Amber looked like nothing more than a corpse that had been left out in the cold. I couldn't even focus on Shayla right then. All I wished was for Amber to come back alive again. I thought about how I could reverse time. The same feelings I had for my mother when she died, I had for Amber. My tears stopped, for I was becoming too overwhelmed by sadness to cry.
Finally, Shayla broke the silence. "Perfect," she muttered. "Now how will we pay for this place?"
I looked up at her, completely shocked that was all she could say. She frowned at me, but I could only stare at her with my mouth partially opened. "That's-" I choked on my words. "That's all you can say."
Shayla leaned down where our eyes were glued to each other. "You ruined everything. This was not supposed to happen," she said. "I thought Sunny was smarter than that."
All the bones in my body felt like putty. My hands began shaking, both from disbelief and anger. "You-you knew about this? About Sunny?"
Shayla smiled at me. A mean, grim, sneaky smile. "Of course, I know her. Sunny was my best friend back when we were younger."
"What?" I said, setting Amber's head down then backing away from Shayla. "She couldn't have been your best friend as kids. Sunny was born in-"
"1921," she said. "That's true. I'm 96-years-old. Money wasn't the only deal for Amber to stay here. Sunny and I had a deal!" Her smile then disappeared. She pointed at Amber. "That girl staying in our house kept me looking like a beautiful young lady. Now...you ruined everything."
A gasp escaped my mouth. Her voice changed, sounding like an old person would sound. Shayla's hair began growing grey before me. "Oh my God," were the only words that could escape my mouth.
Wrinkles began filling her face. Without words, using her young legs, she ran into the kitchen. When she came out, she no longer had a young anything. Shayla was an old woman. An elderly woman, carrying a knife.
"You got Amber killed," she said walking towards me with the knife in the air. "Sunny's gone because of you. But I won't let you ruin me before I die. I dreaded for the day Sunny would make you take your own life."
I stood behind the living room chair, trying to figure out a way to run past her and out the door. Shayla no long had long hair, it was short, kept above her forehead. Her legs and arms were nothing more than skin sticking to her bones. She looked so fragile that the wind could knock her out. Of course, I could have easily pushed her down, but I feared she would throw the knife.
I needed to move, and fast. I grabbed a pillow off the couch, ran towards Shayla with it and knocked her to the ground where we both fell together. She tried to use the knife to stab me, but I rolled over and got up. I didn't look back as I ran towards the door. I ran out into the cold.
Running. Running. I didn't stop running.
The night seemed to go on forever as I lost myself in the void. My head felt light when I couldn't run anymore, so I slowed down and sat on the ground somewhere away from the road. There was no light except the moonlight. I looked around, not knowing what else to do. I couldn't go back home. Not at all. The game was up, and there was no going back.
"Please," I whispered while looking up at the moon. "Robert, if you're out there, please help me." I looked up into the sky, waiting for a sign I did not expect.
"Olivia."
I heard a voice and turned around. I couldn't believe it. "Mom?"
She was standing by a tree that was a few feet away from me. I could see her, entirely. She had brown hair that was straight for the first time. Her hazel green eyes seemed to glow. She wore a dark green silk gown that stopped at her knees. She was barefoot. Her face was bright and shiny, not a flaw on her. My knees felt as if they would collapse.
Mother then looked away from me and to the tree. "They always gave the best advice," she said then faced me. "The trees to I."
I realized I wasn't breathing and took a deep breath. "Mom, is that really you?" I took a step forward.
"It's me," she smiled. "Look at you, out here in the cold. You should be safe and warm."
I clenched my hands. "I don't know what to do or where to go, mom."
Mother stretched out her hand. It seemed like a dream, looking at her arm that was surrounded by mist. She had never looked like this, and here she was, sounding and looking like a Goddess. "Come with me. We're waiting for you, all The Lovely Suicide Children. Don't you want to be with me?" She said. "Robert misses you. Sunny misses you. You can see us all again. We'll protect you. Here, on Earth, it isn't safe. It isn't fun. The Earth is full of darkness, pain, and hate. But with us...you can be anything. No one will ever hurt you. Not your father, not Shayla. No one. Come home, Olivia."
She reached out to me. I slowly walked towards her, reaching out for her hand. When I finally approached her, our head neared close to one another, like she wanted to tell me something in my ear. However, as soon as the mist of her face touched me, she vanished. I felt its breeze. The only thing left behind was a small note on the ground. There was nothing in the note, just an object I knew well. My darkest best friend. What I used to ease a never-ending pain.
A razor blade.