***NEED WORK

I woke up in the morning to the sound of commotion coming from outside.
Groaning, I kicked my covers off of me and dragged myself to the window. I glanced down to the street and saw an ambulance and a police car parked up front, the lights flashing obnoxiously. On Mr. Connor's front lawn, I saw a woman and two kids; a young boy and a girl, holding each other tightly in a tense hug.
The Connors, I thought.
Actually, I didn't know their last name. I just assumed them to be the Connors, since they were his family. Curious, I peered down the street in front of my house. Some of the neighbors were standing on their porch, still in their pajamas and bathrobes, trying to figure out what was going on.
Hmm... 'Curiosity killed the cat,' people. I thought humorlessly.

People started to move around in front of the Connor's house, catching my attention. A man in a uniform of white shirt and dark pants came out of the front door, walking backwards as he tugged something from the doorway. The cold feeling from last night came over me again as I saw him pull a covered stretcher, a visible fair-sized lump bulging under the white sheet. I subconsciously reached up and grabbed at my t-shirt right above my heart.
So it wasn't a dream...

My mind filled with the memories of last night, picture after picture flooded through me. The shadows, the white light, the horrible howling and screaming, and the hooded stranger...
That stranger...
Was he a ghost? Was he someone like me, who can see ghosts? What did he do? Who is he?
I was confused and dazed at the sudden realization of the reality that came over me. How real the events of last night was.

It really did happen...

Suddenly I felt dizzy and sat down on my bed. I don't think I really believed those shadows were really there until I saw Mr. Connor die. Or at least, what happened after he died.
Death... what did it feel like? Like sleep? Painful? I guess it depends on how each person comes across their death.
But...was it scary?
I remembered the cold fear in Mr. Connor's eyes and how the cold icy feeling seized me as I approached the door. And the horrifying howling and screaming that just tore at my sanity...

"Cella?" a weak voice called, snapping me out of my dark memories.

I got up from my bed and made my way to Liana's bedroom.
"Lia, did you call me?" I asked softly as I peeked in through her door.

Liana was sitting in her wheelchair, hugging her teddy bear. She looked up when she heard me come in. Her eyes were filled with sadness.
"Mr. Connor..."

My heart sank a little; she knew. I approached her and kneeled beside her chair.
"Don't worry; he's in a better place now." I murmured softly.
Liana dropped her gaze to the floor again.
"Is he happy?"
"Who knows? But I'm sure he feels a whole lot better." I assured her.
Liana didn't look up.
"Better," she echoed.

We were silent for a while after that. I looked at Liana, and saw how frail she looked. What was she thinking about? The sadness she seemed to hide was always in her eyes...
I shook the thoughts out of my mind and forced a smile on my face.
"Come on Lia. Let's go get some breakfast."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What have I done to deserve this... what have I done to deserve you?!"

I blinked, peeling my face off the floor of the study. That last hit was actually fist. That last one actually hurt.

I heavily lifted myself off the ground from where I had crashed onto the cold wooden floor as she shrieked out her raging nonsense out on me.
"You're a selfish piece of shit! You disgust me!"

Oh, wow. What a surprise.

I brushed the back of my hand under my lip and I saw a streak of blood.
Great, a bloodied lip; just what I need.
I stood up without a word, keeping all emotion off of my face. I was used to this; I learned how to retreat into my shell when things got physical. It didn't happen often, but whenever it did I had to just... deal. Then the rest was easy; physical pain was temporary.

I stood still, keeping my gaze pointed to the ground as I thought of ways to calm Madame Madness down before she woke Liana. She was already feverish as is. The thought of my mother acting like this with Liana sick punched a burst of anger in my chest.
"Fine. I'm a worthless, vile, selfish disgusting piece of shit. And all is well in the world." I retorted.

The next second I was back on the floor, my head slamming against the bookshelf with a loud thud. The whole house seemed to have shaken at the impact of my ever-so graceful landing.

That was a stupid move, Celeste.

But I didn't care; my concerns were elsewhere.
Don't wake up... Don't wake up... I prayed silently, squeezing my eyes shut against the pulsating pain in my skull. The house was eerie quiet, just as if everything was normal.
I sighed in relief and got back up. My mother was yelling at me still, but I wasn't listening. I staggered to the door, ignoring the ranting and raving behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?!" she shrieked.
"I am going to go check up on Liana. She's sick again." I said curtly, wheeling around and marching to the door.
Suddenly, I was shoved aside roughly. I caught myself before crashing into anything else as I saw my mother brush briskly past me.
"You better not have wakened her up, you bitch," she snarled before stomping up the stairs.

Right. I'm the one waking up the whole neighborhood...

She always acted like that when Liana is mentioned in our fights. It's always my fault.
I took a step towards the door and pain seized my side. I doubled over, gasping.
Found another bruise; oh joyous, I'm colorful again.
I stayed hunched for few more seconds before straightening up. I slowly made my way to the stairs and up to my room. Within half a minute I was at the top, and I started down the hall toward my room. My mother was nowhere in sight.

"Cella," a small, hushed tone came from behind me and I turned.

And there sat Liana, peeking through her door just cracked open staring at me, her bright smile fading rapidly. She gasped, and her eyes started to flood with tears.
"Cella?" she cried, her voice tight.

My first reaction was panic at the shock reflected in Liana's eyes.
"Lia? What's wrong?" I hissed back, forgetting about my caution with my expressions.
I reached towards her to comfort her. Pain shot through the side of my face and rib and I grimaced. I heard Liana whimper quietly.

