Chapter Four: Leah

Well, I said that I would find her, didn’t I? However, I have no idea what I’m going to do. Part of me so deeply wants to get revenge, and another part of me wants to be good so I can keep moving down levels. I think I might just do a little bit of both…

          So, since it looked like I did not have a roommate to talk to, I guess I had to keep myself busy. I was off to the “movies” again. But who should I go see? I saw Peter last time I was there. Oh! I know who I should see. I should definitely check in on my brother. I wonder if anyone ever told him about my death. No one can probably even reach him. God only knows where he is. Wow, I wish I could speak to him.

          Once I managed to get myself ready to leave the room, I started to just think about my brother, Blake. No one had heard of him in so long. Maybe, maybe he could be… No, he couldn’t be. Could he? Well, that’s a stupid question. Of course he could be here! It’s not like it’s impossible for him to die. He has to die eventually. I just really hope that he is not here and that he is out there back on Earth. I hope that Blake is living a magnificent life. I hope that he has fallen in love, done everything he has ever wanted to do, and is the man he always wanted to be. Just please; please do not let him be here.

          I got to the theater, and I put in all of Blake’s information. Then, I walked into the theater so I could finally see my brother. He has to be alive, right? Otherwise it wouldn’t have worked. Oh god, I hope that he’s okay.

          Three…

          Two…

          One…

          There he was. Blake and his lanky, tall body. He still has the natural tan that he always had. His hair color was the same as mine, and his eyes; dark brown. He looked the same he did the last time I saw him. However, he just looked older. Blake looked more mature, happier actually. Blake looked happy, and that was the first time I could ever remember seeing him look happy.

          When Blake and I were growing up, we had it rough. Our mom was either always out, or worse; she was at home. When mom was out, we mostly were just stuck with each other. We didn’t mind it though. Well, at least I didn’t mind it. I always felt bad that Blake had to stay behind a lot of the time and watch me. The poor boy never got to go out with friends, because he had to take care of his little sister.

          However, when mom was in, that was the absolute worse. Mom always had a boyfriend. The only time I can remember her not having one, was when her and Tyler broke up for those few days. But, I’m not exactly sure if those counted.

          Anyways, our mother’s boyfriends were just horrendous. They were absolutely disgusting, and just awful. Sometimes, they would pick on Blake and me. It wasn’t always bad what they had to say to us. However, as I started to get older, they would start to hit on me when mom wasn’t around. For example, the one who uh, the one who raped me. But, Blake always tried his best to make sure they would stay away from me.

          Alright, back to the “movie.” Blake was sitting in a restaurant with a girl. She was beautiful. The girl looked like she could be a super model. Her longs were quite long; she had shoulder length blonde hair, and what looked like the blue eyes; just like the ocean.

          The two of them were sitting in a booth talking to one another. Oh my god, he looked so happy.

          “So, I’m really glad you finally agreed to come out with me, Ashley,” said Blake.

          Ashley blushed, “Well, how could I say no for a fourth time?”

          “Thank god, you were starting to hurt my ego.”

          “Oh, I doubt that could happen,” they both laughed.

          “Well,” said Ashley. “I think you should tell me about yourself.”

          “And why is that,” Blake smirked at her.

          “Because, you’re Blake Night. The biggest mystery at school! It’s not like I can go on this date, and not at least try to figure out some information about you.”

          Blake smiled at her, “I guess that’s only fair. Well, what would you like to know?”

          “Everything,” Ashley giggled.

          “Hmm, that’s quite a lot. Just ask me anything, and I’ll answer.”

          “Tell me about your family, maybe?”

          Blake looked at Ashley, and you could tell that something was bothering him. The look he gave her was just filled with so much agitation. “If this is about my sister, I already told everyone that I don’t know much. I only just came into contact with my mother,” Peter said angrily.

          Ashley’s face grew pale. She looked as if she had no idea what Blake was talking about. Was my murder all over the news? If so, where has this girl been to not hear about it?

          “Blake, what are you talking about,” asked Ashley.

          “My sister and her murder. Obviously this is all what this was about. I really liked you, but you only wanted the gossip.”

          Blake started to get up, but Ashley pulled his arm so he would sit back down. “Blake, if you don’t recall, I transferred here. So, I honestly have no idea what happened to your sister. But, I’m terribly sorry for your loss, and hope that everything turns out alright for you and your family. I like to hear how a man talks about his family before I continue to see them. So, that’s the only reason why I brought them up. I’ll leave you alone, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”

          Ashley got up and walked away. Blake sat in his chair, with his head in his hands. He looked as if he was so terribly confused. Blake finally snapped out of it, and he jumped out of his seat and ran for the door. After he was out of the restaurant, he started looking around the streets and sidewalk like a crazy person. Once he finally spotted Ashley a few yards away he started running towards her. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm, and she turned around and just stood there looking at him.

          The two of them just stood there on the sidewalk looking at each other. They looked absolutely perfect with each other. I had seen my brother with a ton of girls at school before, however this one just absolutely ruled out all of the others. Just the way they looked together; it was breathtaking.

          Blake and Ashley were still standing there looking at each other, and then eventually Ashley broke the silence. “What do you want,” she asked.

          “Please, let me explain. I’m sorry, I really am,” said Blake.

          “No, it’s fine. I understand that you’re going through a rough time,” Ashley looked away from him. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

          “Come on, Ashley. I want to. I honestly have not even talked to anyone about it. I want you to help me, please?”

