Chapter 56- Taunting Attacks

There's many chapters I cried while writing. However, this has got to be the worst. Brace yourselves lovelies :(

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[] T H I R D • P E R S O N []

As he lay there in the cold night, surrounded by his own blood, Leo Kennedy dreamt of a few things.

First, he dreamt of his mother's warm hugs, and her chocolate chip muffins, the smell almost hitting him as he did so. He thought of her smile, and how much he wished to tell her he loved her one last time.

He thought of Lars, his sister who happened to be on the list of the strongest women he knew. He thought of how she always got on his nerves, but showed him the right way when he needed it.

He thought of James, Andre, Jamal, and even Gemma, all the people who impacted his life. Allowed him to become a better person.

And then, he saw brown.

Brown eyes, brown hair, a beautiful smile, a body that molded perfectly with his, and heard that heavenly laugh.

He saw his Moonie.

He saw her playing in the snow, her eyes bright, the snow reflecting off of them. He saw her courage, her belief in him, and he saw how much he loved her. He saw how much he ached to just reach out and pull her in his arms.

But just as he got to her, she started drifting away.

And that's when he took the last of his remaining breaths, and the sounds of sirens overtook the sound of his own beating heart.

* * *

[] A M E L I A []

I gasped and woke up with a start.

My hand flew to my heart as I tried to regain my breaths.

I had a horrible nightmare.

Blood and Leo.

A combination that caused my heart to experience a grief like never before.

I had fallen asleep nearly an hour ago, after having a talk with my parents. They had returned from the lawyer's office late in the afternoon. After that, another lawyer had come to our house to discuss more case related things. Then, we had setup for dinner.

It was after that that we finally got to sit and talk. And as I predicted, nothing was settled yet. This case would take forever before continuing. Mom had suggested that Gemma and I leave tomorrow, but I couldn't bring myself to leave yet. I felt as if I should stay here for a few more days.

After talking to my parents, I had gone to sleep. This time, Gemma did sleep in the guest room, as she said she wanted some time to herself too. I felt bad about getting her dragged into this too, but she was persistent on staying with me.

A few hours into my sleep, I had just woken from a horrific nightmare. In the nightmare, I saw Jackson standing over my head with a gun, saying, "It's finally the end Amelia Harrison." And then, instead of shooting me, he turned last minute, shooting Leo in the chest with his gun.

That's what woke me up.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, and reached over for my glass of water on the sidetable. When I got it, I found it was empty. I sagged in slight irritation and slowly got out of bed. I sluggishly made my to the kitchen, turning the lights on as I did so. The brightness caused me to let out a little groan, but I accustomed to it quickly and headed to the sink to get myself a glass of water. Just as I was in the middle of downing my drink, I saw the guest room door fly open.

I frowned as I saw Gemma frantically making her way out of the room, her eyes darting everywhere at once. It seemed like she was heading for my room, so I called out to her to get her attention.

"Gemma?"

Gemma stopped in her tracks and turned to me, her eyes wild with panic. I settled the glass on the counter and met her halfway as she ran over to me.

"Amelia! We have to go! He-he's hurt Amelia," she broke out into a cry.

I froze hearing her words. I gripped her shoulders in frenzy, trying to get her to speak properly.

"Who's hurt Gemma?" I asked.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Who, Gemma?" I asked more panicked, squeezing her shoulder.

Gemma let in a shaky breath, and with her next words, the last of my remaining strength was gone.

"Leo. Leo's in the hospital Amelia."

Black spots danced around my vision. My heart constricted, my beats uneven, as I stared at Gemma in horror.

"Wh-what?" I breathed out.

"Andre just called. They... they found him near his apartment, beaten unconscious. And... Andre thinks... he thinks Jackson was responsible."

I let out a gasp, my hand flying to my mouth.

I couldn't breathe.

Gemma's eyes widened in worry. She held my arm, her lips moving as she was saying something to me. But her voice wasn't reaching me.

A loud buzzing noise filled my ear, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Tears clouded my vision, and my breaths came out in quick heavy pants.

Suddenly, another face broke out in my vision.

"Amelia?"

I looked up to see the worried eyes of my dad. And with a single sob, I threw myself into his chest. I cried relentlessly in his arms and he held me.

