The front door slammed with an echo that thundered through the house.
Lela collapsed to the floor. A heartbreaking wail tore from her chest, piercing the late-night air, raw and violent.
The creatures hissed a rasping cheer as they surged forward from the shadows. They didn’t need to hide anymore. There was nothing to hide from. Our enemy had been defeated, chased out into the cold. Just as I had freed Lela, they too were now free. They crowded at my feet; I could feel them tugging at the hem of my jeans with enthusiastic glee.
“Victory,” they whispered. “She is gone, gone for good.”
They crawled towards where Lela was huddled, gathering around her in a tight, defensive circle. With her knees hitched up to her chest, her hands became tangled knots in her hair. Tears dragged a glistening trail down her cheeks, her shoulders shuddering with every sob that escaped her. The creatures fell to a quiet murmur, their voices cooing comfortingly as their claws lightly traced the line of her legs and stroked her arms.
Bending down, I picked up the gold watch from where Ingrid had thrown it. The gold felt cold and smooth in my grip. A jagged crack that glinted like a tiny shard of ice in the low light spidered across the glass. Slipping it onto my wrist, I carefully stepped among them. Lightly, I picked a way through the hushed figures towards Lela. Sinking to the floor beside her, I reached out my hands and tenderly pulled her onto my lap.
“It’s ok, Le-Le,” I said softly, delicately stroking her long, silky hair. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She’s just tired.”
“How could she say those things?” Lela’s voice choked. “After all this time. How could she think that?”
Looking down at Lela, I watched the shallow rise and fall of her chest. My eyes traced the smooth curve of her neck and the soft line of her jaw.
“It was just silly gossip from the Kjelleren,” I whispered in her ear. “She should know you better than that.”
“She should know you better, too. You’ve been lovely to her. So accepting and understanding, even after all the things you’ve had to deal with. You’re always worrying over her, going around her flat to check on her…” Lela trailed off as she looked up at me, her wide eyes glistening with tears. “How can she honestly believe there was something going on between us? Such a ridiculous thing to think.”
Is it though? Is it really that ridiculous?
The thought snagged like a cold barb in my mind.
****
Blinking, I stepped into the bright morning light that flooded the lounge. The curtains, pulled wide, let the warm sun blaze in through the windows, catching on a glass of water on the coffee table and scattering dazzling reflections around the room.
From outside, the soft chittering of birds drifted in, mingling with the occasional low rumble of the distant traffic.
Lela was already awake, perched on the edge of the sofa, her hands gently stroking Bella’s thick fur. Her white nightdress had ridden up to settle just above her knee, the neckline slipping carelessly off one shoulder. The black German shepherd sat in front of her, her chin nestled in Lela’s lap, her tail a steady drumbeat against the floor.
No longer confined to the darkness, the creatures were there too, gathered around her. Their red, glinting eyes looked up at me as I entered, but Lela’s unfocused gaze remained fixed on the window.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked in a soft tone.
“I don’t know, babe,” she said, looking at me with a soft sigh. “I just feel… empty.”
Despite being swollen and red from a night of tears, her eyes still held me with their magic, drawing me in with their irresistible pull. A delicate flutter stirred in my stomach, and my heart began to pound against my ribcage.
Not waiting for an invitation — I didn’t need one — I lowered myself onto the sofa beside her. I let the pink silk of my nightdress brush faintly against hers.
I could feel her beside me now, the warmth of her body radiating deliciously through the thin fabric that divided us. The room around me dissolved, blending and merging into a colourless blur. The only thing left in my world was Lela.
Her eyes, shining like bottomless pools… the soft curve of her collarbone… The only sound was the quiet cadence of her breath. The only scent was that delicious, exotic spice that would always be hers.
“You’ll never be alone,” I said. “You’ve always got me here for you.”
Her lips turned up into a warm smile.
“I know, babe,” she said. Her beautiful, melodic voice filled the void that surrounded us. It wrapped around me like a soft, warm blanket. “Thank you.”
My hand reached forward. I felt the silky strands of her hair against my fingertips as I hooked a lock and tucked it behind her ear. My touch lingered, a gentle pressure as Lela’s smile bloomed back at me. Her small golden stud earrings glinted in the ethereal glow that seemed to envelop us.
My hand drifted downwards, a finger following the delicate, pulsing line of her throat. It was hot beneath my touch before I traced my palm around the elegant curve of her neck.
Slowly, I leant in. Her breath was moist and warm. Her intoxicating scent filled my senses, overwhelming me. Our foreheads met first, her smooth skin brushing against mine. My lips pressed against hers.
“Heidi!” Lela’s voice, sharp and urgent, sliced through the atmosphere.
Suddenly I felt her hands grab me roughly, her fingers digging into my flesh as she shoved me backwards.
“What are you doing?” She stared at me, her eyes wide.
Around me the world grew dark, an icy gust raised goosebumps on my skin. Red-glinting eyes gathered around me, snarling and spitting at Lela. Their sharp, pointed teeth bared in a vicious grin.
“Rejection!” they hissed.
“I thought this was what you wanted, Le-Le?” My voice was cold and hollow in my ears. “I thought you wanted us to be together.”
Lela shrank backwards, pressing herself into the cushions of the sofa. Her hand rose to her face, fingering the barely visible bruise beneath her eye.
“No, Heidi. Not like this,” Lela whispered, her voice trembling. “I’m with Ingrid. I love Ingrid. You know that.”
“Ingrid’s gone!” the rasping hiss of the creatures rose up into a deafening crescendo around me.
Lela’s eyes dropped to the gold watch around my wrist, to its cracked glass face. Her ragged breaths whistled between her teeth.
“What really happened at the Kjelleren, Heidi?” she whispered, her lower lip shaking. “What did you do?”
The creatures didn’t wait for me to give an answer. Their guttural growls filled the air as they swarmed forward. Their rough, clawed hands grabbed and snatched at her, pinning down her arms and her legs.
Bella whimpered a low, desperate sound. Her black form cowered on the floor, her head buried in her paws, ears set back and tail tucked underneath.
Lela let out a shrill, panicked scream that tore at my eardrums. She tried to fight them, thrashed fiercely against their grip, but they didn’t stop. Sitting back, I just watched. I watched as they attacked my best friend. I heard the solid thuds as their frantic blows rained down on her and the scraping of their hands on her. I didn’t flinch at the pop and high-pitched hiss as the fabric of her nightdress gave way.
Lela’s screams turned into ragged, desperate gasps as the creatures overwhelmed her.
“Please, Heidi!” her voice was frantic now. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to be like him.”
A satisfied smile crossed my face while the creatures laughed. She thought I was like Lars? I was nothing like Lars. Lars had been weak. Lars had been pathetic. Lars had used cruelty and violence to break me. He had starved me and left me shivering in that basement.
But I loved Lela, and I knew that she loved me back. In time she would come to realise that we would be happy together. She would see through her tears and understand why I did what I had to do. She would thank me for freeing her from Ingrid’s grip.
“Relax, Le-Le,” I said, my breath misting in front of my face. “Just be a good girl.”
“Please, Heidi!” she pleaded again. “You don’t have to be like your father.”