Chapter Text
“Grandma!” Allyson paced to Laurie. Her heart palpitated upon the sound of her screams and the drop of the phone. Laurie gripped her white-blonde locks, never moving her head.
Karen kneeled in front of Laurie, taken aback at the sight of her tears. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Michael escaped,” Laurie said, her lips trembling. “He wasn’t found downstairs...they checked.”
“But we burned him alive!” Allyson cried. “Where is he? Did they say where he is?” She wiped the tears from her tired eyes, rubbing her chalky mascara in the process.
“Michael left without a trace, but I’ll be seeing him again and very soon.” Laurie shook. Her gaze went to Karen, then Allyson. “You guys need to stay safe, but I need to leave.”
“No, Mom, not this again!” Karen said, running her hand through her curled hair. “Not this isolating yourself, not abandoning your family when we need you! Mom, I’m finally asking you to be a part of my life again… Let the authorities find him.”
“Baby, if it were that easy, we wouldn’t be here,” Laurie said, sounding weaker than before. “You saw for yourself. I can’t let him hurt you both.” She shakily stood, not knowing if her actions could live up to her words. “I need to say goodbye to Michael. This is the end.”
Allyson gulped, her shoulders tensing. “Grandma, you don’t have to do this alone. I want to help you,” she said, her eyes glazing over. “Let me help you.”
Laurie shook her head, reaching out to grab Allyson’s shoulders. “I know you want to help, but I need to finish him. I want us all to be together again, and if he is still out there, we will never be.”
“Are you going to talk to him?” Allyson said, pushing one of her boots against the other.
Laurie inhaled, the same question weighing on her mind. “I don’t know, baby.” She walked away as the floor creaked and blinked away tears, preparing to go to places she’d never allowed herself in years. “I’ll see your grandfather on the other side, but not now. Not until I kill it.”
“Mom, we all should go to bed and just call it a night, how about that?” Karen said, frozen.
“Karen, he is out there, and he is ready for me to finally pay for what I’ve done. I’ll kill that thing that killed your father.”
Karen reached forward and held Laurie’s shoulder, her breath shaking. “You cannot leave, and you’re not risking your life just to get rid of him.” She let the room seal in a weighty stillness. “John’s my father, and don’t say otherwise. Families don’t kill each other or tear each other apart.”
Laurie faced Karen and cupped both sides of her head. Her eyes went to the Karen’s, inspecting how they resembled Michael’s so precisely, and she shook her head. “He was the only one you knew… But I know who Michael was.”
Karen trembled, her eyes shutting, so she didn’t have to look at her mom’s. “How would you know? What if he fooled you from the start?” Her hands went to grip the ones holding her.
“Then he never would have loved me. He could’ve killed me with all the chances he was given, but he fell in love, and so did I.” There was a crisis stirring in Karen’s mind, and she tightened her grip on Laurie, but Laurie refused to let her believe such lies. “I’m asking you to understand how hard it was, to keep you at the age I was and protect you. Do as I have and keep yourself and Allyson safe.”
“I-I can’t, not without you.” Karen took a few steps backward. A tear streamed down her pale cheek, and she wiped it away with her sleeve.
“You can because I raised you to do so. I will leave later in the morning, but I’ll stay for tonight. Go to bed, both of you, and I’ll find a way to make this all work.”
“Grandma,” Allyson begged.
Laurie grabbed both Karen and Allyson, pulling them into a tight embrace. “I love you both, but you need to trust me. Loomis is gone, and now I’m the only one who is prepared to face it.”
It was a matter of minutes until both Karen and Allyson said their good-nights and expressed their concerns. Allyson followed Karen to get some sleep, but Laurie figured that was the last thing they’d be doing.
Laurie sat on the couch and made sure there were enough bullets left in her handgun and that her dagger was still sharp and ready to impale if it had to. Laurie laid back and sighed, realizing that any moment may be the last. She looked down at the tight bandage on her thigh and gulped. She recalled mere nights ago pulling the same dagger and attempting to stab Michael, but he was too strong and painfully turned her wrist at an angle, plunging it into the leg. Laurie closed her eyes, begging her mind to focus and not scatter itself at a time she needed it to be stable. Her fingers went to her left arm and traced the first scar Michael had ever left on her. Laurie didn’t need to feel the elevation of skin to know it was there because she memorized it.
“I’m sorry, Michael,” she whispered, her chest rising and falling. Laurie forced herself to think, and her emotions came flooding in like a tsunami. She wasn’t scared of Michael, she was scared of what she created. “I’m sorry.”
***
October 27th, 1978
Laurie shifted her head, her legs quivering and her mind racing. She leaned into the warmth next to her and held it around her like a blanket. Her breaths came out quick and short, her fingers making their way to feel the soft hair of the boy next to her. She pulled him closer, her bare skin against his. Laurie shook and in a brisk motion pressed her head further into his chest.
“Hey, are you alright?” Michael questioned, looking down at her in concern. His hand moved to her arm, sliding it along the surface.
She smiled, looking up at the warm eyes staring back at her. “Yeah.” She chuckled, pushing the hand behind his head forward so their lips connected. Laurie’s heart jumped as she felt the soft warmth of the boy, and she gave a soft moan, her hands moving to Michael’s bare shoulders. But as they kissed, she wondered whether she was selfish, and the weight of the act sunk into her bones.
“Are you alright?” Laurie asked, placing a soft kiss on the crevice of his collarbone. He nodded, but she wasn’t reassured. Her gaze shifted from his face to their bodies, and for a moment, she forgot they were naked. Michael’s warmer hand ran along her back, as if to comfort her, and goosebumps covered her skin. It was hard to think about letting go of him, she didn’t want to, but she felt it was a humane choice and one she’d avoided for too long.
