Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Welcome to the Life...
Why was it that every time something seemed to go right in Lara's life, did it all come crashing down around her? She was still sitting outside in the rain, when Toby came downstairs, holding Jack, under an umbrella. He saw Lara sitting there and ran over to her, holding the umbrella above her head as well.
"Come on, lets get you inside," he said as he helped her off the ground. She walked in front of him, not needing to stay under the umbrella, as she was already wet. She could tell Toby was itching to ask what was going on with her, but he got the hint not to. Lara reached the door and waited for Toby to come and unlock it. Once he did, she walked straight in and went to the bathroom. She closed the door but didn't lock it, Toby was smart enough not to come in. Lara looked at herself in the mirror and felt like she was looking at the most horrid thing in the world. Her eyeliner had run down her cheek, he hair was soaping wet and stuck to her face and her lips were almost purple. She bought her shaking hands up to her face and touched her cheeks, which were cold. It was then she realised, she wasn't shaking because it was cold, she was shaking because of her crying and thoughts. Lara turned on the shower and got in, with all her clothes. She let the hot water flow over he body and fill her with warmth. Slowly she slid down the wall and sat on the floor. The water kept coming but she didn't care. She just sat there thinking about her past. The thing driving her insane.
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8 years ago
At the age of 15 Lara Rowe was practically taking care of herself. Her mother couldn’t give a shit about her and her father was always "working" as he liked to call it. More like fucking his 25 year old, blonde secretary. Her brother was too busy trying to get into college and make something of himself, so that left Lara alone most of the time. Sure she had friends but honestly, they didn't understand. Nobody did. How many people do you know that have mothers who are constantly bringing a different guy home every afternoon? Lara would sit in her room and hear here mother and boyfriend of the day going for it. At times she couldn't take and ran away for days at a time. She always went to the same place, the one place where she felt at home and welcome. Frank's place of course. One afternoon, the same thing happened and she ran away to Frank's house. And this is where Lara Rowe's story begins.
Her mother had brought home another guy, different from yesterday. Lara was sitting at the kitchen bench doing her homework, when her mother came downstairs where nothings but an oversized t-shirt.
"Oh Lara, what are you doing here," her mother asked her. What a stupid question. She fucking lived there didn't she?
"I live here mom. How good is this one, on a scale of one to 10? Better than yesterday, worse? Come on mom, it can be our little secret," Lara asked her mother. Not taking her eyes of her work. Her mother gasped at this comment and then laughed a little.
"Lara darling, get out. I don't want you to come back until you can learn some fucking respect,"
"RESPECT! WHERE THE FUCK AM I MEANT TO LEARN THAT. YOU AND DAD SURE AS HELL DON'T SHOW ANY TO EACH OTHER OR EVEN TO ME!" Lara yelled. Her mother came over to her and slapped her across the face.
"Get out,"
"Gladly," she said, picking up her books and bag, storming out of the house. As she walked she shoved her books into her bag. Today the sun was out and shining, completely the opposite of how she was feeling. She quickened her pace just so she could get to where she was going sooner. Turning the corner, she saw that Linda's car wasn't in the driveway. Great, they may not even be home. Pushing those thoughts aside, she continued to walk to Frank's place and up to the door. She rapped the door with her knuckles, and kept doing so until someone came and opened the door.
"Hey Lara, do you want-" Lara didn't even wait for him to finish the question. She just walked straight in and up the stairs into his room. When she walked in she noticed some girl sitting on the bed, with the Playstation controller in her hand. Frank walked in behind her and closed the door.
"Lara this is Maggie, Maggie this is Lara. Maggie and I have biology together; we were working on our-" Lara cut Frank off.
"I cant fucking take it anymore Frank. Jesus Christ, do you know how hard it is to have a fucking mother who couldn't care because she is too busy screwing a different guy every other night. And a dad who is at work but you know he is sleeping with his secretary. Then you have a brother trying to make something of himself so he is never at home. So it pretty much leaves you to take care of yourself," she yelled, and then she collapsed onto the bed. Maggie was staring at Lara then to Frank and back again. Lara realised that she had just opened up to Frank in front of a complete stranger.
