Wicked Ties Chapter 5

Laura slowly opened her eyes, as a silver of light came through the shades of her tiny window. The room was spinning, which discouraged her from getting up. What the hell had happened to her? She grimaced as she was suddenly bombarded with vivid flashbacks.

“Oh my god, you’re awake!” Someone squealed close to her.

Laura nearly jumped out of her skin. She raised herself on to her elbows, with quite a lot of effort, and waited for her vision to become clear. As the blurring faded, she managed to spot the tiny blonde sitting cross-legged on her bed.

“Hey.” She croaked out, her voice still a bit hoarse from the previous night.

Caroline looked at her with obvious concern. “Are you okay? I was so worried about last night, but Derek told me not to let you sleep it off, and I…”

“I’m fine.” Laura sighed. “Just a little confused as to what happened last night. Sorry if I made you worry.”

Caroline grinned, comforted by the knowledge that her new BFF was fine. “It’s cool. It was fun seeing Little Miss Stick-up-her-ass have some fun.”

“Hey.” Elena protested. She wasn’t that bad.

Caroline raised her arms. “Hey, I like you either way, but you don’t even know how much fun you are!”

“Was I really…fun?” Laura asked hesitantly.

Despite the pounding in her head, she couldn’t bring herself to fully regret going along with Caroline’s plan. From what she could gather through the haze of her hangover, she’d had an amazing time. At least for the most part. That was new for her, seeing as her job and taking care of Jeff had always taken precedence over her personal life.

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. “Hell yes! No wonder Brad got all hot and bothered for you! Seriously, if I swung that way, we totally would’ve made out, because damn!”

Laura scrunched up her face. “Yeah…About Brad…What happened there?”

“Oh you know, the usual.” Caroline waved a hand flippantly. “He got a little too close for, well, Derek’s comfort and a sporadic release of testosterone occurred.”

“Does that happen often with the two of them?” She asked.

“In Brad’s case? He gets kicked around a lot. Has to do with him trying to hump everything that moves. This was the first time I saw Derek actually get involved, go figure.” Caroline rolled her eyes.

Laura nodded. Well that was not good. “I see.”

Caroline bit her lip. “What happened with the two of you?”

“What do you mean?” Laura asked, knowing full well where Caroline was going with her question.

“I’m not dumb, Laura.” Caroline gave her a pointed look. “He’s such an asshole when it comes to you, he hasn’t slept with me since we hit the road, and now he’s punching his band members for you…it’s not like him, and I know what he’s like.”

Laura nodded. “Do you have feelings for him?”

“I do.” Caroline sighed, pouting. “Or I don’t know. He represents the lifestyle that I love, let’s just say that. But I won’t hold it against you if something happened between you two.

“Can you keep a secret?” Laura asked her.

Caroline nodded. With confirmation, Laura told her the story of how she and Derek got into the tangled mess they were now in, leaving out no details. At some parts, Caroline frowned, laughed, and rolled her eyes, sometimes even commenting on her story. As Laura finished her gruesome tale, she looked at her new pleadingly.

“Please don’t hate me.” She begged.

“Why would I?” Caroline asked, amused. “If anything, I have more respect for you!”

“But how…” Laura was genuinely confused. How could she be so nonchalant about hearing all of that, while still harboring feelings for Derek?

“Laura, I have feelings for him, but it’s never going to go anywhere. I know that. I can’t blame you for being the one thing he does seem to want. It just sucks wanting someone who doesn’t want you back, you know?” Caroline tried to smile at her reassuringly.

“Yeah. Thanks for listening to me, by the way, I just really needed to talk to someone.” Laura smiled gratefully.
Caroline simply grinned. “Don’t thank me! That was some juicy gossip, not that I’m gonna spread it or anything!”

“Good…” Laura said seriously.

“Out of curiosity…” Caroline tried to find the right words. “Why wouldn’t you just call his bluff? I mean, you work for a tabloid, right? That recorder has got to be worth quite a bit, wouldn’t your boss be super happy with you?”

Laura shrugged. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought of it. “Well, for one thing, my editor is kind of like my dad, I wouldn’t want him or my little brother to look at me differently. For another, I have bigger aspirations for my life than working for a crappy tabloid. If I do it, I might completely blow my chances of ever moving upwards.”

Caroline seemed satisfied with her answer, before smirking wickedly. “Want to even the scales?”

“What do you mean?” Laura narrowed her eyes.

“Well…” Caroline trailed off innocently. “If that recorder were to go missing…that would just be awfully convenient, wouldn’t it, Laura?”

Laura nodded, as a plan started taking form in her head. “I think you’re right, Care.”

Caroline stood up, looking more determined than ever. “That settles it! You and I are going to put our thinking caps on! As soon as you stop looking like death warmed over.”

“Thanks.” Laura rolled her eyes. “And Caroline?”

Caroline had already walking towards the door, when she turned around at hearing her name. “Yeah?”

“I really am sorry about, Derek. You deserve someone better. Someone who really cares about you.”

Caroline nodded, looking down, giving Laura the idea that she wasn’t as okay as she appeared. She pressed her palm against her right eye and smiled sadly at Laura. “It is okay.” Her voice broke. “Really, I should know better.”

Before Laura could speak up, she opened the door, walking out, before shrieking loudly.

“God, Daniel! Look where you’re going! Just…Stay away from me!” Laura cringed as she heard Caroline’s screams at the younger Vega on the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry, I just…” Daniel muttered.

“I don’t want to hear it, you little freak!” Laura heard something being shoved and someone sighing heavily.

“Come in.” Laura yelled loudly. “I think I’m hosting a talk show today.”

Daniel opened the door, frowning heavily. “I think I should’ve had a white flag made for today.”

Laura patted her bed, seeing as her room was too small for any chairs. Daniel quickly sat down on the edge. “She didn’t mean any of that, she’s just having a bad day.” She really shouldn’t have told Caroline about her and Derek.

Daniel nodded. “You don’t look so good either.”

“Always the smooth talker, aren’t you?” Laura stated dryly.

Daniel blushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You just look tired, that’s all.”

“That’s because I am.” Laura repeated quickly. “Drinking the night away tends to do that.”

“Do you always drink that much?” He asked.

“No, not really.” She confessed. “Lately, I’ve just been feeling pretty inexperienced in life. I don’t know, I just want to be a normal 25- year old for once. I never got to be a kid, so I guess I’ve been trying to make up for lost time.” Laura sighed.

“God that sounded like a poorly written excuse.”

“Believe me.” Daniel chuckled. “That sounds familiar. Ask Derek how he became the asshole he is today, you might be surprised by the answer.”

Laura furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

Daniel shrugged noncommittally. “That’s his story to tell. Let’s just say that things aren’t as black and white as they appear.”

Laura nodded. “A certain blonde might have told me the same thing yesterday.”

“You should listen to her.” Daniel smiled wistfully.

Laura hesitated, before deciding to just go for it. “Why haven’t you told her?”

“Told her what?” He looked at her with wide, frightened hazel eyes.

“That you’re in love with her.” Laura stated immediately. “Never lie to me, I’m like a bloodhound.”

“That you are.” He sighed. “I haven’t told her because she doesn’t like guys like me.”

Laura resisted the urge to strangle him. “How would you know? You don’t even have the guts to talk to her! Are you just
attracted to her because of her looks? I’m starting to see the Vega family resemblance. You and Derek both are just so….”

“It’s not just about how she looks.” Daniel cut her off.