Secrets (A Lauren Cimorelli Romance Story)

The Truth Comes Out

       **Dani's POV**

I watched as Shawn coaxed Lauren onto the teal sofa in the center of my sisters' living room, before claiming the seat next to her in exhaustion.

Since the sofa was a love-seat and could only fit two people I chose a seat on the sofa's foot rest facing Shawn and Lauren. The second my butt hit the plush cushion I closed my eyes and let a sigh of relief slip from my mouth. Knowing that Christina knew about Lauren's condition, and was getting my sisters' to help us made things a lot less stressful for me.

I paused for a minute soaking in the extraordinary feeling of relief that had washed over me.
     When I opened my eyes I found Shawn staring at Lauren with a look of pure concern and care evident in his eyes. Lauren, who was still "drunk as a skunk", however, sat there staring at the ceiling limply with a blank expression on her face, unaware that shawn was watching her so intensely.

I began to grow slightly irritated watching Shawn stare at Lauren, and was about to say something when Lauren spoke up.

"He-hey guys?" Lauren addressed us while still fixated intently on the ceiling.

She didn't giggle this time, and I was starting to get the vibe that she was slowly exiting her giddy stage of drunkenness.

Shawn straightened up in his seat at Lauren's voice, as though snapping out of his own trance on her, "yeah? What's up Laur?"

"Why does God put bad people in da worl?" Lauren slurred out looking over at us now with a lost look on her face.

My heart sunk at Lauren's words, and I saw Shawn's eyes cast down to the ground. I didn't know how to respond without either bursting into tears or screaming in anger, so instead I let Shawn answer for me.

Shawn reached out and began to rub Lauren's back as he spoke,"I don't know, Laur, I don't know. But I do know that God does everything for a reason, good or bad. He always has a plan."

Lauren continued to look between the two of us with glassy, bloodshot eyes as she replied, "Whell why couln't hejust make the baguys good though?"

Shawn and I both sat in silence thinking, unable to generate a logical answer.

"Like the guy who raed me" The second Lauren said this I felt a physical pang in my heart.

I don't know Lauren. I don't know.

I looked up at Shawn quickly only to see his hands balled in fists, and his face slightly red with anger. He looked like he could murder the guy who touched Lauren with his bare hands right now.

I was about to change the subject to loosen up the now tense atmosphere when Lauren said something else that really caught me off guard.

She turned to Shawn and tried to speak in a whisper, "Or yer step-father."

Shawn tensed up when Lauren said this, and his face quickly went from a slight shade of pink to a pasty white color, as though he were...scared?

What was Lauren talking about? She may just have said that because she's drunk, but Shawn's face didn't really back up that theory.

He glanced up at me nervously and I arched my eyebrows up at him questioningly.

"What does she mea-" before I could finish I was cut off by a voice rising from behind me.

"Lauren?"

I turned around to see my four oldest sisters' standing in a group, staring at Lauren in disbelief.