“We just have to be level headed,” I say.
“Of course. Level headed,” she repeats. When the doors open, an older woman wearing all black greets us with a small smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. Scott. So good to see you. The Crestfields are waiting,” and that’s as far as she gets before Lauren storms past her.
“Sorry,” I say to the woman quickly following Lauren who’s walking down the long corridor so fast there should be a tailwind behind her. She doesn’t stop until we reach an opening revealing Dexter sitting on a sofa with a glass in hand and Helen sitting beside him. Lauren stops as soon as she sees them. She seems frozen in place. Helen stands.
“Christopher,” she says acknowledging me, her eyes linger before falling on Lauren. I notice her hands clasped together.
“Lauren. I have been anticipating this day for a long time,” Dr. Lyce says smoothly but her voice reveals tension. Lauren doesn’t say a thing. She still has that same expressionless stare she wore in the car.
“We know there are a lot of questions that you both want answered,” Dexter says coolly, shifting his drink from one hand to the other.
“There are,” I say as I fold my arms across my chest. Lauren is standing like a statue but I can see her breathing is distressed from the way her chest his heaving up and down.
“If you both would like to come sit in the dining room,” Dr. Lyce says gesturing towards a room.
“Lauren,” I say quietly, she still hasn’t moved or said a word. I think this is about to get really bad.
“I understand how you may be feeling now,” Dr. Lyce’s tone is calming.
“You don’t understand!” Lauren says bitterly.
“I thought you were my friend,” she adds quietly.
“I am your friend, Lauren,” she says approaching Lauren apologetically. My eyes see Lauren’s hand sort of twitch and I’m not fast enough to stop it when it swings back and slaps Dr. Lyce’s face so hard that she stumbles backwards. Lauren pounces on her. I pull Lauren off her as Dexter quickly goes over to help his wife.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Lauren?!” Dexter shouts.
“It’s okay,” I hear Dr. Lyce say as she gets up from the floor.
“What’s wrong with me?! What is wrong with you people? You think that you can play God, manipulate people’s lives, lie and deceive them and then have the nerve to say, to actually think, that you are our friends!” she screams hysterically as she writhes and struggles to get out of my arms.
“Get out!” Dexter roars angrily, pointing to the door.
“Gladly!” Lauren spits back as I carry her out of the room. We manage to make it out of the building before Dexter changes his mind and has security stop us. I don’t feel completely relieved until we’re back in the car and driving out of the security gate.
“I can’t believe them,” Lauren mutters angrily. I don’t say anything. I wish she would have kept her cool in there. I actually think they were about to tell us something that could shed some type of light on this whole situation. No one knows more about me as Cal than Dexter and Dr. Lyce. Now Lauren has effectively burned that bridge.
“Can you believe them?” she asks, finally looking at me.
“How could they sit there all solemn and holier than thou? How could she say that she was my friend after everything she’s done? It’s insulting!” she fumes.
“You didn’t have to hit her,” I interject
“What?” she asks in disbelief.
“You didn’t have to hit her. I’m angry too. She was my doctor and she kept the truth from me. Dexter isn’t innocent in this but did I haul off and knock him out?”
“I can’t believe this,” she huffs.
“I can’t believe you, Lauren. Is that how you handle things?” I ask her honestly. I glance at her. She’s shifted her body towards me and is looking at me like I’m speaking a foreign language.
“You’re taking their side?”
“I’m not taking their side but you didn’t have to do that back there. You could have gotten arrested for assault.”
I don’t understand her. How can she not see that she was wrong?
“You’re taking their side,” she says angrily.
“No, I’m not. But look where that got us? Nowhere. We left without knowing anything more than when we did when we got there. And, now you just pissed off the two people that could give us a little guidance,”
“I wouldn’t trust anything either of them said, if their statements came notarized,” she says defensively. I shake my head. She doesn’t get it. I’ve never seen this side of her before. Well, I have, but I didn’t think it was one that shows up often. There’s an awkward silence in the car. She’s furious and I’m kind of annoyed.
“You know what Chris? Sometimes people don’t think, they just act. They feel and don’t think about the consequences. I’m sorry that I’m human and not a perfect stoic saint. You should try it sometimes,” she says bitterly.
Now she’s mad at me! That’s great.
“You remember what you said earlier about me always having a choice?” I glance over at her. She’s not looking at me anymore.
“You’re right. You always have choices, but when you grow up you learn that your choices have consequences and not all of them are good. I try to think rationally because I’m an adult. I have responsibilities and I’m not a self-absorbed asshole.” I’m trying to make a point but who am I kidding. She probably likes that quality. She married Cal – a selfish asshole – if ever I knew one. She looks at me a long time before turning away. I see surprise, anger, and disappointment all rolled in one in her expression. This trip definitely did not go the way I imagined it would.
The next day is a long one. I had planned to take the day off, but after yesterday’s fiasco I jumped at the chance to teach when they called. Anything to stay busy, to keep me from brooding over everything. That's worth more than the money. The tension in the house is high. My dad’s not thrilled about Lauren possibly moving to town. I don’t know if she’s even still contemplating it after what happened last night. My mom is sad that there are only three days left before Caylen leaves.
I don’t know what to make of Lauren's anger. She’s beyond angry, she’s enraged. At breakfast she barely said a word to me other than a short good morning and I don’t think she would’ve even said that if my mom hadn't been at the table. It’s different from when she stopped talking to me the week before. This time it’s like daggers shoot at me whenever her eyes light on me. I feel like I should apologize to her for what I said but I’m really not sorry. I told her how I felt, which is exactly what she told me to do. I guess she probably had something different in mind and that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
Cal’s annoying commentaries have been silent. It’s the one time I wish he would share how to get back into her good graces. I’m almost home when I get a text from Jenna telling me she wants to see me. I haven’t spoken to her since the dinner debacle. It’s almost six o’clock by the time I arrive at her house because I had to fill in for one of the coaches for practice today. I stopped at Olive Garden and grabbed some dinner hoping to share a quiet, peaceful evening the way we used to. I ring the bell and hear her call that it’s open. When I see her on the couch my heart starts to beat faster. Her hair is piled up messily on her head and there are tears running down her cheeks. I put the food down on the table next to the door and go over to her.