Caroline|COMPLETED(L.T)

T W E N T Y

Upon leaving the hospital, Caroline thought she would be happier. Her body felt better, all of her scars had healed over, and they didn't leave too many marks. She took her medicine routinely for the entirety of the two weeks, and she ate well. Once she and Larry left, she thought she would be stable, especially mentally, but she wasn't. As soon as they walked through those sliding doors of that building, anxiety had taken over her body. She had recurring feelings that somebody was watching her, stalking her, or waiting to attack her. Every five seconds she would look over her shoulder, and Larry noticed it, but he figured since it was her first day out in the open again, she'd be that way for a while. 

That wasn't the reason why, though. She feared that the person who might be stalking her was Laurent, and he would take her back to the hell she was in with him. She feared him so much that she never let go of Larry's hand, not when they were driving, when they stopped for gas, or when they went back to the building to get his car. Once Larry got his car back, they towed Laurent's car and Caroline felt a little more comfortable because she wasn't confined in the space he was once in, but things didn't get any better after that. 

Three days have gone by since everything calmed down and those nights were much harder on her than she thought they'd be. She couldn't sleep because her mind would be racing with a million and one scenarios about Laurent coming back and assaulting her again, or worse. She was constantly having nightmares and every time she woke up from them she was drenched in cold sweat. Her heart would be racing against her rib cage and her curly strands of hair would be sticking to her face like glue. She was growing into a state of depression and she could feel herself getting worse by the day. The only thing keeping her sane was having Larry around. He promised her he would take care of her and he was doing exactly that; he fed her, bought her new clothes, and he checked on her as much as he could throughout the day. He let her stay in his room when he was at work, and when she was going to sleep, he would let her sleep in his room. Although it was one time, she did feel a little safer being next time him. If anything happened during the night, she knew Larry wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she wouldn't let anything happen to him. 

It was the fifth day out of the hospital now, and she was lying on the couch in his living room. She was watching a movie called The Lazarus Effect and she was so enthralled by it that she didn't even hear the door open. Larry's house was far different from Laurent's, the door was on the other side of the living room where you couldn't see it and the kitchen was on the right. His house was a one story house and it was smaller than Laurent's, but more comfortable. It felt more like home than her actual home and Laurent's home did. 

"Caroline?" Larry called, setting his suitcase down by the door. Caroline jumped and she sat up against the couch, looking over the back of it. 

"Hi Larry," she said, a smile lighting up her face when she saw him. He smiled back at her and he walked towards the couch, looking up at the movie that was playing. 

"What you watching?" He asked, placing his hand on top of her hair to caress her scalp. Caroline sighed contently and she closed her eyes, leaning into it as he massages her head. If there was one thing she genuinely liked about Larry, it was that he wasn't afraid to show affection towards her. They could be doing the simplest things like watching tv together, or her watching him cook. He'll also do things like rub her scalp and run his thumb across her knuckles from time to time. She didn't know what it meant, and she wasn't used to things like that, but she liked it. It was comforting.

"It's a scary movie," she replied, bringing her knees to her chest. "You want to watch it with me?" 

"Not right now, belle. I have to cook something for us tonight. What you want?" 

"Wait, you're cooking again? Larry, you don't have to. You've cooked for three nights straight." 

"So?"