It replayed, over and over again like an awful horror movie. Each time around growing more faint. Soon, emerald eyes opened revealing something more calming than what she'd just experienced. Her bedroom.
Leah sighed. Hopefully most if not all of it was a bad dream. She really didn't want it to be real, especially the part about Daniel.
Her heart ached remembering the things he said to her, the look in his eyes and what he'd called her. Had it actually happened or was it just a trick like with Alice? And what about the bracelets? Was it Simon who had rescued her, or was he just a part of it all even if he swore he wasn't?
There was only one way to find out.
Leah yawned and rolled over, but stopped short when she saw another body in her bed. Rough facial stubble and a bone structure to die for, Daniel lay passed out next to her. She panicked, unsure of what was real; and gasped as she threw herself off the bed.
Her rear end hit the ground with a thud as she held her chest. There was a stirring on the bed before Daniel leaned over the side and peered down at her, "Hey! What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" She rubbed her head, "Why are you sleeping in my bed?!"
He sighed and pulled his body to the edge of the bed revealing a once again shirtless upper body, "Because you asked me to."
"When?!"
He put his hands on his knees, "When you woke up screaming. That's when."
Leah rubbed her eyes. She certainly didn't remember going back to sleep let alone asking him to join her in her bed. The line between what she remembered and what may have actually happened was thicker than it should have been and her pounding head needed answers.
Pulling her post-sleep hair from her face, she brought her body from the ground and stepped to the edge of the bed, "I don't remember that at all. As a matter of a fact all I can remember is pretty brutal and to be honest, I don't know what's real."
Daniel chewed his lip and tossed the comforter off his legs, sliding them to the side of the bed, "Well why don't you start by telling me why you ran away."
"So that was real?"
"Hell yeah it was real Leah, you scared me to death you know!" He hopped off the bed and stood, cracking his neck, "Why did you do it? Why did you run from me?" His voice was painted with a tone of irritation. It partially caused her to grow defensive. He had no idea what was going on inside her head. Who's fault is that, stupid?
She hissed through her teeth, "I scared you half to death? Really because I remember a certain someone calling me a native slave and scaring the crap out of me!"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You have no right to be upset with me, I ran away because of you!"
"That's not true."
Another voice entered the room, making her heart skip a beat or two. Pointing her attention to the doorway, Leah recalled what she had seen before the darkness came. Guardian bracelets. Maybe it really had been him. She stuttered on air, "S-Simon?"
He nodded and crossed into the room, looking serious and worn out, "You didn't run away because of him, Leah. It was all a very sick part of this crafting."
"It was?"
"They're so hungry for your life, they want you isolated and weak. That was all in your head, trust me."
Leah gulped and scrunched her face into an emotional expression. It wasn't just enough to be afraid anymore, now her body was laced with anger, guilt and hopelessness. Especially the guilt at that point, she looked across to find Daniel with a still face and troubled eyes. It made her want to eat her own words.
Tummy turning, she broke away from him and tuned into Simon as he spoke with an ultimate concern, "Get cleaned up, we have a lot to go over." He gave her a final look before his body exited, leaving her alone with her feelings and Daniel.
She ran her hand through tangled hair not sure what she could say. A simple apology wouldn't do it, there was too much in his eyes. Tilting her body, she began a slow walk towards her bathroom. Passing him, she peeked over catching his purpose avoidance of her and the flexing of his jaw.
That's not a good sign.
--
As she walked down the hallway, Leah could already see Simon and Daniel at the table discussing something in a low murmur. What were they talking about that they needed to be so damn quiet? She ground her teeth together, pressing on from the hallway to the den. Coming up towards the table, both of them ceased their voices.
Simon turned to her, "Sit down."
She rose her brow defiantly and passed him up, taking a hold of her back door and opening it. A nippy autumn breeze came in followed by her canine pal. He brushed up against her before rushing over to the table where his new buddy sat.
Traitor. Leah slammed the door and turned to face all three of them, "So, what's the plan?"
Simon pulled out a chair, "Have a seat."
