The Outcast ✔️

Chapter 3

Date: April 9th, 2021 (Friday)

Lauren, Owen, Maddie, Ryan, and Brett stayed at the hospital for about another hour but it was 6 pm and visiting hours were over so now they are on their way home. The three older boys and their father lived about 45 minutes from where the three younger ones lived but the three boys never knew that until now.

Brett pulled into their driveway. The youngest three were in shock. This isn't like the house that they used to come to a few years ago. The house wasn't huge like a mansion but it was close to it. Everyone got out of the car and walked into the house. Brett led everyone upstairs into the hallway. He turned to look at the three kids.

"So Maddie and Lauren will be sharing a room and Owen you will be sharing a room with Nathan," Brett said to them while pointing to the rooms. The three of them just nodded.

"Oh, We forgot to mention that Uncle Ben and Aunt Victoria live three houses down the street with their daughter, which you know is Zoey. Aunt Grace also lives with them. Also, dad will be home tomorrow. He's excited to see you guys. Now I will let you guys get settled. Dinner will be done in about an hour," Brett said and then walked downstairs.

Maddie and Lauren walked into their room. It was huge. They both had queen-sized beds. They also had a walk-in closet and their own private bathroom. Lauren chose the bed that was near the door and Maddie got the one near the window.

Lauren sat on her bed and got lost in her thoughts. She couldn't wait to see her Aunt Grace. Lauren was very close with her before she had to move away with her mom. She was also closer to her Uncle Ben and saw him more like a father figure than her actual father. Uncle Ben actually wanted to spend time with her, unlike her father who only wanted to spend time with Owen and Maddie which made no sense to her since he was her father after all.

Lauren was taken out of her thoughts by Maddie asking, "Hey Lauren, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"If I'm honest I'm not doing that great but I will be fine. Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yes, I am. Now please stop asking me."

At that moment they heard Brett calling them down for Dinner. Brett made Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. However, Lauren wasn't that hungry so she just picked at her food. Unfortunately for her all of her siblings noticed and were getting concerned especially since she usually eats a lot.

Owen was the first to speak up. "Lauren, you hardly touched your food. Are you ok?"

Of course, she wasn't ok. Her mother has cancer and she doesn't know how long her mom will live if she isn't able to beat cancer. She was just thrown into the custody of the one man who never really cared about her even though he is supposed to because he's her father. She was just dragged away from her normal routine life that she was used to and now everything is new. It's all super overwhelming but she doesn't want to show that she is struggling with it all because she wants everyone to think that she is strong and can handle it but the reality is she really can't. She just wants to break down her walls and tell all of her siblings how she is really feeling but she isn't going to at least not yet.

"Yes, I am fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that? Just because I am not hungry doesn't mean that there is something wrong with me. You know what? I just need to be alone for a while. I'm going for a walk. Please don't follow me," Lauren said and got up from the chair. She walked straight to the front door and walked out.

She started walking down the street and found a house that had a bench in front of it so she went to sit down. That's when everything that happened in the past 12 hours finally sunk in and she started crying. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
__________

Back at the Morgan House, Maddie and Owen were sitting in Maddie and Lauren's room. All of the shock from the day finally wore off and Maddie and Owen didn't know how to react.

"Owen, are we going to lose our mom?"

"I honestly don't know Mads. Mom is strong though so if anyone can beat cancer she should be able to," Owen said.

"I know but I don't want to lose her, Owen," Maddie said, starting to tear up.

Maddie laid her head on Owens's shoulder while he put his arm around her. They were both just sitting in silence thinking about their mother. One thought crossed Maddie's mind which made her worry. A few minutes passed and Maddie broke the silence.

"Owen, if mom doesn't make it I'm more concerned about Lauren. You and I will be able to cope better than she will. I know she isn't doing fine right now even though she says she is. It will break her. What are we going to do?"

"I am just as concerned as you are. The only thing we will be able to do is to be there for her and to make sure she doesn't go back to the dark place she was 2 years ago. Even if she does get annoyed and mad at us for making sure she is ok we have to do it. I can't see her go through that again," Owen said.

He was thinking about the time she was super depressed because it had been a whole year since they had contact with their dad and brothers. She also happened to lose a group of her friends around that time because they didn't like her anymore for some reason. Lauren wouldn't leave her room except to go to school. She wouldn't talk to her siblings or her mom. She wouldn't eat.

It was about 2 months since the depression started when Owen, Maddie, and their mom decided to try and talk her into seeing a therapist which to their surprise she agreed. She saw a therapist for a few months and she was doing much better. However, Owen and Maddie are always on high alert for the signs of her going back into depression.