In many ways, Lauren was just a lost little girl in a world too big for her to comprehend. She had been tossed around like an object to be used. She had been abandoned. She hadn't much confidence or self-worth left at all and on top of it all, she was a monster. Or, at least that was the way it had felt with Mitchell being her not-very-present guide in all this. With Hal, though, it was different. She didn't feel like any of those things with him. She was just a girl, being lavished in attention that was, for once, positive and she was being taught all the things she never had a chance to learn before. It actually made her feel good, like she was something instead of nothing. Hal had even taken her shopping. Who'd have thought that a man would've suggested that, right? But Hal was different and he'd even given his approval of the dress she'd picked. And that approval, simple as it was, inflated her whole attitude just a bit.
Lauren smiled when they came to a stop, "Oh, we certainly shall." she said, taking his hand as she got out of the car.