"Oh look I didn't really mean to say that out loud and I would really appreciate it if-"
"We can keep a secret," Maggie said smiling. Frank nodded and sat down next to her. The three of them sat in silence for a while until Maggie broke the silence.
"Look, why don't we get out of here? I know somewhere we can go, my brothers friend is having a few people at his place. Its just around the corner from here," Maggie said. We all nodded and started to follow Maggie. Little did they know, this would be what caused Lara to go off the rails.
All three walked into the house. It smelt of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Lara, frank and Maggie sat down on the couch, each with a Bacardi Breezer in their hands. Across the room, there was one guy glancing and smiling at Lara. She looked down and noticed that people here weren't only smoking cigarettes but sniffing cocaine. Lara felt very uncomfortable. Frank stood up and took Maggie's hand.
"We are going outside, you want to come?" Frank asked. Lara shook her head. They left and she sat there alone. That was until the guy across the room got the courage to come up to her. He sat next to her and handed her a glass.
"Coca-cola and bourbon. Looks like you need it. How old are you?" he asked. Lara took the glass and drank it in one swallow. It was awful but somehow she wanted more. He smiled and poured some more.
"Thanks. Does my age have anything do to with it?" she asked drinking again. He smiled and moved closer to her.
"I'm Rob," he whispered in her ear. She giggled because it was tickling her. She looked at him and told him her name was Lara. She kept throwing down the drinks as if they were water. She knew she was well underage but at the moment, she didn't really care. After another 5 minutes or so, Lara was completely wasted and had no idea what she doing.
"Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" Rob asked her. Lara nodded as he stood up. Rob held her hand but when Lara went to stand up, she flopped around and fell into Rob's arms. He laughed and practically dragged her to a room down the hall. Lara fell onto the bed and Rob saw her as vulnerable. Lara was half asleep when Rob lifted her up and bought her over to the dresser table.
"You know who to take this stuff right?" he asked Lara. Lara looked down at the lines of white powder. She nodded and Rob handed her a straw.
"Come on, take some. It will make all your problems go away," he said. Lara, being drunk and not knowing what she was doing, took the straw and started to sniff. The smile on Rob's face grew bigger and bigger with each sniff. He took the straw away and laid her back down onto the bed. Hopefully, you can see where this is going. If you can't, here it is. Rob took advantage of her and when he was done he left her there alone. It took about 10 minutes before Maggie found her.
"FRANK! FRANK COME HERE!" she shrieked. Frank came in and ran to the side of the bed. He picked Lara up bridal style and then they left the room. As they walked out, Rob came up to them, and smiled and evil smile.
"She was pretty good even though she wont remember it tomorrow," he said. Frank went to hit him but then remembered he had Lara in his arms. Instead Maggie went right up to Rob and slapped him. He bought his hand to his cheek and Maggie seemed happy with herself. The three of them left the house, two in disgust and one completely out of it.
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Back to present
Lara turned off the water and got out. Her clothes were stuck to her body and her hair was slicked down. She slowly removed her clothes and threw them in the laundry basket and towel dried her hair. She walked out to see Toby cradling Jack in his arms. She bit her lip and went over to Toby, slowly taking Jack out of his arms. She placed him in his small bed in his room. She closed the door and walked out.
"Toby you know you shouldn't be rocking a 3 year old to sleep. He needs to be going to bed," Lara said. Toby rolled his eyes and he slipped on a different t-shirt to sleep in.
"Well I am sorry, but he was crying for his mother who shut herself in the bathroom for almost 2 hours. What the hell is going on with you?" Toby asked, as he aggressively pulled the blankets back. Lara did the same and jumped onto the bed.
"A lot is going on with me Toby, a lot," Lara said. She took a deep breath and tried again.
"We really need to work some things out. How about tomorrow, we leave Jack with a friend of mine who lives around here and we go to dinner?" she asked. Toby nodded as he got into bed and turned his back on Lara. Lara turned off the lamp and fell into a deep sleep.
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As Lara woke up the next morning, she felt that Toby wasn't in the bed. She rolled over to her side and saw that she was right. Lara listened carefully to hear if he was in the apartment at all. Nothing. Slowly she propped herself onto her elbows and saw a note stuck to the bedroom door. Lara rolled off the bed and went over to read it.
