-1Chapter Eleven:
"Here we are," Neil declared pleasantly as he set Lauren's suitcases down on the polished marble floor. "Home sweet home."
"Yeah." Lauren said distractedly, lost in her own thoughts. She stood in the middle of the large foyer, feeling awkward and out of place.
"Are you hungry? I can get Lucretia to fix you up something to eat." Her father suggested, sensing Lauren's discomfort and wishing there was something he could do to ease her pain.
"No, thanks. I'm not hungry." She replied dismissively. Reaching down to pick up her carryon bag, she started heading towards the winding staircase. "I'm gonna go lay down for a bit."
"Very well. You need your rest." Neil agreed, watching as his daughter walked up the stairs towards her bedroom. "And Lauren," He called out after her. She stopped walking and turned to meet his gaze. "I'm glad you're home."
"Me too." She lied, offering him a small smile before walking into her room and closing the door behind her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two weeks later…
"And then Traci was all like 'Yeah, whatever. He's totally not that into you.' So then I was like 'Yeah, well that's not what he said last night!' I mean, can you believe she actually had the nerve to say that?! Lauren?…Lauren! Are you even listening to me?" Taylor asked in frustration, sensing that her friend was miles away. Getting no response, she slapped her hand against the surface of the water, effectively splashing Lauren in the face.
"Hey! What the hell, Taylor!" Lauren yelled, wiping the water out of her eyes. Her father was out of town on a business trip and had arranged for her friend Taylor to come over and keep her company while he was gone. The two teens were sunbathing out in the backyard, leisurely floating about in the pool as they reclined on a pair of air mattresses.
"Here I am, spilling my guts out to you and you're not even paying attention!" Taylor complained, adjusting her sunglasses as she settled herself more comfortably on the mattress. "I would have stayed in LA if I knew you were going to be such a buzz kill all weekend."
"Sorry," Lauren apologized. "I've just got a lot on my mind."
"Well snap out of it already!" Taylor exclaimed, taking a sip of her Piña Colada. "You need to loosen up, girl. You haven't been yourself in weeks."
"Look, I don't need you telling me how to act." Lauren said defensively.
"Whoa, chill out! Seriously, what the hell is your problem lately?" Taylor asked, frustrated by her friend's change in behavior. "Does this have something to do with Danny?"
"Why would you even ask me that?" Lauren snapped.
"Well, word on the street is that you two had a little falling out." Taylor said coyly.
"And?" Lauren pressed her for more information, curious to know what other personal details about her love life were being talked about behind her back.
"That's all I've heard." Taylor informed her truthfully. "Why? Are there more juicy details I should know about?"
"This is my life, Taylor. Not some trashy soap opera." Lauren said, rolling her eyes at her friend's constant need for gossip.
"So…is it true then? Have you two split up?" The brunette asked curiously, not carrying if she sounded like a busy body.
"If you must know," Lauren sighed impatiently. "Yes, we have."
"Bummer," Taylor said sympathetically. "But isn't your high school prom coming up?" She inquired and Lauren looked up at her in surprise. She had completely forgotten.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna go." Lauren said casually. Taylor almost choked on her drink.
"What?!" She spat out incredulously. "Please tell me that was some kind of sick joke."
"It's not that big of a deal…" Lauren reasoned.
"Not that big of a deal?! This is your senior prom, Lauren. The most important night of your life! You have to go." Taylor exclaimed, sitting up on the mattress as she floated closer to her friend.
"It's just not my scene." Lauren explained.
"Since when?" Taylor asked disbelievingly.
"Since I grew up and realized that there's more to life than designer dresses and bad perms." Lauren said defensively.
"I know what this is all about," Taylor said knowingly. "You're just upset because you don't have a date anymore." She declared and Lauren rolled her eyes at her friend's stupidity. "But don't worry, I think I can help you out with that…"
"What do you mean, Taylor?" Lauren asked suspiciously. "What have you done?" As if on cue, the sound of music started to fill the luxurious backyard. Lauren bolted upright, almost falling into the pool as she tried to see where the music was coming from. She looked up in horror as Danny came waltzing into her backyard carrying a case of beer. Paul Williams was beside him, holding a boom box on his shoulder.
"Hello, ladies." Danny leered, grinning at Lauren as he placed the case of beer down on the patio. He took his shirt off and carelessly flung it over his shoulder. "IT'S PARTY TIME!" He yelled obnoxiously as he ran towards the pool and jumped in, creating a mini title wave that drenched Lauren from head to toe.
"Danny!" She shrieked when he finally came up for air. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
"Taylor invited me." Danny explained, motioning to the brunette. "She said you were finally ready to kiss and make up."
"That's funny. I didn't realize hell had frozen over." Lauren spat out in contempt, glaring angrily at Taylor who shrugged in response. Lauren turned her attention back to her ex boyfriend. "I want you out of here, Danny. Now!"
