FicWad

The next morning was hazy for Lauren; she swam up out of sleep, before Mikey, and checked her suitcase, making sure that she had packed for the next few days. She ghosted downstairs, making coffee and breakfast for Mikey, leaning against the kitchen counter and smoking a cigarette from her secret stash in the empty end drawer. She finished the cigarette, stubbing it out in the ashtray, a few moments before Mikey appeared, already dressed and showered. ‘’Hey, Honey.’’ He walked to her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her lips.
‘’Hmm…morning…Mikey...You know I mentioned last night about going away to visit some relatives?’’ Lauren began,
‘’Yeah – you said that you wanted the next few days off. I said fine,’’ Mikey picked up a piece of toast, eating it quickly, gulping down his coffee. ‘’I just don’t see why you can’t take Dahlia with you.’’ He sighed,
‘’Because I don’t want her around my relatives, Mikey.’’,
‘’Oh – like your parents?’’ he narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘’Mikey…my parents are not nice people. I don’t want them around her – how many times?’’ Lauren became defensive, like she always did around Mikey when talking about her parents.
‘’I want to meet them – you’ve never told me anything about them! You’ve met my mom and dad – they love you!’’ Mikey continued.
‘’Just…just look after Dali, and don’t just sink into your work and shut her out. She’s your daughter, too,’’ Lauren placed her hands on her hips, staring up at Mikey as he looked down, his eyes filled with anger at her comment.
‘’I work hard to give my family the things that I never had when I was growing up!’’,
‘’What about two parents who are there for her when she needs them? Two, Mikey, not one.’’,
‘’Whatever, Lauren, I have to go to work. I’ll be back at 6 to relieve the baby-sitter of her duties.’’ He walked out to the front door, and Lauren stayed where she was – arms folded, staring down at the red tiled flooring.

She spent the rest of the day as normal, 3pm came faster than she realized, and Gerard was in her kitchen right on time, making himself coffee as she wheeled her suitcase down the stairs.

‘’Thought I’d make one for the road.’’ He sipped the golden liquid; Dahlia was sitting up on her stool, laughing at Lauren’s rolling eyes as she entered the kitchen.
‘’Sarah will be here in about ten minutes… Gerard, you’ll have to stay in here, then I’ll go out the front door, and you go out the back. I don’t want her to see you, she’s could tell Mikey.’’ Lauren explained.
‘’Why can’t I come?’’ Dahlia asked,
‘’Because you’re a troublemaker,’’ Lauren joked, dropping her suitcase down, taking Gerard’s cup of coffee and sipping it as Dahlia tried to grab it again. A knock sounded at the front door, and Lauren gave Gerard a pointed look, picking Dahlia up from her stool and taking her into the front room, answering the door. She jumped when she saw Mikey, smiling softly with a bouquet of roses his hand.
‘’Daddy!’’ Dahlia yelled, and Mikey took her in his arms, handing Lauren the roses as he did.
‘’I’m here to say goodbye to your mom before she goes, and then we’re gonna go and see a movie together.’’ Mikey grinned, and Dahlia grinned back.
‘’I’ve got to go, you two,’’ Lauren acted normal, pushing all of her shock at Mikey’s arrival away. ‘’What about Sarah?’’ she questioned,
‘’I called her, told her not to come, its fine.’’ Mikey kissed Lauren gently, ‘’I’m sorry for that discussion this morning. You were right,’’ he nodded,
‘’Bye mommy,’’ Dahlia held her arms out, and Lauren hugged her quickly, seeing something in Mikey’s eyes. It looked like he was plotting something.
‘’Bye, Dali. See you guys in a few days.’’ Lauren tugged her suitcase up with her, walking quickly down the driveway – and then turning the corner. She had told Mikey that she was getting a train to New Jersey, but she’d lied. Her parents had never lived in New Jersey – the state had just popped into her mind when she had been asked.

