Leigh
Once again, Leigh found herself lying awake, shaking from the vivid and terrifying dream. Dawn was approaching, and the sun turned the sky beautiful shades of pink and yellow outside of her window. With a sigh, she rose from the bed and blinked the spots from her eyes. A piece of dirty blonde hair fell into her face, and she blew it away.
Leigh stumbled into the bathroom, trying her hardest to get the images of her mother's dead body from her mind. In her dream, a beautiful yet deadly looking woman cackled as she made Leigh watch her mother die before her. Not from starvation, or stabbing, or any violence. The life just seeped out of her.
Shaking her head, Leigh looked into the mirror, repressing a grimace. Her usually bright blue eyes were dull and half-closed. With a sigh, she tugged a hairbrush through her long hair, wincing at the pain knots and tangles gave her scalp. After five minutes of endless tugging and pulling, her hair was finally back to its normal, long and straight form.
She turned the sink on and wet her toothbrush before squeezing toothpaste onto it. She began brushing her teeth while looking at the clock.
5:53. Leigh groaned at the early time. Nightmares usually woke her early, and even withou them she woke around the same time as her mom, who had to leave for work by 6:45.
She cleaned the toothbrush and walked into the living room, still wearing her pajamas. She stifled a yawn as she headed for the kitchen for a bowl of cereal.
She froze in the doorway, hearing her mother make a strangled sound. "Leave Leigh. Please, just leave her." She was begging to some unknown figure. Leigh held her breath and glanced quietly and quickly around the corner.
The sight almost made her fall to her knees. Her mother was bound at the wrists, tears streaming down her face. A woman with a shadowy dress, black and dull, stood above her. The woman was beautiful, nonetheless. But more of a dark kind of beautiful. Scary beauty.
"I do not do favors, Dr. Griffon," said the woman, her words as dull and cold as her eyes. "You of all people should know that. Now, where is the girl?" Leigh felt like she wasn't asking; she was demanding.
Her mother caught Leigh's eye for just a second. "Sh-she's in her bedroom. T-the one c-closest to the front d-door."
The woman swiftly turned in the direction of Leigh's 'bedroom' and her mother caught her eye again and mouthed the words, Go.
Leigh tiptoed quickly to her door, her head spinning. Within just 15 minutes of waking up, her heart was racing and her blood pumping. She had to get out of there. Her mom would be too stubborn to let Leigh save her, and Leigh knew it.
She quickly tied her shoes, and bolted out the back door, sprinting away from the house. She was still in her black shorts and t-shirt from sleeping, but she didn't care. She had to go, now.
In the distance, she heard an angry cry. She turned back in time to see the house go up in flames. She stopped and gaped at the burning home. The place she'd grown up in since she was 3. It was all gone.
"Mom..." she murmered softly, a tear slipping down her cheek. She tore her gaze from the burning remains of her childhood and raced away from the scene, her head hurting.
