Avenoir

Avenoir - Laura

Laura

I laugh in disbelief as Marlena tells me that John claims to have mistaken her for Kristen. That he's been dreaming about being intimate with that viper and he's grabbed Marlena and kissed her, thinking he's been kissing Kristen.

"You're telling me John can't tell the difference between having you in his arms, kissing you, and kissing that scrawny piece of trash?" I say archly.

"Laura!" she chides me gently.

"C'mon honey." I grab her hand. "Honestly. Be honest with me. He knew it was you, right?"

"At first I thought so," she sighs. "He told me he wanted me. I couldn't help myself and I told him I wanted him too. For a moment, when he was half-awake, he said he thought he must be dreaming and then he kissed me again."

"See!" I smile triumphantly. "I knew it! If he was dreaming about anyone, it was you!"

"But when he really realized it was me, and that he wasn't dreaming, he pushed me away," Marlena wraps her arms around herself, rubbing her upper arms, as if to comfort herself. "He said he and Kristen had been..." her eyes fill with tears, and she looks away. "She wanted to get closer he said. They'd been... I guess they'd been kissing, and he'd fallen asleep. So, he thought he was still kissing her."

"Bullshit!" I curse loudly and then slap my fingers over my mouth, looking around to check I haven't disturbed anyone. Thankfully, we are still alone. "Honey, for a start, the scent you wear smells nothing like what Kristen wears. And I'm pretty sure she wasn't wearing a pantsuit or got her hair cut overnight. He couldn't possibly have mistaken you for her."

"Laura, he was asleep. He's not going to notice hair length or fragrance in his sleep," Marlena argues wearily. I am not sure why she's so invested in believing John's cock and bull story about thinking he was kissing Kristen. Kristen is lanky and scrawny, and she's just given birth. She'll smell like hospitals, bodily fluids, and sweat. Not lavender, rose, and vanilla, like my gorgeous friend here.

"Oh honey, he's going to notice," I raise my eyebrows. "Trust me on that. Subconsciously, he knew that was you."

"Then why didn't he acknowledge that I was responding to his kiss?" Marlena demands, her mood a mixture of confusion and defensiveness, with a smattering of anger. "I was lying on the bed with him. I wasn't making any secret that I was reacting. But he pushed me away, Laura. He was embarrassed."

I sigh. How am I supposed to know exactly what John was thinking, why he reacted the way he did? "I don't know the exact answer to that, sweetie," I shrug. "Maybe he was worried about Kristen coming back and trying to figure out how to explain it to her." I take her hand in mine, "and he doesn't know you feel the way... you feel about him. You haven't exactly been honest with him. Maybe if you were, and you asked him what he was thinking, you would know the answer."

"I can't," she says softly.

"You can't?" I ask, disbelieving once again. "Um, hey John, you know when you kissed me earlier, did you happen to notice I stuck my tongue down your throat? It might help you to know that I wasn't dreaming about Kristen. Perhaps we should talk about that again?"

"Oh, Laura!" She swipes at my hand irritably. She's miserable, I can tell, and I know she's tying herself up in knots again, trying to do the right thing for everyone else. Not once does she ever consider what is the right thing for her. "I told you; I promised Kristen I wouldn't tell him anything until the baby has had the operation."

"And meanwhile, you leave the field open for Kristen to have her wicked way with him." I sigh. She's her own worst enemy. It's almost like she's scared to be happy. Still, after what she's been through in her life, I can hardly say I blame her. Salem is not a place where people are happy for long.

Well, maybe I'll just have to take matters into my own hands and maybe John and Marlena can be the ones who buck that trend.