Who knew? (A Tay Jardine fanfic)

Chapter 4

Third person pov
Lauren walked quietly back to the couch, leaving a small note for the Owls to wake up to.
It read 'sorry I had to leave so early, I am having some family problems, I'll explain later, just don't think I'm ditching'

With that she was out the door and joining Anthony in the car.

Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, she was never one for bad news.
Her mother had passed away within the past few hours.

Anthony too was in quite the state of shock, his eyes red, and cheeks tear stained.
He drove silently, as for her, her breathing was a bit unsteady from the uncontrollable amount of tears leaving her eyes, and her mouth wouldn't stay closed, parting to let out whimpering noises.

This would truly tear her apart.

Anthony quietly pulled up to their own house, stopping the car and pulling out the keys, letting out a loud sigh.
"I-I'm sorry Lauren" his voice came out shaky.

Lauren sat silently for a bit, she knew that he had no actual reason for being sorry, well no actually reasonable reason for feeling sorry.
But she stayed silent.

And Anthony slowly climbed out the car, leaving her alone in the car as he slipped into the house.

Lauren contemplated what to do next.
For a few minutes she decided that crying was the only solution.
Because she couldn't help it.

But she knew her mother would want more from her.

She exited the car, slamming the door behind her and entered the house.

Anthony was sitting on the couch, his eyes flicked to her quickly, lightly.

"Lauren" he muttered.
"Yes" her voice came out strong, the strongest noise she had heard since she had heard the news.
Other than the slamming of her door of corse.

But it was still strong.
"Lauren, I- I have to leave" he said softly, his eyes now scanning the floor, "I hope you understand, it's dad, he- he needs me. You know that"
She nodded her head slowly "what?"

He nodded in response, "I need you to stay here a-" his voice came out so shaky he had to stop to clear his throat, "and pay the bills, keep the house, keep yourself together.. I need you to keep living life as normal as possible"

"Why are you leaving me?" she asked, her voice stooping back low to a soft tone.
"I have to Lars-" his eyes gleamed brightly, "it's for dad."
"Yeah okay" she mumbled, "how long will you be gone" she furrowed her eyebrows now.

"As long as it takes for dad to recover" Anthony shrugged softly and sent her a soft & warming smile.
"Anthony, that'll take forever" she titled her head a bit.
"No, dad is strong"
"Why doesn't he just come out here" Lauren asked now falling down into the couch.

"He's refusing to leave the house, I could imagine why, but he said he won't leave her behind" Anthony explained to Lauren with a shrug.
"Her?" Lauren questioned.

"Mom"

• • •
Lauren's pov
I woke up in tears and a cold sweat, my hands shaking a bit.
Probably a bad dream I had about mom.

I climbed out of bed slipping on my slippers and didn't even bother to fix my hair.
I dragged my feet against the floor leading to Anthony's room before knocking loudly against the wood.