I Would Find You In Any Lifetime.

DNA Doesn't Make A Family, Love Does.

*Kari Kimmel - Where You Belong*

*Kat Cunning - Birds*

Ale had seen and experienced his own share of depression over the years, he had studied to be a psychologist early on in life but never took it anywhere. Over the past twenty days he had watched everyone with Lauren, he had noted on what caused reactions and what didnt, he watched her behaviours and her tells. He collected everything he had observed with everything he had learnt about the girl in the seventeen years of knowing her.

Walking into the room he placed himself on the bed beside her and looked over to her intently and kept silent until the younger girl met his gaze. "i taught you to ride a bike you know" Ale announced which caused Lauren to slightly frown her brow at the mans randomness. "We tried to teach you all at the same time and it was the craziest thing i have ever had to try and do" he laugh keeping strict eye contact with the girl beside him and every time Lauren dropped his eye contact he would just stop talking causing her to look back up at him. "On the first day you all fell so many times and you would all cry and cry. Dinah quit after her first fall, Normani quit after her unicorn bell fell off, Ally quit after she couldn't keep up riding on her own and Camila tried so hard and kept going but she just couldn't do it so eventually quit. non of them lasted more than two days." Lauren was listening intently not remembering much of the experience but recalling small parts. "- but you, you were different. you fell so many times, some falls were worse than other but each time you would get up and pick up your little pink bike and try again...and again."

Lauren sat up crossed legged with the cover still close to listen to the man. "there was one fall that really worried me. You really wanted to learn how to pedal on your own so i offered to take you out and teach you on our own, it took all day but you finally got used to it so we went around the neighbourhood with me holding onto the seat so you could feel like you were doing it on your own. you really had it in the bag on your own and you knew it, so you stopped and told me to let go. i was so worried at first but then you did it, you was riding on your own. i was so proud Lauren, i was as proud as if you were my own daughter because sometimes it felt as though you were." Ale then fell silent for a moment looking at the now grown up girl sat beside him.

"-And then you fell, you really fell. I'm talking falling head over the handle bars and crashing with a thud onto the ground, so i came running over to you and you was just laying there tangled in your bike looking up at the sky all starry eyed. i was so worried and i was completely freaking out and do you know what you did ?"

"no" Lauren voice was hoarse from being so inactive for so long.

"you laughed at me, little injured six year old Lauren was laying winded on the street laughing at me for being worried. at first i thought you was concussed but soon released that wasnt the case, you was just being you. strong, independent and especially stubborn. you refused to allow set backs like falling or forgetting, to stop you reaching that end outcome of riding that bike on your own for as long as you wanted. we laid out on the street for so long and then you jumped up and picked your bike back up. by the end of the day you could ride a bike on your own because you kept going no matter what and that night when i asked you why you didnt quit like the other girls, do you remember what you said ?" Ale waited, he knew Lauren knew the answer and he was willing to wait as long as he needed until she answered him.

"Failure isn't falling, failure is not getting back up after" Ale internally celebrated at finally getting a response from Lauren. "Jerry had it wrote on a poster in his office and i always loved it"

"You need to get up Lauren... or your failing" Ale then stood back up from the bed and left. Lauren was left with what he had said and she really needed to digest it. the old quote had always been Laurens favourite, that until now she had forgotten about, it was so simple but it was right.