/Lara,
Gone to work. I checked on Jack and he was asleep.
I will see you tonight. I have a surprise for you!
Toby/
A surprise? She hated fucking surprises! She threw the note in the bin. There was no point in keeping it since she had already read it. Lara made her way to check on Jack and saw that he was playing with a few of his toys on the floor.
"Hi mommy. Are you feeling better? Toby said I had to let you sleep because you were sick," Jack said in his sweet voice. Lara smiled at him and picked him up. She kissed his forehead and told him everything was all right and she was feeling better. Jack asked if they could go to the park today. Lara, unable to say no to her son, agreed.
"But only if you promise to eat all your breakfast mister," Lara said in her motherly tone. Jack sighed and took a bite of his toast. He managed to finish it however, it was painfully slow. He ran to his room and got changed. After Lara had cleaned up she went to check on Jack and once she saw him, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Jack you have your shirt on back to front," she said, suppressing the giggles. Jack frowned and fell onto his bed. Lara walked over to him and told him it was perfectly normal to get your clothes mixed up sometimes. He felt a little better as she helped him fixed it up. Lara check him once more to make sure his pants weren't on inside out and his shoes were on the right feet.
"OK Jack, I have to get dressed now. Be a good boy and just go watch some TV for a few minutes," she told him, patting his bottom as he ran away. Quickly she tried to find some clothes to wear. Not many 3 year olds could be trusted on their own, especially not her son. She slipped on some jeans, threw a t-shirt over her head and tied her hair up in a ponytail. Lara walked out and grabbed her phone, the keys and Jack's hand. Together they left their apartment hand-in-hand.
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As Lara and her son arrived at the park, 15 minutes later, she saw that there was not one other person there. Must be early for people in Jersey. She looked at her watch, it was 9 am. Yes, it was early for Jersey people. Lara looked to her right and saw the one person she was most afraid of showing up. He was staring her right in the face with a look of sadness on his face.
"I am so sorry," he said. She ran up to him and hugged him.
"Frank, thank god you came around. I don't know how I would have made it without my best friend. Does Maggie know you are here?" she asked Frank. He led her over to the seat and sat down next to her. He nodded and continued his apology, making it official. It was then that Jack walked over to them.
"Mommy, do you know this man?" he asked in a scared voice. Lara looked and him and nodded, smiling. He jumped into his mother's lap.
"I have seen him before," he whispered into Lara's ear. She giggled and told Jack that Frank was her friend since she was little and that he used to look after him sometimes when he was just a baby. Jack seemed to be a bit confused but left it, returning to the slippery-dip. Lara and Frank continued to talk for about 30 minutes before Jack started to say he was bored.
"Well, why don't you and Jack and your new boyfriend come over tonight for dinner?" Frank asked. Lara bite her lip and shook her head.
"I cant, Toby and I made dinner plans. But you could look after Jack for me. You would be doing me a huge favour. Please?" Lara begged. Frank smiled and nodded. They each said their goodbyes and Lara left the park holding Jack's hand.
As they neared their apartment Jack was still silent. He had not said a word since they left the park.
"Jack, is something wrong?" Lara asked him. He nodded and began to cry. Lara's heart melted and she picked him up and hugged him tight.
"Why don't you love Toby anymore mommy?" Jack asked through his sobs. Lara was taken back by the question.
"What are you talking about Jacky?"
"Well I heard you last night. You were vewy angwy. Today you hugged vat ova man. Don't you love Toby anymore?" he asked innocently, mispronouncing some of his words. She wiped away her sons tears and as well as a few of her own.
"Of course I love Toby baby. Last night was silly and the other man is my friend," Lara said reassuring him. He nodded slowly as he rested his head in the crook of his mother's neck. Lara continued to walk home holding Jack.
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It was 6:00 pm. Jack was in the lounge room playing with Frank and Maggie and Lara was in her bedroom checking herself in the mirror. Toby had rung her earlier to say that she was to wear something nice. So she chose a LBD and red pumps. Her hair was out and straight and make up was minimal except for the eyes of course. She felt pleased with the way she looked, for the first time since she was about 8. Lara left the mirror and slowly made her way out to the lounge room. As she walked in, it was like the world stopped. Frank's jaw dropped, Maggie's eyes were glued to the dress (she obviously wanted it now that she saw the look on Frank's face) and Jack smiled.
