Connected Lives (a Les Twins FanFiction)

Chapter 23 (Part II)

There was no denying that leaving the hospital had benefited everyone in some way. But Laurent was struggling mentally and emotionally. Thea did not understand. Larry did, but for whatever reason, this was something he could not fix. Not to say he wasn't trying. His still sunken cheeks and dark circles beneath his eyes spoke to that. Sometimes Thea wondered if the benefits of coming home actually outweighed the cost. She tried to bring this up with Larry once but had been forcefully shut down. Mama B had visited a couple days and reassured Thea that they were best at home. But she sensed a particular hesitation in their mother's manner, the way she gazed on her sons made Thea reserve some confidence.

By day four she could wait no longer to speak with Larry. Promoters wanted explanations or refund arrangements, social media was starting to speculate, Gabi had even texted her, having caught wind of some of the gossip. Amazingly, no one at the hospital had broken patient privacy laws. Yet. She needed Les Twins to make an appearance, any kind, she didn't care, just something to kill the rumors, some of which were getting too close to the truth for her liking. Grabbing a Pellegrino, she headed to her door.

Two stories above her, Larry and Laurent were grappling with their own concerns and confusions. Laurent had been staying in Larry's apartment since their return. One night of him in his own place had left him in a state of sheer panic, and Larry running to him in a cold sweat. Unresolved issues and unanswered questions hung between them like a stage curtain, too heavy to simply push to the side. But as Larry looked over at his brother on the couch, staring blankly ahead, he knew now was still not the time to tackle all of that. He lowered his tired eyes and tried to send Lau a bit more of himself but he found he had nothing left to spare. I'm too tired, what do we do Lau? He thought sadly. He took a deep breath. He was hungry, Lau had to be also, he barely ate anymore. Larry pushed up his sleeves and pulled open the pantry.

"Lau! What do you want me to fix for you?" he shouted, tapping his bottom lip while he took stock of the pantry. He checked the fridge. Nice, he could do Thai. He started pulling out ingredients, spreading them on the island. "I'm making you Thai bro! It's gonna be fucking awesome." We still got no response from his brother he set down the ingredients and looked to the couch.

Lau sat folded forward as if weighed down by wet sand, its heaviness at first comforting, but soon became unbearably heavy and suffocating. His forearms lay atop his knees and his head hung as if gravity was trying to claim him as its own. He was just so tired, he didn't want to do all of this anymore. He pressed his palms to his eyes and wove his fingers into his disheveled fro, then gripped and pulled.

"My brother?" Larry prodded gently. Lau shook his head and looked to Larry for a brief moment. Larry sighed and began putting things away. Guess it's pizza tonight, he thought wearily as he preheated the oven and grabbed a frozen pizza. After shoving it into the oven, he walked over behind Lau and reached out, placing a hand on his brother's back. Where Larry touched him, Laurent felt the muscles let loose of some of their tension and it was not quite so difficult to breathe. He lifted himself enough to sit upright, then took a deep breath and fell back against the couch. Larry's hand gripped his shoulder and he didn't want him to let go. He reached up and held his brother's hand tightly.

"I'm not letting go Lau. You know that," Larry soothed.

Laurent did not understand what was going on. He had heard Thea mention depression to Larry but like hell he was ever taking drugs again. Ever. He just wanted everything back to before...before when? It seemed like he was so far from that time remember being happy.

"We're going to figure it out brother, it's not so impossible..." Larry's voice trailed off. He stared ahead, not knowing what he could do. His brother laid his head back against the cushions. Unconsciously, Larry wove his fingers into Lau's tattered fro, tugging gently. "I got you Lau, I got you."