part 4



trent rubbed his eyes with his hands and sighed. there had to be a way to get laura to talk to him. he stood up from the battered couch in his apartment, bracing himself for a head rush. a few seconds later, he grabbed his keys and bolted out the door.


" we'll be back in a half hour, hon." alex said to laura, who was leaning in the doorframe. " you'll be ok. we just need to get some groceries."
she frowned. " why does everybody have to go? that's seven people! can't someone stay with me?" she asked weakly. alex sighed, wishing he could.
" sorry, but we really gotta get some food. luv ya." he quickly kissed her and joined the others, driving off.
when his car disappeared from view she slammed the door and locked it. she didn't wanna risk trent coming in again.......
wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, she stared into the darkness of the hallway. suddenly, there was a noise from the kitchen. ' it's probably just the cat." laura thought to herself. she strolled down the hallway and stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, switching on the light. instead of her cat, she saw trent.
his hand were stuffed into the pockets of his worn blue jeans, and he was staring sheepishly at the table which he'd bumped into. when he saw her, he grinned.
" laura!" walking towards her, he attempting to hug her, only to be pushed away.
" why are you here? i thought i told you to leave me alone." she cried, spinning around. he grabbed her arm and pulled he close.
" i love you." he whispered.
" no you don't." she punched him, harder. " if you loved me, you'd leave me alone. and you wouldn't have cheated on me." she added, her voice dropping to a whisper. trent looked at her, regret and longing in his eyes. he's noticed that she'd gotten a lot skinnier, way to skinny for someone her height. she was pale, too. so pale that with her blonde hair and sad expression, she looked kind of ghastly. ' i did this to her, ' he thought, feeling an extreme pang of guilt.
" you really don't want to let me explain anything, do you? ya know, i never got to talk to you after....that night."
" no, trent, i don't." she paused. " it figures." she sighed, narrowing her blue eyes that once held a happy sparkle. 'i took that away too.'
" what figures?" he asked aloud.
" i was just starting to feel happy........." she shrugged, adverting her eyes to the space above his head. " go."
" ok.....just.....never mind." taking one last look at her face, he left.


daniel tapped his foot impatiently, glaring at the cashier, who messed up their order and was ringing it up again. he didn't have a good feeling about leaving laura alone.
daniel insisted on driving. unfortunately for the people in the car, he almost hit a tree and a couple of kids who were crossing the street. when he pulled up to her house, he got out and ran inside, ignoring the shouts of his friends calling after him to help them. when he stepped inside, he realized that the house was dark, the tv wasn't on, laura wasn't there.
" laura!!!!!!!" he screamed.
" whaaattt??" he heard a moan. he spun around, facing the wide doorway of the living room.
" laura?" he asked again.
" i'm in here." he entered the room and peered over the couch. ' duh,' he chided himself. ' she was sleeping!'
" hi." she whispered.
" hi."
" wanna watch tv with me?"
" uhh...yeh, sure." he walked around the couch and lowered himself down next to laura.
" ya know what?" she asked him, resting her hand on his chest.
" what?"
" i lied." she grinned.
" about what?"
" i don't wanna watch tv."
" oh really." he ran his finger along her jaw.
" yup." he kissed her eyes, pulling himself closer to her................


trent paced in his empty apartment. he was obsessed with laura.......he wasn't going to lose her again. he wasn't going to do anything dumb, like he did last time. he just wanted to talk to her. running his fingers through his greasy hair, he sighed for the 5th time. he didn't know what to do..........


" hey everybody!!" alex screamed from the kitchen. he heard several answers of "'what??", so he screamed in reply, " get yer asses in here!! we need ta talk!"
everyone gathered in the kitchen, finding places wherever there was a free spot to sit.
" ok, cassy needs ta talk to you guys."
" you guys have ta leave tomorrow," she announced, addressing daniel, ben, and chris.
" we do?" daniel asked, horrified.
" yeh.......i didn't wanna tell you till the last moment......."
there was silence. cassy saw laura whisper something into daniel's ear. the slid of the counter, announcing before leaving, " we're going to bed."
" you guys behave yourselves now........."


the next morning was hectic and loud. daniel, ben, and chris were running around, picking up things to put in their suitcases. cassy, dustpan in hand, was running around after them cleaning up.
laura was slumped on daniel's fold out cot, frowning as she watched him pack. he stood up, looked at laura, then back at his suitcase, then back at laura. grinning, he walked over to the bed and scooped her up. in one swift movement, he plopped her down in his suitcase. somebody in the hall laughed. it was alex.
" sorry daniel, but i think laura would kinda die if you kept her in there." chuckling, he ran down the stairs.
sighing, daniel looked down at laura and gave a her a sad puppy look. " i don't want you to die. " he offered her his hands, pulling her up.
laura wrapped her arms around his body and kissed his neck. " don't leave me." she whispered.
" i don't wanna, but i have to........."


they arrived at the airport about 10 minutes before their flight took off. amazingly enough, they still managed to have plenty of time for good-byes.
after saying good-bye to ben and chris, alex looked around for daniel. when he spotted him, he wasn't suprised to see him kissing laura. an announcement came over the loudspeaker, announcing their flight. ben and chris boarded the plane. daniel was whispering in laura's ear, his arms still around her.
" hey you guys, " alex said, gently touching daniel's shoulder. before turning to look at alex, daniel gently kissed laura's eye. " ummm....i hate to say this, but you gotta go dan. "
they kissed again, then let go of each other, walking to the plane.
" bye," laura whispered, hugging daniel again.
" bye. " he kissed her. " i love you."
" i love you to." daniel turned around and walked slowly to the plane, turning around to give one last wave.


part 3
part 2
part 1
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