Lailah

♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙⊹⁺♡♡⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹_. ༶ ⋆˙

My name is Lailah and for as long as I've ever known I've been haunted by a curse. 

An evil soul taking a curse, as I've gotten older I've learned to conceal it but sometimes I can't help but let it out. This curse shows itself in the form of dark matter which tends to take and destroy. When I was little and did not control it, I would ruin many things unintentionally such as plants, and books, and sometimes even be capable of killing living things. I know deep down that I’m not a bad person, but this curse has slowly taken over my body. I know it’s only a matter of time before it takes over my body and kills me. 

This only manifested itself whenever I felt a strong emotion such as anger. I am ashamed of this secret and it eats me alive slowly every day. Frances used to say that I was cursed by an evil witch when I was just a baby but before she could kill me Frances took me in so she could not hurt me anymore. I often wonder what I had done to deserve this, is being born enough of a crime to make someone, let alone a baby, suffer in this way? 

Now that I'm living with this nice family I hope I can conceal this awful thing forever so I can't hurt them too. 

I must do whatever it takes to prove myself to them, especially after showing their continued kindness. I do not find their secrets strange. I relate to them in a way that they will never know. I too know what it's like to be ashamed of who you are. I find great comfort in her presence. It's clear to me that she needs a friend, although I've never been given the honor to be someone's friend. I hope that one day I'll be able to carry the title. 

I opened the door to see that all three of them were sitting at the table eating breakfast.

“Good day everyone,” I say 

“Good day, Lailah!” Marina says 

“Let me get you a plate to sit down on that empty chair if you like,” Angel says, quickly standing up to serve a plate of breakfast which consisted of a pastry and some fruit. 

“Thank you so much Angel,” I say and in return, she smiles.

We all eat until Marina stands and puts her plate to wash. 

“I've got to go I don't want to be late and have Brady yelling at me again” 

“If Brandy yells at you, you send him to me. He had no reason to be yelling at you” Johnny tells Marina.

“Johnny, he is my boss, he does have the right to yell at me,” Marina says as she packs a bag filled with various fruits. 

“I don't care he shouldn't be yelling at you” 

Marina noticeably brushes him off. She waves at us goodbye before she is out the door. 

“Aren't you supposed to be heading out too?” Johnny asks Angel 

“Yeah but unlike Marina I don't give a damn what Brandy says” She cheekily smiles before biting down on her pastry. 

“You should be more responsible like Marina”

“You want to be more like my little sister? She is young and naive, that's the main reason she cares so much about the Y.K.C.” 

Johnny stays silent possibly because he knows that Angel is right. 

“So Lailah” Angel directs herself towards me now. “What are you planning on doing today?”

“Yes, Lailah, what are you planning on doing today?” Johnny says sarcastically 

“Are you kidding? Why are you such a dick?” Angel sharply says “Don't listen to him he has had a stick up his ass for the last 23 years” 

I try my best not to laugh at her remark. 

“I was planning on searching for a job today, trying to get my life back for once,” I say jokingly. 

“Well, I wish the best of luck to you. I'll be cheering you on from the Y.K.C.,” she says as she stands up to head out too. “I'll be back later”

“Alright see you,” Johnny says

Johnny and I are now sitting alone at the dining table and I can't help but feel a weird aura in the air. I try not to notice it and just eat my breakfast. 

I finish up quickly and start heading off the door. 

Looking for a job could prove a difficult task now that I am in a new place. The people here are more different and more lively than in my old town. Start making my way through the shops and so far every single owner has turned me down. I was starting to feel hopeless. I didn't want to fail anyone let alone myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I needed to let all the people who didn't believe in me before that I could make something out of myself.

I started heading up to this nice shop that sold pastries. I introduce myself and ask to speak to the owner. It was this nice gentleman who had an interesting wardrobe, to say the least, he introduced himself as Mr. Hicks. He explained that he needed extra help and would appreciate it greatly if I joined his team. I was beyond excited. I'm surprised that I was even able to find work today but took it with open arms.

I accepted the job with Mr. Hicks, and he explained that he would prefer it if could start right this instance. I had nothing planned for the rest of the day so I figured there was no harm in starting early. 

