UNCHARTED HEART

Laurel laid in bed feeling very uncomfortable. It was past 12am already,yet she hadn't had a wink of sleep. She would have to be up by 6am for her workout and then come back to make breakfast for her kids and Alex her husband. She turned in bed for the millionth time that night and sighed. After a few minutes she got up and wore her robe. What's the point of trying to sleep now anyways. She wore her fluffy slippers she had gotten from Avery, her first daughter, as a birthday gift. It looked weirdly funny and cute but she liked it. She walked across the room to the balcony. She glanced back at the bed to her still sleeping husband and sighed again. She immediately felt the chilly night air of New York city the moment she stepped on the balcony. She stood for a while looking out at the world. All she could mostly see were trees and a few scattered houses. They lived on private land away from the hustle and bustle of the city. She sat exhaustively on the swing chair and relaxed into it. Laurel began to think about her life. For a while now, she had had a burst of uneasiness, sadness, inexplicable hunger and a sense of unfulfillment she couldn't quite name. She didn't understand or know where it rose from. Up until a few months ago she had been perfectly content and happy but this?.... these new emotions were wreaking her mental health and draining her. She considered calling her therapist for a session but she didn't want her husband or the kids to know. Heck she didn't even know what she would talk about. Laurel was a 32 year old woman. Her full name before marriage being Laurel Marino Leone . Yes,she was half Italian,her mom being American. Laurel was the only child of her parents. That alone made her childhood almost hell. Laurel had to follow many traditional rules that didn't quite sit well with her. For one she had to learn perfect posture, she went for royal etiquette classes, social networking classes, country clubbing, charity hostings and all sorts of things. She was not allowed to wear shorts or go biking, she wasn't allowed to have street food or fast food, she never rode on a train or bus. Laurel sighed again. God she didn't even get to eat McDonald's until she was 19. Although it was modern times and one would think that things like these didn't exist but it did for laurel. Her mother was a quiet beautiful angelic dainty woman. It wasn't because she was being oppressed, she was just naturally quiet and would rather be told what to do. But laurel was different. She wanted to try things, say things, go places and talk to whoever. Her father Maurizio was a very tall broad shoulder man. He could be loud sometimes but he was very loving, caring and gentle to his wife, workers, friends and to laurel even though she constantly got on his nerves. He had tried to groom her into the perfect feminine high class lady. At first fear for her father stopped her from rebelling, then it started to fade and then pity and obedience to her mother held her but eventually she rebelled. For a few years, maybe 5 laurel truly felt alive. She quit the private Spanish school she attended and went to a public high school. She met so many people and did so many things she had always wanted. Her father raged and her mother begged but laurel wasn't moved. She was determined to live as she pleased without the strain of her parents. Eventually they let her be. They both decided that she would only go on for a while and that with age she would calm down. They were right in a way but not truly. Laurel got into college to study engineering. Her father was slightly unpleased but he let her be. Although he was very upset with her choice of lifestyle, he sponsored her education and living expenses, he bought her first class tickets to come home as often as she liked. He hugged her a few times,smiled at her and tried to make conversations but you could tell he wasn't exactly happy with her or proud of her decision on how to live. Life in college was wonderful for laurel. She didn't lack anything, she had her own personal condo and an all expense paid life. Laurel did everything one could say they could do in their youth other than murder and abortion. She went out clubbing every week, she drank alcohol every other day, she did a few drugs,got a few tattoos and piercings,even vandalized a couple of properties and ran away giggling and high as hell. All in all, college was good and a far cry from the mundane life she had at home. Although laurel was living what one might call a wild life,she was always top of the class every semester. That her father was immensely proud of. In her second year, on a night out with friends laurel met Zoe. A medical student in her second year in a nearby college. They became friends and hanged out pretty much all the time. They had sleepovers, went to lunch together, went clubbing, shopping and literally almost everything.