Insecure

Chapter 14

*Knock Knock.*

Laura looked up and went up to the door. She opened it, and it was her Dad. He had her pushed up against the wall. He was breathing down her neck whispering in her ear, "I missed you." She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he had a strong hold. "Why are you trying to escape? Don't you regret leaving? You should've been smart enough to know this would've happened," he kept whispering as his lips started to touch her jawline. She suddenly felt the strength to push him off.

She started running up the stairs, but he just dragged her back down. She hit her head on the wall which caused it to bleed. "Does this look familiar?" he said, smiling leaning to kiss her."No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. 

 Laura shot up in her bed, panting. She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to calm down her heart rate. "Laura, babe, what's wrong," Jayce sat up, pulling her close to him.

 "I-I-I'm sorry. I had a nightmare," Laura said, tears falling down her cheeks.

 "Was it about your father?" he asked, looking at her,concerned.

 Laura looked at him, calming down a little bit. Incredible, she thought to herself. They have only been dating two weeks now and she felt like they've known each other for months. "Yeah."

 He rubbed the side of her arm and kissed her forehead. "It's okay now. I'll never let anything happen to you. You're safe," he said, laying her back down. "Do you want something to drink?"

 Laura shrugged. "Maybe some water."

 "I'll be back," Jayce said, standing up.

"Jayce, you don't have to..." Before she could finish her sentence, he was already throwing his jeans back on and slipping out the door. She completely forgot he was pantless. She blushed and snuggled up into her pillow. She was so uncomfortable. She wasn't used to someone being there for her to comfort her when she was feeling down or scared. She liked this. It was different. Soon enough, he came back with a small glass of water. He handed it to her, kissing her forehead. He laid back down, his eyelids closing and opening. His hair was all over the place, resting his face in his pillow. Laura smiled and put the water on her nightstand, falling asleep with him.

~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, two weeks? Only two weeks? I thought it was longer," Lilly said as they got out of the car.

 "Since it's Saturday, it's been 15 days now."

 "Damn, you're definitely keeping track," Lilly said, laughing.

"Somebody has to."

 Lilly shrugged as they walked into Walmart. "Is there a reason we're here again?" Laura asked as they walked through the moving doors.

 "We need something for dinner tonight."

"Dude, your Mom makes sure the house is filled with food for a whole month before going to the store again."

 "That's very true, but she didn't buy ice cream."

 Laura rolled her eyes. "Of course."

 "Hey, I'm not the only one that's in love with ice cream," Lilly defended herself.

 Laura laughed. "That's true."

 "Okay then. Now, let's go."

 "Good, now let's..." she said until something caught her eye. "Laura?"

 "Yes?" Laura replied, walking away from the bag of Doritos she had her eyes on.

 "Is that our parents?"

Laura looked in the direction she was pointing. Lilly was right. They looked and started to walk a little closer to get a better look. Her father was looking for cards in the card's aisle along with a black and pink teddy bear in his hand. "Who could he be getting those for?" Lilly whispered to Laura.

 "I have no idea. Come on, let's go get the ice cream."

 "Laura, do you want to know more about what's going on?"

 "No. We're going to need lots of ice cream."

Lilly sighed and took a quick picture of them before running after Laura to the ice cream aisle.

 Later that night, Lilly waited by the window for her Mom to get home. "Laura. My mom is home," Lilly called up the stairs as Mrs. Gonzales walked into the room.

 "Why does she need to know I'm home?"

"Reasons. Mom, I think it's time we had a talk," Lilly sat sitting down on the couch, patting the cushion next to her. "Laura, let's go."

 Mrs. Gonzales hesitated but sat down next to Lilly as Laura ran down the stairs. "I'm here. Calm yourself."

 "What is this about girls?" Mrs. Gonzales asked.

Then, Lilly got her phone out and showed the picture of her and Laura's father. Mrs. Gonzales shrugged. "It's a picture of my brother and I. So what?"

 "You said you hated him. Why are you shopping with him?"

"Am I under interrogation? If so, I want a lawyer."

 "Mom."

 She sighed. "The scene is taken out of context. I told him I'm willing to start from scratch. I don't want to hate him forever because we all make mistakes in our lives. We all should forgive him. Even Laura."

 Laura looked at her. "Mrs. Gonzales..."

 "Laura, I'm your aunt. You don't have to call me that formal name anymore."

 "Anyways, you don't know what he did to me. He beat me and...Nevermind, I just don't know if I want to talk to him if he's going to be drinking."

 "That's the point. He said he wants to quit drinking. He said he will only do it on special occasions. He wants to make everything up to you, and I know more than you think," Mrs. Gonzales said, trying to reason with her.

 "I don't believe that."

 "Lilly, can you please leave the room for a second?" her mom asked.

 "Why? Laura tells me everything."

 "Laura. Did you tell Lilly what your father did to you when you were 14?"

 Laura looked at her with surprise in her face. "You don't mean?"

 "Your father told me. Laura, I'm so sorry. Your father has made bad decisions and that was by far, the worst."

 "What about it?"

 "He feels so guilty he did that. He was surprised that you didn't leave then. When you finally left a couple weeks ago, he felt like giving up his own life. He didn't think he was strong enough to live on knowing he did that to you. That's why he became a heavy drinker in the first place. When he hit your mom and she left, he drank even more to get rid of the pain...He's been through a lot even though you don't see it."

 "Don't waste your breath." That wasn't Laura's or Lilly's voice.

 Everyone turned to the door which stood a heartbroken, sober man. "Dad?" Laura asked, standing up.

 "It's okay Laura. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I just want you to know I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you or your mother. I just didn't know what to do with my life and I was stressed. Considering all the beer that was in me, it was horrible. I bought you this---" he grabbed the big teddy bear that was the size of her along with a card and her favorite tub of ice cream. "I'm sorry." He set the stuff on the couch and walked out of the house.

 Laura was frozen. Her father actually poured his heart out without any screaming and he....He was sober. Laura grabbed the ice cream and put it in the freezer while taking the rest of the stuff and running up to her room, closing the door behind her.