He introduced me to the other girl working there Marie. She seemed nice enough. She was the one who ended up showing the ropes. She informed me that I'd be dealing with customers more than anything and that she would be the one making drinks and preparing pastries. After a while, she asked me to wait tables to get me started. 

Things seemed very straightforward, some people were more difficult than others but overall it was a very standard day of work. At the end of the day, we helped Mr. Hicks close up shop. He pulled me aside and said that I had done a good job today and that he would pay me in three days. I thanked him and Marie for helping me out and I went to head back to the house. 

In a way, it was weird to head back to a home I looked forward to at the end of the day. I hope this feeling never goes away but with my luck these days that probably won't happen. 

I open the door and see Marina reading a book on the couch. As soon as she sees me she greets me. 

“Hey Lailah, how was your day?”

“Pretty good Marina thank you I was able to find work today”

“That's great I'm so happy for you, you must be exhausted, feel free to take a shower it's the third door from the left” 

“Will do thank you, Marina” 

I took a quick shower and when I got out Marina was standing waiting beside the door.

“Is it okay if I-” she pauses to gather her thoughts “It's just Angel never lets me touch her hair and you have such pretty long hair.” 

“Do you want to brush my hair?” I ask her 

“Yes please”

“Okay then let's go to my room” I lead her to my room and sit on the floor while she sits on the bed. 

She starts brushing. I can tell she is trying to be as gentle as possible and I appreciate that. 

“Lailah, do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

“I don't mind you asking me things Marina,” I say

“Well, you mentioned you had a boyfriend before coming here right?”

“I did yes,” I say worried about how the conversation would play out.

“Well it's just-” she pauses for a second. “How did you know that you liked him?” 

“Oh well I guess there was never a definitive time where I knew but over time I realized that I wanted to spend all of my time with him, it's one of those things where you truly feel special being around someone,” I say reminiscing on the good times. 

“But you broke up, how could someone make you feel like that and then just leave?”

“It's a bit complicated but people change at first they will only show you the side that they want. If someone wants you to like them they'll show their good side but as time goes on they will show their true self and it's up to you to know how you feel about their true self. In my case, my ex-boyfriend's true self was not a person I'd like to be with so we decided to part ways” 

I try my best not to say something I regret later. I know how hard these types of situations can be and honestly you would never truly know unless you experience it for yourself. 

Marina keeps brushing. I can tell she is thinking to herself.

“Do you fancy someone, Marina?” I say teasingly

“I'm not sure, I've ever really liked someone so I don't know,” she says parting my hair.

“I think that it's one of those things where when you know you'll know,” I say

She stayed quiet for a moment but then she said “I think you're right” and even though I couldn't see her face I could tell she had a smile on. 

“I know everything will work out for you Marina if it's not with this person then that's okay it won't be the end of the world” I try to comfort her, I know how weird these situations can be especially for young teenagers.

“I see how even though things ended pretty badly for you, in many ways not only in your relationship, you held your head up high and decided to start over and I think that makes you pretty brave” 

“You think that about me?” I say surprised

“Of course, I do your battles don't go unnoticed at least by me anyway”

“Thank you Marina that is so sweet” 

“I try my best,” she chuckles. “You're all done! What do you think?”

I look up and see my reflection in the mirror hung up on the wall. She put my hair into two long braids and I could tell she tried her best to make it perfect. 

“I like it Marina thank you” 

“Of course well I should be thanking you for allowing me to play with your hair a bit” 

“Nonsense I enjoyed our little chat I hope to know more about you, you seem like a sweet kid”

“And you are a nice old person,” she says as she goes out the door. 

I'm not old am I? I'm only a few years older than her I'm barely twenty!

At the same time, Johnny is coming from the other side of the hall. He pauses in his tracks and watches her leave, he turns and looks at me. 

“Were you talking to my sister?” he says 

“Yeah we had a small chat and she did my hair” 

“Okay” he seems bothered, “do you want to help me make some dinner?”

“Of course, you tell me what to do and I'll do it” 

“Alright then come on”