Afraid to Love ✔

Part 1

(Present)
After Mia was abducted in 2006, she's recovering from a bulk of her injuries and started learning martial arts like Tai Chi from her brother's friends as physical therapy. Mia enjoys the sun beating down on her as she stretches after her Tai Chi class. She closes her eyes to enjoy the gentle breeze. After years of this kind of physical therapy, her body finally starts feeling like hers again. She still slowly stretches her healing arm. 'Doesn't seem to matter how much I stretch, it still feels tight', she thinks while kneading the muscle. 'Where'd the sun go?' She looks up to see a caramel colored man towering over her seated 5'8" frame. "Could you step aside? You are blocking my vitamin D." She squinted at the person standing over her.
He leaned down and smile, "Only if you come with me?" She stands to be closer to his height and exhaled. "Hmmm, no thanks." She walks around him. He reaches out to grab her but she ducks out of his reach and runs away.
"Stop playing Lau." Mia warns.
"You know better," Lau responds taking off after her.

Mia

We look like we are playing but I'm seriously determined not to be caught by him. If he catches me I'm going to be forced to go to that horror movie. I managed to make it to my car with Laurent hot on my heels. I know I can't outrun him but sometimes I get close. He has this look in his eyes that turns my insides to lava. "Lau really stop!" I plead. He's looks deep into my eyes, "Fine, then answer my question." Lau counters. I feel all the blood rush to my face. "Okay, I'm sorry I ran, I will go with you."
"Chicken", Lau mutters narrowing his eyes at me.
His question shouldn't be hard to answer. 'How do you feel about me? Do you love me?' But I'm afraid, don't get me wrong I'm not afraid of Laurent, I'm afraid of the feelings I have for him. I'm afraid that I will tell him and never see him again. Lau has been so patient with me especially when it comes to dealing with one big issue in my past.

Laurent
(2012)

We were in France working out a routine for showcase, like many other performances. Larry was in bad mood. I try to convince him my moves better and he try to convince me him moves better. We keep hearing a baby's laugh every time we argue. Finally, I track down the sound, find girl on the floor with her feet together and her head on knees. She holds her hand over her mouth. She sees I'm watching her, with my hand on my back and her make cute baby laugh come out again. She recovers her mouth try for contain the sound. But too late, I heard her and I laugh at her having a baby's laugh.
Larry comes over thinking I found a baby then laughs when he realized the baby laugh come from her. She laughs more when she seeing Larry's face look at me, she tries to apologize but her voice keeps fading away into laughter. I laugh more listening to her try. Then our manager call us for dance.

Mia

I met Laurent in 2012. During a group therapy field exercises, we went to an event where he and his brother were performing. It was crowded and I got separated from my group, then ended up in the 'performers only' area. It was far less crowded than the main venue but surprisingly much louder.
Looking around I saw various groups of people dancing, then my eyes settled on twins standing taller than the other dancers. So I watched them practice, if that what you want to call them bickering and picking with each other while illustrating music with their bodies.
After being shushed more than once, I tried to hold my laughter in but the way these brothers pick with each other I couldn't take anything they did seriously, so I hurt my sides from trying to hold in my laughter, and tears streamed down my face. I didn't realize they heard me until Laurent was standing over me in full 'Diva'. I tried to apologize but I couldn't breathe from laughing every time I looked up at his 'Diva-tude'. When they were called away, I left thinking I'd gotten them in trouble and should leave before causing more. I traced my path and ended up in the almost deserted vender area.
I looked up to see my older sister Mai followed by the nasty crone that runs the group. Mai told me they called her because they couldn't find me. Mind you my sister had just left me 20 minutes ago.
Anyway, when my sister found me I was wiping the tear from my face and still holding my side. It took me several minutes to get her to understand that I wasn't crying or hurt from fighting or being scared. Once she understood, she...was... pissed!
That was the beginning of a new lecture about being responsible and being where I was supposed to be. I felt the need to remind her in French so the crone that was trying to eavesdrop wouldn't add her two cents, "I should not have to be here and she would not be here worried if the crone running this little time-suck knew what the average school age child knew about the buddy system, or possessed any organizational skills at all."
I seriously thought of breaking that crone's neck for panicking my sister but I don't need any extra trouble.
"Her qualifications are not the problem. The problem is you going off on your own." Mai replied in English.
This started the argument.
(In French) "I did not go off, I got separated and unlike her I was looking and I know they did not look for me at all, they just called you to make you worry for nothing. There is no way I am going to stay under the care of someone who got their degree from a box a cereal."
"She said they checked reports then called me," Mai finally responded in French.
"What report? Looking for what? Some crazed female that was beating up strangers? Which you know I didn't do from the start. I broke 2 fingers of some overly aggressive orderly with a needle. And once the medical staff understood they couldn't just come at me trying to poke and prod for no reason, especially with needles it didn't happen again. But because I admitted to breaking the fingers I was sentenced to this craptastic 'therapy'."
"Mia!!" Mai said in reproach. I rolled my eyes. "Just because you can see this is a waste of time and money doesn't mean I have to turn a blind eye too.
Lau and Larry walked over toward us then stood on either side of me each standing with their elbows on my head amused by Mai's look of shock maybe because she knew who they were. Mia suddenly grabbed my hands and held tightly. It took me a few seconds to realize that she was trying protect them from me.
"All of this was irrelevant, because I don't have anger issues, I'm not unstable, I'm not a time bomb and I'm not psychologically troubled, you understand? Yes I experienced something traumatic and I'm dealing with it but I do not need people like her trying to label me as some sort of lunatic. I only agreed to attend therapy to try to make you see I am better because you did not and apparently still do not believe me when I tell you I am fine." My voice was extremely calm as I violently shake my hands loose from her grip.
Mai says in English, "I'm sure you are doing the best given your situation and they are doing their best in this-"
"NO! Doing their best should probably include retracing your path. Which, ironically, is exactly what I did and look at that! You found me!" My voice dripping with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
Mai looks at me in shock because I ignored the Tweedles poking and picking with me, probably trying to make me laugh. "Mia, are these friends of yours?" my sister finally asked.
I looked from Larry to Laurent, (In French) "My friends? I honestly do not know," I had to admit.
They both dramatically held their chest like they were deeply wounded, causing me to giggle and my sister to smile. "I think I got them in trouble."
After brief introductions, I apologize for getting them in trouble. Laurent assured me that I didn't. (In French) "I enjoyed watching you two. You made me remember I am free, thank you."