"Do I look alright?" Lara asked, still very self-conscious.
"Bloody amazing!" Maggie screamed. She ran up and hugged Lara tight, whispering in her ear that she wanted the dress. Frank agreed and then Jack ran up and hugged his mom.
"Wow!" someone said from behind her. Lara turned and saw Toby standing at the door. Lara bite her lip as she went over to him and hugged him. Toby explained that they were running abit late so he and Lara quickly left. The car ride was pretty silent, very awkward. Toby pulled up outside the local bar.
"We are here," he said as he put the car in park. Lara got out of the car and walked over to Toby, where he took her hand in his own and walked in. When they were inside, an usher showed them to their table. Looking over the top of her menu, Lara saw that Toby was fishing for something in his pocket.
"Hi I am Candy. Can I take your order?" said a young girl asked. She had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. Lara order the spaghetti and Toby got the chicken fillet burger. The two sat in silence for about 10 minutes, until their food came out. Still in silence, Toby and Lara ate. This was going to be an awkward night.
Lara looked at her watch and saw that it was 7:30pm. They were just waiting on dessert and coffee.
"Lara, there is something I would like to ask you," Toby asked. Lara put down her glass of water and smiled at him. Toby cleared his throat and shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out a little box. Lara did not like where this was going.
"We have been together for almost 3 years now and I have waited for a long time to ask you, but Lara Rowe will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box and showing it to Lara. She bought her hand up to her mouth and gasped. Toby took hold of her other hand. A tear escaped her eye but it wasn't a tear of joy, like most people would have.
"Toby-I-I-don't"
"You don't have to say anything, just nod," he said still smiling. Lara took Toby's hand off hers and got ready to answer.
"Toby I can't. I love you but I can't marry you. I am so sorry, but it just wouldn't be right," Toby took the box and shoved it back in his pocket. He gave her a fake smile and nodded. Silence washed over them as the coffee and dessert arrive. Toby ordered vodka from the waitress. Candy, the waitress, stuck around a bit talking with Toby, completely ignoring Lara. Lara was sure that they were flirting, before she went off and came back with his vodka. Toby skulled it in one go and ordered another 2.
The night went by slowly after the proposal, mostly of Toby drinking and then him flirting with Candy.
"Toby I think we should go home," Lara said. Candy was now sitting with them. Toby shook his head and ran his hand through Candy's blonde hair.
"I want to go home and if you wont drive me, how am I suppose to get home?" Lara said now getting angry and agitated.
"You're a whore. Make your own fucking way home," Toby yelled. Lara ran out crying and as she looked back through the window, she saw Candy and Toby in lip-lock already. She cried and cried until he felt someone slide a jacket around her shoulders. Lara looked up and saw the guy with the poofy afro smiling at her.
"I know this isn't the right time to say it, but you know you look really cute when you cry," he said. She laughed as Ray led her over the his car. Lara got in and told him how to get back to her place. Ray drove without asking her what was wrong and slowly Lara fell asleep.
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Slowly Lara opened her eyes and noticed that she wasn't in her own house. She sat up and saw Ray sleeping on the floor, but he wasn't asleep.
"I didn't take you back to your place, incase your boyfriend came home. I sort of saw what happened last night," he said blushing. Lara explained to him that it was alright and also how she had, had enough of Toby. The two of them continued to talk until someone was beating against the door. Ray told Lara to wait there while he answered it. Lara sat on the couch and heard yells coming from the door; already she knew it was Toby.
"LARA COME ON! WE ARE GOING HOME," Toby yelled. Ray said something calmly and she was unable to make it out. Next thing she knew Toby had come into the lounge room, grabbed her arm and was dragging Lara out of the house.
"Ouch Toby, you are hurting me," Lara cried. He didn't let go and Lara kept complaining. Ray came up from behind and grabbed the back of Toby's shirt and pinned him against the wall.
"You should never EVER hurt a women. Now get out," Ray said icily. Toby laughed as he began to walk out of the door but then turned around.
"She isn't a women, she is a whore," he said before leaving. Ray slammed the door on Toby’s face and then he went over to comfort Lara. Was it the end of a relationship and the beginning of one? All in a day for Lara Rowe.