          Ashley looked up at Blake, “Fine.”

          Blake looked at her with such longing, and he smiled. “Okay, come on. Let’s go back inside the restaurant.”

          The two of them walked back into restaurant in silence. They sat back down at a table, and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Well,” said Ashley. “Are you going to talk?”

          “Okay,” said Blake. “It’s a long story. Are you okay with that?”

          Ashley nodded, and Blake cleared his throat. “Well, the day I turned eighteen I left home, and I told my little sister who was fifteen at the time, that I would come back for her when she was eighteen.”

          “Why did you leave?”

          “Well, I just had a really rough home life. Our mom had us both when she was a teenager, and we have different dads. However, she gave me my sister’s dad’s last name. He was there for a little while, but then he left us. My mom was only fourteen when she had me and seventeen when she had my sister. So, obviously she had no idea how to deal with our dad leaving.”

          Ashley was already beginning to look horrified with our life story. “Did you ever meet your father?”

          “No, the man raped my mother. So, she has absolutely no idea who my father is. But, not a single one of us gives a fuck to try to find out who he is.”

          “Oh my gosh, that’s horrible,” said Ashley.

          “If at any time you want me to stop, and you leave, I am perfectly fine with that. I understand this is not something people are used to hearing.”

          Ashley looked at Blake with a stunned expression. “Of course, I told you that I’ll listen to what you had to say. I’m glad I am.”

          Blake smiled weakly at her. “Anyways, like I said. I told Leah that I would come back for her when she was eighteen. When I left, Leah and my mom were living in Oregon. Mom didn’t have a boyfriend at the time, but she never goes long without having one.”

          “After sometime that I left, Leah called me to tell me that they were moving to Arizona. I asked her to send me their new address. I guess they moved to somewhere in Tucson.”

          “Did you ever go see them at all? I mean, it’s not like Tucson is that from Palm Springs. It’s maybe a six hour drive.”

          “Oh I know, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back and face my mother.”

          Blake stopped talking for a few minutes and drifted off into space. He eventually realized that he drifted away, and started talking again. “Well, they didn’t live there that long anyways.”

          Ashley looked confused. “What do you mean they didn’t live there that long?”

          “Oh, I’m getting there. Just wait, love,” Blake winked at her.

          Ashley giggled. “Well, on Leah’s sixteenth birthday she called me, crying in hysterics. She told me that our mom had kicked her out, and that the boyfriend had some sort of control over her.”

          “Control? What did she mean about that?”

          “When my mom is in a relationship, she would let the man take absolutely complete control over her. It was ridiculous, but she had no idea what else to do.”

          “Anyways,” said Blake. “Leah had told me that she always got in a fight with her boyfriend that day. The poor girl was having a rough sixteenth birthday. She told me that she was on her way to a friend’s house though. Leah said that she would call me in the morning.”

          “Did she call you in the morning,” asked Ashley.

          “No, she didn’t. But you know who did?”

          Ashley shook her head no. “My mother called me,” said Blake.

          Ashley looked puzzled, “What did she say to you?”

          Blake looked at Ashley, “She called me to tell me that my sister had been murdered. The police weren’t able to tell if Leah had tried to commit suicide, or if someone had snuck into the house and attacked her.”

          “But what about her friend? Wouldn’t the attacker have gotten her friend as well?”

          “That’s something that everyone has been questioning. No one knows exactly what happen. Except for her friend, Roxy green. Apparently her brother, Pete Green was there that night as well.”

          “What do you think happened,” Ashley asked intriguingly.

          “I think that her friends did something to her. There is no way in hell that my sister killed herself.”

          “Why do you think that?”

          “Well, for starters, she was stabbed. Leah was absolutely terrified of knives. She had aichmophobia. There is no way in hell that she would have even picked up a knife,” Blake explained.

          Ashley began to tear up. “I am so sorry, Blake. I am so, so sorry.”

          Ashley got up, and walked around the table to hug my brother. They wrapped their arms around each other, and it looked like such an amazing warm embrace. Then, Blake pulled away, and he kissed Ashley.

After Blake kissed Ashley the screen went black. I just sat there in the theater for a few minutes, and I didn’t even realize that I was crying until the man in the suit walked up to me and asked if I was okay.

          “Excuse me,” said the man.

          I wiped off my face really quick, and looked up at him. “I’m sorry,” I said.

          “Oh please, miss. Don’t be sorry. But, if I may ask, are you Leah Night?”

          “That’s me,” I said.

          The man handed me a card that told me to go to the front desk, and that I was going to be moved down levels. “Thank you,” I said to the man without realizing that he had already left.

          I got up, and walked down to the front desk. Olivia was there behind the desk. She looked up at me, and said, “Hey there, Leah. How are you, honey?”

          It was always nice to see Olivia. The woman never once looked unhappy. “I’m doing well, thank you,” I handed her my card.

          Olivia did her thing on the computer until she found my new information. “Okay, Leah. It looks like you are being moved to level eleven. You are in room ninety two. You do not seem to have a roommate yet.”

          I was upset at the fact that I didn’t have a roommate yet. Oh, well. It’s probably for the better. At least I wasn’t assigned to Molly as a new roommate again.

          I began walking to my room, and then I remembered what Aly told me about the levels. I started at fifteen, and I’m already at eleven. I am definitely moving fast here. I wonder what it’ll take me to get to level one. More importantly, what’s going to happen once I’m done moving down? What in the hell happens after Soul Castle?