Online || Stan

twenty-four

Laura called Sebastian sobbing so hard he could barely understand her. As soon as he picked up and said hello she let out a heartbreaking cry. She was trying to tell him what happened, but all he could hear were the gasps and cries she let out. Sebastian didn't know what was wrong, but he knew he needed to be with her.

"Laura, don't hang up, I'm on my way."

When Sebastian arrived at Laura's apartment, she was still crying over the phone, though it had softened some. It took all he had not to jump out of the car before he parked it. Of course, a long stream of pedestrian's walked in front of him, blocking his way to the entrance of the building. After pushing his way through with several "excuse me's," he was beyond worried for Laura and was beginning to get agitated not being able to get to her as fast as he could.

Sebastian rapidly knocked on Laura's door, also making sure he knew it was him over the phone. While waiting for her to open the door, he reached up and to run his hands through his hair, a nervous habit he's picked up over the years. When he heard a muffled "coming," he hung up the call. It might have been silly to keep the call connected, but he needed Laura to know that she wasn't alone.

When Laura finally opened the door his heart broke. If this was any other time, he almost could have laughed at the sight of her queen-sized comforter wrapped around her body, practically drowning her, but it wasn't. His girlfriend was hurting, and bad. Tears were streaking down her face and sobs rocked her body. Her face was red and blotchy, obviously she'd been crying for a while before she called him.

Sebastian walked forward and wrapped her in a hug, letting her cry into his chest, not even worrying about closing the door behind him. After a few minutes, he kicked the door closed, picked her up the best he could with the large blanket around her and carried her to her room. He laid her down on the bed, made sure she was comfortable, then crawled on beside her. Sebastian wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her until her cries slowed and her breathes turned into soft snores. He gently moved the loose hairs off of her face, wiped away the tears as best as he could, and let himself fall asleep.

When Laura woke up, she was confused. She couldn't remember falling asleep or Sebastian being there before. That's when it all came rushing back, and the pain from earlier returned. Her breathing became fast paced as her chest tightened and she quickly sat up, panicking. Her rapid movements woke Sebastian and his eyes shot open, worriedly looking at Laura.

"Babe?"
"It's my mom, Seb. She has a history of strokes. No one's sure why she has them, but this one was bad. She could die any minute and there's nothing I can do. The doctors have no idea how much longer she has or if she's even going to recover."

Sebastian didn't reply, he just wrapped his arms around her once more. He knew words wouldn't help the situation, but her knowing he was there for her no matter what was better than anything he could say.