-1CHAPTER FOUR
"You're late." Mr. Sinclair informed Lauren as she crept passed his office door.
"Sorry, sir." She apologized begrudgingly, still not used to being so mind numbingly obedient.
"Well, lucky for you Baldwin's not here yet either so I'll let it slide this time." Sinclair said as he retreated back into his office and sat down behind his desk. Lauren followed him.
"Michael's not here?" She asked, concerned. After what happened the night before, Lauren was worried that perhaps he'd been more severely injured than he'd let on.
"That's what I said." He declared impatiently. "And he better get here soon if he knows what's good for him."
"I'm sure he's just running a little late." Lauren reasoned, though she had an uneasy feeling about Michael's absence. Something wasn't right.
"Yeah, well he can be as late as he likes down at the unemployment line." Sinclair said threateningly. "And if he's not here by 9:00am, you'll be working with Pearson today."
"Yes, sir." Lauren said distractedly, glancing down at her watch. It was 8:45am.
"Good. Now, don't you have somewhere to be?" Sinclair asked, glancing up at her dismissively. Lauren hurried out of the office before she said something she would regret. Looking down at her watch again, Lauren contemplated driving over to Michael's apartment to see if he was okay, but she knew she'd never make it back in time.
"He'll be here." Lauren whispered to herself, walking towards the break room. After all, she reasoned with a smile, she did have his car.
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Michael didn't show up to work that morning and just as Mr. Sinclair had said, Lauren ended up having to work alongside the grotesque Gary Pearson. By the time lunch rolled around, she was yearning for a long hot shower.
"How's about you and I sit together and eat?" Gary leered at her as they made their way towards the cafeteria. Suddenly Lauren had lost her appetite.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna take off for a bit." Lauren said as she broke away from the lunch crowd and made her way towards the front doors which lead to the employee parking lot. "If I'm not back in half an hour, would you mind covering for me?" She tried not to shudder with disgust as Gary looked her up and down suggestively.
"Sure thing, pretty lady. Don't you worry 'bout a thing, I'll handle Sinclair." He promised, licking his chapped lips before offering her a lopsided grin.
"Thanks." Lauren forced a smile as she turned around and quickly made her way out the door. She had no trouble finding Michael's car in the crowded lot. It was rusted, had a huge dent in the passenger side door and was probably older than she was. But even though the beat up old Catalac was less than aesthetically pleasing, Lauren found herself anxious to get behind the wheel again simply because it was his. He had trusted her with his car and she was determined to prove herself worthy of that trust. Even if he hated her for it.
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Lauren stood nervously in front of Michael's apartment, having snuck into the building when no one was looking because she knew he'd never buzz her up. She'd scanned the tenant list searching for 'Baldwin' until she remembered that his step-father's name was 'Fisher'. So now there she stood, stalk still with her hand poised above the door to apartment 4C. She knew he wouldn't want her there, but Lauren needed to see for herself that he was alright. And with that thought in her mind, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
No one answered. Lauren knocked again, trying to stay out of view in case he saw her through the peep hole. Still, the door remained closed.
"Michael!" Lauren yelled as she banged on the door more forcefully this time. "Michael, come on. Open the door." She was about to knock again when suddenly the apartment door slowly started to open.
"Well, hello there." Lauren said cheerfully to the little boy in front of her. He glanced up at her quickly before his eyes darted back down to look at the floor.
"Hi." he spoke softly, not looking at her. Lauren cautiously bent down until her face was level with the little boy's. He moved away from her, but didn't retreat back into the apartment completely.
"What's your name?" She asked gently, trying her best not to frighten him.
"Kevin Christopher Fisher." He answered timidly, tugging on the sleeves of his worn cotton shirt.
"That's a pretty big name for such a little guy," Lauren chuckled, smiling warmly at Kevin as he glanced up at her once again. "Can I call you KC?"
"No, that sounds like a girl's name!" Kevin shrieked and Lauren was pleased to see that he was slowly coming out of his shell.
"Oh? And what's so bad about having a girl's name?" She asked playfully.
"Nothing, if you're a girl!" He explained, shaking his head at Lauren's silly question. "What's your name?"
