She sat within fourteen feet of her door, gazing upon it. It was painted in silvery-pink roses and lilies. Beautiful, lily-pad like platforms rested below the flowers, with tiny dragonflies on it that buzzed around and. The background color was light blue, like the sky, and faded into a light reddish color. The room was decorated pink with green poison oak vines going around the room. Blood specks began to form along the vines. As the vines met above her bed, there was a razor blade and a puddle of blood. A name was present on the blade, a name she hated and despised, a name that she couldn't stand. She didn't know the name, but knew that the name had killed her. And she hated it.
Gabriella still hadn't learned to live with her death or her murderer for that matter.
All she lived with was her guilt. How she left Troy to raise Talon on his own, how she left Talon without a mother, how she betrayed Troy by dying… She hated herself so much that if she could die twice, she would. It didn't matter, because she was already dead.
And she deserved it.
She had been without Troy for over two years. She always questioned why she got closer to him over time, and vice versa? Was fate supposed to bring them back to each other?
She had no idea what the future would hold.
Gabriella stood to her feet from sitting on her bed. She took baby steps, one by one, towards the wall. On her wall were many pictures held up by tape. Pictures of Talon, Troy, her dogs, cats, and everything else she dearly loved. She even had pictures of a baby, this baby she held in her arms only once. She never held Talon. What baby did she hold?
She held their second baby. Gabriella and Troy's second baby. Lyle? No. Lyle was a product of Gabriella's anger against Troy. How he could betray her, how he could betray Talon. She pulled strings, and a prostitute got pregnant. That was how Lyle happened.
But Gabriella and Troy's second baby happened in a different way.
When Troy first saw Gabriella exactly a year ago, they couldn't stay away from each other. They had to be together. They had to be inside one another.
If she was alive, that day, she would have become pregnant. Again.
But since she wasn't alive, she ended up pregnant with a baby in Apex. She carried that baby for almost three months. That baby was born alive. Everything was born in between in Apex. It was dead, but alive in Apex. He took it away from her as soon as she had it. She didn't even get to hold it. He gave her a choice. He could either send the baby to heaven, where nothing ever comes back to life, or He could send it to someone on Earth.
She had those two options.
And she chose the second one. At least she would be able to watch over her baby, forever and always.
She got to hold her baby one time. It was a little baby girl that looked exactly like herself. She was beautiful. Gabriella loved her so much, just after seeing her for a few short minutes. She named that baby Aubrey Rae Bolton, exactly what she wanted to name Talon, since they thought he was a girl before he was born. And after giving her a kiss on the forehead goodbye, Aubrey Rae Bolton was sent to someone as their forever gift, a gift from above.
And Gabriella hated that someone.
But now, she couldn't hate that person, because she was carrying Gabriella and Troy's little girl.
From that day forward, she watched her baby grow inside of someone else, someone who was scared to death and didn't know anything about babies.
She watched that person give birth to her child, her little girl, and hate it as if it were a product of a rape.
And she soon hated that person again.
She watched her daughter, smothered in love by her daddy and her two big brothers who loved her very much. She needed her mommy, just like Talon did, and even Lyle, who didn't really have a mother. They needed their mommy.
She loved all three of her boys, and now, her little girl.
She loved them so much that she died inside. She wanted to see them so badly. She wanted to hold her babies one last time, to kiss them and hug them close to her. She wanted to tell them how much she loved them and that she would see them up in heaven.
She wanted to be alive…
She touched a picture of Talon, who was just a little baby. He was barely seven months old. He was crawling around, with a happy smile on his face. His daddy chased him, trying to grab his feet.
Troy was such a good father…
And then Lyle, who although was a product of her hate, who had also grown on her. He was adorable.
And now little Aubrey. She would grow up surrounded by three boys. God only knows how she'll turn out. A tomboy, a goth, an emo… But she would love her anyway. She would love her, Talon, and Lyle like she had never loved anyone.
She felt a couple tears roll down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away. Nobody cried in Apex. Nobody was unhappy in Apex. Nobody hated Apex…
But Gabriella did…
She couldn't let go of Troy. That was what kept her in Apex. She watched down on him, watched him at home. He had the boys there, along with Aubrey and Marley. Marley, being her curious self, was all over the new baby. Talon held Aubrey, and Troy held Lyle. Lyle was crazy. He had never saw another baby, and was thrilled at the sight of Aubrey. She was a little younger than he was, but he still loved her. She was fascinating to him. Troy showed Talon how to feed a baby and how to hold her. He learned quickly. He was so smart, just like his mommy, and athletic like his daddy. Aubrey was quickly taking after Gabriella, acting just like Gabriella in silly ways. And Troy stood strong through all of it. He kept his sanity and spent every waking moment loving and caring for his three kids…
But where's mommy?
Where does mommy fit in the picture?
Because of one person, mommy's dead.
Mommy's dead forever.
She can't come back.
Gabriella sobbed and looked at her door with the flowers, dragonflies, and lily pads.
How was she really murdered?
The murderer had hidden in a swamp, under lily pads.
Waited for Troy to leave the room.
Dried itself off. Touched a poison oak vine.
Went up to the room via ladder.
Opened the window.
Got inside.
Grabbed Gabriella in her weak state and killed her, then framed Gabriella for her own death.
Your room on Earth paints a picture of your life.
In Apex, you room paints a picture of your death.
You either learn to live with your death, or you fear it even more.
She couldn't contain her tears.
She knew who her murderer was.
It had been two years of mystery. Two years of suspense. Two years of hell…
Two years of being kept from her son, Troy, her life…
Her room melted.
The walls fell into a thick pool of blood, which Gabriella stood in. It swirled like a whirlpool and sucked in everything in the room. She watched Apex melt in front of her.
But she knew the name.
She screamed her heart out with joy, finally knowing who had killed her. Who had taken her life away.
She knew the name!
In Apex, if you know who murdered you, you may return back to Earth.
The reason people never return back to Earth is because they usually go to heaven before that. They go to heaven before they see their walls. They go to heaven because they have given up.
She quickly ran through the pool of blood to the door, opened it, and ran to the gates.
She ran right through them.
Her soul was free.
She bursted through His door.
"I know who killed me."
He was standing at her attention. He smiled.
"Who was it, my dear Gabriella? You know the ticket to Earth is in your hands if you tell me."
Gabriella looked Him right in the eyes. She knew this was her moment.
She said the name.
He hugged her. "Oh, my child. You have grown so strong. Are you ready to return to Earth?"
She nodded with tears in her eyes.
"Make sure you say hi to those little boys and your little girl for me, okay? And I don't want to see you back here until you're old and grumpy, okay?"
She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Thank you, Sir."
She was zapped to Earth.
She ran free as a bird, alive, and loving life.
She ran upstairs, up three flights of stairs, and waited at a familiar door. She knocked.
He answered the door.
"It was Ally."