume that this man has been following me. But I don't how. I don't know why. He has to have resources, money, power..."
"Sydney. I told you that I would take care of this and I will. You have to give me time though, to research, and to analyze. We won't be able to figure this out overnight."
--
Vaughn left the office earlier than he normally would, knowing from Lauren's phone call last night, that she would expect him too. He walked into the house and was unnerved to find it silent and dark, as if there wasn't anybody home.
Panic rushed through his body and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. He checked the bedroom and the study. Without any further inclination to why he had found the house as it was, he walked into the kitchen to see Lauren sitting silently at the dining room table.
"Lauren! How was your trip? Why are you sitting here in the dark?" Vaughn asked. He frowned when she didn't answer him. "Lauren, what's the matter?"
Lauren lifted her eyes to meet Vaughn's and she shot him a look.
"I was hoping you could explain something to me." She started airily.
"Yea, whatever you need..."
"Whatever I need?"
"Yea...Lauren, why are acting like this?"
"Michael. What I need...is for you to explain why you let another woman sleep in our bed." Lauren slurred.
"What?" Vaughn asked in panic. "Are you drunk?"
"Drunk? No. I don't get drunk." Lauren laughed.
"You need to sleep." Vaughn started, grasping her by the upper arms and starting to lift her up.
She stood up indignantly, shaking herself from his grasp.
"Don't. Touch. Me." She hissed.
"Lauren, I did not cheat on you. You have to believe me. You have to let me explain." Vaughn pleaded, although he had no idea how she knew that Sydney had slept in their bed.
"Sure. Of course you didn't. I can still smell her, Michael. You better have a good explanation." Lauren cackled, jabbing her finger at her.
"A woman did sleep on our bed. But I didn't sleep with her!" Vaughn explained hurriedly. "She was depressed....she didn't have anybody else."
"So she came running to you. How convenient for you. I suppose you just slept on the couch then, didn't you?"
"I did." Vaughn said earnestly.
Lauren began to laugh deliriously and she threw the article of clothing that she had found under the hamper in Vaughn's face.
"That..." Lauren said, "Is not mine."
Vaughn looked at the lacy black underwear and his mind went back to the incident where he and Sydney had accidentally switched suitcases. When he dumped her clothes back into the hamper, it must have dropped and...
'Oh, shit.' He thought.
Lauren looked at him with a look of disgust.
"It's my co-worker's." He started. "We accidentally switched suitcases and we didn't know..."
"Stop it." Lauren said, glaring at him and cutting him off. "Michael, those are probably the worst lies I have EVER heard in my life. Why don't you, just have the dignity and pride to admit to what you've done."
"Because I didn't do anything," Vaughn cried, well aware of how lame his "excuses" must have sounded, although they were the complete truth.
"Always the agent," Lauren said, walking into the master bedroom leaving Vaughn standing in the kitchen.
She picked up her suitcases that she had not yet unpacked and walked into the kitchen to confront Vaughn again.
"Where are you going?" Vaughn asked, although he already knew her answer.
"I was hoping that it wouldn't have to end this way." Lauren said, ignoring his question. "I guess I knew that our marriage could never work. There was always someone else, wasn't there?"
Vaughn nodded. In fact, throughout all the years Sydney had always been there, physical or emotional, she had taken a toll on his marriage and now the damaged ties were being severed completely.
"Lauren..."
"Just tell me." Lauren said, cutting him off again. "Is she prettier than me? Funnier? What does she have that I don't? I gave my whole self to you, Michael, and you didn't even give me half! Tell me, what did I ever do to you?"
"Please, Lauren. Don't do this..."
Tears streamed down Lauren's face and she bit her lower lip.
"You'll be hearing from my lawyer, Michael Vaughn."
-- Author's Note: WHOOO.....that was a great pleasure to write. Are we all happy now? ::nods:: Bye bye, Lauren!!!
Teeheehee. That was mean.
But anyways here we go:
Linz- Ahah! Your review totally cracked me up. That was great. And yes, I totally agree with you. I would love to have somebody like Scott. Hehe, maybe you'll find something wrong with him....later on.
Jayme- You're doing your French project on Michael Vartan? Good girl! That's what I would do...why not make it fun while you're at it, right?
Thank you EVERYBODY who reviewed. They make me so happy! Oh poo...FF.net is being a poohead, which means that I'll have to upload this some other time than now. =(
I'm sorry! Ahh! I'm so frustrated! Stupid AMAs...taking my beloved Alias' time slot for next Sunday!!!!
Jen