"Is that any way to speak to the guy who saved you from a rapist?" He asked indignantly, wading through the water beside her mattress.
"What?" Taylor gasped in shock. "Lauren, what is he talking about?"
"Shut up, Danny." Lauren warned.
"Well that's what he is, isn't he?" Danny asked snidely.
"I said, shut up!" She snarled in response, not wanting to talk about Michael. Especially not with him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. He's an 'attempted rapist.' " Danny corrected himself sarcastically. "Probably cuz he couldn't get it up."
Lauren slapped him. Hard.
"Get out." She hissed, hopping off the air mattress and slipping into the pool. She dove under the water and swam over to the small latter. Quickly climbing out of the pool, she stood on the patio and around turned to face Danny and Taylor.
"I want you all to leave." Lauren ordered, wrapping herself in a beach towel. "Now." And with that, she turned around and headed back inside the house.
"Hello, Lauren!" Paul said eagerly as she walked passed him.
"Shut up, Paul." Was her response before slamming the patio door behind her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lauren stepped out of the shower, satisfied that all of the chlorine had been washed out of her hair. Wrapping herself in a towel, she walked out of the washroom and into her bedroom, only to come face to face with her ex.
"What are you doing in here?" Lauren asked wearily. "I thought I told you to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere until we get a few things sorted out." Danny declared, walking across the room and coming to stand in front of her.
"There's nothing to sort out, Danny." She declared impatiently. "You and I are finished."
"You still think about him, don't you?" He sneered, moving closer to her. "The guy tried to rape someone and you still want to be with him."
"I am not going to talk about this with you." Lauren said sharply, walking past him to get to the door. She threw it open and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Now, get out."
Danny grinned conspiratorially and started walking towards her, the predatory look in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. She'd never see him act like this before. Lauren took a step back, but he kept on advancing.
"Maybe that's what you like, huh? Bad boys." Danny leered at her lasciviously. He pushed her up against the wall and roughly grabbed her by throat. "I can be bad, Lauren. Is that what you want?"
"Let go of me!" She screamed, frantically trying to push him off of her, but he was too strong.
"What's the matter, babe? I thought you liked it rough." He sneered. Lauren felt his hand slip between her thighs, trying to pull them apart. When she tried to move away from his touch, he started squeezing her neck more forcefully.
"Danny, you're hurting me." She choked out, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't act like you don't want this." He whispered in her ear, running his tongue along the lobe. Lauren turned her face away in disgust. And that's when she saw it. Her old baseball bat was leaning up against the wall, about a foot away. She started formulating a plan in her head.
"I do," Lauren gasped, turning her head to meet his gaze. "I do want it." She lied and hoped he wouldn't be able to tell. Danny raised his eyebrow in surprise, his hold on her neck loosening up a bit.
"See? I knew you'd come around eventually." He grinned, his hand releasing her throat as he began slowly tracing his finger along her collar bone. He glanced down at her chest as he started to unwrap her towel. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, she lifted her right leg up with lightening quick speed and kneed him square in the crotch. He cried out and fell to the floor, doubled over in pain. Lauren frantically reached over and grabbed the metal bat, holding it poised above his head, ready to strike.
"Get up!" She screamed, her hands shaking as she glared down at him. He was still in too much pain to move, but Lauren didn't care. "I said get up!"
"I'm trying!" He managed to choke out as he carefully eased himself up off the floor. He staggered over to the door and she followed him, still holding the bat up defensively.
"Get the hell out of my house, Danny!" Lauren ordered, motioning for him to leave her room. He complied, still limping in pain as he made his way down the stairs. She stood at the top of the staircase, watching as he approached the front door. Opening it slowly, he turned around and glared up at her.
"You're gonna regret this." He threatened, still holding onto his crotch in excruciating pain. "This isn't over, Lauren. Not by a long shot."
"If you ever come near me again, I'll have you thrown in jail so fast it'll make your head spin." She declared, trying to muster up enough bravado to hide how shaken up she really was. "Now, get out!"
He shot her a contemptuous look before turning and walking out the door. She waited until she heard his car pull out of the driveway and speed off down the street before running down the stairs to lock the front door. Finally letting go of the baseball bat, she threw on the deadbolt and frantically punched in the code for the alarm system to be activated. Satisfied that Danny wouldn't be getting back into the house anytime soon, she ran back up the stairs and locked herself in her bedroom.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
She was curled up in the fetal position on the middle of her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. After returning to her room, Lauren had taken another long shower, trying to wash away the memory of what just had happened. Changing into her pajamas, she checked to make sure the door to her room was still locked before crawling into bed. And finally, after weeks of holding everything in, she allowed herself to cry.
How could she have been so wrong about him? Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought he was capable of being so violent, so hurtful. What kind of a man would attack a woman the way he had? To try and force himself on someone like that was disgusting and wrong and Lauren realized that she should hate him for what he had done. But she didn't. She couldn't. And when Danny had her pinned up against the wall, his hand closed around her throat as she struggled to breathe…all she could think about was Michael.
