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-Leah by Michelangelo

Ch. 25-The night before

Mona Lisa tossed and turned, sweat collected on her brow and tears ran down her face. The lizard mutant shuddered as images flashed in her head.

I saw my parents' backs in front of me and I ran towards them. Turning them around so that I could see their faces. They screamed at me and yelled, "MONSTER!"

I grabbed their arms, trying to calm them down, "No, mom, dad please…I'm not a monster! I'm not a-"

Then another memory flashed in front of me. I was at school. Someone had tripped me and all of my books fell to the ground all around me. I began picking them all up again when one of the bullies started speaking, "You're just a freak! Nobody likes you and you aren't worth anything to anyone! So why're you still here, FREAK? Don't you have somewhere else to be, FREAK? Get lost, you FREAK!"

My mind flashed to a totally different night, three years ago. I might have told Raph my story, but I hadn't told him all of it. There was one thing I'd left out, something I had no doubt will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Truth is, my father had woken up before I ran away that night. He pushed himself up, and shook his head still slightly dazed. AS soon as he saw me, his eyes widened and he stared. My dad rubbed his eyes as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing before he started shouting. "AH! It's a monster!"

"No, daddy no! It's me, Mona! It's me!"

"No, no you're not my daughter! Get out of here you freak!" He said grabbing a gun off the floor that one of the Krang had left behind.

"Daddy, it's me!" I stared into his eyes and he into mine.

His eyes widened as he realized that it really was me, before they narrowed in denial. "No! My daughter is dead! You, you- you, monstrosity, are no daughter of mine!"

"Daddy, please!" I cried desperately with tears in my eyes as he started firing the gun at me. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran for hours through the streets before I finally collapsed in an alleyway with tears streaming down my face, rain pouring down from the sky. My life was over.

All of a sudden I could hear the words ringing in my head: Monster, Freak, Monstrosity, alien, monster…I'm not a monster! I'm not! My father's words echoed, Get out of here you FREAK! FREAK! FREAK! FREAK!

I sat up in bed with a gasp, tears and sweat ran down the sides of my face and I curled up in a ball, as more tears filled my eyes. My entire body was shaking, but I couldn't help it. All of a sudden I heard a gentle knock on the door.

I was lying on my bed, trying to read modern ninja magazine, but I just couldn't stop thinking about Mona Lisa.

The lizard mutant and I had been getting even closer lately, and I wanted to make our relationship official, but I just…I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew that she liked me and all, but I couldn't get past the fear that maybe she didn't want to go any further right now. It doesn't matter, I thought, I'll wait until she's ready. I heard something hit the wall next door and I looked up. Mona's room was next to mine so we shared a common wall. And that definitely came from her side. Mikey wasn't even in his room because he was in the main room watching a super hero marathon. So that means it could have only been from Mona Lisa's. I went into the hall and down to the next room. I stared at he door for several moments, not sure what to do next. Should I knock? But what if she's sleeping? But I need to make sure she's okay. Suddenly I heard a whimper from inside, "No! No, please!"

Okay that it I'm going in. But I should probably knock first. I knocked a lot more gently than I usually did and opened the door slowly, "Mona? You okay?" I asked softly as I entered.

"Raph!" Mona exclaimed jumping off the bed and running straight into my arms. She threw her arms around me in a desperate hug and I wrapped mine gently around her waist. Her enire body was shaking with small tremors as she clung to me, laying her head against my shoulder.

"Sh. It's okay. I'm right here." I said softly, comforting her as best I could. "You okay?" I asked.

She looked up at me, and I wiped away her tears with the back of my hand. Mona slowly nodded, though her body was still racked with sobs. I guided her carefully over to the bed and lay her down gently, before laying down beside her and wrapping my arms around her gently. The lizard mutant was still extremely upset and she needed to calm down.

I lay there for almost an hour, holding her in my arms until she finally quieted down, her sobs fading away slowly. Her breathing calmed and I pulled away slightly. "Mona?"

Mona Lisa looked up at me slowly.

"You okay?"

"I am now." She stated her voice still soft, and scared as her hands clung to my forearms.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing that my green eyes were probably filled with concern.

"Nothing." her eyes glazed over slightly and she looked away.

"Don't give me that, Mona. Something had to have happened to make you this upset!" I said, a little louder than I meant to and I saw her flinch. I lowered my voice and spoke to her calmly. "Please. You can tell me." I sat up, as did she, and took her hand in mine.

Dark brown eyes looked away from me as she whispered quietly, "It's just a stupid nightmare. I'm sorry that I bothered you."

I wanted to press her, find out what it was about and why she was so upset, but I decided that I shouldn't push it. She'll tell me when she's ready. "Don't worry about it." I replied. "When we were little, my brothers always came to me when they had nightmares. Guess it's one of the downfalls of being the strong one."

"So who did you go to?" She asked, thankful for the subject change.

"Leo." I answered, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"Figures." Mona stated. "I'm surprised the others didn't go to him."

"Nah, they knew that if they came into my room I'd let them stay the night. Leo made them go back to their own rooms."

"And he did the same with you?"

"Nope, Leo always took exception to me, because if I had a nightmare and he sent me back to my room, it would take me a whole week to get over it."

"Must have been some nightmares."

"They were horrible, but I hardly ever had them, so it wasn't that big of a problem." I gave her a once over, just to make certain she was okay before I pushed myself up off the bed and looked back at her. "So, you good?"

"Yeah." She said quietly.

"Okay then. You need anything, just knock on the wall, okay?" I started to leave, but a thin hand grabbed my wrist.

"Please." I looked back at Mona Lisa, who seemed to be struggling to get the right words out. Chocolate brown eyes stared into mine. "Stay?" I held eye contact, slightly stunned, wanting to make certain I'd heard correctly. "I don't want to be alone." She whispered. I just kept staring, and she took it the wrong way. The lizard mutant pulled her hand away and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

My green eyes examined her for amoment before I made my decision. "Move over."

Mona looked up at me, surprised. "Raph, you don't have to if you don't-"

"It's okay. I don't mind. Besides, I'm not going to leave you if you need me." We stared at each other for a moment and I could feel my face getting hot. "Now move over."

I lay down beside her and wrapped my arms around her. She put her head against my plastron and began rubbing a hand against it. I place my hand over hers making it still.

"Thanks Raph."

"You're welcome." The lizard mutant pulled herself up and kissed the side of my face. My face flushed and I looked at her. "Go to sleep."

She laughed and it made my heart flutter. "Why? Am I making big bad Raph uncomfortable?" Mona Lisa smirked and pushed herself up and over so that she was straddling me. My face got even warmer as I stared at her. Her dark brown eyes examined me, taking in my blush before she lowered to press her lips to mine. I pressed a hand against the small of her back. The kiss lasted only a few moments before she pulled away, her face as red as mine.

"I really like you." I blurted out. My eyes widened as I realized what I'd just said. Mona pulled away and moved down on my other side, near to the edge of the bed.

"I like you too." She whispered. "But I think you already knew that."

"Yeah."

"Move in, I'm on the edge."

"Wouldn't it be better for you to be on the inside?" I asked with a raised eye-ridge.

"I don't like corners." She stated with a shrug as I moved over so that my right side was up against the wall. Mona Lisa moved and leaned up against me. She closed her eyes and lay her head on my plastron. I listened to her breathing as it slowly began to even out. I saw her face slacken and I smiled. She's so beautiful. I kissed her forehead lovingly and closed my eyes. Goodnight, Mona Lisa.