Who Killed Sarah Foster?

1. Embrace It

_________________________

.

.

.

"Grandma, what's going on?" A little girl asked as she timidly pushed the heavy door open. She didn't know what they were doing in the cellar in the middle of the night. "Why is Grandpa here instead of in his room?"

"Come here precious." A hoarse, frail voice said from the darkness.

Leah took a step back.

"Lee, come here love." A wrinkled hand reached out to the little girl. "Don't be scared, dear."

"No." Six-year-old Leah Wayne hid her hands in her pockets. She loved her grandfather, but the little girl's heart told her that something was not right.

Her heart told her that her grandfather was dying.

And her heart told her that something wrong was going to happen to her. Or at least something she did not want was going to happen to her, even though the little girl didn't know what it was.

If only she had listened to her heart and fled that place, then things would have been different. Some things would have been better, but other things would have been worse.

"Come on baby, hold your grandpa's hand. Go on." Another set of hands pulled out her little hands and guided them forward toward her husband's frail ones.

"I don't want to. Grandma, I don't want to. I am scared." The little girl whined, trying to pull back, but her grandmother's hold on her tightened. She did not want to do this to her precious granddaughter either, but what needed to be done had to be done.

"I know, my precious little one." The grandfather croaked out. "But trust me, there's nothing to be scared of. I promise, nothing will happen to you."

"Grandpa wants to give you his superpowers." The elderly woman coaxed.

"Really?" The little girl was suddenly curious. What kind of superpower was it? She didn't know her grandpa had any superpowers!

"Yeah." The woman said. "Now give him your hand."

"And look into my eyes." His grave voice said. "...Embrace it."

.

.

.

Leah jumped at the sound of shattering glass, pushed off the table by the curtains that blew inside with the wind.

Her eyes darted to the mess on the floor, where her cup of coffee lay shattered, staining the beige carpet. She sighed, running her fingers through her messy brown hair as she closed her exercise book.

"Must keep the windows closed." She mumbled to herself.

She had gone zoning out yet again, going back to that fateful day. It happened so often and so many lifeless articles had to pay the price for it. It was sad.

"What happened?" Her elder brother, Michael Wayne's head popped in, and he was looking as handsome as ever even in his bed-head and striped pajamas, which matched Leah's own. It was a family thing their mother had going even before the siblings were born. All the four family members wore matching PJs and no, it was not just a Christmas tradition either.

"Did you zone out again?" He asked as he marched in. "Because that's what you always do." He snickered.

Of course, she had zoned out. She couldn't even deny it because everyone knew how often she did it, but she would have to be six feet under before she admitted it out loud to her annoying big brother.

"I didn't say you could come in." Leah rolled her eyes, getting off her chair to kneel down in front of the mess of gooey coffee and her favorite mug broken into pieces, picking up the pieces of ceramic one by one.

"Mom and Dad aren't home." He spoke. She looked up at him, her brows furrowed.

"Where did they leave so early in the morning?"

"Grandma's place. She hasn't been keeping well I guess, and she called Dad at like, three in the morning asking them to go over there." He shrugged as he looked around. Leah's room was way too neat and way too boring. Like her.

Leah pursed her lips and reached over to her phone resting at the edge of her study desk with her free hand and unlocked it. She had a message from her mom.

. . .

Mom: Dad and I had to go visit Grandma early in the morning. Didn't want to disturb you. Will be back tonight.

XOXO.

. . .

Leah quickly typed in a reply saying it was completely fine and that she would be waiting for them in the evening.

Truth was, she was glad that they were gone. She liked having the house to herself. Well, her annoying brother was around, but he was bearable as compared to her blissfully ignorant parents.

"You know, when I was your age, I was the star of the school. Even my seniors envied me!" Michael exclaimed as he plopped down on her bed as if it belonged to him, which irked his younger sibling.

"I have heard that story way too many times to even pretend to be interested in it." Leah rolled her eyes as she quickly wrapped the broken pieces in some used worksheets and dumped them in the waste bin.

"It should still be interesting to you because it's something you will never have." Michael chuckled, earning another eye roll from his sister.

"Maybe you should see yourself out, asshole. Because I happen to have school today and I need to get ready," Leah pointed out. Michael pouted like the man-child he was but got out of bed and made his way out, leaving his younger sister to go about doing her morning routine.

Leah dressed herself in a black hoodie and blue jeans, choosing her black worn-out sneakers to go with it. She stared at her reflection in the mirror after tying her brown hair in a messy ponytail. Her icy blue eyes stared back at her, the pitch black limbal rings around them making them all the uglier and freakier.

