14- Beautiful Nightmare

"Leo, please don't do this, I thought you were good." He chuckles, licking blood off his razor sharp teeth. Dropping a body from his grip, my jaw drops. Tears flee from my eyes, that body was Nate. Blood squirted out of the wound, it splattered against the wall. Bending down to him, his eyes were bulging out of his head. "Nate, stay awake. I'm going to get some help." Caressing him into my arms, I press on his wound with my shirt.

Running out of the room, I start screaming for help, hoping somebody could hear me; nobody was in the house. As the lights cut off, I bring Nate into the next room. Laying him in bed, I start crying. He was losing consciousness, whining from the pain. I caressed his chin, "it's going to be okay, we'll get through this." Nate held my hand, grinning at me. "I can see a light, Nicole. It's so beautiful," I hold him close; not ready to lose my baby brother.

It was becoming more difficult for him to breathe, he was coughing up copious amounts of blood. Playing with his hair, I start telling him a story about us flying in the sky, watching everyone from below. He smiled, taking his last breath. I still held onto Nate, tears flowed from my eyes. My lip quivered, realizing I'd never get to hear his little voice again.

"Nicole," Dane shakes me. I was in a ball of sweat, tears running down my face. "Another?" He said, I nod my head. "Want to talk about it?" As much as I wanted to, I didn't want to relive my nightmare. "I'll be down in a while, save some breakfast for me." I say, hugging him. "Focus on the good things," Dane quotes, closing the door.

Stretching on the floor, the balcony door flew open. Leo stood there, his hands behind his back. Butterflies swirled around in my stomach, I blushed. "You can come in you know." He smiles, entering the room. "I got this for you," he grins, handing me a small, delicate box. On the top, it read: big things come in small packages. Pulling the turquoise ribbon, the top pops up.

It was a dainty necklace, a moon. A girl laid on the boys shoulder, smiling lovingly. "Did you make this?" I ask, beaming at the necklace. Leo smiles nervously, "yes. My character glows when the necklace feels your heart beating, and I'll be able to hear it, with this." He shows me a bracelet, with the same design on it. "It's beautiful, Leo. I love it." Grabbing the necklace from the box, Leo put it around my neck. "It looks beautiful on you, gorgeous."

I hug him tightly, blushing. What if I could make him something just as great, do something great? Then, I could tell him that I love him. "Nicole, your heart is racing. What's on your mind?" Thoughts ran through my mind, ideas storing themselves in my brain. "I appreciate all you do for me, and I wouldn't ever want you to leave." He holds my hands, "I would never leave you." He kisses my forehead before disappearing, he was too shy to stay.

Sitting on my bed, I pull out my laptop. I spent the whole afternoon doing some research. I was trying to figure out how to bring Leo back to life, let him live again. As I keep scrolling, I come across an article about the body after death. As I start reading, a video pops up on the screen. Watching a man bring his wife back to life put me in shock, tears ran down my face as I saw the happiness in his eyes. Taking down notes, I start sketching out his body.

Leo has bright, curly Copper toned hair, dark green eyes, and a prominent dimple on his left cheek. He was tall, yet muscular. Picturing him was like a dream, drawing him was a masterpiece. "Dad, can Dane take me to the store?" Dad shrugged his shoulders, "if he wants to." I grab the keys off the counter, handing them to Dane.

While Dane ventures off to the hunting isle, I start looking for supplies to construct Leo. "What are you up to? This looks like a lot of stuff." He asks as I wheel passed him. "It's just a bunch of.. Art supplies!" I blurt out, he shakes his head. As I scan all the items and pay, Dane starts peeking in the bags. "Why would you need plastic?" He says, parking in the driveway. "You'll know soon enough, Dane. We can't rush perfection." I say, heading to my room. I spent the remainder of the day researching and creating him. Wiping the Sweat off my forehead, I smile widely. His transfer body was complete, and it was an exact replica of Leo.

Waking up on the floor, my back cracked as I stood up. Looking at the time, it was already ten o'clock in the morning. Throwing a blanket over my project, I try to sneak out the door. "What do you have here?" Dad says, trying to peek under the blanket. "It's for Leo, a body I made for him." I say, bolting out the door to the cottage.

"What's that?" Leo says as I drag his body inside. "I want you to hold this, don't let it go." Handing him a knitted red heart, I close his hand. Uncovering his gift, his jaw drops. "That's.. Me?" He says, dropping down to take a better look. "It's amazing, Nicole." I smile, pulling a piece of paper from my pocket. "This is your new body, in order for this to work, I need you to preform the instructions carefully." He nods his head, tears running down his face.

1. Lay down somewhere comfortable

2. Clear your mind

3. Hold the heart to your chest

4. Close your eyes

5. Envision yourself alive, as if you never passed away

Leo was still, smiling as he thought about being alive. As I spoke the words of the ritual, he slowly starts to disappear. As I continue, the last words were what I wanted to tell him earlier. "I love you!" I yelled, Leo vanished. Dropping to my knees, I sobbed, thinking I killed his spirit.

"You're too pretty to cry," Leo said, holding out his hand. I grabbed him, pulling him down with me. He pulled me in close, warm to the touch. Blood circulated throughout his body, he was human. "Leo?" He holds my hands, looking into my eyes. "Yes?" I smile, looking back at him. "I love you."

His cheeks were rose red, pulling me in for a kiss. "I love you too." My heart melted, I was in a trance. Knowing that Leo loved me back was magical, I couldn't stop replaying his voice in my head. Caressing me in his arms, he laid me down on the bed. I cuddled up to him, playing with his hair. We spent several hours admiring each other, happy we could finally be together.

"Nicole!" I could hear dad yelling. Leo walks me to the front door, giving me a kiss before I ran off. "What's wrong with mom?" I ask, seeing her in a lot of pain. "It's the baby, we need to go, now!" Dad says, tossing the diaper bag at me.

"Where does it hurt?" The doctor says, feeling around moms stomach. "There!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. Setting up an ultrasound, the doctor starts monitoring the baby. We watched as the little bean fluttered around in the womb, finding somewhere comfy to lay. "Did you know you were having twins?" Mom looked at the doctor, then back to her stomach. "I didn't know, wow!" She yells, excitement in her voice. He moves the probe around, showing both babies.

"This will help with the pain you're experiencing," he says, handing mom a piece of paper. "If you have any other concerns with the bundles of joy, come back immediately." We thanked him before leaving, coming home and making mom rest in bed.

The kids were nervous wrecks, wondering what was going on. "Mommy will be okay?" Nate asks, standing by my side. I smile at him, "with some rest, she will be." He grins back at me, handing me a toy. "She can have Wally for the night, he'll keep her company." Holding onto Wally, I quietly open the door, Mom was asleep. Setting Wally next to her, I close the door behind me.

"Wally is laying down next to mom now, he should make her feel better." I pat Nate on the head, he smiles.

After dinner, the kids go off and play, giving me time to think about the babies. From what the doctors were saying, mom just needed rest and a little bit of isolation.

I sat by her door, ready at any moment to help her with what she may need.