Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TRIGGER WARNING: SCENES OF ABUSE _______
That night changed a lot between Lauren and Carl.
Even if her trust issues were eating her alive, being in this prison gave her some sort of peace. It was as if the sense sanity and security mended her, even if she would always be broken.
Her thoughts were interrupted by somebody standing by her doorway. Looking up, she recognized the person as Carl. A few days have passed since the incident, and there was no talk about it.
"Hey," he mumbled, avoiding Lauren's gaze. Lauren's interest peaked as she could see the boy holding something behind his back. She narrowed her eyebrows while gesturing towards the item. Carl nodded before placing the item in front of him. Lauren's mouth hangs open slightly as she stands up, approaching the object in his hand. What laid in Carl's hands was an old mp3 player, even with headphones.
"What's this for?" Lauren questioned while glancing at Carl.
"My dad found it on a run, and...I thought you'd like it," the boy mumbled while shrugging. Lauren stares at him surprisingly. She didn't quite understand why he cared to give her anything.
"Oh," Lauren breathes out while taking it from his hands and examining it. She began clicking buttons, until one of them turned the object on. It still had around 60% battery power, which baffled her.
Lauren sat herself down on the cell floor, Carl doing the same. Placing one earbud inside her left ear, she handed one to Carl, letting him also hear. She pressed play on the first song that came up, her eyes going wide as she heard the melody. Lauren couldn't believe it, it was actual music!
A woman then started singing, and Lauren closed her eyes calmly. She felt her body sway lightly to the beat, and she couldn't help but enjoy the moment tremendously. She could feel each note flow through her veins, and every beat giving her shivers. Listening to music was a passion of hers before everything, it was something that her and her sister could connect with.
"I've never seen that before," Carl suddenly mumbled.
"What?" Lauren questioned while turning towards him.
Carl smirked. "I've never seen you smile."
Everything around Lauren seemed to stop, and the air felt dense; like she was going to choke on it. The once comfortable feeling she had was now clouded with worried thoughts of how she could be smiling. She didn't smile, how could she? What was there to smile about anymore? She was giving into weakness, and she was uncomfortable with that. She felt vulnerable.
Lauren could slowly realize the corners of her mouth stretching into a grin, forming back into their normal placement as she frowned. It left the corners of her mouth with a burning feeling, it felt foreign to smile.
