NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1. Almost normal
“And what if we fail? Do you want us to leave our people to die? Just like that?”
“You didn’t seem to care when we manipulated and killed them to suit our needs. Why care now?”
“We both know that was a mistake, sister. A mistake that cost us dearly.”
“I know that better than anyone alive, Geron… Now, now just pray this works, because if we fail, it’ll be the end of everything.”
~ Nikra and Geron, ages ago.
Leo awoke with a gasp, sweat pouring out of his body as he instinctively rolled to the side. “Bloody hell,” he groaned, his back meeting the hard wooden floor of his bedroom.
Disentangling himself from the fallen covers, Leo climbed to his feet, rubbing his shoulder where yet another bruise was probably already forming. Another day, another fall, Leo scowled. Stupid dreams.
Oh, how Leo hated those dreams. They crashed into his life with the force of a sledgehammer and refused to leave for almost two weeks now. Unlike any other dream, Leo could remember them all perfectly, the conversations between two siblings, the bloodshed their battle caused, and then of course the damned crimson flash.
For some reason, Leo’s body always decided to wake up right after the flash and to use some kind of fight-or-flight response to somehow dodge the light. And that was how Leo landed on the floor every morning, no matter what he did. At this point, he thought of just sleeping on the ground, at least until the dreams went away.
Like that’s gonna happen. Not with my luck, Leo snorted, throwing on a new shirt and sweatpants before leaving his small bedroom. It only took a few steps through the house’s only corridor to arrive at the way too large living room.
“Dreams aside, I really need to clean this place,” Leo grimaced as his eyes scanned the various clothes and dirty dishes scattered across every surface of the mostly bare room. Hell, he could barely see his couch… What can I say, it’s been a long week.
For the record, maybe Leo shouldn’t have listened to his sister when she told him to become a bloody reporter just because he wanted to have some impact on the world. As much as he loved his job, sometimes it just became too much. A point that was proven even further by the fact that Leo’s clock almost screamed at him that it was already an hour past noon.
“At least it’s Friday and my new story is finished. No more all-nighters,” Leo grumbled, his eyes darting between the arch leading to the kitchen and the mess around him. Mom and Lily would kill me if they saw this, but… breakfast or rather dinner first, cleaning later.
“This got to be some kind of a joke…” Leo muttered as he scrolled through a web forum that his foster sister sent him a few days after their phone call last week. Just like Lily said, he certainly wasn’t the only one who suddenly began to experience weird dreams. Hell, some of those people even managed to perfectly describe parts of Leo’s dreams.
I swear if it’s another pandemic, I’m gonna kill somebody… He scowled, running a hand through his short, black hair.
As much as the journalist within Leo wanted to figure out this shit alone, the rational part of his mind knew that there was not much he could do in this situation. If it indeed was yet another pandemic, then there were people out there that were much better suited to investigate it. Leo was no scientist.
But what if it’s something completely different, Leo mused as he closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair. Sometimes he really hated Lily for putting her conspiracy theories in his head. One had to wonder where she even got some of her ideas.
“Bloody woman,” Leo muttered even as his lips formed a small smile at the thought of his sister. As his eyes closed, he almost jumped when the phone on the table began to vibrate.
Glaring at the small device, Leo groaned when he read who the offender was. “Speak of the devil and she shall appear,” he murmured dryly and put the phone next to his ear, “Lily?”
“What’s up, little brother!” Leo winced as his sister’s all too cheery and definitely too loud voice came from the speaker.
“I’m older, Lily,” Leo rolled his eyes, his voice as dry as the desert. Really, sometimes he wondered how this was the woman who managed to help him recover from the darkest period of his life. “Any particular reason you called me?”
“Aww, can’t I just call to talk with my favorite brother?”
Leo shook his head. Lily just loved to step on land mines with every sentence she said.
“Yes you can, but I hope you don’t mind me telling Nick that I’m your favorite. I’m sure he will be delighted,” Leo smirked, his teasing side rearing its head.
“You’re mean, you know that right?” Came the instant response, and Leo’s smirk widened even more.
She huffed into the microphone, “Anyway, what are your plans for the weekend? Any parties?” She gasped, “Maybe a date?”
Not this again, Leo almost groaned as he stood up from the lone dining table in his living room. He still had to get ready for his daily run.
Entering the corridor, Leo answered slowly, “Lily, you know me well enough to know that I don’t care about partying or dating. I have better things to do.”
