Fall From Grace (Slater #1) (10 page)

“What did you do to me” she screeched at him. 

Laura lurched forward, Porter’s face changed to fear, all colour falling away as she knocked the chair out of the way, her anger boiling and started to ebb its way out.  She screamed again as she felt the skin of his cheeks rip away under her fingers that clawed at him.  Stefan bellowed and two men swung the door open flinging Laura’s writhing body onto the floor.  They wrapped her in a white jacket that held her arms behind her back.  As they dragged her screaming and kicking from the psychiatrist’s office she saw Porter, who was on the floor against the wall look up at her, his eyes sad and blood trickled down his cheeks from the deep claw marks on either side of his face.

Chapter Sixteen

Porter.

The girl was completely crazy, Porter thought to himself.  Stefan, the psychiatrist had said she was on her way to healing well. Porter had believed that, until she scratched great gouges from his face.  He had just finished in the seminary and had been appointed as chaplain of the lunatic asylum.  He heard that a young woman from his town was a patient. Stefan had explained her story and how she had attacked her father attempting to kill him after losing her mother and baby.  But Stefan hadn’t told Porter the girl’s name.  As he sat he was astonished to see the pretty blonde woman with her deep green eyes that darted between the two of them. She looked utterly terrified. When Stefan said her name, memories filled Porter’s head. Laura. It couldn’t be. He could see the resemblance, but the Laura he knew was a beauty to be reckoned with.  This Laura was like a broken and crushed bird.

He remembered Stefan telling him that she had lost a child and he was pondering while looking at her who had fathered the child. When Laura had scragged his face, tearing his skin away from his cheeks, the realisation came crashing down around him.  She had been a virgin when he met her. He had taken her innocence. Her child was his child. As he sat watching Laura being taken away into a solitary room, pain filled his chest, for a child lost, no one had told him. He didn’t know about the child. Porter couldn’t understand why she hadn’t reached out.  He needed to speak to her on his own, but he didn’t know if he could do that without her trying to hurt him further. He needed to explain that he didn’t know. He needed to tell her that had he known he would have married her, he would have thrown the seminary away.

As he left the asylum his heart was heavy with the grief of what had been discovered.  He returned home to his father where Cole stood on the dirt driveway unfastening his horse’s saddle.  Cole looked at Porters face and frowned.

“What happened to you?” Cole asked.

Porter shook his head, his voice lost in his grief.

“Laura” he spoke barely above a whisper.

Cole’s frown became deeper as he stepped forward towards Porter.  Cole put his hand on Porter’s shoulder and looked like he was about to speak when they heard his father’s voice in greeting from the front marble stairs.  Richard stopped and his face paled as he saw the state of Porter, the wounds deep into his cheeks.

“What is this?” Richard bellowed as he marched towards Porter. “Who did this to you son?” he said Richard’s eyes narrowing as he inspected Porter’s wounds.

“Laura” Porter said, watching something cross his father’s eyes suddenly only to be replaced by fury.

“That lunatic child? Why isn’t she in the asylum?” he bellowed.

“She is. I was asked to see her, to minister to her.” Porter spoke quietly, watching the many unreadable emotions run over his father’s face.  “Did you know that she was with child? And that her child died?” Porter questioned.

His father’s eyes flashed again, before Richard shook his head.  Porter felt Cole’s hand stiffen on his shoulder.

“Whore, like her mother” Richard spat before turning away. “Wash for dinner” he said dryly before stalking back up the steps.

Porter’s anger was threatening to spill over. 

“Porter” Cole spoke from behind him.

He turned to face Cole who looked down at the ground.

“Father knew she was with child, we all did, she came here and she spoke with father. Laura told him that it was your child” he looked up into Porter’s eyes, sadness filled Cole’s face as the weight of the deception he had kept flooded through him.

“Why didn’t you tell me, I know why Father wouldn’t, but you Cole?” Porter spoke; his anger was replaced by hurt.

Cole looked down at the ground again, before pulling Porter into an embrace tight against his chest.

“I’m sorry Porter, I argued with him, I told him he should tell you, but when it was known she had lost the child, he told me to never speak of it, that what you didn’t know wouldn’t hurt you” Cole spoke sadly.

Porter nodded his head. He knew more than ever that he needed to speak with Laura; he needed to let her know the situation. He needed to explain himself.

Chapter Seventeen

Laura.

As she sat on the floor of the solitary room, it’s stained white walls feeling like they were going to cave in on her; the anger and pain she felt overwhelmed her.  She screamed until her voice was hoarse. The men had taken the jacket from her body as they threw her into the room releasing her arms. Laura scratched at her skin, ripping at her flesh, the physical pain only shifting the emotional pain slightly.  She was so angry. Everything inside her told Laura that Porter was only there to mock her.  He wanted to let her know that he didn’t care about her as he had the day under the bridge. He was truly evil and yet he wore the cloth of God.  Her father was right when he said that the Slater family had an evil spirit that ran through their souls, Laura had witnessed it. It destroyed her.

Laura pulled herself into the corner of the dank room and brought her knees tight against her chest, her eyes felt heavy and exhaustion was taking over.  She heard the rattle of keys in the door, but she didn’t look up.  The footsteps were light across the stone floor. She felt small cold tender fingers reach under her chin lifting her face up. Laura instantly recognised the face of Nurse Alice.

“Come on Laura we need to get you out of here” she said quietly with an air of nervousness etched into her voice.

