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Getting to know Lauren a bit better.



Chapter Three

"But in your appreciation, do not cling."

"Mother." it was a word that hadn't been far from Lauren's lips for the past three months, and the thought of her mother always brought a heavy sorrow with it.

She's still stirring her oatmeal which has since grown almost inedibly thick and pasty. How long had she been staring off into space this way? Shaking her head she forces herself back to reality, and with just as much effort she forces this oatmeal-turned-mush down. She wasn't about to waste food, not after how hard she'd struggled to get her hands on it for the past few months. With enough repeated attempts at swallowing, and some help from her glass of water, she manages to get all of it down finally and rises to clean the dishes she's used.

After her less than pleasant breakfast and dish cleaning Lauren finds herself looking around for something to busy herself with. Aaron told her she didn't have to try and earn her keep, still she can't help but feel like she needs to do something to pay for her stay here. Besides, she knows all too well that people tend to say one thing and mean another, or perhaps they mean it when they say it, but after a while they simply change their minds because it becomes an inconvenience or hassle. They soon tire of your added weight and you find yourself on the outside of a locked door as they quickly dismiss you because they can't be bothered any longer. These thoughts take her mind back to the events of the past few months once more.

"But where will I go?" a troubled Lauren had asked as she wiped at the tears that ran down her face.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." was the cold answer she'd been given as the door shut in her face.


Raising a hand to her head she blinks rapidly trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. That was then, this is now, and she only needs to work and show herself to be more than dead weight. Someone Aaron would want to keep around. She can't end up out on the streets again.

"Okay Lauren, you can do this." she thinks aloud as she scans her surroundings once more in search of something to do "What does Aaron need help with? Well he works in the fields all day so he has little time for any other upkeep around here. Maybe cleaning? If he's going to be staying in that shed...might as well make it a little more homely for him."

Gathering some supplies, Lauren heads out to the storage shed, or she tries to, if only she could find it. During her search she passes by the mysterious empty house that Aaron refuses to inhabit for whatever reason, but she tries not to think about it. She also spies a beautiful flower garden off to the side of it that has clearly been shown much attention, and she makes a mental note to tend to this for him as she passes on by it for now in search of the storage shed.


At last she finds it: A rather sizable wooden building, much larger than she'd expected. It looks more like a house than a shed, and that much at least eases her guilt over him sleeping out here, if only a little. Grabbing the large loop that serves as an ornate handle on one of the two doors, she pulls but it doesn't budge.

"Well then, that's one heavy door. Is it rusted shut?" she wonders aloud as she looks at the hinges "No matter," she says as she sets her supplies down and grabs the handle once more "Alright door, I'll have you know I'm stronger than I look...I think." digging her feet into the ground she pulls back on the handle with both hands, all of her little weight pulling along with her.

The door gives slightly.

"There we go, now you're getting the idea. Resistance is futile door. You will open."

And she pulls again, this time causing it to open a bit more than last time, and she can now just barely wedge herself into the opening. Doing so she places her hands against the inside of the open door and her back against the closed one and pushes with all of her might. The door gives in to her struggle and opens wide enough to allow for passage, but at the same time, something else gives. Something inside of her.

With a cry of pain, Lauren falls to the ground holding her side. A burning sensation ripples through her side and she does her best to fight back the tears that so stubbornly insist on slipping from her eyes. She tries to stand back up but the pain doesn't allow for it, so she does all she can and crawls inside to rest, losing her left shoe in front of the door in the process.

After what seems like forever she finally manages to drag herself to a nearby crate, and with even more effort than it took to open the door, she climbs on top of it and slumps against the pile of boxes behind her.

"Great going, Lauren." she scolds herself as shame overcomes her "Now you really are dead weight." tears begin flowing even more freely now, though more due to the shame and fear of what Aaron will say than from the pain, though that certainly is still there, and just as strong as ever. "Mother, what now?" she asks as she leans her head back against the boxes and looks to the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glancing at his watch Aaron is mildly surprised to see how late it is: 6:03 PM. The sun will be setting soon. His day took a bit longer than usual as he'd had to mend a fence that he'd been meaning to fix for several months now. He kept telling himself he'd do it later, but until today he'd never had the energy. Picking up his tools he heads back to the house actually looking forward to Lauren's company. He barely knows anything about her, and she knows virtually nothing about him even though they're living on the same property. Perhaps this evening he would make it a point to learn more about her, and maybe in time she'd tell him why she had been in such a shape when she arrived, of course even with his lack of tact today he knew better than to ask. She'd say something if she wanted to.

As he nears the house his heart sinks. The lights are off. Picking up the pace he walks briskly to the door and sets his tools down just outside the door instead of putting them away. Opening the door he steps in and flicks the light on.

