Reflection - Book 1 of the Leila Series

Chapter 2

Two years ago, when I turned thirteen, my parents disappeared mysteriously. I was so scared the night they disappeared that I called my aunt Audrey to help me. I expected aunt Audrey to call the police but she didn't. She just told me to pack whatever I needed and brought me to her house. She had two sons, who were going off to college soon. Five months after I was taken to aunt Audrey's house, her sons left for college and she stopped caring for me. I taught myself how to steal the money she leaves around the house and hide it for me to use in the future. Sometimes when I'm desperate, I ask Reflection for help because aunt Audrey can't see her. Two years later, which is now, I've stolen so much money from her I could fly to another country and still have tons of money remaining. Aunt Audrey had never once complained about her lack of money and I'm glad for that.

Today was probably one of the worst days of Leila's life. She had not only just lost her boyfriend, got chased by cops, she had also no home to go to. Leila really messed up this time. She blames Reflection for that. Leila looks back and sees Reflection quietly following her, self-consciously rubbing her tattoo. Leila was glad that she had a name now, no matter how weird it was. 

Suddenly, Leila is hit with a flashback of what happened at Jovan Rey's , her ex-boyfriend, house about an hour ago. Leila was in his kitchen, with its greyish-white walls and massive array of plates lined on the drying rack. She was wrecking the place, one plate at a time. No, it wasn't Leila doing it ,it was Reflection. She was so angry, unlike anything she'd ever seen from her before. Leila just stood at the corner of the kitchen, screaming at her to stop. Right then, she felt so invisible, like she was watching herself do something she couldn't stop from doing. Reflection broke all the plates and bowls and cups and other expensive things in the kitchen. She even managed to ruin Jovan's microwave oven. The place was a complete mess. 

"Hey! Stop that! Leila? What the hell! Stop!" Leila heard Jovan from the living room shouting at her and running towards her. Reflection stopped and shook her head at Leila. Jovan walked right past Leila like she was invisible and stood in front of Reflection, towering over her. Suddenly, Leila was all sad and angry and she felt what she had felt yesterday when she found out what Jovan had done to her. Tears came pouring out of Leila's eyes and words came out of her mouth, "You are such a liar!" Reflection was saying the same thing to Jovan. They were both shouting at him, "Why didn't you just tell me!? Instead of fucking lying to me?!" Jovan took a shocked step back and sternly said, "Get out of my house before I call the police!" Reflection pushed Jovan away and ran into Leila. She disappeared and Jovan now noticed her. "Out!" He screamed at Leila. Sirens could be heard from the distance and that made Leila run, out of Jovan's wrecked house and onto the streets. 

The flashback was so emotional for Leila that she started crying again. Reflection rushed to her side and comforted her. "He's not worth it, okay? We'll get our revenge. We always get our revenge on the people who hurt us. Right now, you need some help, and a place to stay," Reflection said and made Leila look at her. Reflection wiped away the tears in Leila's eyes and Leila nodded.

It was almost morning by the time Leila came across a decent looking house that seemed empty. The gate was unlocked, the front door was closed, none of the curtains were drawn and all the windows weren't open. the house had a nice shade of yellow to it and she could see that it was a three storey house. There was a front yard behind the gate which was tiled with sand-coloured tiles. "Should we go in and take a look?" Reflection asked Leila. "We? There is no 'we'. There is only me because no one seems to see you. It's best you stay here and keep me from any more  trouble," Leila said. "Come on, if there's no one inside there, what trouble can I get you into?" Reflection assured Leila. She groaned in defeat and exhaustion and walked into the house. Surprisingly, the front door was unlocked too. When Leila went inside, it looked like an ordinary house. There was a piano next to the door and a huge television beside it. A small coffee table stood in front of the TV and a white couch just behind it. There was a black dining table at the end of the first floor that was covered with shiny glass. A doorway led to the kitchen beside the table, which lacked the sight of food. 