Laura frowned and took the outstretched hand of Nurse Alice who wrapped her fingers tight around Laura’s.  She stood and with shaking legs under the weight of her emotional release she followed the nurse into the darkened hallway.  Nurse Alice seemed to be skitterish as she crept through the halls of the asylum.  Laura could hear the familiar sounds of moaning and screaming that she had become accustomed to, but she could also make out the clanging sounds of pots and dishes, sounds that she hadn’t heard in the asylum before.  She looked around and realised that she didn’t recognise where they were. Laura didn’t know where Nurse Alice was leading her, but it wasn’t to a place that she had been before.  With a quick look over her shoulder, Nurse Alice led Laura to two big heavy wooden doors.  Leaning her shoulder into the wood, Nurse Alice shoved open one of the doors and Laura was met by the cold fresh breeze of the outside world. 

Laura couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had seen the outside world, she tried to remember, but the days had melded into one long month or even year. The scents that assaulted her nostrils and the breeze that swept around her bare legs, the way her hair danced in the wind all filled Laura with a sense of freedom and hope that she had thought was lost.  Laura paused and breathed in deep, closing her eyes, lifting her face to the moon.  Nurse Alice tugged on her hand, dragging her through the small grassy clearing and into the spattering of woods that enclosed the asylum. Once they were in the woods, it came crashing down on Laura what the nurse meant by getting her out of there, they were escaping.  Laura pulled back on the nurse’s hand, bringing her to a sudden halt. Terror filled her body, fear of the unknown.

“Laura please; we need to keep going or they will find us here” Nurse Alice spoke.

“Please, we can’t, I’m scared” Laura said just barely above a whisper.

Alice stopped tugging on Laura’s hand and turned to face her; she put her hands on either side of Laura’s face and brought her lips to Laura’s.  Laura could smell the sweet scent of her breath and the warmth of Nurse Alice’s lips on her own.  Laura felt an overwhelming desire to feel loved and to be comforted.  Laura felt Nurse Alice’s tongue begin to intrude her mouth and she instinctively opened her lips and entwined her tongue with the nurses. It was the first passionate kiss Laura had experienced since being with Porter and although Nurse Alice’s kisses were more gentle and different somehow they still filled Laura with that same wanton desire. Nurse Alice pulled Laura close, tangling her fingers through her hair and Laura moaned at the comfort it brought.  She was breathless when the kiss finally ended.

“Will you let me take you away Laura?” Nurse Alice asked, her forehead pressed against Laura’s.

Laura nodded as Nurse Alice entwined her fingers with Laura’s and lead them through the woods. They continued to run for what felt like hours.  Laura’s body screamed with exhaustion and the muscles that she hadn’t used for so long wanted to stop running, but the fear of what might be coming behind them spurred her on.  With a sharp and sudden turn to the left, Laura saw a dark shadow looming above them in the woods.  As they got closer Laura recognised a house nestled into the woods.  A small stone cottage hidden under growth of ivy and mistletoe, Nurse Alice lead Laura to the house and opened the front door quietly. Inside it was simple, only one room containing a large bed, a small wood stove and a chair.  Nurse Alice reached to the stove and lit the candle that sat atop of it. In the light of the candle she watched the shadows dance across the walls.

Nurse Alice led Laura to the bed and guided her to sit on the edge.  She took Laura’s head in her hands and brushed her hair from her face.

“You’re not hurt are you Laura?” Nurse Alice spoke gently.

Laura shook her head as she looked into the soft green eyes of the woman that had cared so well for her in the asylum but had also kissed her so tenderly in the woods, she had managed to kiss away any trepidation Laura had.  Laura felt safe in the arms of Nurse Alice.

“Where are we?” Laura asked looking around.

“This is my home” Nurse Alice spoke.

“Nurse Alice?” Laura said, watching her face. “Why did you take me away?”

Nurse Alice took Laura’s face in her hands again.

“Oh Laura, just call me Alice and I took you away, because you are too beautiful to keep in such a place. I love you Laura” she spoke. “If I had left you there god only knows what that disgusting piece of filth psychiatrist would have put you through”

Laura frowned. She got the feeling that Alice had been put through hell by someone. But Laura didn’t know what love was. She had loved her mother and her father, but both had left her.  She had loved Porter, but he left her.  She didn’t want to love Alice only to have her leave her too.  Laura felt tears drip onto her cheeks.  Alice reached up and wiped Laura’s tears with her thumb, before running her tongue over the salty water that dripped from the nurse’s finger.  She pushed Laura’s shoulders gently, laying her back on the bed and lifting her legs under the heavy woollen blanket.

“Quiet now Laura, sleep, I will be here in the morning then we will talk more” Alice spoke gently.

Laura felt the exhaustion hit her hard and the darkness enveloped her mind, sending her into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

Porter.

He was furious. Porter wanted to follow his father into the house and pummel him for not telling him about Laura.  But he knew that it would be of no use, it wouldn’t serve any great purpose and it wouldn’t change the past or bring back his child. He was a Slater, a family filled with secrets and deception, all to save the image that had to be portrayed by their kind.  The Slater family sat at the grand table eating a meal fit for a king, over indulgent opulence, it made Porter feel sick at the ridiculous show. Richard and Hannah sat at the head of the table smiling at one another and making a great show of discussing wedding plans for their youngest daughter Marion. He and Cole sat beside one another quietly while Richard ignored the elephant in the room.  The huge glaring elephant that was the discovery that Laura’s child, that had died, was his flesh and blood and that Richard had simply thrown her away.  Porter watched his father gnaw at a thigh of a turkey, feeling his stomach churn with nausea.  He threw his napkin on his plate and stood abruptly.

“Where are you going?” Richard bellowed from the head of the table, grease and bits of turkey strewn through his beard.

Porter clenched his hands into fists and rested them on the table; he narrowed his eyes at his father, feeling a growl building up in his throat. He chewed on his lip, to prevent his anger from boiling over.