School Bus [m. clifford]

56

hey there's a mention of some stuff that could possibly bother some people just so u know okay I love u all

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Laura and Michael were in his room as music played quietly in the background, like they normally do.

They weren't saying much, mostly because Laura was trying to prepare herself for the conversation she was about to have with Michael. Laura now hates Anthony a million times more than she already did, she never wanted to have to relive this.

Michael knew something was going on. He's known for a couple weeks now. He just didn't want to ask her about it since she's avoided the topic so many times.

"Michael, I- I think we, uh, need to talk." Laura nervously stumbles through her words.

Michael takes a deep breath and nods, sitting up straight. He was so nervous, he had no idea if he did something to upset or hurt Laura. He'd never want to hurt or upset her.

"I'm sure you've noticed over the past two months that I've been getting a lot of calls, and texts from a random number. I think I'm ready to talk to you." Laura tells him.

He was so nervous he couldn't reply. He just nodded again, urging her to continue.

She anxiously sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, terrified to continue, "I knew the number, I know who it was. It's my ex, Anthony."

"Oh." Michael quietly says, barely audible.

"Babe, I know you're probably thinking something horrible, but let me explain. He's the worst person I've ever met in my life, and I still don't know why he won't leave me alone." Laura starts, making sure Michael understood she'd never voluntarily speak to Anthony ever again.

"You could've told me about it, Laur." He replies.

She shakes her head, "I'm so scared of him, I couldn't tell you. I couldn't talk about him with anybody."

Michael started to get really worried at this point. For her to be scared of him, something bad had to have happened, and everything Michael could think of made him want to cry. He never wanted Laura to feel this way. 

"I- I'm just going to say it, but please don't say anything. I'm extremely sorry if I start to vent, but it's a lot that's been held inside for a while now." She tells him.

Michael nods once again, holding onto her hands as they sat across from each other. They sit in silence for a moment as Laura looks at Michael's worried expression.

She looks down, pulling her hands away from Michael's as she speaks up, "I was abused emotionally and physically in that relationship. We were only in eleventh grade and he was capable of doing these awful things to me. I was scared of him."

Michael didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say. He just wanted to hold her and let her know she's the most important person in the universe. He wanted to tell her how loved she is.

She lets out a nervous breath, continuing to speak as the tears pool in her eyes, "I'm normally surrounded by toxic relationships. The last truly happy relationship I remember was my mom and dad. But I don't like to talk about him. My mom and Kevin are nowhere near what my mom and dad were. But maybe she's scared like I was. I know she loved Kevin at one point, but so did I with Anthony. My relationship with Anthony seemed normal in my life, even though it definitely was not a normal relationship."

Michael reached out for her hands again, and she accepted. She was okay with Michael not saying anything.

"When that relationship ended, guys terrified me. He was the only reason I was so happy we moved here, that my mom made us live with Kevin. That's why I was so surprised with myself that only after a few months of knowing you we were so close. But when I met you, wow, Michael, I just- I love you. I'm so in love with you. You never knew it before, but you really helped me. You still do." Laura says, tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

She finally looks up at Michael, as he's just looking at her with tears in his eyes.

"I love you so much. I love you, I love you." Michael quietly managed to choke out through his tears.

She moved closer to him, and he pulls her onto his lap. She wraps her arms around him, and he hugs her back.

For twenty minutes, though it felt like hours, they both just hold onto each other. Laura just kept trying not to cry, and every time she thought she composed herself, she'd start to cry again. Michael was silent, though tears would slip from his eyes every few moments.

"Michael?" She whispers, shifting in his arms, but holding onto him tighter.

"Yeah, Laura?" He quietly asks.

"I wish I told you sooner. I'm so sorry." She chokes out.

"No, Laura, oh my god, you have no reason to apologize. At all. I love you. Laura, I love you." He whispers, gently rocking her back and forth. "You mean everything to me. You're so much more than what happened to you. I love you so much." 

Laura presses a few quick kisses along his jaw, before kissing his lips.

"Michael, you mean so much to me. Thank you, for helping me, though you never knew it. Having a healthy, loving relationship has opened me up more. I appreciate everything you've done for me."

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hey y'all thanks for reading idk if I liked this chapter