What Happened at East Houston Street

Chapter 17

Even after learning about Brent's assault on Kelsey and having experienced the same thing herself, Lauren did not end the relationship. The morning after leaving Kelsey, who had finally fallen asleep after Brent raped her at the frat house, Lauren had gone to Stephanie's dorm room. She had every intention of heading straight to Brent's Marlborough Street apartment, furious and fed up with his predatory antics, but she changed her mind when it came time to get on the train.
Kelsey's pleas continued to run through her mind. Please don't tell anyone about this.

Lauren had tried calling Stephanie several times that morning, only stopping because the train was underground and she didn't have cellphone reception. Once the train had left the Kenmore stop and ran above ground again, she sent a text message to Stephanie.

Baby, I'm on my way over. I need to see you. Something happened. On the T now.

Lauren closed her eyes and rested her head against the cool glass of the window. The gentle rocking of the train car calmed her and she began to daydream. She pictured laying with her head against Stephanie's stomach on the warm grass at the BU Beach, on a campus where nobody knew them. She'd play with the hazel-eyed girl's fingers, surrounded by the sound of cars whizzing by on the adjacent Storrow Drive. Stephanie would tangle her fingers through Lauren's hair, placing little kisses on her forehead from time to time.

The two laid in silence like this a lot, no need for words. It was uncanny how easily the girls knew what the other was thinking most of the time. On more than a few occasions they would randomly say the same thing, word for word at the same time, out of nowhere. They'd giggle at the coincidences at first, but as it kept happening more frequently, she began to realize the significance of such a connection. Lauren had never really believed in the concept of soulmates, but since knowing Stephanie, her opinion had changed. She began to think that the universe wanted them to be together, which made their complicated relationship all the more tragic. Stephanie would jokingly call her "Juliet", teasing the blue-eyed girl, trying to lighten the sadness when things got too tense. Lauren would roll her eyes and say something like, "Give me a kiss, Romeo," and fall into her arms.

The train rumbled to a stop, jerking Lauren out of her daydream. She exited the car along with all of the other passengers as Cleveland Circle was the last stop on the C line. She checked her phone and saw that she had a missed call and voicemail from Stephanie, as well as two text messages. She must have been so engrossed in her daydream that she hadn't felt her phone vibrate when Stephanie called her back. She waited at the light until there was a break in traffic, when she jogged across Beacon Street. Safely on the sidewalk, she placed her phone up to her ear and listened to Stephanie's voicemail message.

"Baby! I got your text! What is going on? Are you okay? You probably have no cell reception. Fuck the MBTA! I'm worried about you. Call me back! I love you."

Lauren smiled at the sweet voice that she loved so much. She knew that Stephanie was probably a nervous wreck, so she decided to call her to let her know that she was about five minutes away from campus. She found the girl's name in her recent call history, but before she could hit the button Stephanie's contact picture popped up on her screen. Lauren waited a moment before answering the call, staring at her favorite hazel eyes with a small smile on her lips. She pressed the answer button.

"Hey, babe," she said, relieved to be talking to her love.

"Laur! Are you okay?" Stephanie sounded out of breath as she posed the question.

"I'm fine, babe. I don't want to talk about it on the street though. I'll see you in 5 minutes."

After the girls made their way up the stairs to Stephanie's single dorm room, Lauren locked the door and pranced over to the younger girl, throwing her arms around her waist and nuzzling her face in her neck. She inhaled a deep breath, savoring Stephanie's scent. She loved the way she smelled, a mix of vanilla and cherries and she could never get enough of it. After a minute, Stephanie nudged the top of the blue-eyed girl's head, trying to coax her into talking.