Shadow Girl - (Book Two)

Chapter 3 - Tears and Vegans

Jane

How was it possible to be so cold and so hot all at once? I couldn't help but wonder as I strained to hear someone talking to me.

"Oh man, you have got to wake up!" The male voice sounded far away.

How odd, usually Mama wakes me up in the mornings. I must be very late for school if Papa is trying to get me out of bed.

I mumbled a good morning to him in Japanese and tried to open my eyes. They felt heavy and I noticed as something dripped from my forehead down into my ear.

"I don't know that language."

"I thought we weren't supposed to speak English at home, Papa." I finally managed to open my eyes and a boy was hovering over me and he was sitting on my bed. I tried to scream but my mouth was far too dry.

"Oh hey, hold on. I've got some water here." He held the back of my neck with one hand and a bottle of water with the other.

After the first few drops hit my tongue, I was hooked and drank greedily. I didn't even seem to care about the fact that some of it was very clearly missing my mouth. He tipped the bottle up to drain the last of its contents and tossed the trash into my nearby waste bin.

"I'm so glad you're not imaginary." He laughed. It was a very real sound, like it came from a place of profound honesty. There was nothing practiced or insincere about it at all, "But you had me worried!"

So much of this encounter just was not adding up.

"I mean, when you appeared, POOF, out of thin air it was pretty incredible. Was it some sort of magic trick gone wrong? Is that why you're sick?" He frowned and leaned in closer.

"I-uh,"

"Where are my manners?" He jutted his hand out so quickly that it startled me, "I'm Leo. Leo Cooper. You're Jane, right?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, when I thought you were sick, I kinda just started digging around in this room. I found an anatomy textbook with the name Jane Tomatsu on the inside cover. That's you right?"

"Yes, it is."

"Are you going to tell me about that trick?" He leaned even further forward as if readying himself for the secret of a lifetime. It seemed that the term "personal space" meant very little to this Leo Cooper. "I can think of a million different ways to use it; something with mirrors right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I felt my face scrunch up. "And why are you in my room!"

"Whoa, I just helped you out, remember?"

His face was so ridiculously easy to read. He looked like a puppy dog that just got yelled at for piddling on the carpet. I tried to sit up and the washcloth on my head slipped down my face. He took the cloth and let me try again. Upon failing the third time, Leo scooped me up and propped me into a sitting position against the headboard. He grabbed my second pillow off the bed and fluffed it, before placing it behind my head. "Better?"

"Um, thanks." I knew I was blushing. "Listen, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just very confused and nothing is making much sense."

"Shall I start from the beginning?" He asked.

"Yes, please."

"So this afternoon, I heard siren after siren heading this way. I camped up in an old tree and watched as cops and paramedics came in and out of this house. There were some TV crews, but they weren't allowed to get close. Eventually the cops left and the ambulances took two bodies away. I let myself in and grabbed some stuff out of the fridge. I came upstairs, took a quick shower, and then when I was looking for a place to crash, you popped out of nowhere. I thought I was going crazy." He paused and turned away, a sheepish look on his face. "Being alone can do that to you, you know... Anyways, you had a fever and I put the towel on your head to try and cool you down. I drew all the curtains and privacy shades, so no one would see the light on. That was like an hour ago."

"Those bodies, they were my parents." In that instant, I knew it hadn't all been some sick and sad dream. I remembered the whole scene so vividly; that other place, all the blood, and that woman... that horrible woman.

I described her to Leo. He shrugged his shoulders and said he hasn't seen anyone like that.

"Is she the one who did all that downstairs?" He asked, concern written all over his face.

I nodded and told him what I saw. I left out the bit about me becoming invisible, or whatever that was, because honestly, who would believe such a thing?

"I know it's not much, but I'm sorry."

He reached forward and put his arm on my head. With a declaration that my fever was gone, he jumped up and left the room. Leo came back a few minutes later with a wholemeal sandwich full of sprouts, kale, tomatoes and hummus.

"I couldn't find any meat, but you should eat something."

"We're, I mean, I'm a vegan."

"Vegan?"

"You know, a vegan; no animal products." I said. He looked confused. "Haven't you ever heard of a vegan before?"

"Spell it."

I did and he mulled the word over in his head. "Oh yea, I have seen that before. There was this veggie wrap someone tossed away outside a fancy cafe that said that, vee-ghan." He rolled the word around in his mouth testing it. "Doesn't sound like much fun just eating vegetables all the time."

"Food isn't for fun. It's nourishment. Mama always said that Westerners are too focused on instant gratification to really appreciate good, whole food."

"What's the point in doing something that isn't fun?" He asked.

"It's called being responsible. When you're responsible, you get a good job and a nice house. You have kids and-" I stopped mid-sentence as I realized that was exactly what my parents had done. They had been responsible and conservative their entire lives. All they got in return was a secret about their son that I couldn't tell and a stranger murdering them in their own home.

What was the point?

Leo frowned at me.

"You can cry if you want. No one would blame you. I'll go find somewhere to sleep." He stood and gathered the plate; sandwich only half eaten. He made it all the way to the door and flipped the switch, "Night."

"Wait!" I heard the words come out of my mouth before I even realized that I had said them. "I don't think I want to be alone right now."

He didn't reply, but a moment later I felt the bed sink down. I was already crying, as silently as I could. Leo wrapped an arm casually around me and began stroking my hair. I felt myself calming down and I heard him say one last thing before I drifted off.

"It's not your fault."

_

Author's Note: Not edited yet! I should get to that tomorrow. In the meantime, thoughts, comments?

Dedicated to libbypig97 for being another one of my incredible readers! Man, I love you guys!

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