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Longest chapter I have ever written. Very proud :)
Please review!
"Come on, lets get you inside," he said as he helped her off the ground. She walked in front of him, not needing to stay under the umbrella, as she was already wet. She could tell Toby was itching to ask what was going on with her, but he got the hint not to. Lara reached the door and waited for Toby to come and unlock it. Once he did, she walked straight in and went to the bathroom. She closed the door but didn't lock it, Toby was smart enough not to come in. Lara looked at herself in the mirror and felt like she was looking at the most horrid thing in the world. Her eyeliner had run down her cheek, he hair was soaping wet and stuck to her face and her lips were almost purple. She bought her shaking hands up to her face and touched her cheeks, which were cold. It was then she realised, she wasn't shaking because it was cold, she was shaking because of her crying and thoughts. Lara turned on the shower and got in, with all her clothes. She let the hot water flow over he body and fill her with warmth. Slowly she slid down the wall and sat on the floor. The water kept coming but she didn't care. She just sat there thinking about her past. The thing driving her insane.
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8 years ago
At the age of 15 Lara Rowe was practically taking care of herself. Her mother couldn’t give a shit about her and her father was always "working" as he liked to call it. More like fucking his 25 year old, blonde secretary. Her brother was too busy trying to get into college and make something of himself, so that left Lara alone most of the time. Sure she had friends but honestly, they didn't understand. Nobody did. How many people do you know that have mothers who are constantly bringing a different guy home every afternoon? Lara would sit in her room and hear here mother and boyfriend of the day going for it. At times she couldn't take and ran away for days at a time. She always went to the same place, the one place where she felt at home and welcome. Frank's place of course. One afternoon, the same thing happened and she ran away to Frank's house. And this is where Lara Rowe's story begins.
Her mother had brought home another guy, different from yesterday. Lara was sitting at the kitchen bench doing her homework, when her mother came downstairs where nothings but an oversized t-shirt.
"Oh Lara, what are you doing here," her mother asked her. What a stupid question. She fucking lived there didn't she?
"I live here mom. How good is this one, on a scale of one to 10? Better than yesterday, worse? Come on mom, it can be our little secret," Lara asked her mother. Not taking her eyes of her work. Her mother gasped at this comment and then laughed a little.
"Lara darling, get out. I don't want you to come back until you can learn some fucking respect,"
"RESPECT! WHERE THE FUCK AM I MEANT TO LEARN THAT. YOU AND DAD SURE AS HELL DON'T SHOW ANY TO EACH OTHER OR EVEN TO ME!" Lara yelled. Her mother came over to her and slapped her across the face.
"Get out,"
"Gladly," she said, picking up her books and bag, storming out of the house. As she walked she shoved her books into her bag. Today the sun was out and shining, completely the opposite of how she was feeling. She quickened her pace just so she could get to where she was going sooner. Turning the corner, she saw that Linda's car wasn't in the driveway. Great, they may not even be home. Pushing those thoughts aside, she continued to walk to Frank's place and up to the door. She rapped the door with her knuckles, and kept doing so until someone came and opened the door.
"Hey Lara, do you want-" Lara didn't even wait for him to finish the question. She just walked straight in and up the stairs into his room. When she walked in she noticed some girl sitting on the bed, with the Playstation controller in her hand. Frank walked in behind her and closed the door.
"Lara this is Maggie, Maggie this is Lara. Maggie and I have biology together; we were working on our-" Lara cut Frank off.
"I cant fucking take it anymore Frank. Jesus Christ, do you know how hard it is to have a fucking mother who couldn't care because she is too busy screwing a different guy every other night. And a dad who is at work but you know he is sleeping with his secretary. Then you have a brother trying to make something of himself so he is never at home. So it pretty much leaves you to take care of yourself," she yelled, and then she collapsed onto the bed. Maggie was staring at Lara then to Frank and back again. Lara realised that she had just opened up to Frank in front of a complete stranger.
"Oh look I didn't really mean to say that out loud and I would really appreciate it if-"
"We can keep a secret," Maggie said smiling. Frank nodded and sat down next to her. The three of them sat in silence for a while until Maggie broke the silence.
