Chapter 24
I moved slightly and opened my eyes. I blinked away the blurriness, but as my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, It was dark. What the hell happened? I must have slept all day. I moved up in bed and looked around my room. There was a sandwich on the side and a glass of something, but I couldn’t tell what. I moved from the bed and stood up but felt slightly off. My head hurt again, as it did many times. I felt my legs go like jelly, but I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, which helped before I fell back on the bed. What was wrong with me? After a few moments, making sure I got my bearings, I walked over to the window and stared out, but something didn’t feel right. My head felt heavy like someone was standing on my brain. “Move,” someone shouted in my head. I jumped back away from the window and looked around the room, but there was no one there. What the hell was that? “Get down,” the voice said. I was about to protest when a growl came through my head. Creepy! I did as the voice said and went to the floor. I crawled to the foot of the bed and sat down. I must be going crazy. I was hearing voices. That’s not normal. I stayed still, but some noises were outside, below my window. I kept my eyes on the window when the voice in my head spoke again. “Listen,” the voice said. “What the hell?” I whispered, but the voice said nothing. “Yeah, definitely going crazy,” I whispered. I could hear a faint giggle in my head as I gripped the bedding on the bed. I was scared. I was losing my mind. “You’re not losing your mind,” the voice said. “Now, don’t speak; just listen.” My eyes grew wide. I can’t believe I have a voice telling me what to do. I listened, and a few seconds later, I heard a conversation, but I couldn’t place who it was or where they were coming from, but it sounded close. “We need to get rid of her,” a man said. “He wants to know more about her, but no one has seen her.” I frowned. Who the hell were they looking for? “You,” the voice said with a hint of a growl. I felt my heartbeat go faster. Who the hell would want me? I did nothing. I knew no one here. I felt scared, but I carried on listening. “Well, he will have to get in line,” another man said gruffly. “We need to leave before someone sees us; if we get caught, there will be no one to help us.” I listened more, but the voices had moved away and were faint, which made it hard to hear anymore. “You can get up now,” the voice said in my head. I stilled, but I crawled from the foot of the bed and stayed on the floor as I sat down on the floor, leaning against my bed and staring ahead. “I don’t know whether I should say thank you or freak out,” I muttered under my breath. “Shh,” the voice said. “You can talk to me in your head.” I frowned. “Fine,” I said in my head. “Who are you, and how can I can hear you?” 1 There was a faint sigh before the voice spoke again. “I’m a friend,” the voice said, but it seemed to get louder. I could sense the voice was from a female, but that was all I could make out. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.” I said nothing as I moved up from the floor and sat on the edge of my bed. “Who are you?” I asked. “I can’t say anything just yet,” she grunted. “Why not?” I asked. There was a long sigh before she spoke again. “Not until our mother tells you about what she is,” she said, catching me off guard. “If she says nothing, then I will have to tell you, but I am giving your mother the benefit of the doubt till then.” What the hell was my mother? I sighed. “You know I don’t have a good relationship with her, right?” I said. “It might be a long time before she tells me anything.” The voice grunted. “It won’t take a long time,” she said. “I won’t let it go that far, Leah.” My eyes widened. “You know my name,” I whispered. The voice laughed. “Of course, I know your name,” she said as she stopped laughing. “I have been with you for years, and I am honored to know who you are.” I didn’t know what to make of all this. I was talking to someone in my head; this was crazy. “You’re not crazy,” the voice said. “You will know soon.” I sighed and stared at the bedroom door. I wonder what this all means. I hated this. “I guess you can’t give me a clue what this is all about,” I asked the voice. “I can’t,” she said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.” I heard movement outside but didn’t move. I knew by the shadow who it was and crept back into bed, pulling the covers over me. I listened in as whispers started. “She’s still asleep?” Josh asked, sounding concerned. “Yeah,” my mum said. “She’s been asleep all day.” “I think we should get the doctor to check on her,” Josh said. “Just to make sure.” “Let’s see what she is like tomorrow,” my mum sighed. “The doctor told her to rest, and she has, but she has eaten little. Maybe it has something to do with that.” Josh sighed. “Well, we see,” he said. “But she has to come out of the room eventually, and I shouldn’t have to be away from my home so Leah can get used to you. I should be here too. She needs to get used to us being together.” 1 I felt the harshness in his voice. I kept my mouth closed, but my mum and Josh moved away from my door and headed somewhere else, still whispering. I turned onto my side and looked ahead at the wall. “You need to let them in,” the voice said, but I ignored it. I needed time to think straight. I waited for a few moments but turned, moved onto my back, and stared at the ceiling. The moon was out, filling my room like a night light. Shadows of some trees were shown on my wall and moved with the breeze there. Because of the moon, I could see cracks in the ceiling and a fly hovering around, but it landed on the lampshade. I sighed. “So,” I said through my head, “what do I call you?” I kept my eyes on the fly as it moved again. “Tala,” the voice said, which sounded louder than earlier. “My name is Tala.” I huffed. “Tala, will anyone know I can hear or talk to you?” I asked. “What do you mean?” Tala asked, sounding confused. “I mean, do I mention I am hearing your voice or not?” I said. “Knowing my luck, they will send me back to that hospital again, and I don’t want that. I want to leave here and never come back.” Tala said nothing. I stared at the ceiling. “You should sleep,” Tala said softly. I sighed and turned over, facing the wall again. After a few seconds, I kept reviewing everything that had happened but couldn’t wrap my head around any of it. I wanted to know who those men wanted with me, but part of me had a funny feeling about that, which wasn’t a good feeling either. I tried to push it to the back of my head. I sighed and tried to block everything out, but whatever tomorrow brings, I have to wait to see what happens, but something tells me until my mum tells me what is going on; I will be stuck in limbo till Mum or Tala tells me. I wonder if I hear from her again, Tala, or is my imagination playing tricks on me? I needed to clear my head. After what felt like hours, I felt my eyes get heavy again. I closed my eyes, but as I looked, two green orbs were staring back at me. I didn’t feel scared, but they were calm and friendly. It wasn’t long before I was sent into a deep sleep.