Cold realization came over me--- she could see my bruises.
For all I know, my face could be swollen by now. My hand that was reaching towards her dropped shamefully as I looked away.
I couldn't breathe.
What could she be feeling now? Shocked? Worried? Afraid?

There was a little thud and I looked up. Liana was attempting to open the door wider with one hand while the other supported her weight on the floor. I took a step forward to help.
"Don't!" she grunted as she struggled to reach the doorknob.

My heart felt as if it had shattered into pieces at the sight. Liana's face was pale as a ghost, and she seemed to be shaking a little. She reached up to the doorknob and grasped it with both hands. Then slowly and shakily, she hoisted herself up--- to a full standing position.

Liana was standing, all by herself.

"Lia... how--- Oh my god, Lia!"
I didn't know if i should be happy or horrified. I was kind of both.
I went over and scooped Liana up; this time she allowed it.
"I practiced every night all by myself." she whispered, pride leaking in her hushed voice.
I had to smile. I ignored all pain as i pulled her into a tight embrace. I felt her chin on my shoulder.
"Cella, are you proud of me?" Liana asked softly.
I put her down on her bed and looked at her right in the eye.
"I always am." I said.

Liana smiled brightly and happily dove right back into the hug. We stayed in silence for a while, just holding each other. I thought she had fallen asleep. I went to go stand up.
"I was pretending to sleep," Liana said suddenly.
I stopped and looked down at her, not know what she was talking about. She gazed up at me with big eyes, her lips pouting.
"When mommy came in."

I felt myself bristle, and she must have noticed too because she looked back at me with sadness in her eyes.
"She would be mad at you if I didn't," she said quietly.

I didn't say anything. I was afraid of saying something wrong. But I knew saying nothing isn't right either. Yet no words came out.
Did she know?
I stared at my baby sister, glad that at the very least I had her.
I felt Liana bury her head into my side, hitting the fresh bruises. I bit my tongue to stop a cry from getting loose.
"Cella, she scares me," she whimpered quietly into my shirt.

A strange burning feeling burst inside of me, making me feel strong. It was a dark strength that was hard to keep down, almost empowering. Its power caught me by surprise. But somehow, I managed to wrestle it aside.
Gently, I patted Liana's small head, hushing her quietly.
"Lia, I promise you, no matter what I'll always be there and I won't ever let pain come your way. In any shape or form. I swear it on my soul." I whispered to her.

She looked at me then with her deep blue eyes.
"I don't care about me," she mumbled stubbornly.
I smiled and pressed my lips into her hair.
"Well, even so. I promise."

Forever and always at your side.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I left her to sleep after that. I sat on my bed, just staring out my window.
There were way to many things in my mind to go to sleep just yet. I just sat there in the dark deep in thought, watching the shadows dance out in the street. I took a glance at my bedside clock.
It read 11:58 pm.
I didn't know exactly what I was searching for, but I gave up and went to go take a shower. I don't know what it was, but I had this weird dark feeling growing deep in my chest, like I was missing something important. Something was coming my way, something painful beyond everything I've been through... That feeling of dread.
I reached for my doorknob and everything went black.

"What the---"

Sharp cold pain struck me in the back of my spine and I cried out in surprise and fear. Ice cold feeling shot through me and I couldn't tell if I was standing or not. The pain had practically drained the strength in my limbs, but I didn't feel myself fall to the floor. I felt so lost and doomed.
Then, I was struck again, this time by a feeling that was all too familiar. My heart gave a painful quench as the deathly cold grip took hold of it. My ears were filled with tortured screams and cries, and the dark howling. I tried kicking, punching, clawing out of this sensation.
It was like drowning--- no matter what I did, I kept sinking.
Panic shot through my body as I felt something smoothly wrap around my waist, wrists, ankles and neck, suspending me in a rigid position. I felt a cold hand brush against my cheek as a cold heartless voice hissed in my ear.

"Why fight me when it is inevitable? You're wasting both of our time. What are you fighting for? Your life will soon be mine..." the voice hissed in its deep velvety tone, sending chills up my spine.
I shuddered, and the voice laughed. I couldn't see where the voice was coming from. It was everywhere but nowhere. Everything was black.

Someone... someone help... please... I want to live... I pleaded in my mind.

Suddenly, the laughing stopped and in its place was a horrible shriek of agony. The cold grip withered away and released my body from its death hold. I saw light. It broke through the darkness like an explosion, blowing away the shadows and the icy cold. For a second I was completely numb. It wasn't a good feeling or a bad one.

Then I dropped.

Suddenly there was gravity and I was free-falling through endless space, not knowing when it was going to end and I was going to crash---

I couldn't see anything, but I felt someone's arms under me, catching me. This touch was different, it was more gentle and warm. Lively, soothing and bright. I couldn't move, nor did I try. The arms barely jostled me as they set me down on a solid but comfortable surface. I still couldn't see what was in front of me.
Who was it? I thought, more curious than scared.
A hand ran over my bruises on my side and face, warming my skin soothingly. It felt good, great even. I could have stayed in this clouded state forever. But the feeling didn't last long.
The hand lifted from my body, and the glowing light faded away. I opened my eyes and found myself on my bed. I snapped up and looked out. It was still dark outside, obviously in the middle of the night.

...Was that a dream?

It had felt all too real, too solid and concrete for it to be part of my imagination. My imagination was very limited; there was no way I could come up with something so vivid in my subconscious.

I glanced at my bedside clock--- and froze.
The clock read 11:58 pm.