Life of Layla

Chapter Three

I spent five full minutes staring at the front door. I was afraid to knock, to see what had become of Ruby, Sam's mother.

She had never been visibly angry, impatient, or sad in all the years I've known her. I always saw her laughing about one thing or another.

Even when she stood next to me at the hospital while my mom was dying, she still bravely smiled and joked about the horrible food at the hospital. And when she saw her friend close her eyes the last time, she simply gave me a hug, drove me home, and bid me farewell.

She was strong. The strongest person I knew, maybe even more so than my own mother was.

That's why I couldn't bear opening the door. If I did, I'm sure my whole idea of her would change.

I know I told Maxwell I would do anything to find out what happened to Sam, and I will, but I just need a moment to brace myself.

In the meantime, I examined the intricate designs on the door. It was a plain wooden board once, but Ruby painted it red, ruby red, and drew black, floral designs on it. She was a restaurant manager by trade, but painted as a hobby. She is a brilliant artist.

Ruby once told me, as she painted a picture of a blue dinosaur, that she painted for a living, but decided to get a stable job when she had Sam. Little eight year old me didn't understand why being an artist wasn't considered a stable job, but I nodded along while eating one of her chocolate chip cookies because I liked being spoken to like I was a big girl.

I still have that dinosaur painting in my room. I got into a huge argument with Sam over who got to keep it when Ruby finished it. Eventually we came up with a compromise, with him getting a pack of Jelly Babies and me having the painting.

The one thing Sam and I had in common was a love for Jelly Babies. I always took the red and green ones, and he got the orange and yellow ones. Over the years, my love for it lessened. Although, I still like having Jelly Babies every now and then.

I still can't come to terms with the fact that Sam is dead. The last time I saw him, he was just...so alive. I have a little part of me hoping this was all just a big joke, and when I enter the house Sam and Ruby will just pop out and start laughing at me.

When I think about it, it wasn't as if I even saw a dead Sam. Also, why would nobody in town know about this? It makes absolutely no sense.

"Well? Are you going to knock on the door or did you give up already?"

Maxwell's loud voice boomed in my ear, making me slightly jump. I had forgotten about him being there. After taking a deep breath, I look at him only to see him staring at me with a lazy smile on his face.

That jerk, thinking he already won. He isn't going to get me to give up that easily. I loudly knocked on the door, then waited.

I expected Sam or Ruby to appear, laughing at me for falling for their trick. How did they know I would go to the corner store though? Was my grandmother on this too? They must have been real determined to pull a joke on some innocent soul.

We were kept waiting though. And waiting. And waiting.

I knocked again, only for no one to answer once more. Impatient, I was about to knock again when Maxwell beat me to it. He knocked for a continuous two minutes.

He finally seemed to give up and sat on one of the steps leading to the door dejectedly. I sat too, and told him with a smirk on my face, "you give up yet detective?"

"Oh you-"

I interrupted with an innocent smile on my face. "Oh me? Fabulous, absolutely amazing, miracle?