"Steve." She answered in a deep, masculine voice and Kevin burst into a fit of giggles.
"No it's not!" he laughed, his shyness almost completely gone now.
"Alright, alright. You caught me. My name's not Steve, it's Lauren." She admitted.
"Oh, so you're the one." Kevin smiled knowingly.
"The one what?" Lauren chuckled.
"Nevermind," he teased, changing the subject. "So you're here to see Mikey?"
"Yeah, could you let him know that I'm here?" Lauren asked anxiously.
"He's asleep." Kevin informed her, glancing around nervously. "You can come in if you want, but you have to be quiet okay?"
"Okay." Lauren whispered and Kevin opened the door wider for her to enter the apartment. The living room was dimly lit with a small kitchenette off to the side. Lauren walked through the small home trying to comprehend how an entire family could stand to live in an apartment that was the size of her walk in closet.
"You can sit down if you want," Kevin told her sounding a bit timid again. "I'll go try and wake Mikey up." And with that he ran off down the narrow hallway to Lauren's left. She put her purse down on the couch and walked over to get a better look at the pictures the were situated on a table beside the small black and white tv. There were three wedding pictures of a blond woman wearing far too much makeup and a scummy looking man grinning obnoxiously at the camera. Lauren put the pictures down and looked for one of Michael, or Kevin, or even the typical family portrait that one would expect to find in any household. To her surprise, there were none.
"What are you doing here?"
Lauren jumped, startled. She turned to see Michael standing behind the couch wearing nothing but a pair of sweat pants.
"I was worried about you." Lauren explained.
"I'm fine," he insisted, not moving a muscle. "You shouldn't be here."
"Yeah, and neither should you. If you're so fine then why weren't you at work this morning?" She asked deciding not to beat around the bush.
"I had something to do." He answered her dismissively.
"What, lay in bed all day?" Lauren shot back.
"Get off my ass, okay?" Michael said angrily, raising his voice. "Why the hell do you care anyway?"
"Because! The only reason I decided to go through with this stupid job shadowing assignment was so I could…" Lauren stopped herself before she said more than she was ready to.
"So you could what?" Michael asked curiously, his voice taking on a softer quality. She didn't answer him, but the look in her eyes said it all. "Lauren, please. You need to leave." Michael pleaded with her.
"No," She insisted, moving closer to him. "Not until I know you're alright."
"Don't." Michael held up his hand to halt her movements, wincing in pain as he did so. Lauren rushed to his side and was shocked by what she saw. His face was swollen and covered in bruises. He had an angry red cut above his right eye and a split lower lip. Lauren ran her eyes over his chest and saw that it was smattered with painful looking bruises. Slowly she moved closer to him, examining the fresh cigarette burn on his left shoulder. She gently ran her fingers over the wound and looked up at Michael sadly.
"This isn't all from last night, is it." Lauren asked, though it wasn't a question. He didn't say anything, but his eyes closed as she continued to run her hands soothingly over his bruised chest. "Your step-dad?"
"Lauren," He hissed, grabbing her hand and holding it against him, right above his heart. It was beating rapidly. "You have to get out of here. Now."
"I don't want to leave you here." Lauren pleaded with him softly, moving her other hand up to run her fingers through the short hairs at the base of his neck. He bent his head down so that it was closer to her own and she gently pressed her lips against his wounds. The cut above his eye, the bruises on both his cheeks, finally moving to run her tongue soothingly over his swollen lower lip. Michael released a breath he had been holding, finally giving in to her tender ministrations.
"Mikey's got a girlfriend! Mikey's got a girlfriend!" Kevin teased, popping out from behind the couch. Lauren stepped away from Michael reluctantly, her hands running down the length of his chest as she pulled away.
"I thought I told you to stay in your room?" Michael admonished his younger brother and Lauren was pleased to note that he sounded more than a little flustered.
"I got lonely." Kevin admitted softly and a look of understanding passed between him and Michael, a look that unnerved Lauren to her core. What the hell had that bastard done to these boys? As if on cue, both Michael and Kevin's heads snapped up and a look of fear came over their faces as the sound of a key in the front door caught their attention.
Tom was home.