Laurex ~ A Cinderella Story

Chapter 17: For Lauren Riihimaki

Alex's POV
My heart has not stopped racing ever since I started the car. I hope Lauren is ok. She has to be. She has to be.

God! I hate how fucking slow these people are driving! I have to get to the fucking hospital you fucking assholes! Move out of my fucking way! OH MY FUCKING GOD!

I never honk when I'm driving. Heck, no one ever does in my town, but I needed to get to the hospital as fast as I can. I need to know if my princess is ok. I need to know if she's alright. I need to know.

(Alex sped up to the hospital and less than 5 minutes later, he finally arrived.)

Ugh, finally! I have finally arrived at the hospital. Now I have to get inside.

I rushed inside and head to the front desk.

"Hello, welcome to The Ottawa Hospital Riverside Campus. How can I help you today?" the front desk clerk asked me.
"Hi, I'm here for Lauren Riihimaki," I said. I hope they let me see her.
"She's on the third floor and in room 311," she tells me.
"Thank you," I thanked her.

I head towards the elevator. Once I was inside, I pushed the button for the 3rd floor. Then I was accompanied by an older lady, probably in her late 50's or earlier 60's.

"Hello young man, can you push for floor 6?" she asked me politely. And I nodded. "Who are you here to visit?" And then I froze.

What do I say? Do I say, friend? But Lauren is so much more than just a friend. Do I say, girlfriend? Wait, no! Lauren and I are definitely not dating. What do I say?

"Is it a special someone? Because your cheeks turned a light shade of pink right now," the lady mentions. Oh great.
"Sorry, um yeah. She's special alright," I replied. And I smiled to myself. And then the elevator stopped.
"Well here is your stop. I hope that special girl of yours is ok," the woman said.
"Thank you and same thing goes to you..." I said waiting for her to say her name. And then the doors opened.
"Gladys," she replied.
"Same thing goes to you too, Gladys. It was nice meeting you," I said.
"Same thing to you too..." she was saying and I cut her off.
"Alex," I said.
"Same thing to you too Alex. Bye," she said and waved. The doors closed and the elevator went up.

I hadn't realized that my heart rate had finally steadied. The whole time my heart was racing. And speaking to Gladys distracted me a bit. Thank god. Now I need to see my princess.

I start looking for room 311. And then I finally found it. As I was about to open the door, someone stops me.

"Alex," I hear someone say behind me. I recognize it as Angela's voice.
"Yes," I replied as I turned around to face Angela.
"We can't go in yet," she said.
"Why?" I asked her and then I saw Alyssa and Taylor.
"Because they won't let us in yet. They said she's sleeping. And we can't go in and see her until she wakes up," Taylor responds to me.
"Oh ok," I said.
"You didn't have to come, Alex. We could have told you what happened tomorrow at school," Alyssa said.
"I know I didn't have to come, but I wanted to. I care about her, and I want to know if she's ok," I said. And they all looked at me and then exchanged glances with each other. "What?"
"Nothing," Taylor replied.
"Ok then," I said.

I then go sit down in the waiting room where they were close to Lauren's room. I just want to know if she's ok. But there's one thing in my mind.

"Quick question," I said. And the three of them turned to me.
"Yes," Angela responded.
"Is her foster mother coming? I know Lauren told me that her foster mother didn't really care about her, but Lauren is in the hospital. That would be a very bitchy ass move if she doesn't come," I said. And then the three of them looked down. "Her fucking foster mom isn't coming, isn't she?"
"No," Alyssa said. "The hospital already tried reaching her, but she won't answer."
"I tried calling her, but she wouldn't answer either. She's such a fucking bitch! Her foster daughter is in the hospital and she gives no fucks about her!" Angela yelled out of frustration.
"So I'm guessing, neither are her foster sisters are coming, huh?" I asked. And Angela shook her head.
"Our parents are coming. We all love Lauren so much. We're all the family she no longer has," Taylor said.
"Yup. We all love and care about her. She's our sister," Alyssa said.
"Yes, she is," Angela said. And then someone walked in.
"Have you guys seen her yet?" a guy asked. He looked a bit similar to Angela so I'm guessing they're related.
"Hi J, and no we haven't," Angela said to him.
"Ok. Hi, Angie. Hi, Alyssa. And hi, Taylor. And hi guy I've never seen before. Who's he?" he asked gesturing towards me.
"Jackson, this is Alex. He's um...one of Lauren's friends. Alex, this is my brother, Jackson," Angela introduced us.
"Hey man, nice to meet you," I said to Jackson. I put my hand out so he could shake it.
"Hi Alex, it's nice to meet you too," he said back and shook my hand.