A loud groan echoed from the other side, “Oh, come on! You’re like, twenty-five years old, and you live like some old hermit!" she promptly ignored Leo’s shout of denial and continued, “Have some fun, live a little! I mean fuck, if it wasn’t for your family or work, then you'd practically never leave the house!”
“We both know that’s not true,” Leo scowled, approaching one of the wardrobes in his bedroom.
“Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but my point still stands. Add to that your new dreams and I'm getting seriously worried about you, Leo." Lily said, her voice as soft as fresh snow.
Of course, she had to bring this up, Leo sighed and sat on his soft bed, running shorts and shirt in hand.
“I’m fine Lily, I really am,” he almost whispered, lying down on his covers. “While the presence of the dreams is quite disconcerting, there is not much we can do about them. We just have to wait for people smarter than us to figure out what is going on.”
Lily just sighed in defeat, “I hate it when you’re right… Now, are you ready for tomorrow?"
Sitting up, Leo blinked in confusion.
"Tomorrow?" His eyebrow rose. Was he forgetting something?
"Yes, tomorrow," Lily repeated slowly. "You know, the tournament that takes place in London? The same one I remind you about every time we speak." Her voice was full deadpan by the time she finished speaking.
Right, Leo almost facepalmed. How could he forget? His sister, Lily Hale, athlete extraordinaire — her words, not his — had advanced to the regional finals that would take place in London. Tomorrow.
Fuck.
“Yeah, I'll be there, no problem." He spoke up instantly as the realization hit him. "I already finished the story for Monday, so I have the rest of the weekend off.” God forbid he even thought about missing the event. Lily’s rants were legendary, and Leo had gone through enough of them already to last a lifetime.
“Good,” She replied, and Leo could feel her smugness even through the phone. “Once I destroy my opponents, we can even have a victory party. In fact, we might even find you a nice girl," She said cheerfully. "What do ya think?”
Again, really? Leo groaned as he changed into his running clothes. His sister was really on a roll today. Though her constant shots at his love life were getting quite old lately. He expected more from his little sister. Well, not really…
“You're that confident you'll win eh? Be careful, or that ego will eat you,” Leo shot back, ignoring Lily’s teasing. That was the best way to deal with her. That or mentioning her own very successful dates that Lily just loved to rant about. To her brother no less.
Fight fire with fire as they say.
Thankfully Leo’s usual method worked perfectly as a loud gasp came from the speaker, “You wound me, Leo! I will have you know that I trained hard, and with my siblings watching, there's no chance I will lose.”
Shaking his head, Leo, now dressed properly, put on his headphones and slipped out of his room, “I believe in you. You managed to convince me to become a journalist so there is no chance that some puny tournament will stop you from becoming the best.”
“That’s right and don’t you forget it,” Lily beamed, her attitude pulling a smile onto Leo’s face as he approached the entrance door at the end of the corridor. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she suddenly chirped, “Nicky is coming too. It has been a while since we three had some fun together.”
Leo's hand froze as it reached for the door handle.
Nick coming to London? Alone? No way, Lily had to be joking. After all, Nick’s lovely wife barely let the man out of her sight. Not for the first time, Leo wondered how those two even worked together.
Though someone once said that opposites attract each other.
“Lily,” Leo said very slowly as he stepped into the scorching sun and locked the door to his white bungalow. “How the hell will Nick manage to get away from Ava for an entire day and drive to London? You know how she is with him.”
Silence fell upon the line as Leo scanned the neighborhood and waited for the miraculous explanation.
Living on the outskirts of the city really had its advantages. Barely any cars drove here during such late hours and Leo could count the houses here on the fingers of his both hands. Really for such an old street, it was incredible that so few people decided to settle here. Hell, even more surprising was the fact that the lush clearings and large forests around here didn't suffer any casualties from a human settlement so close by.
As for Leo, he just soaked in the atmosphere of this peaceful area. Away from nosy people that always managed to find a way to bother him each time he released a new story. Here Leo could go on a run, work outside or just take a nap in the backyard without anyone trying to waste his time.
“You know, I have no clue,” Lily chuckled sheepishly, bringing Leo out of his musing. “I was too excited to ask.”
You don’t say, Leo shook his head, stepping on the sidewalk. Why did his sister have to be such an airhead from time to time?
