Love is Chaos Part 2 of A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 2: Peace in the Chaos

Note: This chapter does focus a lot on the assault, so here's an SA trigger warning. 

Severus took off running down the hall, trying to catch up with Laura as she scurried away from his classroom. "Laura, stop!" Severus said lowly through gritted teeth, trying to keep his voice down.

Thankfully, it was later in the evening, so most of the students were in their dormitories, but Severus still didn't want to risk anyone noticing him yelling for Laura.

Laura moved quickly to her chambers, shutting the door behind her, but Severus caught up, opening it almost immediately. He walked in, seeing Laura standing in the middle of the room, back to the door. "How did you find out?" Laura whispered.

Severus gently shut the door before taking a step forward. "He told me," Severus said quietly.

Laura slowly turned around, facing Severus. "He?" Laura questioned. "As in..."

Severus nodded as silence invaded the room.

"How could you tell Minerva?" Laura asked after a while, breaking the silence.

Severus stared at her, seeing a flicker of anger burst in her eyes. "I don't know," Severus confessed. "I was so... angry when I found out. She saw me in the hallway going to my classroom and she asked me what was wrong. It was right after... he told me what had happened. I snapped." Severus watched Laura's eyes, noticing the flickering anger in her eyes dying down.

Laura remained quiet, letting the silence attack the room again. Despite it only being a few minutes, it felt like hours before Severus finally broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Laura's arms wrapped around herself, as if trying to provide a comfort she hadn't felt for some time, but Severus watched her nails start digging into her arms. "I... I don't know." Laura's voice shook as the words left her lips. "I was afraid."

"Of me?" Severus asked.

Laura shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I just... I felt like I had cheated on you, like I betrayed you... I wasn't ready to admit what happened."

"Laura, you didn't cheat," Severus said quietly. He opened his mouth, hesitating to speak again, knowing what he had to say. Despite it being only three words, it was one of the most difficult things he would have to say in his life. "You were raped."

Laura's eyes shot to Severus as he choked out the words. "It wasn't consensual. You were... raped," Severus repeated, feeling his heart drop into his stomach as the words drifted into the silence.

Laura stood silently for a moment, pale in the face, a numb look displayed there, before the look finally broke, and so did she. Laura dropped to her knees, nearly collapsing on the floor. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, nails digging hard into her skin. Tears began falling from her eyes and wails of agony poured from her mouth. Severus's words had finally penetrated Laura's mind, reminding her of what she had tried to bury for nearly two months, and finally accepting what happened made Laura completely fall apart.

If there was ever a sound that could shatter Severus's heart, it would have been the painful cries Laura was releasing in this moment. Her voice was filled with so much anguish, so much agony, so much pain, that Severus didn't understand how Laura could contain it all for nearly two months and live.

Except, she wasn't really living. Laura had become a shell of a person over the last few months, not wanting to feel, not wanting to accept what had happened.

Severus stared at Laura, watching as her mind practically collapsed in on itself, unable to hold the weight of the assault she had been tormented with. He didn't know what to do, not knowing if he could hold her, not knowing if she wanted to be touched at all as her world fell apart. He slowly moved to her, getting down on the floor, seeing how hard her nails dug into her skin as her knuckles turned white.