Secrets (A Lauren Cimorelli Romance Story)

Are you sure?

**Dani's POV**

It's been two hours since I last saw Lauren. Two hours since she stormed out of my bedroom which  I am still lying  in now. Two hours since she told me that she was raped.

"Hey, Dani! What the heck are you doing on the ground?...Dani?" A familiar voice suddenly pulls me out of my thoughts. 

I break the intense trance I have on the ceiling, and tilt my chin up to my chest to find the source of the noise. When my eyes meet the  person, I see Lisa standing directly over me with a quizzical expression drawn onto her face.

I do a double check around the rest of the room, only to find the rest of my sisters surrounding me as well. Besides lauren of course. All wearing the same annoyed expression as Lisa.

Oh great. What do I tell them?

"Oh, hey guys!" My voice shakes slightly as I speak, "What are you all doing here?"

"Well we tried texting and calling you and lauren like twenty times but neither of you answered!" Christina shouts frustratedly.

"Yeah and we called mom and she said she's been out shopping since this morning. We got nervous because you were home alone and not picking up" kath chimed in, in a concerned motherly tone.

 I could feel the nervous lump  forming in the back of my throat, so I simply responded, "Oh."

"Oh! That's all you have to say!?!" Christina's voice begins to rise as she speaks,"we were worried sick!"

"Sorry" I murmur back. I tried my best to sound normal but the events of the previous  few hours were replaying in my brain on a loop.

Christina must have sensed my edginess because her face relaxed, and she replied kindly, "look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Is everything alright? You seem a little off."

pull yourself together. You can force yourself to act normal for just a few minutes!

"Yeah, I'm fine! Just really tired."

Good job, Dani!

"Yay! That's good because we need to film for the cover now!" Amy piped up enthusiastically.

"Wait...what!? we're filming a Cover?!"

 I look to Amy for an answer, but instead Christina speaks up, "Yeah! Where's lauren? We need to go soon. It's almost dark out"

I feel my jaw clench in my mouth as I rapidly scour my brain for a response. Do I tell them about lauren? Do I tell them what she told me? No. I can't. Lauren would never forgive me.

 Where do I tell them she went? Because now that I think about it. I'm not even sure where she went. We didn't exactly leave off on the right foot. 

After Lauren uttered the heart-breaking truth behind her strange behavior I didn't know what to say. I couldn't process the fact that it was actually true. I wouldn't say I responded badly, but I Definetly didn't respond well either. All I know is that I could have handled it a lot better.

**flashback**

"H-he raped me!" Lauren's voice cracked as  she uttered those three horrifying words.

I froze in my spot on top of Lauren, who still remained pinned to the ground beneath my body weight,looking down into her eyes. I waited for a laugh to escape her lips, or some sort of reassurance  that what she just told me wasn't true. It never came.

"W-what? Yo-you're kidding right?" I timidly questioned Lauren back.

She didn't speak, but simply responded by tentatively shaking her head side to side, tears welling up in the ducts of her glistening eyes.