Stuck In A Moment

Huh?

A/N: mentions of mental health

Laurens looked at the man the police brought in with wide eyes. He knew immediately that he wasn't the right man.

"Will!"

Will looked over at Laurens confused. He could tell that Laurens was concerned, but he didn't know why.

"What's wrong? We caught him." Will asked.

"That's not him." Laurens explained. He handed Will the drawing and Will saw what he meant.

"You're sure this is the guy?" Will questioned.

"Positive."

Will took the drawing to Officer Michaels. Michaels wasn't too happy about it.

"I know that this may be the man you think you saw, but we caught the real criminal." Michaels stated.

"With all due respect, how do you know?" Laurens said.

"Here. We found your wallet in his apartment along with the murder weapon. And when we busted him he was trying to hack into your phone." Michaels handed the items to Laurens.

Laurens took them, but was shocked. He could've sworn and bet a million dollars that he knew what the man looked like. It just didn't make sense.

"Perhaps he was working with someone else." Laurens suggested.

"Sources and witnesses claim the murder was a one person job. The only problem with that was none of them saw a face which is why we needed you." Michaels continued. "We caught him. Go home and relax."

Laurens let out a sigh. One of disappointment instead of relief.

"Hey, man. Just because he's not the guy you saw..." Will began.

"It's fine. I'm gonna head home." Laurens gave a fake smile and left the building. Peggy was waiting out in the car.

"So? What happened?" She asked.

"They caught him. But he looks nothing like the guy I thought it was." Laurens sighed.

"Do you think it's not him?"

"No. They are 100% sure it's him, and so am I, I guess." Laurens replied.

"Well..." Peggy began. "Sometimes people steal people's identification and sell them on the black market."

"Yeah." Laurens nodded before putting his head down.

"But something else is bothering you." Peggy said. "What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm going crazy." Laurens admitted. "I could've bet my life that this was the guy, and now I'm not so sure. I feel like I might've just made that face up and it's driving me crazy." He paused. "Not to mention that I have a family history of mental health issues."

"I thought your father was just bipolar?"

"He tested positive for some other stuff later on. I'm not sure what though." Laurens said.

"Hey. One, we shouldn't assume anything. And two, I'll love you no matter what. Just because a person has mental health problems doesn't make them a bad person. Some of them do bad things but that shouldn't become a stereotype because not all do." Peggy responded. "And your father got help. I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine."

Laurens didn't say anything else after that.

"You want me to drop you off at your dorm or your parents house?" Peggy asked.

"It's pretty late. Alister's a light sleeper so I should probably just stay the night at my parents'." Laurens answered.

"Ok." Peggy drove him over. When they pulled up, Laurens opened his door and stepped out. "I love you."

"Love you too." He smiled before going to the house. Peggy frowned because she immediately recognized it as that fake smile he used to give when she first met him. She knew she had to get going though and so she drove off.

Laurens opened the door using the spare key to find that everyone in the house was still awake. And Alexander, Eliza, and Laf were all there. Surprisingly though, Washington was not.

"Dude, where have you been?!?!" Alexander started. "No one sees you all day and then you just show up in the middle of the night?"

"It's complicated." Laurens began. "Where's dad?"

"He left." Martha answered.

"He said we shouldn't be worried, but with your track record, we were all surprised he said that." Laf added.

"That's because he knew." Laurens explained. "The other day I was arrested, long story, but in the end it turned out the guy who stole my wallet killed someone and now he's in jail. So everything's fine."

"Fine? You didn't say a word to us or even show your face on campus, here, or any other place we checked!" Alexander continued.

"They said I couldn't tell anyone. The only other people who knew were Peggy and both my fathers and they only knew because they were witnesses to confirm my story." Laurens said.

"So everything's ok now?" Eliza asked.

"Yes, I promise." Laurens nodded.

Everyone in the room relaxed immediately.

"So why did they arrest you?" Lafayette questioned.

"They found my license on the body. I explained it was stolen, my father confirmed the story, and I told them that I was with Peggy at the time of the killing." Laurens said. "They got the guy now."

"That's a relief." Eliza laughed a little. "But we couldn't be too careful considering your history."

"Nah, I get it." Laurens replied. "I am pretty tired though, so I'm probably going to turn in for the night."

"Ok." Martha smiled. "Let me know if you need anything."

Laurens nodded and went upstairs. Alexander noticed he seemed a little weird, so he followed. Laurens went into his room and collapsed on his bed and Alex came in a moment later and closed the door behind him.

"You alright man? You seem upset."

"It's complicated." Laurens mumbled.

"Come on. You are a witness in a murder case that you go days without telling me about, then you come back and are still keeping secrets." Alexander ranted. "You said no more secrets, yet you're still not telling me things."

"I'm sorry. It's just... I'm not really sure myself." Laurens sighed. "And I'm sorry for making you guys freak out."

"It's even more stressful not knowing what's going on than knowing your almost dying." Alexander said. "More or less."

"You were really worried?" Laurens asked.

"I mean, come on. Last time you went missing for over twenty four hours, we had to send out an amber alert." Alexander reminded him.

"Good point." Laurens nodded. "Anyway. I guess the reason why I've been feeling so weird is cause... I dunno. I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Me too, bro."

"No, I mean actually crazy. I know my father has mental health problems and now I feel like my mind created something that isn't real." Laurens explained.

"Why?" Alexander questioned.

"I..." Laurens was caught off when he felt his phone buzz. He checked and saw he got a text from an unknown number.

UnknownNumber📞: Hello
John Laurens: Who is this?
UnknownNumber📞: I know that you know the man they arrested today is not the murderer.
John Laurens: And how do you know that?
UnknownNumber📞: Because I'm the one who killed him.