GUARDS DOWN

Chapter 3: A little Haunting

"Blood doesn't make a family, love does"
Related to the chapter... ;)
Dedicated to Caterine BookCoverDesign0 for making the lovely cover.. :)
QUESTION AT THE END.

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Alicia's POV

It's saturday night, more like sunday morning. It's 1:49 a.m. as the digital clock on my bedside table reads. I'm not able to sleep at all, I have this feeling just above my stomach and it's not going away. It's really bad and I just want it to ease. What if something's wrong?

I pick my phone up and text Lyric.

*Me: Are you awake?*

She can be and if she is then talking to her would make me feel better I know.
My phone vibrates and relief flushs into me.

*Lyric: Open the door, I'm coming. Just there.*

I read it again and again till it registers into my mind. She's coming. Why is she coming in the middle of the night? I text back.

*Me: Why? Is everything okay? Are you hurt?*

I get really tensed imagining different posible situations. Did I mention that they are all negative, really negative!
My phone vibrates and I mentally thank god.

*Lyric: I'm fine. And I'm at your gate... Open up.*

She's here. I peek through the my bedroom window. She's standing with something in her left hand. She's wearing pajamas and a normal tee. And she's draped in a scarf.

I rush down trying my best not to wake my parents up.
I opened the door almost instantly and take her in a warm hug. It's a long hug and it breaked when she pulls out. And she's starts to cry.

I'm definately curious to know what happened. What is the reason for her breaking into these painful sobs. But first, I've gotta comfort her.

"C'mon in" I take her to my room upstairs and make her cofortably seated on my fluffy bed.

"I'll be back" I say and start running out of the door but then I paused, turned around and ask her "If it's okay with you?" in a polite voice.

She nods and I smile softly. I ran to the kitchen and took out a mug from the drawer for me. Reached to the cabinet and took out a packed box. I carefully open it and take out the mug that I never use. Lyric gave this to me on my last birthday and it had our pictures on it with "Blood doesn't make family, love does." written below. It would lighten her mood up. I know.

I quickly made cold coffee and decorated it with chocolate syrup. I made a heart over her coffee. And a smiley over mine. I rushed back up and entered my room. I placed the tray on the bed and hand her the heart coffee.

"Here"
She smiled on seeing the heart. I took a sip from mine and intensionally let it form a mustache over my upper lip. She noticed it and let out a chuckle.
She also sips and makes a mustache over her lips cauing me to laugh.

"You wanna talk about it?" I ask her carefully.
She nodded.
After about five minutes she starts.
"Cathie's out of the town for the weekend, she left early in the morning while I was asleep. She told me earlier about the visit and also told me to join her but I refused because I thought I could handle 2 days without her and thank god I did." She takes a deep breath and then continues after a moment.
"I really didn't wanted to face Judy and therefore spent most of the day in my room surfing net, watching telly and reading books and eating whatever snacks were in my room's cabinet and there wasn't any need for me to leave the room." A long uneasy pause and then what I didn't expect to hear. "That is untill..... Untill my demons started calling on me and as you know there's only one thing that can help me battle them out or maybe push them at back of my mind." She's finding words.

"Your ipod." I say just for helping her out and also indicating her to continue.
"I had left my ipod back at Catie's room 'cause I stayed there the night earlier. So I tip-toed down to her room 'cause it was 1 in the morning and if I woke Judy up then would have killed me. Well, she did something like that."

I know mentally and emotionally killed not physically hurted. I know Judy, and she's enough with her sassy mouth, hurtfull words and sarcasm. I remember one time when I visited her house, she made me cry in literally 5 minutes of walking through the door.

"I did made sure to lock my room. While returning to my room, I made a de-tour to the kitchen 'cause there wasn't enough food in my room's cabinet for my night hunger. After reaching my room I noticed the door was locked but the key wasn't outside which was my fault that I left it on the door. I peeped through the keyhole and I saw Judy with a pair of scissors in her hand and a paper in the other. They were letters. The letters from Sophie, Darcy, and other girls. And also aunt Caitlin's letter. I got really tensed and started banging on the door. Threatning and then pleading for her to stop. But she didn't and she knew I was helpless. Helpless like I used to be before."

Sophie's letters. The Late Great Sophie's letters. No. Judy's gonna pay for that. She did not harm Sophie's letters.

Lyric sensing my thoughts, replied "She's definately gonna pay Alicia, but not now."

She smiles and I return it even more brightly.

"So suddenly I remembered that there was a spare key to my room in Catie's. I ran down and opened the door just in time. Remember Sophie used to write me monthly? There was the last letter in Judy's hand she wrote to me before she died. I saved it." And that was all it took for her to go from crying to sobing hard.

Sophie was the closest figure of a mother and a grandmother to Lyric. She's been a really important person in her life. And now she's dead and Judy was about to tear down her last letter. No. Thank god she couldn't.

She placed 'the' box on the bed. Which I refer to as 'Memory Heaven Box'. The box covered in photos of the girls. I smile at it. How dare Judy even put her hands on it.

"And she tore some of the letters from Darcy and Lucy and pics inside." she informs.

"No!" I shout at that.
"Sorry" I quickly appologise 'cause it's her place to react not mine and also that its late in night and my parents and brother are asleep.

Something crossed my mind and I asked her just that.
"Wait! How did you come here?"
"Ummm... Walking" she replied innocently.
"No way! 2 miles on foot in two in the morning!"
She's making a puppy face.
She walked 2 miles in the middle of the night.. Oh god!

"Are you crazy!? What if something would have happened?"
"But nothing did.. And who would mess with this bad looking girl, they all love their lives."
"Yeah, yeah.. Okay" No one would actually try to hurt her. She actually does look dangerous with the tattoos and the hair.. Not only just that but her confidence and body language.
"Now c'mon go to sleep." I order her.
"Okay ma'am."

Lyric's POV

I just had my moment of "That's like my girl".. I love Alicia and she's always proved to be there for me.
And out of all I told her, all she's caring about at the moment is that I walked alone in the night.. She cares so much. A bit too much but I love that.

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QUESTION:  What do you do when you are having a bad time or like your demons are taking hold of you?

[PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE]

A nice chapter giving away just a bit of Lyric's conditions and her secret. All the names play a significant role in her life. Catie, Judy, Darcy, Sophie, Caitlin and Lucy. So do remember them.

Thank you for reading
-HS