Loading Game

Chapter Twenty Eight

Holding my breath, I slowly drifted down back onto the lawn from where I was floating in the sky. Papa handed me a bottle of water, and I took it gratefully.

"You're definitely controlling it more than I could," Papa commented, smiling softly. "It's hard to control though, isn't it?"

"No kidding," I replied, holding my head in my hands as I squished my face. "My head feels like it's about to explode."

"Keep practicing, and you'll get better," Papa reassured, patting my back. Turning to the patio, he added, "I'll go see what your mother has in store for lunch and bring it out."

"Okay!"

I watched as Papa walked into the kitchen, smiling to myself when I knew he just wanted an excuse to be with Mom more. I was sitting on the freshly cut grass, the smell of wet leaves taunting me. Practicing to handle Dream Factory was harder than I thought, but it was definitely a great testament to what I could handle. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting the wind blow as sweat glistened on my face. I felt a small presence behind me, and I turned around, seeing Leo.

"Oh, hi! You haven't visited in a while, have you?" I greeted, turning completely. "Sit down; don't be scared."

Leo cautiously sat down, sitting with his legs crossed like me. He seemed to be wearing a fancy suit and tie, as if to go somewhere important. Smiling lightly, Leo commented, "You seem to be growing well, Meredith. Is the attribute treating you hard?"

I shook my head. "Nope! I recently learned a spell from Papa to connect a soul to heaven. He did it to my mother once, though because he couldn't control it at the time, so she saw her family as murderers." I sighed, smiling a little. "So I want to learn from his mistakes, ya know?"

Leo nodded, understanding. Gesturing, he said, "Put your hands out. I want to check your attribute balance with my Hacker attribute."

I put my hands in front of him, not thinking twice about it. Leo put his hands over mine, and I twitched suddenly when small orange spheres of light appeared between our palms, one for each pair of hands. My eyes widened when glitchy designs that looked almost like they came from a computer started printing on my arms, following my veins. What's he doing? I glanced up at Leo, whose eyes were closed, concentrating. Almost like he was afraid of me, he pulled away quickly, and the glowing stopped.

"What was that all about?" I asked, confused. I put my hands down, gripping my legs. "What happened?"

"I-It's nothing," Leo responded blandly. He shook his head. "It's just.. your attribute balance reminded me of something that I don't want to think about again."

I didn't say anything, understanding that maybe it was touchy. Pulling my legs to my chest, I asked softly, "Will you and Julia visit me more often..?"

"Hmm?"

"You guys seem to have forgotten about me, and I want to know more about you guys and my parents' relationships," I whispered quietly under my breath. "I don't want to bother my parents about it because they tell me it wasn't their proudest moments."

Leo settled his hand on my head, fluffing my hair up a bit. I looked up at him, and he had a cheeky grin on his face. "We didn't forget you, kid. Other things have been happening, as we've been trying to atone for our sins." He put his hand down and said, "We'll visit you more often, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise," Leo responded wholeheartedly. He smirked and leaned over, whispering, "Wanna know a secret?" I nodded. He leaned back and winked. "I'm going on a date with Julia today. We're going to Greece."

My mood brightened immediately, and I squealed lightly. "Really?!" I exclaimed. "T-That's great!"

"Honestly, I'm only just lucky she'd like a half pipe like me," he mumbled in a joking manner.

I slapped his back lightly, smiling, "Brighten up! She likes you!"

~~~

A few hours later, I found myself walking down the hall back to the white room I was used to. I had a therapy session with Miss Lynn, who was someone I wouldn't be seeing much anymore because she was retiring soon. I was just in the restroom, and after finishing up, I was walking to my room. The door was slightly ajar, and before I pushed it open, I stopped.

I heard crying.

Peeking into the room with curiosity, my eyes widened suddenly when I saw Julia crying knelt in front of Miss Lynn, who was unaware of her presence. A bright red glow surrounded her, and she had her hands over her face, tears slipping from underneath them. I noticed how she was dressed up and assumed that she must've come back from her date with Leo. Her hands were grasped onto Miss Lynn's skirt, who was writing on her clipboard and waiting for me to come back.

"Mom..!" Julia exclaimed, trying to catch her attention. She clenched her jaw, tears on her face. "Why can't you hear me, dammit?!"

"Mom"..?

I stood outside the door, quietly pressing the door closed as Julia's desperate sobs and pleas for her mother filled my ears. Quickly doing the calculations, I found that Miss Lynn was someone possible enough to be her mother. And she was. My back slid against the door as I sat down onto the floor, my eyes on the wall opposite of me.

"Why can't.. you see me..?" Julia's small whisper floated into my ear. My heart thumped suddenly when I heard her voice crumble at the end. "I-I'm sorry for leaving with Dad..! Forgive me!" My eyes shut, and I held onto my trembling body as I listened to Julia's words. "I-I'm here..! P-Please answer me, Mom...!"

Tears squeezed out from the corners of my eyes as Julia's desperate cries broke my heart.