Trouble in Tiltown

An old friend

                                                                   Laurence's POV
My eyes flutter open to a blurry faced woman who began to loosen the straps that held my arms down.
"We're here to help you." Her voice softly spoke to me. Suddenly, I'm standing to my feet just to fall again. I feel another pair of arms around one side of me, as the lady's arms surround the left side of me. I'm dragged throughout the dimmed place, and up a case of stairs until my eyes are met with the dark sky filled with glistening stars. I let myself fall from their supporting arms as my face is met with the fresh cut grass. Soft on my face, yet itchy to touch.
"Are you okay, Laurence?" A guy asks. I turn my head around to look at the two people. Kat and Jerrick.
"I think so. Where is everybody?" I questioned them.
Kat sighed heavily to herself, eyes closed momentarily. Jerrick took notice and stepped up, reaching out a hand for me to take ahold of, which I did so.
"We'll update you on everything we can, but first we're gonna get you home immediately." Jerrick explains to me. Soon enough, I'm following them like a lost puppy, stuck in a daze.

As Jerrick makes up a long and obviously fake explanation to my mother, we walk into my room. Sitting on my bed along with Kat, Jerrick rummages through my neatly organized closet and pulls out a new outfit for me to wear before laying it on my bed.
"You have got to take a shower, so do that first." Jerrick says to me. My face jolts back, offended by the blunt honesty. Indiscreetly, I sniff my armpits, noticing the scent I expelled from my body.
"Fine but you guys still owe me an explanation for everything when I get out." I say before grabbing my clothes and heading into my bathroom. I switch there faucet to hot, and stand underneath the spitting hot water. My hands comb through my hair as my eyes closed with satisfaction.

I grabbed the clothes and threw them over my body with ease. My lucky dark green shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. My hair which was usually swept up and backwards, was not laying flat down across my forehead.

I enter back into my bedroom where Kat and Jerrick were deep into a conversation until I interrupted as they both shot glances towards me in surprise.
"So, we've wasted enough time. Tell me everything that's happened while I've been gone." I strictly tell them. They exchange glances to one another before Kat clears her throat.
"You know James took you out for a while, right?" She begins.
"Vaguely, yes." I reply.
"We haven't found James in a few days and it's made us quite nervous." Jerrick interrupts.
"What do you mean? Is that why it was so easy to get me out of that place?"
The both of them nod slowly. As I stand there, attempting to take in the information, something hits my memory.
"Amber!" I exclaim as I think about her. I rush out the front door and start heading to West's house with Kat and Jerrick trying to catch up to me the whole time.
"Really? You're thinking about West right now?" Kat asks me.
"I have to help him to find Amber." I admit to them as our footsteps hit against the pavement.
"I don't know Laurence, he's been pretty secretive lately." Jerrick says as I hear his breath become heavier. However, I was determined.

Knocking on his front door with my friends behind me, he whipped the door opened. His tired eyes widened at the view of me.
"Laurence?" He asks as a woman walks up from behind him.
"Honey what's-" She stops mid sentence as her eyes land on me and then my friends. Amber?
"Amber? You're safe?" I inquired her, cocking my head to the side. Suddenly, another pair of lighter footsteps comes up behind the reunited couple. A little boy. His son?
"Is he?" My voice trailed off.
"Yes, my son is with me again as well as Amber." He grins widely.
"That's great. What kind of fight did you have to put up for that?" I smile at his family. As my eyes went to look him in the eye again however, his grin disappeared.
"Yeah, why don't you tell him the truth?" Kat spat at West.
"Isn't it a little late for this?" West asks as he crosses his arms.
I cleared my throat, "What is she talking about?"
"I had a choice, okay?" Is all the words he spoke before shutting the door on us.
I turn around to my friends who had held looks of sadness for me.
"He had a choice?" I questioned aloud.
"He had a choice to either help us save you or-
"To be home with his family, safe." I scoffed. As I stand there, I look over to the woods that held a girl in the darkness of the trees.
"Guys, look." I nodded over to the woods. She stood with a floral dress, however it carried mud, dirt and much more on it. We rushed over to the girl who stood still and as we came closer to the fearful girl, I realized who it was. We all did, and once we did, we all shared the same amount of shock together.
"No way, you should be dead." Kat breathed out shock. The girl looked from Jerrick, to Kat and finally to me. She smiled softly.
"I've been waiting for you guys to find me." She spoke.
"Elouise?" Jerrick spoke up. She nodded.
"I saw your body." I shook my head with denial.
"It wasn't me." She spoke as tears fell.
"If it wasn't you, who was it?" Kat questioned her.
Elouise's eyes trail over to Kat, "It was my lookalike."
"How long have you been surviving outside?" Jerrick asked.
"About two weeks, I think?" She says as she begins to cough.
"We've got to get you to my house." I offer as we all help her walk alongside us.