Connected Lives (a Les Twins FanFiction)

Chapter 13

The last thing Thea wanted to do was crush Larry's belief that Laurent was "waking up," but she also did not want him to be crushed when he arrived and found him still unconscious. While Larry stood bouncing, waiting for Arnaud to pull up with the car, she shot a text off to Elodie. She asked whether Laurent was waking up or there were any changes at all. Her response was simply a crying emoji. It was heartbreaking watching Larry fidget in the car, eyes lit up, impatient to get to his brother. Get to his awake, conscious brother. Knowing he was not going to find Laurent sitting up and talking was more than Thea could bear. She reached over and laid a hand on his bouncing knee. The motion stopped and he looked at her, his expression guarded, an uncomfortable mix of expectation and defensiveness. It gave her pause, but only momentarily.

"I believe you Larry," she said slowly, unsure how to continue, "I want to see Laurent awake and back to normal as much as you..."

"No, you don't." He was curt and his eyes narrowed at her.

"Okay, not as much as you but you know I fucking know that!" She checked herself hard. "Sorry! Sorry! Believe it or not Larry, you aren't the only one who has been struggling here! But I'm really worried for you. I desperately want what you're saying to be true, but, there's nothing that's been...I mean like today, Elodie said there was no change in Lau. The doctors says the same. I'm scared that you are not going to find Lau awake or changed and I can't watch you get shattered like that!" She was out of breath now. Her voice had ended up fast and thick with emotion, just what she hadn't wanted. She refocused on Larry, afraid to see his reaction. What she saw confused her. He didn't look mad or even upset. He looked, well, almost like he was dealing with a child who just could not understand something. A patient, long-suffering sort of look. It pissed her off a bit, to be honest.

"It means a lot that you worry for me Thea. But you don't have to, it's gonna be good, you'll see. There is no way you can get me and Lau. We're connected only to each other. That's why I know he's coming awake. He has been away from me long enough." He ended with a perfunctory nod, his face a determined mask. He really did mean that her worry meant a lot. And he knew he was talking to her like a child, lecturing her on all she didn't and couldn't understand, as if she had not been aware of it already. It was just that he couldn't - didn't want - to be bothered by anyone right now. He wanted to focus on his brother. But deep in that place where he shoved the feelings he didn't want, he was frightened. No matter what, there was that too, like a thin, white-hot thread laced through every thought and feeling. What is Lau wasn't waking up? What if he was never going to? Is that what his vision of becoming his brother really meant? That he was going to end up having only their shared spirit? He ran his sweaty palms down his thighs then gripped his knees, pushing hard against them as if he could lift himself from the seat. He forced himself to breath slow and deep. Inhale through the nose...one...two...three. Hold in the diaphragm...one...two. Exhale through the mouth...one...two...three...four.

"I'm sorry Larry, I shouldn't have said anything. I wasn't trying to hurt you," Thea's voice hardly more than a whisper.

Larry shook his head but did not look up. "No, stop. I just want to get there is all."

They arrived an excruciatingly slow 10 minutes later. They had not spoken a single word. Larry had put in his earbuds and spent the time with his eyes closed, tapping out beats on his leg. Thea, on the other hand, could not pull her mind or eyes from Larry. She could not read him at all. In a given moment, sure, but overall "Larry", she had no idea. Add Laurent and the "twin thing" into the mix and Larry turned into someone even the greatest codebreaker would fail to crack. It was exhausting, but no more exhausting than everything else in this fucked up week. When Arnaud pull up to the hospital's private entrance, Larry was out the door and off at a jog before the car was in park. Which meant she had, at most, three minutes to call Elodie.

"Elodie," pause, "Elodie, can you hear me? Ca-...okay there you are. Listen, Larry is headed your way quickly. Has anything changed with Laurent at all?" Thea held her breath, then her heart sank. "Okay. Well, I'm not far behind, he should be there any moment."

Larry rounded the corner and saw Elodie leaving the room. He relaxed a little when she saw him and smiled. It didn't quite reach her eyes but he dismissed that citing the two days she had been stuck in the hospital. She hated hospitals, they all knew that.

"Ralentissez petit Larry!" Elodie called with a chuckle.

"Laissez-moi par Elodie!"

"Non Larry, Mami est de passer du temps avec Laurent. Vous pouvez aller dans une minute."

"Huh? Why doesn't she want me to come in?" Suddenly his eyes widened in terror. "What happened! What happened Elodie!? Lau, he...I...why..."

"Larry, sweet brother, you don't think I would tell you if Laurent got worse?" She wrapped her arms around him and held him close while she spoke quietly into his ear. "Petit frere, Lau is no worse, but he is no better either. He hasn't woken, the doctors are not sure when he will. But they tell us it is slow, he's not just going to wake up and go home." She put her strong hands on his arms and held him in front of her. "Do you hear me Larry?"

Tears leaked from his eyes and his voice raised, cracking with emotion. "You don't understand Elo. Why don't you understand! I know he's awake!" He jabbed his finger violently against his chest, "I know! Go away!"

Thea had just arrived when she saw Larry jerk away from his sister and reach for the door. She caught Elodie's eye. A knowing look from her told Thea that reality was about to collide with Larry's refusal to believe that Laurent was not awake. Quickly she got to Elodie's side and together they followed Larry through the door.

Chaos followed. As Larry ran to Laurent's bedside, heart monitor began a terrible beeping, an alarm to alert nurses that there was trouble. Mama B had stood and backed away when Larry rushed in. As the sound of nurses' urgent steps rang ominously down the hall, Larry shouted to Thea and Elodie, "Don't let them in! Keep them out!"

"Oh my god, Larry, we can't keep them out! They need to help Laurent!" Thea called.

"No!" he roared.

"They'll call security!"

"Then let them! Don't let anyone in!"

Risking a brief moment, Thea looked into the room. She found she could not turn away. What she saw confused and terrified her while leaving her completely entranced...

Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Please, please, please comment. Just a "Hello, I'm reading your story" is fine, just something so I know if you would like me to keep posting chapters :)