A Luna's heart

CHAPTER 5- STRANGE ATTRACTION

LEILA'S POV

The sickness was coming on but I did not want to tell Ruelle. Sighing, I placed my arm across my face, shutting out the intense rays of the afternoon sun that flooded the cheap motel room. Ruelle peeked in at me.

“Are you okay Leila?" she asked, her eyes searching my face.

“I'm fine," I lied. Slowly, I sat up. “Can I help you with anything?"

She shook her head and looked at the roof skeptically. “I hope the roof of this motel does not leak like the last one. Now, I don't need to remind you not to call attention to yourself in anyway, Leila. It's embarrassing enough to have to stay in a crappy place like this. Don't add to my embarrassment by having one of your fits."

“It's not my fault that I have fits," I retorted, stung by her remark.

She sneered. “And is it my fault? You are so ungrateful. No one, not even your parents would have stood by you the way I have. The least you could do is be thankful you have me."

I blinked back tears. No matter how I avoided having this sort of discussion, Ruelle always found ways to bring it up.

“I'm sorry," I finally said.

I wasn't even sure what I was apologizing for.

“Fine," she said. "Stay out of sight while I explore this town a little."

I nodded and she left. Gingerly, I got up and locked the door. While Ruelle had been talking, my hands had begun trembling. The room spun and I fell to the floor already foaming at the mouth. There was a crash as the desk lamp fell beside me. I remembered being thankful it did not shatter. Ruelle would have had something to say about that. I blanked out.

About thirty minutes later, I regained consciousness. I carefully stood up and put the lamp in it's place. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the dusty window and grimaced. My hair was mussed and there were flecks of foam on my lips. All my life, I had to deal with this sickness. As a baby, I had been abandoned at the door of an orphanage. I never knew who my parents were.

When I clocked ten, I had begun having frequent attacks of what the doctors said was epilepsy. Ruelle had shown up shortly after and provided evidence that I was a distant relative of hers who she had been searching for. With just a little persuasion, those in charge of the orphanage had let me go with her. Ruelle never fully explained to me how exactly we were related no matter how I pressed her for information. All she told me was that my parents had died in an accident shortly after I was born and that a good Samaritan had probably dropped me off at the orphanage. That explanation did not ring true. There was something she always gave me to alleviate my symptoms. I didn't know it's composition and she refused to tell me. Sometimes, it helped reduce the intensity of the attacks. Sometimes it didn't.

After my tenth birthday, the attacks became less frequent. I somehow made it through elementary and high school. College was another matter. I didn't want to go. Oddly, Ruelle who was now my guardian was fully in support of my decision.The curious stares and snide comments from people eroded what was left of my self esteem. Boys asked me out once in a while. I was beautiful after all with wavy hair- which was a weird silver color- blue eyes and perfect features. The problem was that all the boys who seemed interested in me began to avoid me when they found out about my condition. Now that I was approaching my twentieth birthday, Ruelle had us moving around again though she hadn't explained why. We currently were in the city of Ashville.

Everything had taken a weird turn a few months ago. I had begun having visions while in the throes of an attack. What I saw in these visions almost always happened in real life. I didn't tell Ruelle about them. Just now I had had a particularly clear one about a man. I shut my eyes, trying to remember. I had seen a man- a man with a scar on one cheek and streaks of grey in his hair. Grey. That word reverberated in my mind.

I cleaned myself up as best as I could and headed out. There was no particular destination I had in mind. Ashville was a big city with large, imposing buildings everywhere. I felt inexpilcably drawn to a cafe around the corner from the motel. The pull was so strong that I couldn't resist it. Making my way to the back of the crowded cafe, I sat down in a corner.

“Damn!" I muttered.

I remembered that Ruelle had all the money and I couldn't even buy myself a cup of coffee. Still, I felt the impulse to stay where I was. The waitress came towards me. I looked down, avoiding her eyes. My senses suddenly became heightened. Over the noise of the crowd, I clearly heard the door to the cafe open. Someone came in. There was an insane urge to see who it was. I smelled his scent. Slowly, I looked up and my eyes found him at the crowded counter. He wore a facecap and sunglasses and I caught only a glimpse of his face in profile. I gasped in surprise and slowly got to my feet. A thin scar extended from his cheek to his chin. He looked like the person I had seen in my vision. I got to my feet. Somehow, I just had to get closer. He suddenly stiffened and slowly began to turn in my direction.

“Hey, Grey. Is that you?" someone called from the other side of the room.

The man abruptly turned towards the sound of the voice.