The next morning, Alana woke up a little earlier than she usually did. It was five o'clock in the morning, and the sun was just starting to peek out from behind the clouds. Mitsy was sound asleep on her bed, snoring rather loudly. Alana sat up slowly, yawning and stretching her arms behind her back. She got out of bed, careful not to wake Mitsy. Once she was safe, she rubbed her eyes, exhaling through her nose.

She assumed her sister was still asleep, so she took this time to get ready. She walked over to her dresser, opening it quietly. She took out a bra, a pair of underwear, and a pink two piece nurse scrub from another drawer. She took the clothes into the bathroom and she closed the door behind her, beginning to strip from her night clothes. She turned in the shower head and she waited until the water got hot before she stepped under it. The water woke her up instantly, and relaxed her at the same time. She kept her hair away from the water, not wanting to go through the process of drying it and styling it again.

Once she was done washing herself she turned the water off, stepping out of the small tub. She dried off with the same towel she used before, moving a little slower than usual. It was five in the morning, and she didn't feel like putting in too much work. When she was done, she put on her underclothes, and then her scrubs. Afterwards she grabbed her clothes and she left her bathroom, tossing her clothes into the bin.

Mitsy was sitting up on her bed, watching her with a tilted head. Alana smiled at her and she walked over to her bed, kissing her.

"Did I wake you, girl?" She asked, looking down at the dog. The dog just looked up at her, with pure love in her eyes. Alana rubbed the dog gently before she grabbed her shoes, sliding them onto her feet.

She left her room after that, walking towards her kitchen. She opened up the cupboards and she took out about five apple flavored nutrigrain bars. She didn't feel like cooking anything, the tiredness from her sleep still affecting her. She opened one of them and she bit a piece of it, chewing it quietly.

The door to the guest room opened and Natasha stepped out, a yawn leaving her lips.

"Morning," she said groggily. "Why are you up so early?"

"I don't know, I usually get up a little later than this," Alana replied. "What about you?"

"I'm used to getting up early to open up the restaurant."

Alana nodded and Natasha walked over to where she was, looking at the bars she had in her hand.

"That's it? That's all you're going to eat?"

Alana shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

"Are you insane? Since when have you ever eaten anything like this for breakfast?"

"I only eat these when I don't feel like cooking, Tasha," Alana mumbled. "Don't judge me."

"I'm not," Natasha chuckled. "When are you leaving?"

"After I finish these, I'm going to brush my teeth, and then get my bag and stuff and leave."

Natasha nodded and she opened up some of the cupboards, looking for a box of cereal. Once she found what she was looking for, she opened up the fridge, frowning when she didn't see any milk.

"Where's the milk?" She asked, looking over at Alana.

"I ran out," Alana said, moving on to her third bar.

"Okay, and why is half your fridge empty?"

"I'm going shopping today, Tasha. Relax," she chuckled, looking over at her sister.

"No, I'm going while you're at work because this is disappointing," Natasha scoffed, closing the fridge. "Just finish your bars and hurry up so I can leave."

"What?" Alana asked, frowning. "You don't even know what I like."

"I know you like a fucking book, Aly, now hurry up. I brought money with me so I'll do it. I don't mind."

"Natasha -"

"Ah ah," Natasha interrupted, holding up her finger. "Go."

"Alright, mom," Alana joked, finishing the last of her bars.

"Oh trust me," Natasha grinned. "She's way worse."

☯

"Hey Alana," Crystal smiled as Alana entered the nurse's station. "You're here early."

"I wasn't even planning on coming this early, but my body said otherwise apparently," she replied, laughing lightly.

Crystal chuckled and she shook her head, playing with her hair. "Have you made your daily reports yet?"

Alana groaned and she threw her head back, slouching down in her chair. She really didn't want to do the daily reports, they were pointless and she knew that they wouldn't help anything at all.

"Do we really have to fill those out?"

"Yeah, and we have to email it to him."

"Ugh," Alana scowled, causing Crystal to laugh.

"Don't worry, girl. They don't have to be essay's. You just have to write what your patients were like that day."

"It's still stupid."

"I know, but you know how Dr McClain is. He'll lecture you for hours on end if you don't fill them out."

As much as she wanted to just forget about that whole thing, Crystal was right. Dr. McClain wanted everything to be exactly how he asked for it whether you liked it or not, and it pissed her off because he was oblivious to the feelings of the nurses that actually held this place together.

Sighing, Alana sat up, logging onto her email. She logged onto Google docs, clicking on a template that was blank. She began to type, putting her name st the top.

"What was yesterday's date?" She asked.

"April eighteenth," Crystal replied.

