Chapter 8

LEAH The two days went quickly, and today was the day I dreaded; it was my father's funeral. We had a small service at the church and a small gathering at Dani's house afterward. Everyone paid their respects, but my mind was completely numb. I nodded whenever someone came near but never said a word. I was in my head the whole time. I walked away when no one was looking and stepped outside to sit on the front steps of Dani's house, while staring at my house. After a few moments, someone sat down with me, and I knew it was Lucy; she had been following me around during the funeral, and I could tell she was worried about me, but I knew it was about what I was like in the nights. I woke her up screaming when the first night arrived, and I refused to sleep last night. The dream was getting to me. I told Lucy the first night, and after last night she knew it was still in the back of my head. "Are you okay?" she asked as she handed me a glass of water. I stared at my home across the way, while I took the glass without looking at her. "I'm okay, I guess," I said, unable to figure out what the hell I was thinking. Grief takes many forms, but for me, I was numb and didn't know what I should do or even how I should act. Let me alone how I should feel. I cried most of the last few days, but today, I kept calm, and only a few stray tears flowed, mainly at the service. I could feel Lucy's eyes on me, but I kept my eyes on my house. "You didn't sleep again, did you?" she asked. I shook my head. Lucy placed her hand on mine. "Leah, I'm worried about you," she said, while I kept my eyes focusing on my childhood home. "Please tell me what's going on with you. I can try and help." I closed my eyes for a moment and knew I had to tell someone about the dream. Things don't make sense, and I usually go to my dad about everything, and since he wasn’t here, I'm now all alone. I opened my eyes and turned to look at Lucy. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying today; she was close to my dad. We hoped our parents would get together since we wanted to be sisters at one stage. I sighed. "I keep having this dream about the accident," I said and looked toward the house. I kept my focus there as I didn't want Lucy to see the fear in my eyes. "I know what happened, and I was told it was an accident. But the dream I keep getting is weird." Lucy didn't say anything or interrupt me, so I carried on. "The dream starts with us arguing, the argument we had that night of the crash," I said as I closed my eyes. Lucy knew about the argument and made her promise she wouldn't tell anyone. I opened my eyes again and a lone tear slid down my cheek. "We got hit from behind, and other cars rammed into each part of the car. I was knocked out, but it felt like I was sleeping; I came too, and there was someone in front of my dad’s window or something I don't know. It looked human, but it had yellow eyes and sharp teeth." I shuddered as an image came to mind, but I shot it away. "I have woken up screaming every time I see the person, they have no face, so I won't recognize them," I said as I looked at her. "I know it can't be real, but it felt real." Lucy squeezed my arm and then leaned her head on mine. "Oh, honey," she said, a tear landing on my shoulder. "I don't know what it means, but you need to talk to someone. You may have PTSD or something." I didn't say anything. I knew she wouldn't understand. But before I could say anything to her, I heard a car pull up and a door open. I moved away slowly and looked up. Anger filled my veins as my eyes landed on the person in front of me. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She knew this. "What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled and shot up. "I told you not to come; I don't want you here." Lucy moved and placed her hand in mine, trying to stop me while I glared at the person before me—mum. My eyes never leave hers till she stands in front of me. Mum went to open her mouth to speak but closed it when someone came out of the house and spoke instead. "You heard what Leah said, you're not welcome here," Dani shouted as she stood beside me. My Mum stared at us, but her eyes were fixed on me. There was silence, but a man spoke, telling my Mum not to say anything; it was the man from the other night. He had just climbed out of the car and walked up to my Mum. There was another car door open and closing; I looked and spotted a third man. His eyes landed on me, and he stared but never moved from the car. What the hell? "Why are you here?" Dani shouted, angrily. "The agreement states that Leah has a month to finish school, and then you will collect her." The man stared at Dani. "You lied to us," he said as he looked at Dani. "You told us that Leah had three weeks left in school, but it seems that Leah has already done her exams and has completed her studies. So, there is no need for her to be here, so a friend of mine, a judge, has given notice that Leah has to be in her mother's custody this evening." My Mum stood and stared at me while my stomach twisted into knots. No, this can’t be happening. Not now. Not today. "You can't do this," Dani yelled. "Not today, not at his funeral." I stared at my Mum, but her eyes were glued to me. "Leah needs to pack her things, and we will leave shortly," he said, the man placing his arm around my mother, and they turned to walk away. A lone tear escaped my eye. "Why!" I yelled, making them both stop and slowly turn around to face me. I moved away from Dani and Lucy, then walked toward the man and my Mum. The man watched, but I ignored him. "Why now?" I gritted out, wondering why she wanted to be the person I needed back then. "You didn't want to know me for all those years. You left me behind." I was sick of this. "I'm not something you can pick up and choose when you feel like it," I shouted, anger fueling every part of me. I stood in front of them and glared. The man from the car walked over and placed his arm around my Mum, while the other one moved out of his way. I watched this all unfold and stared at them; then it all clicked into place. Something, like how he held her got to me. That’s when the bomb dropped in my head, and the way he was holding her was how my father would when he cared for her. The way he looked at her lovingly, my father looked like that. "You left him for someone else," I muttered and looked at her. My mum tensed, and so did the other guy. My mind was ticking over, ready to explode like a ticking time bomb. My mind was heavy, but I knew as the realization kicked in. "It was him," I whispered, glaring at the woman who I once loved and admired. "You left my father for him." "You don't understand," my Mum blurted out and stepped forward, which made me step back away from her. I didn't want her anywhere near me. My Mum looked at me, but tears were forming in her eyes. She can't be serious right now; she was going to cry. I frowned and yelled. "You left my dad for him. And what, you couldn't take me with you or see me because of what? He didn't want me around or what?" Pain started forming in my head, something like before when I was in hospital. With the anger I was in, the pain was intense, but I couldn't stand it. The heaviness in my head was getting worse. It was making my head pound, and I couldn't help but close my eyes. I felt arms go to me—mum. “Leah," she said, but I moved away from her. "Leave me alone," I yelled. Then a sharp pain came which made my hands go to my head as the pain intensified. I couldn't help but scream. What the hell was happening to me? I clutched my head as I felt my legs go weak. I had no control over my body and felt like I was on fire. Then it was all too much as I collapsed to the ground and heard a scream. “Leah!” but it was hard to tell who said it. I landed with a thud on the ground, just as my eyes started to flutter shut, but all I could see was my Mum and the two men staring at me in shock. A few seconds later, I was in complete darkness, not knowing what the hell was happening to me.