Bear | ✔

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Coffee wasn't really that bad after all.

After paying the tip, Leila slammed the door of the yellow cab and stood next to her luggage on the curb. She stared dreamily as the car drove forward until it was out of site. Spinning around, she stared at the house where most of her painful memories were engraved. She had learnt a lot of things under this roof.

Grabbing the stroller of her suitcase, she dragged it behind her in the direction of the front door. She had been used to holding her bags back and forth a lot lately, being subject to move away at any time. Her life was unstable at the moment. She felt lost. Everything ahead of her future was unclear.

She didn't tell David that she was back. She wasn't ready to get back to speaking with him again. As it seems, he didn't seem too bothered with that subject, either. She wondered if he even knew anything about the news regarding her father. She hoped not, because if he really did, that wasn't the reaction she was expecting to get from him.

She arrived at the porch and paused for a minute to catch her breath. The jet-lag was already getting to her and he mind was swirling like a full-power food mixer. She stepped over the wooden platform, the material creaking underneath her feet in response. Before she could take a step further, the door swung open and Emily greeted her with a mixture of sorrow and hope.

"Leila," She called gently and walked past the threshold to let her in. As Leila went forward, the bag strolled behind her. She mumbled a quiet hello, to which a pat on the back was the only response.

So David must have known, She thought to herself as she set foot inside of the place she had once called home. The porcelain was still the same, unscratched, unstained, untouched. It sparkled against the lights from the golden maxi-sized chandelier that decorated the center of the ceiling. Just like before, the two sets of staircases looped through the foyer, leading upstairs. There wasn't much of a change, as far as she could notice. The place still held that hint of loneliness it had always had.

That was such a big place for a bachelor.

A sound echoed through the empty space as Emily pushed the front door closed.

"Have you eaten earlier?" She asked and calmly stepped closer to her. Leila inwardly smiled. She didn't ask her how he was or told her that everything was going to be okay. She knew that she didn't need that, and for it she was thankful.

"I have. Thank you, Emily," Leila mumbled in a neutral tone, staring ahead of her. A string of wind whistled across the length of the room as a last source of noise. "I guess I'll go get some sleep."

"As you wish," Emily replied, scurrying forward. She grabbed the handle if her suitcase. "Here, I'll have this for you."

She wanted to object, but she doubted her own strength. At her current state, she couldn't bear to turn down a helping hand.

"My room is still there, isn't it, Emily?" She asked whilst Emily dragged the baggage along. Leila followed her up the long stairs rows of stairs.

"It couldn't be anywhere else," Emily said and lifted her head up with a weak smile. Leila smiled back, just timidly, and proceeded ascending the stairs ahead of her. "The master has been too lonely, lately. He barely eats, and he almost never leaves his room anymore."

Leila didn't know what to say, so she continued on her way up. Could she possibly be the reason for all of this mess?

"Is he awake?" She asked when they finally reached the top of the stairs. Emily paused and let out a long, exhausted breath.