236: Laura Greene-Part 4

Roaring Heights, present day...

They had just passed Aurora Skies, heading into Roaring Heights when Leigh’s phone rang again.

It was the tenth time in the past hour.

Eloise glanced at her friend, but didn't say anything.

The kids glanced at Leigh but didn't say anything either.

Instead, they resumed their bickering and hand slapping.

Leigh barely registered the small war raging in the back seat. Her marriage was in trouble. Her husband had been tempted to cheat on her and the whole world knew. The whole world pitied her. And she was driving into a strange town, chasing down ghosts, and carrying on as if the idea of this trip wasn't unnatural.

As soon as Leigh's phone stopped ringing, Eloise's started up again. It was the tenth time in the past hour. And Eloise didn't know how much longer she could hold out.

Leigh was hurting. And Krisis was obviously trying to fix everything, but Eloise wasn't so sure he could. And it made her sad because for a long time they had seemed to have it together, they were okay, their marriage was healthy, their love strong and their bond more epic than ever. Eloise and all their friends had been so sure, so convinced that they'd finally found their happily ever after.

But now—now everything had turned to shit. And Leigh was hurting, and Krisis was trying to fix things and their kids were bickering in the back seat and close to killing each other over a PSP.

Blake, absorbed in his latest comic book in the back seat with Lily, wasn't doing any better. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her, and Eloise traced his change in attitude to the night she changed Devon. Eloise knew her son still loved her, he told her every night when she tucked him in, but he was more reserved with her. Blake seemed almost...She hated admitting it, but her son seemed almost afraid of her. He didn't want to be alone in the same room with her. He didn't want to do anything that Devon wasn't a part of and Eloise was so afraid she'd lost him. She wanted to fix things with him, that’s why she’d jumped at the chance to come with Leigh and the kids, she’d thought some time away from Bridgeport would be good for her and Blake. But now…Now she wasn’t so sure; her son had barely said a word to her since they got on the road.

Her phone rang again, this time Eloise couldn't ignore it.

She spoke to Krisis for a while before she put the phone on speaker and handed it to the children.

All four kids were excited to hear from him. They were obviously sad he couldn't join them, but they promised to have lots of fun on his behalf. When Krisis asked to speak to Leigh, they politely told him she's driving and couldn't come to the phone.

"It’s dangerous daddy, mom can't talk on the phone and drive at the same time. She's not supposed to," Ariel cried into the phone, making Leigh's vision blur slightly from her tears.

"Bless their little hearts," Eloise smiled at Leigh as she took back the phone from Ariel.

The sun was just setting when they passed Roaring Height's welcome sign.

The kids squealed delightedly when they saw the boardwalk, and plans to make a stop there one of the days were made.

It took them another thirty minutes to find the beach house Leigh had rented for the weekend. She'd planned on making the trip alone in a couple of weeks, but her fight with Krisis and his subsequent lapse in judgment had sped things up, and in the wake of the scandal, leaving her kids in Bridgeport was never an option.

"Thank you, for coming with us," Leigh told Eloise now as they carried their bags inside the house.

"Don't mention it, we both needed this," Eloise replied as she draped her arm around Leigh's shoulders.

The inside of the house was hot and stuffy from being closed up for so long. Leigh opened the windows and immediately started sorting out the place and their sleeping arrangements, while Eloise got kids settled in for the evening.

They ordered take out, the kids ate too much pizza and stayed way past their bed time, playing in the sand and catching fireflies.

By the time Eloise and Leigh tucked them in they were so tired they passed out almost immediately.

Both Leigh and Eloise drifted to the kitchen. Leigh chopped up some cheese, and Eloise opened a bottle of Chardonnay before she turned on the stereo. So Epic It Hurts filled the room, K-Infinity was getting a lot of airplay.

"I'm sorry," Eloise apologized as she fumbled with the buttons to turn off the radio.

"It's okay," Leigh waved her off and took a small sip from her glass. "I'm okay!" She added.

