Head Above Water

Chapter Twenty Four

Toby dropped Lilith off at her house, wishing her luck before she had to deal with her family. While Lilith would have loved nothing more than to stay with Toby, he had a job to worry about and she had concerned siblings.

As she waved him off, she was charged at by a few of her sisters and younger brother. They nearly tackled Lilith to the ground with hugs as they questioned her about her whereabouts. She couldn't help but laugh as she tried to break free. "Stop worrying, I was just spending the night at Toby's."

Her sister, Leah, smirked at her outfit. "Sure was nice of him to give you a ride instead of making you take the walk of shame."

"Nothing happened, Leah, you can relax. There was a bit of an accident involving the river and Toby was kind enough to let me borrow some clothes for the night." Lilith explained herself, shaking the oversized clothes.

Lilith's older brother, Leo, made his way out of the house and to Lilith's side, motioning for the others to give them a moment. "How are you doing?"

Lilith shook her hand as if to say she was somewhere in-between. Leo nodded, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a light squeeze. "Do you think we could talk in a bit?"

"Yeah, of course, Lil." He walked with her inside. "Is it something serious?"

She shrugged, "Maybe. It's just this feeling I have and I want to talk about it. You're kind of one of the few people I feel comfortable talking with right now."

"Okay, well mom and dad went out on the boat a little while ago so they won't interrupt you. I'll be in the kitchen whenever you're ready." He smiled sympathetically, letting her go freshen up.

Lilith made her way up to her bedroom, shutting the door and walking to her dresser. She picked out some clothes, planning to take a quick shower before going on with the rest of her day.

Lilith entered her bathroom, feeling as though she was being watched once again. She did a double take behind the shower curtain, half-expecting to see something she wouldn't be happy about, but alas, it was all in her head.

She took a faster shower than she was planning on, rushing to leave her room. Lilith headed down the stairs, looking over her shoulder every other step it seemed. She quickly met up with her brother in the kitchen, letting out a sigh of relief when she felt safer than before.

Lilith practically jumped into the seat across from Leo, words spilling out of her mouth. "I'm losing it, Leo. For the past couple of days now, it's like something, or rather someone, has been following me, watching my every move. I'm having constant night­mares, to the point where I don't want to shut my eyes anymore. Oh, and I can see a dead person, to top it all off."

Leo's jaw dropped slowly, motioning his hands as if to slow her words from spilling. "Okay, calm down. The first few sound like nothing more than paranoia. That's not that crazy, you should be fine. Although, I am going to need to hear more about this dead person?"

Leo held his eye contact with his sister as her face began to show more guilt with the passing seconds. "I'm going to explain everything to you, from the moment I got here and more importantly, what happened at the river that first day, and unfortunately, what had happened yesterday." Leo nodded eagerly, ready to finally be pulled out of the dark and learn the big secret of the summer. Lilith quickly held up a finger, quickly warning him. "You first have to promise me that you will try to believe what I'm telling you."

He smiled, holding out his pinky. "I promise, Lil, besides, how bad could it really be?" Lilith's eyes widened momentarily before she began to explain.

About thirteen minutes and many wild facial expressions later, Lilith sat quietly, waiting for Leo to say anything. "I can't believe," Lilith cut him off, reminding him of his promise. Leo shook his head, "I can't believe that you've been so quiet through all of this. Did you tell dad what happened at the river?"

She shook her head, "I only told dad about how I was failing and that I wanted to kill myself. He barely took that the way I was hoping. If I mentioned being able to communicate with a dead guy, he'd think I was absolutely bonkers."

Leo shrugged helplessly, knowing that she was making a valid point. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, but what if it actually could fix some things. It could show dad just how crazy you are and then he'll take your mental health a bit more seriously." He tried his best to give Lilith a supportive smile.

Lilith proceeded to place her head in her hands, letting out a low groan. "You're in med school, Leo, you're supposed to be the smart sibling."

Leo chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Lil, but you just dumped a whole bunch of information that's new territory. I'm sorry they don't cover paranormal activity in anatomy, I'll make a note of it for next semester."

"I don't need your sarcasm, I need your help," she pleaded.

Leo felt near to useless, "How, Lil? I'm sorry, but I don't know what I could do for you right now. I barely understand what's happening." Her face fell as she became annoyed. Leo noticed quickly, "I'm sorry, Lil, but what do you want me to do?"

They were both frustrated over something they couldn't easily understand. Lilith's head went back, resting on the back of her chair. She mumbled in a hushed tone, "I don't know, I was hoping you'd already have that figured out."

Lilith left Leo to his thoughts after they had come to the conclusion of there being no real way he could help her situation. She sulked through the main hall, running into her parents at the bottom of the steps. They had smiles on their faces as they laughed together. Once spotting Lilith, her mother's eyes went back and forth between Lilith and her father, curious as to how she'd respond.

Lilith's father. however, didn't act any different. He kept his smile going as he invited Lilith to join them. "We're going to get some lunch, Lil. Want to come with?"

She scowled at her father, "Really? It's going to be like this?" Her dad raised his brow in confusion. "You're going to pretend like nothing happened?" Her mother still stood between them, invested in their conversation but not enough to interrupt.

Lilith's father shook his head. "I think you need to spend time thinking more about the positives, Lil. Come get lunch with your family, it'll be a good environment for you."

"I'll pass. I just don't feel that family love from some people right now." Lilith shook her head, rocking on the back of her heels.

Her dad's smile finally fell, nodding slowly. Lilith's mom reached forward, taking Lilith's hand in hers. The disappointment on her father's face only made her feel guilt. Her father let out a quick sigh, "We'll bring you back some food, okay?"

Lilith kept her eyes down towards the ground, pulling her hand back from her mother. She slipped through her parents, slowly making her way up the steps. "Do whatever you want, Dad." Lilith didn't look back at them despite her mother softly calling for her.

She shut her door behind her, locking it and sliding her back down against it until she was tucked into a ball. Lilith's head rested against her knees as she breathed heavily, going through all her happy thoughts to prevent herself from crying.

She was sick of it. Lilith wanted to be strong, just once.

"It's okay to be sad, Lilith, stop forcing yourself to feel something you're not."