"Look, why don't we get out of here? I know somewhere we can go, my brothers friend is having a few people at his place. Its just around the corner from here," Maggie said. We all nodded and started to follow Maggie. Little did they know, this would be what caused Lara to go off the rails.
All three walked into the house. It smelt of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Lara, frank and Maggie sat down on the couch, each with a Bacardi Breezer in their hands. Across the room, there was one guy glancing and smiling at Lara. She looked down and noticed that people here weren't only smoking cigarettes but sniffing cocaine. Lara felt very uncomfortable. Frank stood up and took Maggie's hand.
"We are going outside, you want to come?" Frank asked. Lara shook her head. They left and she sat there alone. That was until the guy across the room got the courage to come up to her. He sat next to her and handed her a glass.
"Coca-cola and bourbon. Looks like you need it. How old are you?" he asked. Lara took the glass and drank it in one swallow. It was awful but somehow she wanted more. He smiled and poured some more.
"Thanks. Does my age have anything do to with it?" she asked drinking again. He smiled and moved closer to her.
"I'm Rob," he whispered in her ear. She giggled because it was tickling her. She looked at him and told him her name was Lara. She kept throwing down the drinks as if they were water. She knew she was well underage but at the moment, she didn't really care. After another 5 minutes or so, Lara was completely wasted and had no idea what she doing.
"Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" Rob asked her. Lara nodded as he stood up. Rob held her hand but when Lara went to stand up, she flopped around and fell into Rob's arms. He laughed and practically dragged her to a room down the hall. Lara fell onto the bed and Rob saw her as vulnerable. Lara was half asleep when Rob lifted her up and bought her over to the dresser table.
"You know who to take this stuff right?" he asked Lara. Lara looked down at the lines of white powder. She nodded and Rob handed her a straw.
"Come on, take some. It will make all your problems go away," he said. Lara, being drunk and not knowing what she was doing, took the straw and started to sniff. The smile on Rob's face grew bigger and bigger with each sniff. He took the straw away and laid her back down onto the bed. Hopefully, you can see where this is going. If you can't, here it is. Rob took advantage of her and when he was done he left her there alone. It took about 10 minutes before Maggie found her.
"FRANK! FRANK COME HERE!" she shrieked. Frank came in and ran to the side of the bed. He picked Lara up bridal style and then they left the room. As they walked out, Rob came up to them, and smiled and evil smile.
"She was pretty good even though she wont remember it tomorrow," he said. Frank went to hit him but then remembered he had Lara in his arms. Instead Maggie went right up to Rob and slapped him. He bought his hand to his cheek and Maggie seemed happy with herself. The three of them left the house, two in disgust and one completely out of it.
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Back to present
Lara turned off the water and got out. Her clothes were stuck to her body and her hair was slicked down. She slowly removed her clothes and threw them in the laundry basket and towel dried her hair. She walked out to see Toby cradling Jack in his arms. She bit her lip and went over to Toby, slowly taking Jack out of his arms. She placed him in his small bed in his room. She closed the door and walked out.
"Toby you know you shouldn't be rocking a 3 year old to sleep. He needs to be going to bed," Lara said. Toby rolled his eyes and he slipped on a different t-shirt to sleep in.
"Well I am sorry, but he was crying for his mother who shut herself in the bathroom for almost 2 hours. What the hell is going on with you?" Toby asked, as he aggressively pulled the blankets back. Lara did the same and jumped onto the bed.
"A lot is going on with me Toby, a lot," Lara said. She took a deep breath and tried again.
"We really need to work some things out. How about tomorrow, we leave Jack with a friend of mine who lives around here and we go to dinner?" she asked. Toby nodded as he got into bed and turned his back on Lara. Lara turned off the lamp and fell into a deep sleep.
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As Lara woke up the next morning, she felt that Toby wasn't in the bed. She rolled over to her side and saw that she was right. Lara listened carefully to hear if he was in the apartment at all. Nothing. Slowly she propped herself onto her elbows and saw a note stuck to the bedroom door. Lara rolled off the bed and went over to read it.
/Lara,
Gone to work. I checked on Jack and he was asleep.
I will see you tonight. I have a surprise for you!