Gerard was waiting in his car, his hands gripping the steering wheel. ‘’I saw him,’’ he snapped. ‘’With those roses and that stupid smile on his face…’’ he glanced down at the roses, which were still in Lauren’s arm. She placed them on the backseat, and propped her feet up on her suitcase. ‘’You look nice,’’ Gerard mentioned, glancing at Lauren quickly, and then focusing back on the road. Lauren looked down at her red dress, shrugging,
‘’I like this, too, that’s the first time anyone said I look nice in a while.’’ she laughed.
‘’What do you think about my new look?’’ Gerard smirked,
‘’I think you look like a punk rocker, all nihilistic…’’ Lauren smiled.
‘’Oh – nihilistic, I like,’’ Gerard nodded, running his fingers through his bright hair, wishing that he’d been able to buy a pack of cigarettes before he’d arrived at Mikey’s house. He drummed at the steering wheel as they stopped at a red light, searching his pockets one last time for a box of Marlboros, or a lone cigarette that had escaped. Lauren watched him searching, her eyes curious – Gerard looked up at her, ‘’we have to stop soon for cigarettes,’’ he eyed the fuel gage, ‘’and fuel.’’ He sighed.
‘’I’ll buy both,’’ Lauren spoke up.
‘’Thanks,’’ Gerard turned the car off, into a nearby gas station. Lauren got out of the car first, un-capping the fuel tank; Gerard stepped in to pump the gas into the tank, watching as Lauren leant her body against the sun-baked metal of the car. He almost pumped too much fuel into the tank, shaking his head as he slotted the fuel nozzle back with the others.
‘’Want anything else?’’ Lauren asked, playing with her purse in her hands as she waited for Gerard to answer.
‘’Just cigarettes…maybe a drink and something to eat – if it isn’t too much trouble....’’ he mentioned, Lauren shook her head,
‘’It’s fine,’’ she reassured, turning to walk into the kiosk. Gerard capped the fuel tank, getting back into the car and thinking back to when he had held Lauren hostage by way of his gun – a gun that had been lost years afterwards somewhere in Las Vegas. Instead of being scared, Lauren was smiling and laughing – Gerard questioned himself as to why he wasn’t threatening her, but then he told himself that she was going to repay him for his services. He felt like he owed it to her to help her kill, and he also felt like he would enjoy slaughtering her parents himself.
Lauren slid back into her seat, a brown paper bag in her arms. ‘’I got you the cigarettes….’’ She laughed, handing Gerard the cigarettes, ‘’they had a limited choice, we can have something to eat when we stop next, okay?’’ she asked.
‘’Yeah, that’s fine,’’ Gerard pulled the car away, and then followed the main street on to the highway. He would keep driving until nightfall, he knew that much, and then he would park at a motel, and they would sleep. He wanted a decent night’s sleep, at least, before they launched whatever plans Lauren had and propelled them into motion. He wondered what she had planned, so decided to ask; ‘’what exactly are we going to do when we get to your parent’s place?’’ he enquired.
‘’I was thinking I just kill them, plain and simple – then burn off their fingerprints, pull out their teeth – erase all chances at identification – and bury them somewhere.’’ Lauren explained.
‘’No torture?’’ Gerard raised his eyebrows, lighting a cigarette while his other hand stayed on the steering wheel.
‘’I’d be just as bad as them – wouldn’t I?’’ Lauren asked.
‘’No, not at all, Sugar, you’d be doing a sort of…you’d be fighting back for all of the time when you couldn’t fight them back, yourself.’’,
‘’Oh…well, okay then, that sounds reasonable.’’,
‘’Fuck yeah, it does.’’ Gerard grinned at the thought of making their deaths painful. Making them scream in pain and fear. The thought of their blood on his hands, and the way that they would beg before they die sent shivers down his spine. Shivers of anticipation.
‘’Why are you so game if you don’t know what happened?’’,
‘’I can tell that they hurt you, Sugar; any parent who abuses their kids deserves the worst. In fact, anyone who hurts a kid should be punished.’’ Gerard looked over at Lauren, ‘’want a cigarette?’’ he held the packet out, and Lauren shook her head,
‘’No thank you,’’ she sighed, relaxing into the warm, worn exterior of the car seat. Gerard placed the packet in his jacket pocket, focusing completely on driving, as Lauren leaned her head back and fell into a lucid sleep.

Her father laughed, watching as her mother pushed her and pushed her, beating her child. ‘’Let me join,’’ he announced, pulling Lauren up roughly by her arm, and then punching her in the stomach, chest and arms, throwing her back down on the floor, kicking her again.
‘’Silly, stupid bitch!’’ her mother cackled, eyes gleaming rabidly in her head.
‘’Whore! Dirty fucking whore!’’ her father spat, dripping on Lauren’s already-bruising arms as she shielded her face from the blows. She would wait until they had left her, alone in the silent room – before she would drag her body upstairs, and just lie on her bed and cry until her chest ached, and her eyes burned.

‘’Lauren – wake up,’’ she felt a hand rocking her shoulder, waking her from her nightmare. It felt like one, and yet she knew that it had actually happened – no nightmare could be as terrifying as the reality that she had suffered through. Gerard was staring at her from his seat; the light from a streetlight illuminated the surrounding darkness. They had stopped.
‘’Where are we?’’ she looked around, suddenly alert.
‘’A motel, I’m tired, and you fell asleep in the car…so I thought we should stop.’’ Gerard explained. Lauren nodded,
‘’Yeah, good idea,’’ She grabbed her suitcase, opening the car door and getting out. Gerard got out, too, locking the car, then taking Lauren’s suitcase from her,
‘’I’ll wait outside the reception. Can’t take chances right now....’’ Lauren nodded,
‘’Okay,’’ and walked into the reception, emerging a few moments later with a keycard.