"Cait..." he stops and cringes as he suddenly realizes why he's so shaken by this "Lauren?" he calls out, but no one answers. "Lauren?" he calls again as he walks through both floors of the house. Nothing.

Nothing is missing so he determines that she hadn't conned him, not that he ever really took her as a thief. Something must have happened, but what? Stepping outside he looks around the house but finds nothing hinting to her whereabouts. Casting a glance at Caitlin's house he still sees no signs of Lauren, nor is she at the flower garden. Panic starts setting in and he begins calling her name as loud as he can, but gets no answer.

The sun is setting, and Aaron can't help but wonder now if she got lost walking around in the woods at the edge of the property. She had nowhere else to go she said, and he believed her, especially given her obvious lack of bathing and self care when she'd arrived in contrast with how she seemed to take care of herself when given the opportunity.

Heading back inside he grabs a flashlight and then goes back to his search. Where could she have gone? He finally catches a break as he manages to make out a small shoeprint in the dirt trail off to the side of the flower garden and he heads in the direction it was facing.


Walking up to the large building he sees one of the double doors standing open and her shoe in front of it. How could she have gotten that thing open?

"Lauren?" he calls out as he enters.

"Aaron?" a small and scared voice calls back.


Shining his light in the direction of the voice he sees her sitting there clutching her right side. Without so much as a question he rushes to her.

"Are you alright?" he asks as he shines the light on her, moving it away as she squints and shields her eyes.

"I seem to have hurt myself." she says as she lowers her hands "I'm sorry." she adds, looking off toward the back of the room to avert her gaze from his.

"There's no need to apologize for hurting yourself, Lauren." he assures her "Can you not walk?"

"No, I tried."

"Here, I'll help you." he says as he places an arm around her and lifts her to her feet. Hearing her groan at the movement and feeling her nearly buckle he stops "Do you need to be carried?"

"No, no I can make it." she insists and together they head back to the house in silence.

As they finally arrive at the house he sets her down gently in the recliner. Turning toward the couch he grabs the blanket she'd covered with the night before and spreads it over her, then he slowly lets the feet out and helps her recline it enough to get as cofortable as possible.

"Is that good?" he asks and waits for confirmation, as she nods he kneels beside her and continues "Now how did you get hurt? What were you doing? And how did you even get in there?"

"I'm sorry, I meant nothing by it." she says, her words coming out so quickly Aaron can barely understand "I was only trying to help."

"Lauren, I told you there was no need to apologize." he says once more as he places a hand on her arm then quickly pulls back "I'm just worried about you, and a bit surprised."

"Surprised? Why?" she asks, an inquisitive look in her eye.

"I have no idea how you got that door to open." he says "But more importantly, how did you hurt yourself?"

"Opening that door." she chuckles softly.

"Really?" he asks looking thoroughly confused "It shouldn't have been that hard to open..."

"Are you kidding?" she scoffs "That thing must weigh two hundred pounds!"

"Not even close." he says as he smiles "It's...well that's not important. Can you tell me what you hurt?"

"My side." she answers and grimaces as though she just now remembered she was hurting "I think I pulled something."

"Maybe." Aaron replies, brow still furrowed in confusion "You'll need to stay down for a few days at least. I'll handle everything, you just relax and get better."

"No!" she protests with so much force that Aaron pulls back slightly out of reflexes "I'm sorry. I mean, I can't rest and let you do all of the work like that."

"You can," he says as he rises to his feet and looks down firmly at her "and you will."

"But"

"No buts about it. This is my house and I'll tend to it." he says and almost feels bad seeing the defeated look in her eyes "I managed before, and I'll manage again until you're well, alright?" she says nothing in return, only looks down at the floor beside her "Alright. Now I'm going to bed. You get some rest. Good night, Lauren."

"Good night." she replies softly.

She watches as he walks out of the room and heads for the front door, then spends a while pondering the evening's events. She can't figure this man out. Why did he seem to care about what happened to her? She's nothing to him, and she hasn't successfully contributed anything to this place since she got here, in fact she's only been a drain on his resources. As she thinks on these things, sleep overtakes her and her body gratefully recieves the rest.


___________________________


Aaron walks in quietly just like he did yesterday, so as not to disturb Lauren. As soon as he opens the door however, he's greeted by a sweet aroma. Syrup? Apparently she had gotten up early and heated up some of his frozen waffles, or so he assumes. A quick trip to the kitchen however shows him how wrong he was.

"What are you doing cooking?" Aaron asks sounding slightly aggitated which causes Lauren to jump and nearly drop the hot skillet she's holding.

The sudden motion triggers a sharp pain in her side, and she immediately grabs it, slinging a string of syrup on the floor. Seeing this Aaron immediately feels a pang of guilt and wishes he'd hurry up and learn to be more proper around her.