Alana nodded and she out the date under her name. Just as she was about to start typing, one of the lights on the desk lit up. She knew that someone had pressed the button for the bathroom, but she didn't know who. She looked over at the label above the light and it read 213. She didn't think Laurent would ever press that button, given that he was barely paying attention when she was explain what it was for.

"You want me to take them?" Crystal asked.

"No, I got it. It's one of mine," Alana replied as she stood from her seat. She grabbed the ends of her hair as she walked, pulling them to tighten her ponytail. She didn't feel like doing anything special with it, and it was either a bun or ponytail. She chose the easier one.

She reached Laurent's door shortly and she took her ID out, holding it in front of the scanner. It opened slightly and she pushed it all the way in, her eyes locking with his. He was sitting on the side of his bed, his fingers clasped together. 

"You need to use the bathroom?" She asked, her voice suddenly getting quiet as she spoke to him.

"I pressed the button, didn't I?"

"Just come on," she sighed, gesturing for him to get up. He stood up and he walked over to her slowly, looking down at her with and intense gaze. She looked away from him almost instantly, not wanting to feel more intimidated than she already was.

Once they were out of the room, she closed it behind them, leading him down the hallway. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked behind her, his eyes looking everywhere but her. They passed the nurses station and he could feel another nurse's eyes on him. He didn't care to look back because he wasn't worried about her, everyone gave him the same look wherever he went.

He was feared by a lot of people, especially in his home town. His family disowned him, and his friends abandoned him. The people that he cared about most left him in his darkest times, but he found that it was better that way. If he ever saw them again in his life, he wouldn't even hesitate to get his hands on them. To make them feel the pain that he felt.

Once they reached bathroom, Alana looked up at him, pointing towards the door.

"You can use it now," she said, waiting for him to go inside.

"I'm not using it," he said plainly, looking down at her with hooded eyes.

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't need to use it," he chuckled. Alana rolled her eyes and she began to walk the other way, grabbing his wrist and dragging him behind her. That was a complete waste of her time. She could've been filling out her stupid report, and sending it to Dr. McDouchebag already, but Laurent wanted to waste her time. She hated when people did that.

Laurent's long legs carried him close behind her and they had reached his room in no time. Alana took her ID out and she held it up to the scanner. When the door opened, she dragged him inside, closing the door.

"What was the point of that?" She scolded, placing her hands on her hips.

"You do that a lot," Laurent said, disregarding her question.

"The hell are you talking about?"

"You close yourself in here," he replied turning his back to her. He walked over to the wall across from the door and he leaned on it, folding his arms. "Do you like being in here with me?"

"No I don't," she spat, folding her arms the same way he did.

"So why?"

"Because I don't want to disclose any information from my patients unintentionally."

He nodded, his lips turning down as if he was impressed. "People already know about me, chéri. You don't have to hide anything."

Alana narrowed her eyes and she looked at him curiously, tilting her head. Laurent did the same thing as if he was trying to mock her.

"Why?"

Laurent frowned, straightening his head back up. "Why what?"

"Why are you the way you are?"

Laurent just stared at her. His face lacked any type of emotion, but a million and one thoughts were pouring into his brain fast. He could feel himself beginning to get angry and he balled his hands up into a fist.

"Does it matter?"

"It does," Alana replied.

"Why?"

"I just feel like you're not the way you are by choice."

"What does that mean?"

"That it's not your fault."

Laurent clenched his jaw and he exhaled deeply, his eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"Get out."

"No," Alana said. "I want to know."

"Alana, leave."

Alana shook her head stubbornly and she walked over to his bed, taking a seat on it. "Not until you tell me."

Laurent's hands flew up to his hair and he shut his eyes, pushing himself off the wall. His could feel his heart racing, so fast that he could hear it without covering his ears. He could feel his blood begin to rush under his skin, and the heat that grew inside of him told him that he was about to have a breakdown. He began to pace back and forth in the room, his breathing becoming ragged. Alana watched him carefully, scooting back on the bed.

"No," he said to himself, his voice coming out shakily. "No, no, no."

"Laurent -"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He shouted, gripping his hair tighter, damn near pulling his twists out. Alana jumped back a little bit and she pulled her knees to her chest slowly. She did that a lot when she was younger. That pose made her feel like she was protected when she felt like she was in danger.

"They hurt me..." he whispered, squeezing his eyes tighter. "They hurt me. They did it."

"Who did?" Alana asked, her eyes not leaving him once.

"T-They did."

He suddenly stopped pacing and he froze in his place, his eyes shooting open. He was visibly shaking, as if somebody was shaking him from behind. He slowly let his hands down from his hair, barely being able to control how fast they shook.