And to show her how okay she was, she took Eloise's hand they danced around the room, playing air guitars, laughing so hard the sides of their tummies ached.

Soon the ache in Leigh's stomach moved elsewhere, and for a while, long mournful sounds filled the room. And Eloise just held her, crying with her.

The last time Leigh had cried this hard was in the bathroom of their old flat when she'd looked at her bruised body after Vladimir had attacked her, and before then it was at her parents' funeral following their murder-suicide. 

"I love him! I want him so badly. I want him so much to be here," Leigh wailed on Eloise's shoulder, her words came out muffled.

"I know. I know you love him. And he loves you too!"

"Then why would he do this? Why would he do something like this? If you love someone you don't treat them like shit!"

"He said it’s all a big misunderstanding and he didn't sleep with her,” Eloise didn't like playing devil's advocate, but somehow, she was caught right in the center of this shit storm. It was getting messier by the minute, it made her uncomfortable.

She didn't condone Krisis' actions. But she understood how easy it is to cross the line. She hated admitting it to anyone, especially to herself, but there were times when crossing the line with Cruz had seemed much easier than working on her marriage. She’d been tempted to cheat, to hurt Devon as much as he’d hurt her with his lies and his silent treatment and his withholding of affections.  But she'd come back from it. Just like Krisis. She understood. She couldn't pass judgment. And she explained this to Leigh. She admitted to Leigh that she had been tempted to cheat on her brother.

"Why didn't you?" Leigh asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"Because I love Devon and I love Blake. The temptation wasn't stronger than the love I feel for both of them."

"Does Dev know?"

"I don't know Leigh. Maybe he does. Maybe that's why he hasn't touched me in months. I hope he doesn't though. Looking back, and looking at you now, I wouldn't want to see him hurting the way you do."

"What should I do?" Leigh asked.

"Just breathe, Leigh. Just keep breathing. The next breath will be easier than the last, and the one before that." Eloise said, telling her the same thing she'd told her in the days leading up to her parents' funeral.

The next morning Leigh and Eloise took the kids to the boardwalk.

While the kids rode on the roller-coaster, Leigh and Eloise took a walk around the boardwalk, but they were careful not to go too far, they didn't want the children to wander off on their own.

"What are we doing here, Leigh?" Eloise asked.

"The kids wanted to come here, silly. Don't you remember?" Leigh laughed and took a bit of Candy Floss. She smiled gleefully at the way it melted in her mouth.

"No, I mean Roaring Heights."

"I don't understand," Leigh cried, a little too defensively.

"We passed at least three resort towns on our way here, and I know for a fact that you are not here to collect any art. You would have mentioned it by now if you were. So why is Krisis under the impression you came for art?"

"It seemed easier than telling the truth," Leigh replied truthfully as she dumped her candy floss in the nearest trash can and picked up her pace.

"Which is?" Eloise cried as she did the same with her popcorn and ran after Leigh.

"Laura Greene." Leigh stopped and glared at her friend.

"What? Krisis' dead ex?" Eloise sounded as baffled as she looked.

And Leigh came clean with her and told her everything. About the photo album and the file she'd requested from Thornton and her appointment with Mrs. Greene.

"Jesus, Leigh, does Krisis know all this? Does he know you are chasing after ghosts and digging up his past?"

Leigh shook her head. "I have to know."

"And then what Leigh? What if you are related to her? What then? What will it mean for you and Krisis? Will you hold this over his head the way you seem to hold his past over him?"

"Whose side are you on?" Leigh yelled childishly.

"I’m always on your side, but you are wrong Leigh. Krisis has constantly proven himself to you and you always, always bring up his past. He loves you. He has kids with you. He would give up everything for you. He would walk away from all his fame if you asked, and you know it because he’s offered to do it before. What else do you want him to do?" Eloise was screaming now, and Leigh glanced at her anxiously, silently pleading with her to keep her voice down.

"You don't understand, I thought I was okay with all of this. With me looking like Laura. But after the album-" her voice trailed off and Eloise waited.