She let out a defeated sigh before digging into her medicine cabinet to fish out her new pair of contact lenses. She had lost one of her previous pair the day before and had succeeded in scarring a four-year-old for life at the supermarket. She quickly put on her dark brown lenses, which made the eyes look oddly breath-taking and gorgeous. This was how her eyes were supposed to look and would have looked if she hadn't taken her grandpa's hand that day.

Leah packed up her books and stationery in her backpack and skipped down the stairs to the kitchen where her brother sat, still in his pajamas, looking at the chaos outside.

"What's up?" Leah asked as she threw her bag over the counter and went over to the cabinets to get a bowl and the carton of her favorite fruit loops.

"There's no milk," Michael said, not looking up from the view he was intently staring at - two of their neighbors fighting over the dog turd in one of their pavements. Both of them had dogs so they were indeterminate of who the culprit was. Who needed television when they had interesting neighbors?

"I went to the supermarket just yesterday!" Leah narrowed her eyes at her big brother. "What is wrong with you, Mike? You could have left a little bit for my breakfast!"

He looked over at her and grinned sheepishly. "No one feeds the black stray cat in the neighborhood because they think he is a bad omen." He shrugged, giving her his best puppy eyes. "Besides, I didn't think Mom would up and leave like that. Today's pancake day so I thought there was no need for milk early in the morning!"

"Ugh!" Leah groaned. She was hungry and her brother was making her starve.

"No one feeds the cat." Michael pouted yet again only to have a spoon chucked at him.

"I am no one, dumbass. I feed her quality cat food every morning and evening. And even if I didn't, you do not have to feed her an entire carton of milk." Leah groaned as she shoveled dry cereal into her mouth and washed it down with tap water before quickly washing the bowl and spoon, putting all of them back in their rightful places. She grabbed an apple and her bag.

"You feed the cat and you never told me?" Michael looked like he was stabbed in the back.

Leah rolled her eyes. Her brother was such a drama queen.

"Please don't give away the house as a charity by the time I get back!" She told him before waving goodbye and leaving the house.

Leah's school was just a few blocks down from her house, so she didn't need to be driven around, which made life six percent easier for her.

But the walk to the school always was difficult. Her schoolmates - seniors and juniors alike - called her names as they passed by. She never listened to them, completely ignoring them as she listened to metal rock.

Everyone had at least one friend in school.

No matter how much of an outcast you are, you always have a fellow outcast for a friend.

Leah didn't.

Or maybe she did.

.

.

.

"Good morning shawty!" Paul Jackson fell into pace with her as she entered the school building. Leah rolled her eyes, muttering a quick good morning as she did.

"How is your day going?"

"It just started," Leah muttered yet again, quickly wading her way to her locker.

"And yet you are so dull and boring and negative already." He pouted as he leaned against the locker next to her.

"Paul, if I talk to thin air early in the morning, people are going to make my day duller than your sad existence so... space, please, at least for now?" Leah muttered as she quickly put away her bag and grabbed the necessary books for her first hour, Calculus.

"Mean and insensitive as always, but I won't leave you alone, shawty, because you are the only friend I have and I'm yours." He mock-saluted her and disappeared into the wall.

Leah rolled her eyes yet again and turned to her locker.

"Love the new contacts by the way!" His head appeared out of her locker, startling her. She stumbled backward and fell on her butt, grabbing everyone's attention who spared no second in laughing out loud and making fun of her.

Leah sighed and gave the head in her locker a glare while he just grinned back at her sheepishly before disappearing again, leaving Leah to deal with her personal hell – school – all by herself.

The day droned on and on. She sat through her classes lifeless and spaced out, like the ghost Paul once was.

After an eternity, it was lunch break and that was the time when she hid in the library, not wanting to be the topic of gossip and unwanted attention in the cafeteria. She waved at the young librarian, Stella Marshall, who yet again gave her a look of disapproval as she has been giving since day one of Leah's schooling at Greenfield High.

Leah made her way to the history section, determined to get some of her homework done so that she could enjoy the outdoors while her parents were away. She was fifteen minutes into the boring textbook when Paul appeared again, startling her.

"That's enough jump scares for one day, Jackson!" Leah whisper-yelled, still clutching onto her chest and rubbing it. One would think she was used to it but because of her ability and her past experiences, she lived in constant fear.

Paul didn't have time for any of his goofy grins or witty replies. "Leah, you need to come see this!"

"See what?" She whispered, peeking over at Stella, whose back was to her.

"More like who!" He whisper-yelled as if someone would hear him.

"Who?" Leah was confused.

"There's someone by the football field!" He whisper-yelled yet again. "A GHOST. I think...?"

.

.

.

_________________________