When You Left Me

Family Dinner Part 1

( Jasmine's POV )

We stayed out all night by the pool. I can tell Laurent was still on edge. I couldn't blame him though. I was unstable and I was not mentally all there. But I was also thankful to him, more than I could ever express. I suddenly yawned, feeling so exhausted. "Ready for bed petite?"
"Yeah I don't know why but I'm so tired. I really haven't slept much. Most of the time, I just laid in bed."
"Okay come on, we'll got to bed then." We both got up and went into the house. I stood at the door, confused. "What's wrong ? Are you okay?" Laurent's voice was so worried and I just laughed. "I'm fine Lau, but I just realized something. Where am I sleeping?" Laurent look to the side, a nervous laugh broke from his lips. My eyes narrowed and he quickly started speaking. "Okay, see what had happened was... I was thinking of you just sleeping in my room." He had the nerve to put on a boyish smile. I scoffed. "I take it that you have two beds in your room?"
"Um no but I do have a king sized."
"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you Laurent."
"You used to all the time, what's the difference?"
"It's not the same Laurent. Yes, we are working on us but we are not us yet. I won't sleep in the same bed as you. I'm not ready." Laurent was going to say something but changed his mind. "Okay petit, I will grab the blowup bed and you can sleep on my bed. Deal?"
"No. Why do I get your bed and you get the blowup? This is your house and I'm the guest."
"This is now your house too Jasmine."I cocked my head to the side, his answer throwing me for a loop. "I don't recall saying I'll move in with you."
"You don't have to. I've already decided. I won't let you be alone again Jasmine. This is our home now." Laurent left to get the spare bed and I just watched him. A small happiness grew in my chest and a smile graced my face. It feels like it's been forever since I felt ..... Happy.
When Laurent got everything settled, I walked into his room. The huge king sized bed was against the wall, so if anyone was on the left side, they would be stuck if someone else was in the bed unless they crawled over them. It was quilted with black and red silk blankets and a shitload of pillows of various sizes. The little yellow bear in the middle caused a huge smile on my face. "Omg, it's Patro. I remember him being with you at all times. It's so cute." I hopped on the bed and started playing with the teddy. I was so entranced with it, I didn't noticed Laurent watching me. His facial features were calm and peaceful. A smile lit his face. When I did see him, I blushed and just told him goodnight. I hid under the blankets and could hear Laurent's soft chuckle. I buried my face in the pillows and fell asleep. I didn't dream, it was just like a darkness. Nothing happened and there was no sound. If frightened me more than the bad dreams because it was nothing. I felt like I could just disappear and no one would know. I wandered for hours it felt like, then suddenly this warmth spread through me. It wrapped itself around my body and seeped into my soul. The darkness expelled and I was in the gazebo back in FAU. I was confused and scared of the bad memories coming back until a hand grabbed mines and I looked up to see Laurent. Not my Laurent through, this one was much older. His Afro had streaks of grey and his normally flawless caramel skin had soft ripples in it. He seemed happy. His smile was like a beacon of light. All the bad memories of this place flew away like clouds when the sun came back out. "It's so sad that we have to tell them goodbye." His voice was still the most velvet smooth French tone it always was." Tell who goodbye?" Laurent looked at me like I was crazy. "Geez and they say my memory is fading." I was still so confused then I heard two voices say Dad, creating a harmony. Laurent's face brightened even more and I looked in his direction. Two young boys were standing only a few feet from the gazebo. They were tall and lean. Their hair was inky black and one had shorts twists while the other had an Afro. They wore black skinny jeans backwards and had on matching hoodies. One had a ton of rings on his left hand and the other had a ton of bracelets on his right. The one with the Afro spoke to the the twists one ." Look there's mom too. Hi maman!" I looked up to their laughing faces and saw molten gold eyes.

My eyes opened. For the first time in a long time, I didn't jerk up out my sleep crying or screaming. I felt a peace but I couldn't stop the guilty feeling that rose from feeling the peace. That dream. It was interesting, was those my twins? No, mines were girls. I realized the warmth from the dream was still there yet it was stronger, more overbearing. I looked up to Laurent's sleeping face. When the hell? I looked back down and saw that the warmth came from him. He had got into bed with me last night and wrapped himself around me. I felt this urge to push him since he was lingering on the edge of the bed. So I did push him, hard. He fell on the floor and muttered out merde! I looked over the edge of the bed at him, he was huddled up and rubbing his elbow. He was glaring up at me. "Why you do that?!"
"I told you I wasn't sleeping with you Laurent. That's your own fault." His face went into a pout and I just laughed. I cried from laughing so hard and Laurent left out the room. I stayed in bed longer, just laughing. He came back with clothes on his hand, they were obviously his but he threw them at me. "You can wear that until we go buy you some." His voice was whiny and he still had a pout on his lips. I busted out laughing again, and he stalked away.
As we got dressed and went shopping, I felt normal again. Like the terrible things of the last few weeks just went away. We smiled and laughed and joked. He held my hand and stayed at my side. He bought me a pretty red sundress with slippers to match to wear to the family dinner tonight. As we left the store, a small feeling of anxiety broke through the happiness. I realized why. I feared coming face to face with Laurent's older sister, Lianna.

( End Chapter )

All Laurent and Larry's siblings in this book names will be made up. I can't remember their real ones .