"No daddy, not him. Not him. Not Leo," I sobbed in his chest.

I felt him stiffen, but I couldn't pay attention to that in this moment. All I could think, was Leo.

I cried for what felt like hours. Finally, I heard Gemma speak, breaking me out of my cries.

"It'll be okay Amelia," I heard Gemma say.

I peaked out from my dad's arms, and saw that she was wrapped in my mother's embrace, her face also stained with tears.

"We'll go see him. He's strong amelia. He'll survive this. Lets go," Gemma said, already pulling out of my mother's hold.

She reached for me, and I quickly pulled back, digging myself into dad's arms. Gemma recoiled, her eyes holding surprise.

"Are you crazy Gemma? I can't go! I absolutely can't go! He'll hate me Gemma. He'll hate me," I said feverently.

"Why would he hate you Amelia?" Dad asked, worry lacing his voice.

I looked down in shame, tears falling down my cheeks repeatedly.

"Because it's my fault daddy. It's all my fault."

And I turned towards his chest again, finding comfort in looking away from everyone for the moment. I was hysterical at this point. I was sobbing uncontrollably, my breaths barely coming out.

And then I was reminded of the nightmare I had.

And with one last panic, I blacked out.

* * *

[] J E R R Y []

It was one thing watching your son getting dragged away by the police in handcuffs.

It was another to hold your daughter as she fainted from crying so hard over a boy.

Both caused an ache equally as bad, but my current worry was Amelia.

I was sitting beside her on the bed, running my hands softly through her hair. She was finally sleeping, her covers tucked around her tightly. It reminded me of the times I tucked her in when she was young,up until she wassbout 8 years old. I never thought I'd have to do it when she was this old now.

My friend, Amanda, who was also our family psychologist had just left the house. Cassandra had called her in a panic, realizing that Amelia was going through another episode, similar to the ones she had nearly 4 years ago after the incident that shook our family. She had been our family's rock at the time, supporting us when no one else was willing too. Amelia had even volunteered at her office for a long time. Maybe that's why she was one of the few people in the world we could call at 3 in the morning for help, and she would be over in minutes.

But her attacks had stopped after a while. So why now?

What happened so bad that caused Amelia to have such a severe attack?

I sighed and stared down at my only daughter. Her cheeks were still stained with tears, her lip quivering, despite the sleeping medications that Amanda had given her after she rose from her unconscious state. After a few moments, her breathing finally evened out, letting me know she was at least peaceful in her sleep now.

Amelia had been so strong growing up. I remember how she was always willing to help everyone who even looked like they needed it, and was there for them through thick and thin. Her friendship with Brittany was completely different. They were practically sisters, and I even remember the times I used to joke about adopting Brittany into our family. Brittany was the first person to reciprocate that feeling of helping to Amelia. That's why they were attached at the hip. Whereas Amelia took care of everyone around her, Brittany took care of Amelia, reminding her that she needs to be looked after too.

I know Brittany's death ripped her apart. Moreso, that it was at the hands of her brother.

Anger coursed through me as I thought of this again. However, I forced myself not to think of that now, and focused on Amelia instead.

Just then, her door opened. I saw a head poke through, and I recognized Gemma's face right away.

"Come in, Gemma," I called out.

She timidly made her way inside, her hands shaking as she held the door. She finally made it inside and stared at Amelia, her lip quivering.

"It's okay, Gemma. Come inside. You can sit beside her. I think she'd like that," I said, staring at Amelia again.

Gemma made her way over to the other side of Amelia's bed and sat down. There was silence for a few moments, and I decided to ask Gemma the question I had been waiting to.

"Sweetie, I'm not mad at you okay? But I just need to know what happened to cause this," I said to Gemma.

Her lip quivered, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Harrison. I didn't think she would react so strongly," Gemma said, cries breaking her sentence apart.

I shook my head at her.

"It wasn't your fault, Gemma. But I need to know who's it was," I said.

Gemma let out a few breaths, wiping her tears away. She turned to me then, a certain fear in her eyes.

"It's okay Gemma. You can tell me."

Somehow, the fear in Gemma's eyes diminished.

