Bear | ✔

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Leila stood on the porch of the stonewalled house, stomping her foot against the hardwood floor. She waited for someone to answer the door and took her time examining her surroundings. She had only been there once, so the sight still wasn't engraved in her memory. The light blue paint was washed out and the wood paneling was scratched at some point. Some of the windows were walled up, leaving only a few to indicate the presence of life inside the house. Beds of untrimmed grass covered most of the front lawn, accompanied by wilting roses of patterns that she wasn't able to decipher. The barred floor underneath her creaked with the slightest of movement. The place looked as though it would fall down at any point then.

A few minutes later, she received an answer to her call. The front door was swung open with a screech. Behind it, Leila was met with a pair of brown eyes the shade of hazelnut that smiled back at her. As soon as she saw her, Nancy's lips curved into an appreciative grin and she stepped forward to engulf her in a tight embrace.

"Honey, are you okay? I was really worried about you," She said and pulled away quickly, as if afraid to have hurt her from the pressure. "I tried to come back as early as possible. I was back in town only an hour ago. My luggage is still in the foyer."

"It's okay! You don't have to worry about it." Leila shook her head reassuringly. "I was just wondering if I could spend the next few days with you, just until I get everything settled."

"Of course, Leila. You shouldn't even have asked," Nancy replied enthusiastically and stepped aside to let her in. Leila grasped the stroller of her trunk and walked past the threshold, struggling to pull the wheels along with her. Her feet landed on the porcelain floor of the foyer as Nancy closed the door behind her, diminishing the last essence of sunlight that had fled into the room earlier. From the distance, Leila could see her mother's own bags dropped to the floor.

A long mirror stretched across the opposite wall, on which she took a quick glance at her reflection. She looked like a wreck in her crumbled clothes and crisp scarf. Bags underlined her dark eyes and lines scarred her forehead. She could see crinkles gathering at the corners of her eyes whenever she blinked.

"Have you eaten? I can prepare something for you while you take a shower and change," Nancy suggested, offering to take the bag from her hand, but Leila rejected the offer.

"That would be great. Thank you," She replied, heading for the stairs. She followed the directions she had once taken not so long ago until she reached for the guest bedroom. That day they had together was the last to have fallen under the category of a fine day. It was unfortunate how people never knew when their last good day would be.

Leila twisted the knob and door unlocked with a click. She pushed it open and stepped inside. Her hand searched for the light switch and she flicked it open, illuminating the dark room. She dragged the trunk behind her and kicked the door shut. A memory came back to her of the first time she had been to LA, of how she had been new to everything and clueless of what she had to do next. Fast forward eight months later and she was still as clueless as when she had first set foot on the United States grounds.

She went over and slumped down on the bed. She slipped her shoes off and pulled her legs up, tucking them underneath her. She reached out to pull the pins from the fabric and started to unroll her scarf. She balled the linen fabric in her fist and threw it away furiously. It connected softly with the pillow, then dropped to the mattress. She glanced up at the vanity mirror and stared back at her tired expression. She looked at least a decade older than she originally was.

Standing up from the bed, Leila crouched down on her knees on the floor and reached for the zipper of her trunk. She pulled it all the way back, then pushed the lid over, revealing the contents of her luggage. Those were the only thing left from her old life. They were the only memory from her old family, from her hometown. Even though all of that had been a lie, it had meant so much to her. She knew it would always mean so much to her, no matter how badly things have ended after that.