“Hey, maybe they came to some accord. Who knows, maybe he found something to bribe her with?” Lily spoke up with a giggle before Leo could say anything.
“Bribe? Yeah, with what? Being back before ten?” Leo snorted. Though he really wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.
“Maybe,” Lily continued through her giggles, “They are weird like that.”
Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Leo ignored his giggling sister and the elderly woman sitting in the garden in front of a house he just passed. A woman that was waving right at him.
Like hell, I’m stopping so Gibson can interrogate me. Thinking quickly, Leo waved back and pointed at his headphones with the other hand. Now for the kill.
“You know what, Lily?” Leo spoke again, raising his voice so even Mrs. Gibson could hear him. “We will just get the answer out of him tomorrow. Nick could never keep any secrets from us… That man is hopeless.”
“Ouch! Why are you screaming? Do you want me to go deaf?” Lily almost screeched.
Like you are one to talk, Leo rolled his eyes, finally getting past Gibson’s house. “Stop being dramatic. I was just dodging Mrs. Gibson, you know how she gets, especially with me.”
Leo easily imagined Lily's face scrunching in a grimace, they both had been in similar situations before. “Ohh, all forgiven then… Anyway, as you finally left your cave, you can tell me if it’s so bloody hot in Wolford too. For God’s sake, we're in the middle of November and it’s almost thirty degrees outside.”
“Don’t even get me started on the fucking weather,” Leo grumbled, trudging forward as the forest grew closer and closer.
“Last week every forecast was screaming about rain and heavy wind. For once I was happy that I had to stay home and work from dawn to dusk. Then Monday comes and what happens?” He scowled. “Twenty-five degrees, no clouds in sight and not even the lightest breeze. I swear if the weather goes to shit tomorrow, I’m starting an inquisition against every forecast studio.”
Lily’s giggles once again filled Leo’s ears. “Damn, you must have been holding this back for a while now, huh?”
Leo’s shoulders slumped. “Four days,” he muttered, stopping where the sidewalk ended and the dirt track leading into the forest began. “I’m just glad that I got it out before Edward’s visit.”
Lily hummed, “Oh right, he is visiting you today… Are you ready? If I remember correctly, he couldn’t come during the last few weeks.”
Leo sighed, leaning against the bark of the nearest tree, “There is nothing to be ready for, Lily. We’ve been trying to mend our relationship for over two years now and at this point those meetings are like a chore, nothing to be scared of.”
“I wish you tried at least a bit harder. He is still your biological father after all,” Lily said after a moment, the cheerfulness all gone from her tone.
I will try once he does too, Leo scowled, though he didn’t voice his thoughts. He was a grown-ass adult, not a five-year-old kid. Besides, he already had this argument with both Lily and his therapist in the past. It was probably the only matter they never managed to truly solve.
“That he is,” Leo murmured instead. “It’s just hard, you know. Every time I see him, I remember the day when everything went to shit. And well, even though I’m all about letting your past go, when it comes to Edward, I just can’t... Pretty hypocritical of me, eh?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Lily answered quietly after a long pause. “No one is perfect and as long as you try, it will be enough. Just don’t push him away, we both know that the man really regrets his actions.”
Leo snorted, “Look at you, giving good advice.”
“Oh, shush,” Lily huffed. “Besides, remember who brought you out of your broody phase.”
“Whatever,” Was Leo’s mature response. His sister exploded in laughter over the line while Leo just stood there scowling. “Ye, ye, laugh it up. We’ll see who laughs last when I tell Nick who is your favorite tomorrow.”
“Oi!” Came the instant response even though Leo could hear the traces of laughter in Lily’s voice.
“Anyway,” Leo interjected before Lily could go on another rant, “Got anything else to say? I really want to finish my run before Edward arrives.”
“Nope, that’s it from me. Just remember to at least try, okay?”
Leo heaved a sigh, “I will, I promise I will. See you tomorrow then.”
“See ya, little brother!” She shouted cheerily before the line went silent.
Shaking his head with silent laughter, Leo took out his phone and put on his favorite playlist on low volume. The soft tunes and the singing of birds always put his mind at ease throughout his runs. He definitely needed to relax a bit before this evening.
Leo took a deep breath and stepped into the embrace of Nature, forgoing the past as his shoes trampled upon the dirty track faster and faster. Edward might be a problem of the past and future, but here and now, far away from civilization, only the present and the road ahead of Leo mattered.