“I love you, Michael.”
Michael listened to the whisper-like sentiment and laid his cheek on the top of the girl’s cheek. He shifted his leg, his skin running against her flawlessness. “You’re the only one I love,” he said quietly, more to himself than Laurie. Michael’s fingers went through her hair, but his happiness quickly dissipated when she flinched at the words. “What is it?”
“Michael...what do you want to do?” Laurie asked, turning herself over, so her stomach rested on his.
“About what?”
“About the world, about your life. What do you want to see or be?” Laurie watched Michael process her words, and her eyes were drawn to every detail of his features. Her fingers made their way to his cheeks, and she ran her hand along his bones, trying to memorize every color and subtlety.
“You’re my world, what would I want to change about that?” he answered quietly, afraid of his own honesty.
Laurie’s hand halted and laid on his cheek firmly. Those would have been the sweetest words from anyone else’s lips, but from Michael’s it stung. “But what if there’s a world for us to share? Outside of here, away from all these people?” She rested her chin on his shoulder. “You could do anything you wanted. Travel, fall in love, start a family, the possibilities are endless.” She paused, biting her lip. “You’ve been here a while, and I’m not the only one out there.”
“But I do know you’re the only one that matters.” Michael looked at the sunset, refusing to believe anything else was better.
Laurie frowned. Anyone would have been better than her because they wouldn’t have taken advantage of Michael. “There’s plenty who matter, you just have to meet them.”
Only a breeze was heard for minutes, but their thoughts were loud.
Laurie shook her head and made herself sit up, looking over to grab her shirt. She wasn’t thinking about what she wanted, she was thinking about what was right, and if she didn’t do it now, she never would. She gulped as she pulled the striped fabric over her arms. Her fingers hastily went to the buttons, and she looked back to Michael, who looked like a deer in headlights.
“I-I have to go home.”
Michael sat up and watched as Laurie panicked. “Laurie,” he grabbed the hand that was almost finished buttoning and held his breath. “What is it? If I did something to hurt you—”
“Michael,” she interrupted. Laurie shook her head and grabbed her other articles of clothing. “You didn’t, I swear,” she croaked, not able to stop the tightening of her throat and the tears that followed, but she wiped them away before Michael could see.
There was a moment of silence and they both got dressed without a word. Each article of clothing felt cold and heavy on both.
Laurie was about to walk forward, but she couldn’t. Her eyes went back to the dull-looking Michael, and it reminded her of the beginning, when he didn’t say a word and never felt a thing. Laurie didn’t want to lose him again. Her tears were provoked at the sight, and she turned herself to face him. Her arms were like magnets, reeling her in, and she had the undeniable urge to run into his arms—and she did.
Michael hadn’t a moment to think before Laurie’s arms were wrapped around him firmly. Her velvet lips passionately connected with his. Once she parted, he heard her sobs and looked down at the tears that fell like streams. His arms wrapped around her with an even grip, and he leaned down to rest his forehead on hers. “What are you worried about?” he whispered.
Laurie twisted the fabric of his jacket and shook her head. “You.”
Michael removed himself from the grip and his hands cupped her cheeks, wiping her tears and forcing her eyes to meet with his. “What about me?”
“Michael, I love you, and I don’t think I ever could stop, but I-I put you in a bad place,” Laurie cried, holding the hands on her cheeks tightly. “Fifteen years is a long time…”
Michael looked into the blue eyes staring back at him, and he gently pecked her lips, seeking any ease from the touch. “But anything would be longer without you.”
Laurie looked up at Michael, realizing, if she stayed true to herself, this was her last time looking at his face, feeling his touch, and hearing his voice. I can’t leave him like this, but if I didn’t, it would hurt more, she thought to herself painfully. She raised herself on the tips of her toes and gingerly stacked her lips onto his. Her hands went to grab as much of his hair as they could, and she savored the ribbon-like softness. His larger hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her body to his.
Michael’s eyes steadily opened as their lips parted. He stared at her flushed cheeks and the soft glow of her face, one of his hands moving to place a stray hair behind her ear. “You’ve helped me more than anyone could.” He rested his head on top of hers. “Don’t go. I need you with me.”
Laurie’s eyes shut, and her face scrunched up. “Let’s go back, Michael,” she whimpered. She kept her heavy eyes closed and unexpectedly felt herself being lifted from the ground with his hands under her knees and back. Laurie didn’t fight it, she just laid back and attempted to savor everything about him. “Michael?”
“Yes?” he answered softly, walking back to the structure.
“Don’t change. Talking suits you.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” Michael chuckled to himself. He reached the sanitarium faster than he’d hoped and never let her go until they reached his room. He hesitantly placed her on the floor and once he made sure there was no one around, fear flooded him.
“I love you more than you know.” Laurie smiled, her tears clouding her view of the handsome face in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed the soft flesh of his neck, adoring the slight noise that escaped Michael’s lips. She looked up at his expecting eyes, and she gave his lips one last dance with hers. He kissed her back just as eagerly, and it made her conflicted. Once the lock ended, she rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Michael’s heart broke as Laurie pulled away. He wanted to beg her to stay, for her to tell him all the things she felt, but with how little he let her be a part of, Michael felt it was a fair punishment. “Goodbye, Laurie.”
She shuddered. It sounded like a sin. Laurie gave his hand a final squeeze, and she offered him a fake smile. “Goodbye, Michael.” She made herself turn around and walk away, leaving her love behind. Laurie held a hand over her mouth as she turned a corner, tears flowing and trailing down her cheeks.
She felt she lost him already, but she didn’t know she took his heart, his soul, his mind, and his life with her.