I felt like he was keeping an eye on me. Like he was trying to make me feel intimidated. Does he have a thing for Lauren? (Nope.)

(Alex noticed that Angela and Jackson were talking, so he decided to east drop on their conversation.)

"Thanks for coming, J. Lauren would definitely appreciate it," Angela said to her brother.
"You're welcome, Angie. And of course, I came. I love Lauren just as much as you do," he said.
"I know you do. But I love her more though. She is my best friend after all," Angela said.
"No, I love and care about her more. I am her father, after all," Jackson said. What?
"What?" I asked. I know I shouldn't have intruded on their conversation, but I was confused.
"Oh, it's from a conversation Lauren and I had. I told her that I'm kind of like her father figure, considering she doesn't have one. I told her I'll be that father figure for her," he said.
"Oh," I replied, feeling a bit relieved.
"Yeah," he said.

I then sat back in my seat. Just waiting. Waiting to find out any news about my princess.

(And then Alex gets a phone call. He then walks out of the waiting room and answers the phone.)

A- Hello
R- Alex, where are you? You said you were only going to skip a little bit of practice
A- Oh I know. Roi, can you please tell coach I won't be able to make it to practice.
R- Yeah sure, but why?
A- Remember that girl I told you about, Lauren?
R- Yeah, you call her princess. What about her?
A- She's in the hospital. And I'm not leaving here until I find out Lauren is ok
R- Ok, Alex. Let me know what happens
A- Of course, bye Roi.
R- Bye Alex

I hung up the phone and I walk back to where everyone else was.

"Alex, where did you go?" Taylor asked me.
"I had gotten a phone call, so I went to go answer it," I answered.
"Oh ok," she replied.

A few minutes later, a doctor came into the waiting room.

"For Lauren Riihimaki," the doctor said. We then all stood up.
"That would be us," Angela replied. "Is she awake now?"
"Yes, she is. Lauren is completely fine," the doctor said. And we all let out a breath that no one knew we were all holding in.
"Then what's wrong with her?" Alyssa asked.
"Once she was awake, we gave her some time to relax and we started asking her questions. And we realized what it was," the doctor said.
"What was it?" Taylor asked.
"She had an anxiety attack. She has anxiety," the doctor said. What? Lauren has anxiety?
"C-can we see her now?" Angela asked.
"Yes you may," the doctor said.
"Ok thank you," Jackson replied.

We all walked towards her room. And then I see my princess in her hospital bed. She looked worried about something. But once she saw us walk in, a smile crept onto her face. That beautiful smile that I love to see.

"Hey guys," she greeted us.

TO BE CONTINUED...

***
Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter. So this chapter was just in Alex's POV. So this chapter shows how Alex sees things. I know this chapter wasn't that long nor was it that great, but oh well. I wanted to show you guys how Alex and everyone else reacted to Lauren being in the hospital. Also, this is when Lauren finds out she has anxiety. And I don't know how accurate Lauren's anxiety attack was. I've had about maybe 6 since I started high school and the blurry vision, the room spinning, and the trouble breathing all happened to me. The only difference is that I didn't faint. Anyway, how do you think Lauren will react to her having anxiety? And do you think Natasha will show up? And if she does, how will she react? Let me know in the comments. Anyway if you enjoyed this chapter please give it a vote, I would really appreciate it. I hope to see you in the next chapter. Love you guys ❤️! mKay Bye!

— Citlaly

(Word Count: 1,631)