"Well, this is a nice place. It's a shame for someone to leave it like this," Reflection said as she nudged Leila. Annoyed, Leila moved away from Reflection but froze as she saw a shadow coming down the stairs. A girl who looked the same age as Leila emerged from the stairs, holding a baseball bat. "Who are you people?" She asked. "People? There's only me..." Leila told the girl and put her hands up. "I'm not blind, you know. I can see your twin. Now who are you both?" The girl was now at the bottom of the stairs, ever so carefully walking towards Leila and Reflection. "Wait, you can see her?" Leila asked. "Of course I can, dummy. She's not invisible or anything. Hey, nice tattoo," the girl lowered her bat slightly. "Please, Leila and I just need a place to sleep for one night. We promise you we'd be gone by tomorrow morning. It's been a rough day for the both of us. We aren't here to steal anything from you," Reflection told the girl, calmly. The girl put down her baseball bat and asked, "Why don't you just go home?" "Because I don't have a home," Leila explained. The girl's eyes widened with concern and put a hand on Leila's shoulder. "You can stay here as long as you tell what are your names and why you are here." 

Leila had no choice but to explain everything to the girl. She listened attentively and sometimes glanced at Reflection. When Leila finished her story about how she had run away from home, how Reflection had trashed Jovan's place, and how they needed to find a few people, Leila waited for the girl to say something. "Interesting story," the girl said. "Well, my name is Myra. Myra Ashlie. I guess you are in a pretty tight spot. I mean, what Jovan did to you was definitely very bullshitty ,but why did-uh-Reflection have to break into his house and break everything?" Leila looked at Reflection, who had a guilty look on her face. "Is there any way I can take a-uh-a shower?" Reflection asked Myra sheepishly. "Yeah, sure. Help yourself to my clothes and towels. You can take my mum's too, I guess." Myra answered politely. 

When Reflection went upstairs to bathe, Myra asked Leila excitedly, "Whats the deal with this Reflection? She looks so much like you, yet different!" "She is different. I don't even know how you can see her. She started off as my imaginary friend, I think. Then she changed into a voice in my head. And now, its like she's a real person but only you and I can see her. It's very strange, I know. I've learnt to just deal with it. What about you? Where are your parents?" Leila said to Myra. Myra looked down at the couch they were sitting on and quietly said, "I don't know. They went on a business trip about a month ago but they haven't returned. I know I've said some pretty mean things to them but I never thought they'd abandon me." Leila instantly felt sorry for Myra and realised she was not alone. "It's okay. My parents are missing too. One day they were with me, happy and loving and the next, they're gone. The night my parents disappeared was also the night Reflection became a realistic person. It's all connected somehow, but I can't seem to join the dots. Now, I've got Jovan to deal with. Sometimes, I don't even know how I can handle all this pressure," Leila said. Myra looked up at Leila, "So that's why you stay with your aunt. She has to be a terrible aunt to have forgotten about you like that. By the way, what's your plan on taking revenge on Jovan? Trashing his house isn't going to make up for him cheating on you." "I was originally planning on paint balling his ass but it's not enough. I have a few people I know who would stick to my side once they find out who he really is. I think my plan is to sabotage him. I would first get his friends to hate him, then his one thousand ex-girlfriends and girlfriends to hate him even more then lastly, make him hate himself the most," Leila said, with sheer determination. "Sounds like a good plan," Myra said, nodding her head. 

At that moment, Reflection came downstairs, her clothes different from Leila's and her hair wet from the shower. "Ready to go?" She asked. Leila stood up from the couch  and walked towards the front door. Then she looked at Myra and said, "Thank you, Myra Ashlie. We're going to take that 'good plan' into action now. Today, actually. I'll come by and visit sometime. Maybe by then your parents would be home with you!" Myra immediately stood up after Leila and said, "Wait! My parents aren't worth waiting for. Let me come with you. You could use the extra help. I know a few people who would kick any asshole's ass. Please let me go with you guys! It's gonna be so much more fun than staying in this house alone!" Leila and Reflection smiled at the same time and Leila put her arm around Myra. "Welcome to the team, dummy." With that, Myra, Reflection and Leila all head out of the house to get their revenge plan back on track.