"Who?"

Laurent's eyes landed on Alana as soon as she spoke and he walked over to her, bending down.

"Have you ever felt pain so bad... that you can feel it crawling in you? Crawling through you, like bugs? Like the itch you can never scratch?"

Alana shook her head slowly, chills running down her spine.

"I did. You want to know who give me that pain?"

"I -"

"My family."

He backed away from her and he shook his head, pursing his lips.

"I never fit in you know," he said. "I never had anyone by my side in my life. In school, I got picked on a lot. By friends that I thought was close to me. You know how that feels? To have someone you thought care about you, be the one to hit you in your face until you bleed?"

Alana stayed quiet, too scared to answer him. It's not like he wanted her to anyway.

"They burn me, they cut me, and they hit me with things. They called me a freak, they make me feel like I never belong with them."

He sighed and he screwed his eyes shut again, the familiar burning of tears forming in his eyes.

"The worst people was my family. My mom, she hated me. I don't know why. She always had this look on her face when she saw me, like she just wished she never had me. Like I was her worst enemy. My dad, he hit me a lot. Most of this scars I have on my body is from him. He spit on me, he kicked me, he punch me. But you know who was the worst?"

Alana shook her head slowly. "Who was, Laurent?"

"My fucking brother. My twin, Larry. The only person who know me better than he know himself. He did everything everyone else did to me. If they hit me, he hit me too. If they spit on me, he spit on me too. If they call me names and hit me with objects, he do the exact same. The main person I loved in my life, my blood. When he saw what everyone was doing to me, he joined them too."

A few tears slipped out of his eyes and he sniffed slightly, his fists balling up again.

"You know what I will never understand?" He asked, looking at Alana. Alana shook her head again, which seemed to be the only reply she could give him.

"Why me? Huh? Why do I have to be the one to get treated like that. I do nothing to NOBODY! I always did the things my mom want me to do. I always did the thing my dad want me to do. I never speak to my brother other than say only "hi". So why me?! Why am I the one to be this way? EVERYTHING I AM IS BECAUSE OF THEM!" 

Laurent sobbed hysterically after this words left his mouth. He dropped to his knees and he held his face in his hands, his chest rising and falling rapidly. The sound of his choked sobs and whimpers filled the room, and Alana found herself being brought to tears at the sight. There he was, an angry, broken, and misunderstood man kneeling on the floor in front of her. All of the pent up rage he had inside of him was because of his family. All of the things wrong with him was because of them.

"Laurent.." Alana said softly, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat.
When Laurent didn't answer her, she decided to try and comfort him. She slid off of the bed slowly and she got on her knees, crawling over to him cautiously. He was now still, kneeling in the middle of the floor. It was like everything in him had stopped, and he was now a frozen in his place.

"Laurent?" Alana called softly, reaching out to touch his arm. As soon as her finger brushed against him, the hand on the opposite arm flew up and grabbed her arm quickly, squeezing it tightly. She whimpered loudly and she grabbed his arm, trying to pry his hand off.

"Don't," he said. Alana looked at him slowly, and his eyes were bloodshot again, more than before. They were puffy at the bottom, and the tears had seemingly dried up already.

"You're h-hurting me," she whimpered, sucking in a few breaths.

"Good," he spat.

"Laurent, please let go," she cried, a fee tears streaming down her face. A grin appeared on his face as the tears poured out of her eyes, and a low chuckle left his lips.

"I like you," he whispered, leaning closer to her. She looked away from him quickly, her eyes landing in her hand. She could see it beginning to a purplish color and she cried out again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"W-Why?" She cried.

"You submit to me," he said. "I like that."

He gave her hand one last squeeze before he let her go and she let out a gasp in relief, holding her hand close to her. She could feel the blood rushing back to her hand and she sighed a little, shutting her eyes.

"Please," she said, moving away from him. "You said that everything you are is because of them. Try to calm down."

"The day I get my hands on them and hurt them so bad is the day I will try to understand what calm down is."

"But why hurt me? What did I do to you?"

Laurent laughed and he grabbed her shirt, pulling her up and close to him.

"You did something to me, ma fille," he said. "You made me feel."

Alana was going to ask him what he meant by that, but she didn't have time to. She was stopped by a pair of warm lips on hers, and her heart began to pound in her chest. It wasn't long before she relaxed under his grip,

and she kissed him back.

☯

OooOOooooOOOOOOooooooo. I hope you guys enjoyed this long chapter, I worked hard on this one ! 😊😊 Please leave comments on it, and I hope you enjoyed ❤ x Rose.