Toby/
A surprise? She hated fucking surprises! She threw the note in the bin. There was no point in keeping it since she had already read it. Lara made her way to check on Jack and saw that he was playing with a few of his toys on the floor.
"Hi mommy. Are you feeling better? Toby said I had to let you sleep because you were sick," Jack said in his sweet voice. Lara smiled at him and picked him up. She kissed his forehead and told him everything was all right and she was feeling better. Jack asked if they could go to the park today. Lara, unable to say no to her son, agreed.
"But only if you promise to eat all your breakfast mister," Lara said in her motherly tone. Jack sighed and took a bite of his toast. He managed to finish it however, it was painfully slow. He ran to his room and got changed. After Lara had cleaned up she went to check on Jack and once she saw him, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Jack you have your shirt on back to front," she said, suppressing the giggles. Jack frowned and fell onto his bed. Lara walked over to him and told him it was perfectly normal to get your clothes mixed up sometimes. He felt a little better as she helped him fixed it up. Lara check him once more to make sure his pants weren't on inside out and his shoes were on the right feet.
"OK Jack, I have to get dressed now. Be a good boy and just go watch some TV for a few minutes," she told him, patting his bottom as he ran away. Quickly she tried to find some clothes to wear. Not many 3 year olds could be trusted on their own, especially not her son. She slipped on some jeans, threw a t-shirt over her head and tied her hair up in a ponytail. Lara walked out and grabbed her phone, the keys and Jack's hand. Together they left their apartment hand-in-hand.
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As Lara and her son arrived at the park, 15 minutes later, she saw that there was not one other person there. Must be early for people in Jersey. She looked at her watch, it was 9 am. Yes, it was early for Jersey people. Lara looked to her right and saw the one person she was most afraid of showing up. He was staring her right in the face with a look of sadness on his face.
"I am so sorry," he said. She ran up to him and hugged him.
"Frank, thank god you came around. I don't know how I would have made it without my best friend. Does Maggie know you are here?" she asked Frank. He led her over to the seat and sat down next to her. He nodded and continued his apology, making it official. It was then that Jack walked over to them.
"Mommy, do you know this man?" he asked in a scared voice. Lara looked and him and nodded, smiling. He jumped into his mother's lap.
"I have seen him before," he whispered into Lara's ear. She giggled and told Jack that Frank was her friend since she was little and that he used to look after him sometimes when he was just a baby. Jack seemed to be a bit confused but left it, returning to the slippery-dip. Lara and Frank continued to talk for about 30 minutes before Jack started to say he was bored.
"Well, why don't you and Jack and your new boyfriend come over tonight for dinner?" Frank asked. Lara bite her lip and shook her head.
"I cant, Toby and I made dinner plans. But you could look after Jack for me. You would be doing me a huge favour. Please?" Lara begged. Frank smiled and nodded. They each said their goodbyes and Lara left the park holding Jack's hand.
As they neared their apartment Jack was still silent. He had not said a word since they left the park.
"Jack, is something wrong?" Lara asked him. He nodded and began to cry. Lara's heart melted and she picked him up and hugged him tight.
"Why don't you love Toby anymore mommy?" Jack asked through his sobs. Lara was taken back by the question.
"What are you talking about Jacky?"
"Well I heard you last night. You were vewy angwy. Today you hugged vat ova man. Don't you love Toby anymore?" he asked innocently, mispronouncing some of his words. She wiped away her sons tears and as well as a few of her own.
"Of course I love Toby baby. Last night was silly and the other man is my friend," Lara said reassuring him. He nodded slowly as he rested his head in the crook of his mother's neck. Lara continued to walk home holding Jack.
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It was 6:00 pm. Jack was in the lounge room playing with Frank and Maggie and Lara was in her bedroom checking herself in the mirror. Toby had rung her earlier to say that she was to wear something nice. So she chose a LBD and red pumps. Her hair was out and straight and make up was minimal except for the eyes of course. She felt pleased with the way she looked, for the first time since she was about 8. Lara left the mirror and slowly made her way out to the lounge room. As she walked in, it was like the world stopped. Frank's jaw dropped, Maggie's eyes were glued to the dress (she obviously wanted it now that she saw the look on Frank's face) and Jack smiled.
