Chapter 64

Yay for a win tonight! And props to Dany Sabourin for a great game! :)

And major props to Stephanie over at Hockey for The Ladies for being completely awesome! Not only did she add a blog gadget for H&S, but she totally rocks and it taping a few Penguins things for my hockey-deprived self! Rock on, Stephanie!

And thanks to everyone who has added their mark to the H&S map so far! If you haven't added your mark yet, there's a link on the right-hand side of the page!

Chapter 64

Lauren woke up early the next morning. She slipped out of bed, wanting to let Sidney sleep a little longer, and met up with Trina and Nathalie in the kitchen. “Morning, sweetheart.” Nathalie greeted her, handing her a cup of her favorite tea.

“Thanks.” Lauren said gratefully.

“I figured you’d want to calm your nerves.”

They made idle chatter for a little while until Sidney came downstairs. He kissed his mom’s cheek and then sat down on the stool next to Lauren, kissing her as well.

“Doing a little better this morning?” Sidney asked quietly.

“Yeah, thanks. Your mom and Nathalie are keeping me calm.”

The doorbell rang and Lauren took a deep breath. Nathalie patted her shoulder before heading towards the front door. Lauren stood to follow her and Sidney put his hand on the small of her back as he followed her to the foyer where they could hear her parents’ voices.

Lauren’s mother gasped when she saw her. “Hi Mom. Hi Daddy.” Lauren said quietly.

“Oh my God!” Lauren’s mom said, hugging her.

“Let’s go in the living room.” Sidney suggested, ushering her parents ahead of them, giving him a split second to whisper in Lauren’s ear, “Breathe. They’re just parents.”

She gave him a weak smile and took a seat on the couch next to her mother.

“Are you okay?” her mom asked, running her hand over Lauren’s forehead as if she had a fever.

“Well, I’m not perfect. But I’m alive. I’m going to be okay, Mom.” Lauren said.

“We were just so devastated when we finally got Leanna’s message.” Her dad said, worry evident in his voice.

“I know. I’m sorry you guys had to find out like that. I know it must have been hard to hear that something happened to one of your kids and you were on a boat on the other side of the continent.”

“Oh, Lauren, you have no idea how hard it was.” It took all of Lauren’s willpower not to roll her eyes and lash out at her mother’s ignorant comment. She knew she didn’t mean it to sound like that. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for her mom to subconsciously play the victim in situations like this. She had done the same thing when Lauren was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease – she had always talked about how it affected her life, and how it affected everyone. Lauren understood what she was saying, but at the end of the day, it was Lauren who was sick, not anyone else. And it was Lauren who had been raped, not her mother. Lauren took a deep breath and saw that Sidney’s knuckles were turning white in her grasp. She gave him a sheepish look as she relaxed her grip on his hand and he gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m kind of tired now. I think I’m going to go lay down for a while.” Lauren said. She was truthfully a little wore out, but more than anything, she needed a break from her overbearing parents.

“Of course. You need to get some rest.” Her mom said.

Sidney took Lauren upstairs and helped her into bed. “You did great, baby.” He said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and leaning in to kiss her forehead.

“Thanks.” She said. “I know they mean well, and they love me a lot, and I love them, but it’s just too much right now, you know?”

Sidney nodded. “I know, babe. I know. Why don’t you just rest for a while? I’ll go entertain your parents.” He said, and she gave him a grateful smile.

“Thanks Sidney. For everything. Thanks for taking care of me, and for taking care of them. And for being so wonderful. And thanks for loving me.” Lauren said, looking intently into his hazel eyes.

He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. “I’m just doing my job. Besides, you make it easy to love you.” He tucked the blanket under her chin and ran his fingers over her cheek before getting up and turning the light off.

Lauren lay in bed for a few minutes, allowing her body and her mind to rest. She tried to clear her head, but her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Come in.” she said quietly, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Lauren? It’s me, mom.” Her mother said, standing in the doorway. “I know you wanted to rest, but I wondered if you might let me sit in here with you.”

Lauren relaxed a little more when she saw her mother’s expression. “Yeah, mom. Come on in.” she said, patting the bed next to her.

“I won’t bother you. I just want to sit in here with you.” Her mother assured her.

“It’s okay mom. I’m glad you’re here.” Lauren said, putting her hand on top of her mom’s.

“I just thank God that you had Sidney here with you.”

“Me too. He’s been really great. Everyone has.” Lauren drifted off to sleep for a while and when she woke up, her mom was gone but Sidney was there.

“Hey beautiful.” He said, smiling as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

“Hey. Where’s my mom?” Lauren asked.

“She’s downstairs with your dad and my parents and Nathalie. I think Nathalie and my mom have really helped calm her down.”

“Good. Guess I should go spend some time with them then, huh?”

“Like I said, I’ll be right there.”

They spent some time with her parents and Lauren was happy they were all able to talk about more normal things. Nathalie told them stories of what the kids had been up to, and Lauren’s parents talked about what they saw on their cruise. Lauren actually felt pretty relaxed until her phone rang. She stood up and walked into the kitchen to answer it.

“Hello?” Sidney followed her into the kitchen and stood in the doorway watching her.

A few minutes later, he watched her flip her phone shut. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, it was just my advisor calling. He said I could finish my classes from home this semester if I wanted to – I’d just need to drive out to take the tests.”

“Well, that’s good. Is that what you want to do?” he said, running his hands up and down her arms.

She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I hate the thought of missing school, but I really just need to be here right now. I need to be at home, with my family, and with you.”

“If that’s what you want, then you know I support you fully. Besides, I like the idea of having you near me more often.” Sidney grinned.

“Besides, if I went back to school, I’d be living alone in my apartment. I’m not ready to be alone yet.” She whispered, tears stinging her eyes.

“You’re not going to be alone. I promise.” Sidney said, pressing his forehead against hers.