"Yes, after the album what?"

"I have to know the truth. I need to know how I’m related to Laura. Krisis won't tell me. He won't even talk to me about her!"

"Maybe because it's as weird as fuck for him as it is for you!" Eloise began walking again.

"I have asked him, so many times to tell me about Laura and he won't open up to me."

"So you took matters into your hands, manipulated me into coming with you? I thought we came here to get away from Bridgeport, from everything that’s happening back there. Why didn’t you tell me you were here for your own agenda?"

"It's not like that!"

"It's exactly like that, Leigh. And you must know things won't end well here!" Eloise warned her. But Leigh refused to listen to reason. She'd come all the way to Roaring Heights, all the answers to the mountain of questions she had were within reach, she'd be damned if she returned to Bridgeport without knowing the truth.

Leigh set out for her appointment shortly after she dropped Eloise and the kids off at the circus.

And she was at the retirement home promptly at 3pm. The nurse she'd spoken with had told her over and over she had to be on time; Mrs. Greene was very fussy and she didn't take too kindly to disruptions in her routine.

After Leigh had signed in, the front office nurse took her to the visitors' lounge and asked her to take a seat while she fetched Mrs. Greene.

Leigh was in awe of her surroundings.

The room looked like a blast from the past, and everything in it reminded her of a quaint museum, from the classic paintings draping the cream walls to the fine antique chairs arranged neatly around lace covered dining table. The couch and armchairs, looked just as delicate, like fragile China and Leigh was afraid if she sat down, they would break.

So she walked over to the big French windows and stared at the pool outside and the rose themed garden. An elderly gentleman with a full head of white hair was engaged in a one-man game of chess, while his companion, an equally ancient looking lady, fixated on the paperback in her hands.

They looked so at peace with themselves and the world Leigh had a sudden urge to paint them, to freeze this moment in time. She was about to take out a small sketchbook and a pencil from her handbag when she heard movement behind her.

Leigh turned around and smiled at the frail looking woman in a wheelchair.

"You must be Ashleigh Frost," Mrs. Greene beckoned at Leigh to join her as she wheeled herself to the dining table.

She waited for Leigh to sit before she poured them both a cup of tea.

"Thank you for seeing me," Leigh began as she stirred her tea. She stopped when Mrs. Greene gave her a sharp look, the chinking noise from the spoon hitting on the fine China was doing a number on her nerves.

"I'm sorry," Leigh whispered. Mrs. Greene nodded her head, her light brown eyes scanning over her like laser beams.

Leigh shifted in her chair, suddenly uncomfortable.

"You really look like her, my Laura."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, child. It's not your fault. It's just a cruel joke fate played on you. And you can either laugh about it or cry over it. And I'm guessing you are here to cry?"

"I'm here for the truth."

"I don't understand?" Mrs. Greene looked confused.

"I want to know why I look like Laura. I think we are related. We must be, why else would I look just like her?" Leigh replied.

Mrs. Greene didn't say anything. Instead, she pressed the buzzer on the table Leigh had failed to notice till now.

The same nurse who'd assisted Leigh earlier walked in a minute later. She knelt beside Mrs. Greene, who in turn whispered something in her ear before she scurried off.

A few moments later, the nurse was back again, this time with an ornate shoe sized box. 

"Thank you, Joyce," Mrs. Greene patted her hand before she moved the tea set aside to make room for the box.

"Open it," she pushed it towards Leigh.

Leigh hesitated. Something about the whole thing made her think of Pandora's box and all the troubles of the world.

"You want the truth. It's all there," Mrs. Greene said as she picked up her tea cup, her hands wobbled slightly, splashing a few drops of tea on her saucer.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Leigh asked.

Mrs. Greene shook her head quickly, “it’s manageable."

Leigh knew of course she wasn't telling the truth. Eloise's mom also suffered from arthritis and she was in constant pain.