She obeyed and sat down, crossing her arms and watching Beo rustle against the still obviously bothered Chituweh. Turning back to Simon, she leaned back in the seat, "What's going on?"
"That's why we were waiting for you. I'm getting blocked out by something, you want to tell me why?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Leah, remember how I told you everything was going to come to light?"
She nodded, eyes once again peeking over to see what the two new best friends were doing. It wasn't until she realized how pathetic it was to get jealous over a dog and a handy man, that she twisted her body and focused completely on Simon.
"Yeah?"
He rest his elbows on the table, "Well I need everything to come to light to end this. Leah, it's time you opened that vault."
Her gut wrenched so hard she felt it in her back. There was something in the way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her; that said he was more in tune with her inner demons than she was. He had revealed a talent for picking up on things nobody else had and now he was drilling into her.
But what could she possibly have to say? He knew about her mother's death, and that her father didn't blame her. Other than that... She swallowed, "I don't understand."
"Take me back," he stated.
Leah tilted her head, "What are you-"
"To that night, Tell me what happened."
It was the worst night she'd ever experienced as a child. Besides dear Alice, she hadn't told anyone about it. It was going rather well, never actually speaking about it until the day the games began. With her face rock hard, she replied to him, "You already know."
"I don't know everything."
"You know enough."
"Leah! This is serious, this is your life we are talking about. The soul map won't do it all, I need your help."
She sighed, "I can't."
Across the table, Daniel scoffed and leaned back in his seat. It grabbed her attention and she cut her eyes at him, "What?"
He shrugged, "You're the only one not taking this serious."
"I'm not taking this serious? Are you kidding me right now?"
"All you have to do is tell him what he's asking you. Is it really that hard?"
At least Simon hadn't gone blabbing her secrets to him. Daniel had no clue what chaotic memories swam in her gut, torturing her with every reflection of herself and every bad dream. He had no idea how hard it was to just talk about it. Let's give him the truth, if he can handle it.
"You have no idea!" She stood from the chair rapidly and rounded it, holding herself on the back. Her arms shook as she prepared her mental state for what was about to come out. It was going to be more than anyone was expecting.
Her heart squeezed. Lips beginning to tell the story she should've recommended when Simon first approached her. The true scary story.
"Remember when I said I never go to Elk Village? Yeah well its because I grew up there. I spent half of my childhood in a loving Tamanaka family and the other half feeling... suffocated."
She winced and lowered her voice, "I was young and in love with life for the longest time. My family was perfect in my eyes. For the first nine years of my life, I didn't need fairy tales, I was living one. But as we all know, fairy tales aren't real..."
Leah felt her lip begin to quiver as the reveal grew near, "One day I started to notice my mother's eyes had changed when she looked at me. We weren't close anymore, she stopped saying she loved me and I think it was because she didnt. Do you know what it's like to be a kid and feel like your own mother can't stand being in the same room as you?"
With tears dripping from her eyes, she fought through the storm brewing inside of her and continued. "I give her credit though, she went a whole year before she snapped... it was a week after my tenth birthday when it happened... Little Leah decided I was grown up enough to wear her best perfume, so I went into her room to get it."
Her nose sniffed as she hung her head, "I dropped it, it broke and spilled everywhere. I didn't even have time to try to clean it up, she was already behind me yelling her heart out. I said sorry a million times, but she didn't want to hear it. And I was finally at the point where I didn't either, so I tried to leave the room... But she grabbed me and hit me for the first time.
"And she didn't stop, not even when i was on the ground crying. I've never seen that side of her..." She turned her back to them, red face soaking wet. She could see it right in front of her. The white walls, creamy dresser covered in perfume bottles, she could see her small body pinned against the floor as her beautiful mother wreaked her havoc on her.
"And I would never see it again. I tried to push her off of me so many times until I finally felt her release me. I looked up to see her body stumbling backwards but she quickly returned for me. When she put her hands around my neck, I, I didnt know what else to do, my body was beyond my control. I kicked her until she fell back... and hit her head. She didn't get back up after that. She didn't even move."
Leah crossed her arms and whimpered out, "I killed her. I killed my mother."