"I'm making you breakfast." she says, her voice giving away her pain as she speaks through gritted teeth, a grimmace on her face.

"I told you that you didn't have to do that." he says as he walks over to help her "Besides, you need to be resting until you heal."

"I won't do it." she says matter of factly as she straightens her body finally and turns back to her skillet "Now eat. I made it, might as well not let it waste, right?"

She is clearly going to prove quite stubborn, and Aaron finds himself liking that for some reason, perhaps because this is the first real sign of life she's shown since she arrived. This was his first glimpse at who Lauren really was, and that had to mean she was becoming comfortable.

Turning to the table Aaron sees a neatly arranged plate of french toast and a glass of milk, the silverware set properly and a paper towel folded to serve as a napkin. Not only had she managed to pull herself up and out of that recliner, but she'd also somehow served up quite a fancy meal considering her extremely limited resources here. Of course anything that isn't a boiled egg or instant looks fancy to Aaron these days, and he plans to fully enjoy this meal. He can feel guilty about the injured woman cooking for him later.

"Oh, uh thank you." Aaron says with his mouth full of food "But you really shouldn't have gone to all of this trouble."

"Well it's about time I contribute something here." she says simply "I told you I would be doing so after all."

Something about the way she felt the need to strive so hard to prove herself worthy of shelter and food doesn't quite sit right with him, and he can't sit back and watch quietly any longer.

"Lauren, sit down please." he says as she turns to empty up her serving of food across from him.

"I can't." she answers as she heads back to the stove to set the pan down and work some more "I have to finish up over here first."

"I need to talk to you, Lauren." he says, no real emotion in his voice to reveal what manner of conversation this would be.

"What is it?" she asks as she turns to face him and wipes the food off of her hands.

"Please sit down." is all he says in reply.

Fighting to steel herself as she nervously fumbles with the strings of the apron she's wearing, she finally manages to put on a calm exterior before turning back to face him after putting the apron away. Taking her seat at the table she suddenly has no appetite as this whole scene is becoming all too familiar. Swallowing hard, she manages to make eye contact with Aaron and prepares to take this with grace and dignity. She'd given it her best shot, but it seems it was too little too late.

"What is it, sir? I mean Aaron. What is it Aaron?" she closes her eyes and furrows her brow as she scolds herself for already blowing her cool cover.

"Why do you seem so scared of me?" he asks, and Lauren can't tell if that's hurt or compassion she sees on his face.

"What? I-I'm not." she answers, wondering how best to handle this situation. She couldn't dare tell him the truth.

"You're clearly terrified that I'm going to kick you out any day." he replies "Why?"

Oh dear. This was a discussion she hadn't planned on having with him, especially not this soon. Folding her hands in her lap she decides all she can do is tell the truth.

"I am the child of a very wealthy woman." she begins, and notes the shocked look on Aaron's face "As I told you, my mother died a few months ago. Well, I was her sole heir but I was unable to be bequeathed my inheritance when she passed away." she draws a slow breath to fight the tears brought on by the frankness of this discussion of her mother "And so she left it to my tutor who was to keep it until I was able to receive it, and tend to my needs with it until then. I had grown up with this woman, she had taught me and cared for me whenever my mother was unable to. For about a month things went as planned, but one day she came to me and informed me that she wanted me to leave the estate, that I was merely a resource drain, I would never be able to do with the fortune what she could, and I wasn't adding enough to the estate to justify my expense any longer. I was in shock, and I tried to fight it, but I was powerless. My mother, like I, had placed too much confidence and faith in my tutor, and so left her in complete control."

There. She'd said it and she felt better for all of five seconds until Aaron's silence began to bother her even more than the fear of telling him the truth had.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" she asks, her voice sounding aggravated.

"I'm really sorry to hear that happened to you." he finally manages to speak "I promise I would never do anything like that."

"Yes well..." she says as she looks down at her plate "You'll forgive me if I'm not able to trust a someone to keep such a promise, much less a stranger." did she really just say that to him after all he'd done for her? "I'm terribly sorry. I-I didn't mean to...to...I'm sorry."

"No, I understand." he answers and smiles at her as she looks back up at him "To be honest when you first got here I kind of, well I hated everyone." his smile fades and he looks far away "I had my own traumatic experience recently and I blamed everyone else for it. I guess I've only ever known one person here aside from my dad and grandpa who I could trust. Everyone else has been, well you get the idea. I just thought everyone was that way. Useless, self-centered. I don't get that from you though."

"I see. I suppose we might not be that different then." she says with a weak smile.

"Perhaps not." he replies "Say," he adds after a brief pause "why weren't you able to receive your inheritance yet?"






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