Despite everything she now knew about him, despite everything her father had told her, she still loved him. She still thought about him every second of everyday, no matter how hard she tried not to. As irrational as it would have been, she had almost cried out for him during the attack. As if somehow he could have come and saved her from Danny. Lauren let out a bitter laugh at the thought, reaching up to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. Michael wasn't some kind of knight in shining armor. According to the police report Paul had found, he was the kind of guy girls needed to be rescued from, not by.
Lauren sat up in bed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Michael was a bad guy, end of story. It didn't matter that his eyes seemed to sparkle every time he saw her. It didn't matter that he was so loving and gentle with her that first night in New Orleans. It didn't matter that she had never felt safer or more cherished than she had when she was in his arms. None of that mattered anymore because in the blink of an eye, the man of her dreams had turned into a nightmare.
A part of her wished they'd never met. Things would be so much easier that way.
Lauren jumped when a shrill ring pierced through the quiet room. She glanced at the phone sitting atop her bedside table, debating whether or not to answer it. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody, and there was always the possibility that it was Danny calling. She decided to let it ring.
Sighing in relief when the room finally became silent once more, she put her pillow down and started to get out of bed. And then the phone started ringing again. Sighing in frustration, Lauren reached over and picked up the receiver.
"What?" She snapped, sitting back down on the edge of the mattress. She could hear someone breathing on the other end of the line, but they didn't say anything. She sighed in annoyance. "Look, if this is some kind of prank call, I'm not in the mood!"
"Lauren?" A small, familiar voice asked timidly. Lauren gasped when she realized who it was.
"Kevin?" She said in surprise. "Kevin, is that you?"
"Yeah." He replied softly, his voice hitched and Lauren could tell he had been crying.
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Did something happen?" She asked in concern.
"I'm scared, Lauren." He whispered. "Daddy's really, really angry."
"Did he hurt you?" Lauren asked quietly. A lump formed in her throat when he didn't answer. "Is he there right now?"
"No," He replied. "He went out after they left."
"Who's 'they', Kevin?" She asked in confusion.
"The nice people," He explained. "The ones they sent to check on me."
"Oh," Lauren sighed in realization. "From Child Services, right?"
"Yeah," Kevin confirmed. "That's why daddy's so angry. He didn't like the questions they were asking. And he got really mad when I told them that I'd rather live with you and Mikey."
"Is your brother there?" She asked hopefully. Maybe Michael could get Kevin out of the apartment before Tom got home.
"No," Kevin said sadly. "He's still in jail."
"What?" Lauren asked in shock. "Your mother didn't pay his bail?"
"Daddy wouldn't let her." The little boy revealed and she could hear the pain in his voice. He missed his big brother. Lauren felt her eyes well up with tears. She couldn't believe Michael had been sitting in a jail cell all this time. This was all her fault, she realized. If it wasn't for her stupid idea to go to New Orleans, Michael would be home right now and Kevin wouldn't have to face that monster alone. She had to do something to fix this.
"Do you know if your dad will be home tomorrow during the day?" She asked curiously, already formulating a plan.
"I don't think so," Kevin said. "He usually goes to the races on Mondays."
"Okay, good. That's perfect." Lauren said, sighing in relief.
"Why? What are you going to do?" He asked curiously.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Lauren said cheerfully, not wanting to get his hopes up just in case she couldn't pull this off. "Now, I want you to promise me that you'll try and stay out of your dad's way okay? Just try and stay in your room as much as possible."
"Okay, I will." Kevin promised.
"Good. Okay, buddy. I've gotta go now, but I'll talk to you again soon, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." He said softly, and Lauren could tell he didn't want her to hang up just yet.
"Hey, remember that book that I bought you in New Orleans?" She said abruptly.
"Louisiana Moon?" Kevin asked, obviously confused by the change in subject.
"Yeah, that's the one." Lauren confirmed. "Have you read it yet?"
"Only half." He admitted.
"Okay, then. After I hang up the phone, I want you to go in your room and finish reading it so that you can tell me all about what happens the next time we talk, alright?" She requested pleasantly. Not only would reading the book help keep him quiet and in his room for most of the night, it would help to reassure him that he would indeed be talking to her again.
"Yeah, okay. I can do that." He agreed softly.
"Good," Lauren smiled through her tears. "Now I'm sorry, sweetie, but I really have to get going now."
"Okay," Kevin said sadly. "Bye, Laur."
"Bye, Kev." She replied before reluctantly hanging up the phone. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up again and dialed a familiar number.
"Hi, Nancy. It's Lauren Fenmore." She declared casually. "I need you to book me on the next available flight leaving tonight to Detroit, Michigan. And I'll be paying in cash."