Death's Call

Chapter 9.

Alex's POV:

And like always, he disappears into thin air.

We'll talk tomorrow. A sudden whisper spoke into my ears, softly.

Darian.

I was so preoccupied in thought I forgot my sister who was right behind me. "Kaila, what are you doing here?" I asked, closing the gap between us. "I went shopping," she mentioned with a smile, lifting the grocery bags above her head. She then directed her gaze behind, staring into the empty street of Williamsburg. "Who were you talking to?"

I picked up my phone and indicated that I was on a call. "You didn't have to get grocery. You should have called I would have done it on my way home."

"I know how tired you must be from working all day. So I figured, why not help." She said sweetly. Kaila was the type to do stuff for you when she either felt guilty or pity. I think this time she felt both.

Ever since we were kids, Kaila dedicated her whole life to protecting me. We lived with our aunt after mom's died. Aunt Rebecca took good care of us and treated us like her own daughters. Kaila for some reason never thought it was enough for me. When we became teenagers, she began to work three jobs to keep us afloat.

We weren't poor. Aunt Rebecca had a very good job in a real estate agency, which paid handsomely. But Kaila thought things could change suddenly. She once said to me that, nothing stays the same forever. It didn't take long for me to realize what she meant by that. Dad leaving and mom dying. She never let that go. She always had her mind set on our future. On whether we stayed together forever. Losing our parents traumatized her more than it did me. She even developed these cold, emotionless expressions on her face. Even her dating life was put on hold for me.

I wish I could save her from losing me too. It would destroy her when she loses me as well. I can't believe I'm going to still be a burden to her even in death. That was just too much.

"Hey," she stared at me with puzzled eyes.

I shook out of my thoughts. "Yeah, let's go up."

Keeping what Darian had said in mind, I grimaced. Tomorrow? Tomorrow where? At work? At my therapy meeting? Where exactly were we going to talk? He could have at least told me that much?

It was hard to fall asleep that night. My mind was so occupied lately I forgot something...

Kaila thinks Darian is my roommate, so she would expect him to be here. I formulated a plan but wasn't sure if it was the right one. The certainty of Darian coming back to my apartment was slim. Maybe he hated staying with me as much as I hated staying with him. Maybe he found me obnoxious like I found him. Or even, maybe he preferred to stay at his home. No man would enjoy staying in a woman's house, especially when they had their own home...room to sleep in. And especially, when they had no romantic feelings or sexual intimacy with them.

"Hey, Lexi? Where's your hot strange roommate?" She asked, rubbing her eye as she made her way into the living room.

Okay, time for my planned lie, "he's visiting his mother. She fell terribly ill. So he's taking care of her till she's better." I smiled. Lying tends to get easier when you use it to cover up other lies. I'm becoming an expert at this.

"What happened to her?"

"Stroke." I nodded with a gloomy smile. I realized how sinical it started to look so changed to a gloomy frown of sadness.

"I have to go to work. You can leave the key at the security desk when you're leaving." I informed, picking up my old medications from the counter as I made my way out. I was planning on visiting Ivory after my session with Mr. Brassard. "Wait!" Kaila stopped me from leaving, holding my hand in place. "What?" I turned confused. "I wasn't planning on going home today. So I can drop you off at work today."