Fight for Me

On her way back into the house, Layla bumps into someone.

“Oh gosh. Sorry.”

“Just the person I’m looking for.” Melinda grabs her hand and pulls her into one of the smaller office rooms in the house.

She shuts the door behind her and looks at Layla worriedly as she fidgets with her fingers.

“Melinda? What….are you doing?” Layla says not knowing if she should take a seat or find a way around her and out of the room.

“Layla.” She takes a step forward reaching her hand out to Layla.

But Layla pulls back, not sure what Melinda is trying now.

Melinda sighs as she pulls her hand back. “Look. I know we started off on the wrong foot. And honestly, most of that, -no, actually all of it is my fault. I was a fool for making assumptions about you.”

Melinda expectantly looks at Layla.

“Uhm……Okay?”

She sighs again. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for how I treated you before. ……….I always tell myself to trust my gut instinct. I guess I still need to learn that sometimes, I may also be wrong.”

Layla can see the sincerity in her eyes, and lets go of her stiffened stance.

“It’s, …..okay.” She tries to sound reassuringly.

The room is filled with an awkward silence, that Layla can even hear her own calming heartbeat.

“You have a strange aura about you.” Melinda breaks the silence, catching Layla’s confused attention.

“Huh?”

“The darkness that follows you.”

“What?” Layla can hear her heartbeat racing, wondering if Melinda can see the shadow too.

“Since the day we met, I sensed a very sinister aura around you. In my books, that means trouble. So I just tried to keep my distance from you. But,…..”

So she senses it. Can she then not see it?

“But what?”

“Such dark entities only follow people from whom it can feed on negative energy. They’re like parasites. Only leaving once they find someone worse, or if the person dies. But this thing often left your side, just to reappear again. That was strange.”

“But what negative energy am I giving off for it to feed off of. I’m not even trying to hurt anyone. Okay, yeah. So that thing with Samantha did happen. But this thing’s been following me since before that.”

“So you can sense it too?”

That’s when Layla realized Melinda probably doesn’t know everything. But maybe she can still try her luck to get more information on it.

“Actually,……….I can…….see…….it.” She says it word for word, hoping it will also slow down Melinda’s reaction enough for her to catch it.

“What?.......You can see it?”

Layla nods.

Melinda slowly starts to pace the room trying to make sense of Layla’s words.

“That’s what last night was all about, right? You saw it? I could sense it there last night, but you,…-you were looking at it. Weren't you? No wonder.”

“No wonder what?”

“Maybe that’s why it’s following you.”

“Because I can see it? I thought you said something about negative energy.”

“That’s how it works in most cases. And this is definitely not one of them. I don’t think it’s feeding off of your negative energy. I mean, when the dark aura disappears around you, I can’t sense any negative energy from you in any case. So there has to be another reason for it to stick to you like this.”

“How do I get rid of it then?” Layla asks with a heavy heart the one question she hopes Melinda can answer for her.

“I,……I don’t know.”

Layla sighs dejectedly.

But Melinda continues. “This,…..is something way beyond me. I can only describe it as a personification of a curse.”

Layla looks up shocked.

“A curse? Are you saying I’ve been cursed?”

“Not exactly. I don’t really know how to explain it. But now I’m sure, that this has to do with powerful and ancient magic. Magic that even witches can’t understand or even try to cast.”

Layla huffs out annoyed. “So you’re telling me it’s magic, ......that even witches can’t cast. Soooo-,………”

Layla realizes she’s left with more questions than answers, as she too starts to nervously pace the room.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve only ever heard of it. The only people I can think of right now who might have something more for you are the witches in the south. Maybe they’ll be able to figure out why this thing is attached to you.”

The South?

Silence fills the room again as they both finally stand still, having reached the end of their conversation.

“Thank you then. For the,……advice.” Layla says with a quick smile before she turns and walks out, before Melinda could stop her.

Walking through the house, Layla starts questioning her predicament. She knows she can’t outrun a shadow, and the only person that seems to keep it away is Nick. But she can’t stay with him, it’s time for her to leave. The bond is gone now. The people who can help her are in the south, but Blake wants to take her north.

What should I do?