Page 28 of Avenging Laura

“Your mother and David did you more harm than I obviously thought. You are so damn stubborn, it’s sad. You’re letting them win and it breaks my heart.”

“L-letting them win? How the hell am I letting them win?” Laura glared at her grandmother in anger.

“Because you’re walking away from the man who loves you. The man who would and nearly did burn this entire planet to the ground to find you. The man who loves you unconditionally but is so afraid to do anything because he’s afraid anything he says or does is going to send you running for the damn hills like a scared alley cat. Your mother, David, Maria, and that Cyrus prick are all sitting back and laughing about how easy it was to break you.” Jeannette sighed as she leaned back into her chair.

“Fuck you!” Laura seethed, turning away from her grandmother.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“What?” Laura scoffed, looking at Jeannette like she’d lost her marbles.

“That was the first real emotion you’ve displayed since you were found. You’ve been monotone since that day. No emotion whatsoever. It’s exhausting really.”

“Have you always been this much of a bitch?”

“Watch your mouth, young lady! I understand you’re hurting and angry about whatever, but you do not speak to your grandmother like that!”

Laura and Jeanette both turned at the male voice coming from the doorway. When Laura rolled her eyes and turned away from General McCoy, Jeanette waved at him to come on into the room.

“She’s fine. It’s the first real emotion that she’s shown since coming out of her coma. She refuses to see the head shrink so I’m dealing with the issue.”

“Issue? What issue? I’m nothing. I can’t do my fucking job because I have to go and get my head shrunk because everyone thinks I don’t trust them. My husband left and took the kids because I didn’t tell him about those fucking photos. My own brother barely speaks to me. You barely speak to me. My own newfound daddy hasn’t really spoken to me since I came to. Now that my husband has left, no one speaks to me. So, excuse me if I thought I was giving every fucking person on this planet what they want!” Laura screamed at her grandmother.

When Jeannette started clapping her hands together loudly, Laura glared at her grandmother, ready to punch her in the face. When the woman didn’t stop, Laura started to sit up and throw something at her.

“Now I see your mother in you. She would throw the same tantrum when things didn’t go her way,” Jeannette egged her on.

“Fuck you!” Laura shouted once again. “I want you out of my room!”

“No!” Jeannette responded, leaning back in the seat, her wrist resting on her cane. “You’re going to grow the hell up foronce and face your issues instead of burying them. You’re not letting those pissants win.”

“What do you care? You didn’t care when they were beating me as a child. You didn’t care when they locked me in a dark closet as punishment for just breathing or they had company over. You didn’t care when Mom would make me walk out in front of their friends buck ass naked so they could all laugh at how big I was or at my flaws. You didn’t care when I got beat when I couldn’t hear them tell me to do something. You didn’t care when my report cards were displayed and laughed at, and I got called retarded when it was simply me not being able to hear the teacher. You didn’t care when I was forced to marry Jon. You didn’t care when he slapped me in front of the judge because I didn’t pronounce a word right. You didn’t care when he beat me in front of his family or mine. You didn’t care when he and David beat the hell out of me when I refused to leave the department. You didn’t care then, why should I believe you care now? All you cared about was which vacation home you wanted to spend time in overseas.”

Laura nearly deflated when she saw the pain and sadness in her grandmother’s eyes at her words. She’d never spoken to the woman like that.

“Wow! I never thought I’d see my own sister become a cruel bitch!” Dominick said as he walked into the room.

“Don’t get me started on you,” Laura warned, her eyes glaring at him.

“She didn’t know!” Dominick shouted at her. “Every fucking time she did try to interfere, Mom lied to her. Dad lied to her. Hell, even I lied to her about what was going on in the home because I was afraid of what he would do to her if she interfered. Should she have tried harder, maybe, but at the same time I think she wouldn’t be here with us now if she had.”

“You didn’t even protect me!” Laura screamed at Dominick, tears streaming down her face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“I was just a kid myself, but I tried my damndest to protect you. I tried to turn Dad’s attention to me when he was focused on hurting you. I put myself between you and many beatings those two wanted to dish out on you. Do not tell me I didn’t care about you! I wouldn’t have given up my career in the Army if I didn’t give two shits about you!” Dominick seethed at Laura as he stepped further into the room.

“I didn’t ask you to give up your precious career!”

“You didn’t ask forany of this!” Dominick screamed at her as he waved his hand around the room.

“Knock knock,” a feminine voice announced as she came into the room.

“Dr. Hancock! What are you doing here? I didn’t call you!” Laura said in confusion as she looked around the room.

“I called her, Laura. It’s time you faced your anger, your fear, your hate you’ve got so buried deep inside you and learn to forgive yourself for everything. Then and only then are you going to truly heal. Once you start healing yourself, then you can repair what’s been fractured with your husband, and the rest of your friends and family. Once those are healed, the rest will follow,” General McCoy calmly told Laura.

“It’s not your place…” Laura started to yell at him.

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