Laurent of Vere

Damen not only recognized the worry Laurent felt over Nicaise leaving without his phone, but also left to deliver it to him without a second thought. The warmth Laurent had felt as the door closed behind him was considerable, but it had mostly cooled by the time Laurent heard steps outside his door. The delivery of the phone could not have taken more than minutes, yet nearly a half hour had passed. The text he received was not nearly enough to staunch his worry.

It could be that Damen and Nicaise had gone to get ice cream together. It could be that they met someone along the way to pass the time. Each peaceable scenario was more likely than any dangerous one, yet Laurent could not shake his fears, and was pulling his coat onto his shoulders when Damen entered the kitchen.

Laurent quelled the sudden rush of relief until he spotted Nicaise behind him, and his entire body gave a twitch. The urge to rush forward and embrace him was absurd, but Laurent found himself bodily resisting the impulse. His eyes dropped to the bandage on Nicaise's arm, and his stomach gave a sickening dip. He could not have reopened the vein, surely, not and still be ambulatory.

'What has happened?' asked Laurent, his voice entirely devoid of emotion in his dread.