My Dark Friend

Ten Years Later

Lila trudged wearily up the stairs of her apartment complex. Her feet were sore and her body ached after her twelve hour shift. All she wanted to do was get home and collapse on her bed. She made her way up the last flight of stairs, struggling with her keys. She had been working like this nonstop all week. Finally she was going to get a few days off. Yet, she was a bit nervous about the next few days. Tomorrow she was picking up her brother Austin who she had only seen through a thick sheet of bulletproof glass.

Ten years ago, her parents and aunt had been brutally murdered in their suburban kitchen. When the maid came in that morning to the gruesome sight, she found a bloody Austin, passed out next to an emotionless and still Lila, who was curled into a wall not far from the mess. The maid called the cops and they were there in a flash. Everything had been a quick blur. Austin woke up and let out a blood-curdling scream at his blood-drenched clothes.

He had a vague recollection of what had happened. Lila, the only witness, had her entire memory wiped. Not just from that night but for the passed two years seemed to have disappeared. Trauma, they said. The police concluded that Austin had been in a drug-induced haze when he committed the murders and sent him to jail for the next ten years. Lila had been shipped to a foster home and lived the remainder of her childhood with two loving strangers. Now Austin was going to be out and with no place to go, Lila offered her home despite the protest of everyone else. Deep down, way down, Lila knew that he didn’t do it despite the evidence against him.
Lila unlocked her door and dropped her purse to a nearby coffee table. She flicked the lights on and set her keys down on the kitchen counter. Tossing her coat off and kicking away her shoes, Lila went the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Dasani. She took a long and quick swing before she noticed the flashing red light of her answering machine. Lila pressed the button and the machine clicked awake.

“Hey, Lila. It is Austin. Umm…I guess this is it. I am out tomorrow. Umm… It will be nice seeing you without…uhh…a cop watching us,” her brother chuckled weakly at his joke than cleared his throat. “Two o’clock tomorrow, I will see you. Uhh…yeah…bye, sis.”

Lila’s features cross with pity at her brother’s miserable voice. It had been a hard ten years for them. After busying herself with a late snack, she went through her normal nightly routine. She brushed her long white-blonde hair and replaced it in a loose ponytail and changed into her pajamas. Slowly and exhausted, she crawled into her cool bed and curled up in the sheet. Taking a pillow, she hugged it tightly to her chest and sighed. Tomorrow.

Her and her brother will be together tomorrow. Part of her was happy but another was scared and unsure. Even though she knew he couldn’t have possible killed their parents, something in his green eyes always made her shudder. Or when he would hug her on those days she could touch him, she felt a longing for something lost but a fear of what would come. It made her confused and a bit paranoid. Yet she loved Austin. He was her only family she had left. Lila turned off her lights and fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Lila cursed repeatedly as she scrambled frantically through her apartment. She had over slept! She had over slept. She couldn’t believe that she had slept right up until noon. The house was in disarray. She had yet to prepare her brother’s room or get something to eat. All she could do was jump in the shower and throw on some clothes. It was an hour drive to the prison and she did not want to be late.
Grabbing a Slim Fast from the fridge, Lila ran out of her apartment. She flew down the stairs frantically as strands of wet hair fell in her face. Soon she was running out of breath and her body began to protest against the sudden movement. After nearly tripping, Lila had to cool her pace. When she hit the second landing from the bottom, she noticed a lump sitting on one of the stairs. It was a little boy, curled up and crying into his knees. His dark brown hair obscured his features and he was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue shirt. Lila’s heart sank and she couldn’t just leave the boy.

“Hey, kid. What’s wrong,” she asked softly. The boy’s head jerked up. His dark face glisten with tears and his dark brown eyes were red. He sniffled a few times and gazed at her. Lila forgot for a moment her rush and bent down to his level. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t find…I’ve lost…” he sputtered miserably.

“Your mom…your dad?” He shook his head and began to cry again. Lila felt a growing pity for him. He couldn’t be much older than 11. Lila rubbed his back and looked around. What could she do? There was no one in sight and she needed to get to the prison. Sighing, Lila stood and offered a hand to the little boy.

“Come on. I have to go get my brother, do you wanna come?” The boy sniffled and stared at her with wide eyes. “When we come back we can find your guardian, okay?”

“Okay,” he replied meekly and took her hand. His fingers were slender and dark against her pale skin. Lila smiled comfortingly and aided him down the stairs. What would her brother think her bringing a kid along? The boy gripped her hand, sniffling and whipping his tears with his free hand.

“My name is Delilah, by the way. But you can call me Lila or Lily if you like, okay?” He nodded, softly smiled.

“Okay, Lila. I am…Mason,” he replied. Lila squeezed his hand and hailed a taxi as soon as the came to the busy streets.

I don;t know much about law and stuff like that. I apologize if it is inaccurate.