In Front of My Eyes (Ansel Elgort Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Hi guys! I desperately need your comments and thoughts so tell me what you think below! 

Trigger warning for this chapter -- mild abuse and violence. If it really disturbs you, tell me/comment so I can edit it, although I think it's very mild.

Thanks and on with the story!

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Lara walked into her penthouse apartment, guessing by the switched-off lights that her roommate was not present. She and her best friend, Christina, always dreamt of sharing a flat once they were out of high school. Lara's mom knew Christina quite well and found her polite and nice, agreeing with the idea. 

It was a spacious place, located on the fifteenth floor. The lounge area included a kitchen and living room, but there were three other doors -- one leading to Lara's room, one leading to Christina's, and the other leading to the laundry room. They hadn't yet afforded one with a guest room, but during the little times they had friends overnight, they'd all pass out on the huge couch in the living room to the sound of MTV and the quieting New York air.

Lara walked in her room, taking off her ballet flats, suitcase dragging behind on the wood floor. She set the suitcase in front of her thick mattress positioned to face the wall to the left of the wall with the door. The mattress was located on the upper right corner of her room, making it right beside the window. There were countless times when Lara would work, or listen to music, or just sit on the right edge of her mattress, looking out the window and down at the city. Sometimes she'd turn the main lights off and turn on the string cotton ball lights above her bed, giving herself a nostalgic feel.

She left her suitcase and sat on her bed, inching herself closer to the window, playing around with her phone. It was 6:30, and she saw an incoming text message.

Be ready by seven. -Derek

She ignored the message, deciding to call her mother. She didn't have to do much, only change into a simple dress, which would take less than five minutes. Her mom picked up on the third ring and the two went into a quick conversation, Lara calling for the sake of alerting her mom that she was back in New York. Their conversation was cut short as Lara's doorbell rang. 

Lara walked over, praying that it'd be Christina who'd forgotten her keys, but instead saw Derek. She wasn't ready to leave despite telling herself that she'd only need to put on a dress.

"Hey!" she said.

"Hey, are you ready?"

"No, I'm really sorry. I don't know what's up today, I'm super tired. Do you mind if we order takeout tonight?" she asked guiltily, "I promise we can go out next week."

The traveling had overworked Lara, especially because she had to rush from one city to another in order to get back in New York faster. Not forgetting to mention that she'd overslept this morning, a clear signal of fatigue. 

Her boyfriend's expression changed to that of unacceptance and anger, changing his expression immediately. Lara sensed the change, looking down as she tried to keep her breath steady.

"I made reservations tonight." Derek said, throwing his car keys on the kitchen countertop. "I told you not to be late."

"I know, I'm really sorry, okay?" Lara replied, voice shaking, "I know you really wanted this, but I just feel really tired right now. We went to the midnight movie last week, so I was thinking we could stay here and chill, you know?"

Derek stepped closer and grabbed Lara by the shoulders, pushing her to the floor. 

"You don't understand me! I want to do this right now, why can't we?"