19- New Home

My heart pounded as the window near me opened, I cover my mouth and hope nobody heard me. "It's clear on the roof," a little boy yells. "She's here, we have to find her." The raspy voice says to the group, "are you sure, Leo?" He nods, "I can sense her." Hearing his name made my stomach ache, It couldn't be my Leo. Listening to his voice like a tape, I replayed it over and over. It became clear, it was him.

I wondered why he was here, and why he wanted me dead. All I wanted to do was love him, and he had other plans. Tears streamed down my face, falling to the pavement. "Looks like it might rain, Leo." He nods his head, "take shelter until we know for sure." Hearing his voice brought me back to when Leo gave me the necklace, he could hear my heart beating, and I could hear his. The realization caught up to me. He knew where I was because of the necklace, I felt uneasy just thinking about it.

Tearing the necklace off my neck, my heart pounded. I should've known, this necklace was how he knew I was still here. "I can no longer sense her, Nicole must've escaped." I grinned, hoping that would keep them away. If he couldn't sense me, there'd be no telling where I was. "Leo, how do you sense her?" He rubs his hands together, taking off his bracelet. "I made Nicole a necklace, it contained her love in it. When her heart beat, I could feel it through this bracelet."

"Could Nicole hear yours?" He asked, Leo chuckled. "That's only if I loved her back." The child bowed his head, he felt sad. "You never loved her?" Leo clenched his fists, punching the wall. "I loved her until she betrayed me, Nicole didn't even let me know she was leaving, she just left." The little boy slaps his face, "she didn't know either. Her mother killed the entire family, think about what she was going through." Leo looked down at the floor, he was hurt.

"She made you a body for your spirit, she loved you."

It was completely silent, completely dark, and still no help. Resting my head on my knees, I drifted into a dream; it was better than the reality I was in. I dreamed Nate and I were at home, our family was together and happy.

The sun starts to come up, and the neighborhood was awake. Why didn't I yell for them? Why didn't I ask to be saved? I couldn't, I would be found. I thought about joining Leo, maybe I'd be happier. I sprawl out on the roof, my back aching. I thought Nate would've came to my rescue by now, what happened?

"I'll give it a few more hours." My mind keeps replaying, I knew I would stay strong.

If I planned on staying longer, I would need to grab a few things to tie me over. Slowly inching toward the window, I slipped inside, running my knee into the wall.

I was scared someone heard me, what if someone saw me?

Without anymore thoughts, I limped into the bedroom. Rummaging through the closet, I managed to snag a baggy sweater and a blanket. As I go to open the door, footsteps meet me there. I drop to my stomach and roll under a bed, covering my mouth tightly. "Could've sworn I heard someone, I guess I'm just imagining things." The child says as she closes the door, I was glad she didn't bother to actually look around. Climbing out the bedroom window, I land on the second story balcony.

Sliding the glass door open, I quietly walk to the kitchen. Putting every thing I could fit into a plastic bag, I run out the back door. Heading toward the rose bushes, I see gardening tools laying against the broken down shed. I grab a long shovel from the pile, breaking a few boards from the back. Crawling through the hole, I notice how spacious it was.

The shed was the size of a small bedroom, a roof over my head was more than enough. "Speaking of roof," I say to myself, I push a few boards to the side of the roof. Light poured inside, showing me what was left to rot.

. A caved in chair

. A stack of books

. A rotting table

. A pile of bricks, and an old twin mattress.

Putting my hair up in a ponytail, I get started on a new, secure home. Pushing the last board into place, I sat down to try and relax.