"Do I look alright?" Lara asked, still very self-conscious.
"Bloody amazing!" Maggie screamed. She ran up and hugged Lara tight, whispering in her ear that she wanted the dress. Frank agreed and then Jack ran up and hugged his mom.
"Wow!" someone said from behind her. Lara turned and saw Toby standing at the door. Lara bite her lip as she went over to him and hugged him. Toby explained that they were running abit late so he and Lara quickly left. The car ride was pretty silent, very awkward. Toby pulled up outside the local bar.
"We are here," he said as he put the car in park. Lara got out of the car and walked over to Toby, where he took her hand in his own and walked in. When they were inside, an usher showed them to their table. Looking over the top of her menu, Lara saw that Toby was fishing for something in his pocket.
"Hi I am Candy. Can I take your order?" said a young girl asked. She had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. Lara order the spaghetti and Toby got the chicken fillet burger. The two sat in silence for about 10 minutes, until their food came out. Still in silence, Toby and Lara ate. This was going to be an awkward night.
Lara looked at her watch and saw that it was 7:30pm. They were just waiting on dessert and coffee.
"Lara, there is something I would like to ask you," Toby asked. Lara put down her glass of water and smiled at him. Toby cleared his throat and shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out a little box. Lara did not like where this was going.
"We have been together for almost 3 years now and I have waited for a long time to ask you, but Lara Rowe will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box and showing it to Lara. She bought her hand up to her mouth and gasped. Toby took hold of her other hand. A tear escaped her eye but it wasn't a tear of joy, like most people would have.
"Toby-I-I-don't"
"You don't have to say anything, just nod," he said still smiling. Lara took Toby's hand off hers and got ready to answer.
"Toby I can't. I love you but I can't marry you. I am so sorry, but it just wouldn't be right," Toby took the box and shoved it back in his pocket. He gave her a fake smile and nodded. Silence washed over them as the coffee and dessert arrive. Toby ordered vodka from the waitress. Candy, the waitress, stuck around a bit talking with Toby, completely ignoring Lara. Lara was sure that they were flirting, before she went off and came back with his vodka. Toby skulled it in one go and ordered another 2.
The night went by slowly after the proposal, mostly of Toby drinking and then him flirting with Candy.
"Toby I think we should go home," Lara said. Candy was now sitting with them. Toby shook his head and ran his hand through Candy's blonde hair.
"I want to go home and if you wont drive me, how am I suppose to get home?" Lara said now getting angry and agitated.
"You're a whore. Make your own fucking way home," Toby yelled. Lara ran out crying and as she looked back through the window, she saw Candy and Toby in lip-lock already. She cried and cried until he felt someone slide a jacket around her shoulders. Lara looked up and saw the guy with the poofy afro smiling at her.
"I know this isn't the right time to say it, but you know you look really cute when you cry," he said. She laughed as Ray led her over the his car. Lara got in and told him how to get back to her place. Ray drove without asking her what was wrong and slowly Lara fell asleep.
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Slowly Lara opened her eyes and noticed that she wasn't in her own house. She sat up and saw Ray sleeping on the floor, but he wasn't asleep.
"I didn't take you back to your place, incase your boyfriend came home. I sort of saw what happened last night," he said blushing. Lara explained to him that it was alright and also how she had, had enough of Toby. The two of them continued to talk until someone was beating against the door. Ray told Lara to wait there while he answered it. Lara sat on the couch and heard yells coming from the door; already she knew it was Toby.
"LARA COME ON! WE ARE GOING HOME," Toby yelled. Ray said something calmly and she was unable to make it out. Next thing she knew Toby had come into the lounge room, grabbed her arm and was dragging Lara out of the house.
"Ouch Toby, you are hurting me," Lara cried. He didn't let go and Lara kept complaining. Ray came up from behind and grabbed the back of Toby's shirt and pinned him against the wall.
"You should never EVER hurt a women. Now get out," Ray said icily. Toby laughed as he began to walk out of the door but then turned around.
"She isn't a women, she is a whore," he said before leaving. Ray slammed the door on Toby’s face and then he went over to comfort Lara. Was it the end of a relationship and the beginning of one? All in a day for Lara Rowe.
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Longest chapter I have ever written. Very proud :)
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