A Different World

Family Reunion?

Peter watched as Lorena walked past him and walked into another room, presumably her own, which was right beside Alice's.

He was stuck whether he should continue on his way to talk with Alice or to take the time to console Lorena as she seemed to be upset now too.

He thot for a moment and decided that Alice was a bit more reluctant with his presence so he decided he should speak with Lorena first, although he did have thoughts that Alice did take a bit of precedence seeing as she was the one who was more upset and affected by his being here in the first place.

He took a few steps back and gently knocked on her door. "Lorena... do you want to talk?" He asked.

"Go... away... Peter." Lorena said through broken sobs.

Peter wasn't going to let up that easily, he knew from past experiences that it was important for someone to be there and to talk to when times where tough.

"Please Lorena." He asked calmly through the door.

The door unlocked giving Peter the invitation to walk on in, he barely opened the door when he saw Lorena standing behind the door with her head hung and not making eye contact with him.

He gently closed the door so they had a bit of privacy but when he turned back round Lorena had thrown herself at him, wrapping her arms around his back and burying her face into his chest as her tears continued to fall and lightly stain his suit.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, it's alright." He said soothingly as he gently rubbed her back for comfort.

Lorena didn't let up as she continued to silently sob into his chest. "It's okay, cmon sit down." He said as he slowly led her over to the bed.

"Tell me... what's wrong?" He asked as she hesitantly removed herself from him.

"It's... Alice. She's furious with me." She admitted tearfully, thinking about her brief argument with her daughter.

"Why? What happened?" He inquired.

"She thinks I'm betraying Peter by accepting you. That I'm trying to replace him with you and that you're going to be her father now." She revealed.

"Lorena I... I don't plan on staying." He hesitantly said worrying that it might upset her further.

"I know." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry but... I don't belong here. This isn't my world... my home." He explained.

"I didn't expect you stay. I just... wanted things to last a little longer. To feel like you were back again. Even for a little while at least." She admitted honestly.

"I'm sorry Lorena. I really am, for having to go through all this." He apologised.

"It's fine Peter. I just... don't want her to resent me." Lorena said sadly.

"I'm sure she won't. She'll come around, it's just a difficult time for her... and I know you know that, just... give her her own time." He suggested.

Lorena nodded in agreement, she knew herself that this was an extremely difficult time for them both. She had hoped that they would get through it together... as a family. But Alice became a bit more reserved after Peters death and even more so when this Peter showed up. She understood that too... but she couldn't understand how she couldn't come around like the rest of them had... like she had.

"I was... actually going to talk with Alice myself. But if you think I should leave it for now, I'll understand. And I won't put you through that." He admitted.

"No you... you can talk to her if you want. Just... be careful. Alright." She acknowledged.

"Ok. Are you gonna be fine if I leave you now?" He asked.