"A... a friend of ours is in the hospital back in Lethbridge," Gemma started slowly.

I frowned in worry and confusion.

"Why did Amleia say it was her fault then?" I asked curiously.

For a fleeting moment, Gemma looked over to Amelia, then looked back at me.

"You know how she is better than I do. She thought it was something she can control."

* * *

I made it back to my room after sitting with Amelia for another hour. Gemma had retreated to her room since she heard her phone ring. I wanted to ask her more, but I thought it was too late to ask her then. I would just wait for Amelia to wake up tomorrow so she can honestly tell me what was wrong. There is no way she was just shaken up that her friend was in the hospital.

No.

This was the same way I had seen her be 4 years ago.

It was as if she was guilty.

I remember four years ago, after her first episode, nearly four days after Levi was arrested and a day after Brittany's funeral.

Screams.

More screams.

I let out a groan and woke up, rubbing my eyes profusely. I looked over to my side to see Cassandra sleeping soundly,  something she rarely did since we saw 3 policemen show up on doorstep nearly a week ago.

I silently made my way out of bed, as to not disturb her. I quietly made it outside, following the sound of the screams.

My heart fell to my stomach as I realized that the noise was coming from Amelia's room.

I broke out in a feverent sprint, trying to get to her room as fast as I could. I burst through the door of her room, switching the lights on immediately. The first thing I saw, was her empty bed.

My worry increased, as I looked around for her, my breathing disoriented. I quickly found her, sitting by her closet, curled up in a ball on the floor. Her arms circled around her to cover her ears, and she was rocking herself back and forth.

I broke at the sight of her.

Relentless tears fell down my cheeks as I crossed the room to get to her. I fell into a heap beside her, pulling her to my chest.

She kicked and thrashed in my hold, but I only held on tighter.

"Shh, it's me Amelia. I'm here, sweetie. I'm here. I've got you, sweetheart."

She broke out in sobs in my arms, her breaths coming out loudly. It was as if she couldn't breathe.

My heart ached for her.

"Dad!" She gasped through sobs.

"Yes, I'm here Amelia. I'm right here."

"It's all my fualt dad. It's all my fault."

This time, a few of my own tears fell onto her head as I listened to her.

'Why can't I end her pain?' I thought.

What kind of a father was I, if I couldn't stop my daughter from getting hurt. If I couldn't stop my son from hurting another.

I failed.

"I couldn't stop it dad. I couldn't stop it."

Neither could I, Amelia.

I sighed and walked into my room, completely drained from today's events. I fell onto the bed, sitting with my legs draped over the edge. I ran my hands over my face, trying to figure out where to go from here.

I heard the bathroom door open, and Cassandra walked into the room a few minutes later. I caught her eye as she came out, her red rimmed orbs not escaping my notice. I immediately held an arm out for her. She silently made her way over to me and sat down beside me. I wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, and she rested her head on mine.

"I feel horrible about calling her Jerry. I didn't want to cause her this much pain," Cassandra said.

"It's not your fault, Cass. How could we control that her friend is hurt?" I said.

Cassandra sighed.

"It's not just that. I feel like everything just built up. The whole friend situation, and the fact that the case is getting reopened. I think it all just hit her at once today and she just couldn't handle it."

I nodded and pulled back to look at Cassandra in the eye.

Even years after seeing her eyes, I couldn't get used to the beauty of them. I had fallen in love with her eyes at first sight. I won't ever forget that.

"That might be true, Cass. But that still doesn't change that we can't control this. But we can try to fix this. We'll fix it all Cassandra, I swear we will. One at a time," I said seriously, keeping my eyes solely on hers.

Her eyes watered up, and I reached over to wipe them away.

"I was hoping she would be over this by now. I feel like I failed her. Both of you."

She lowered her head. I was quick to tilt her chin up, wanting to fix this first.

"No Cassandra. We're done blaming ourselves and letting her do that to herself. The day after tomorrow, we'll visit the police and settle this. As for the situation with her friend, I know it'll hurt her. But I also know that she won't leave until we've find out the truth about Levi and Brittany."

She nodded. I wiped the last of her tears away and then we decided to head to bed.

However, as I lay in bed that night, I couldn't help but doubt if I can keep my family safe anymore.