Mrs. Greene asked Leigh stuff about herself, and Leigh answered truthfully, happy to forget about the box in front of her just for a little while. Leigh was slightly taken aback though when Mrs. Greene asked her about her kids.

"I know about your children. Krisis writes to me sometimes. He speaks highly of all of them like a doting father," Mrs. Greene smiled.

"You know Krisis?" Leigh stammered.

"Of course. He was with my daughter for four years," Mrs. Greene pointed out.

"After Laura-" She continued, but her voice trailing off, and for the first time Leigh saw the pain in her eyes. Without thinking, she took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. But she immediately pulled away when Mrs. Greene frowned at their intertwined hands.

"After Laura died, Krisis and I grew close. I’d spent my whole life around darkness and gloom, after Laura died I desperately wanted the sun and Krisis found me this place. I love it here. The sunsets are beautiful. Of course with my meagre pension, I could never afford it, but your husband said for as long as he's still alive, I don't have to worry about the bills. Bless his heart."

Leigh didn't know what to say. This was yet another thing she didn't know about her husband. Another secret he'd kept from her.

Mrs. Greene reached for the box and took out a pile of photos, she passed them to Leigh.

It took her a minute or so to realize she was staring at Mrs. Greene’s life. There were quite a few of Mrs. Greene when she was in her twenties, some with a sharp looking man, Leigh assumed was her husband.

"That’s my Joe. The best dressed man in the whole of Twinbrook," she laughed, showing off one of the photographs to Leigh.

"He had swag," Leigh agreed as she ran a finger over his fedora hat. She placed the photo in the pile of the ones she'd already looked at.

"And that's me, four months along with Laura."

They spent over an hour, going through the photos and browsing through Laura's high school yearbooks and newspaper articles chronicling Laura's rise to fame and her subsequent suicide.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Greene said as she closed the box and picked up her ice cold tea. She drank it with the same relish one would show when drinking a freshly brewed cup.

"I was so sure." Leigh whispered to no one in particular as she stood there for a while, staring outside the French windows, at the setting sun casting long shadows on the walls. For some inexplicable reason, she was sad to see the one man game of chess had moved elsewhere.

"I was so sure we are related.” She said again as she rejoined Mrs. Greene at the table and picked up her own cup. “I wanted us to be related because everything would make sense, there'd be an explanation, and Krisis being drawn to me would make sense."

Mrs. Greene nodded her head and stared at her thoughtfully.

For a little while only the ticking sound of the Grandfather clock in the corner filled the silence, both women lost in their thoughts, thinking about Laura and how she'd touched their lives in different, but painfully familiar ways, they were both eternally bound to each other by their grief. Mrs. Greene longed for the daughter she'd lost, and Leigh mourned the truth she'd never know.

"When I spoke about leaving the dark and gloom and standing in the sun, I wasn't just talking about the weather in Twinbrook,” Mrs. Greene began after some time. “I was talking about Laura and my husband. I spent my whole life taking care of them, fighting to save them from themselves. It wasn't their fault, they were beautiful yet broken. The disease didn't just take their memories and their mental capabilities. It took their wills to live too, slowly, inch by inch until they had nothing more to give.

Laura was her father's daughter in every way, so when he took a rope and tied himself to the ceiling fan in our bedroom, she took it hard, we both did. She left Twinbrook went to Bridgeport to pursue a career in acting. Was she good? Maybe. But was her rapid rise to fame well deserved? No. Not all. She took up with the director of her first film, Vladimir Schlick and he opened doors for her. She met Krisis and his band through Beau, Vladimir's brother, and they became good friends.

Vladimir was her first love and Laura was his muse, his lucky charm. Both drunk from their fame and power, they didn't see the signs. Laura's blood wasn't good for him and it didn't take long for the love they shared to turn into a dark obsession. There were physical fights, accusations of cheating, jealousies over Laura's flourishing career and Vladimir’s adoring fans. It was ugly. I wanted her to come home. But Laura wouldn't. She was in love with Vladimir and their fame and all their power.

Everyone around them knew they were a horrible accident waiting to happen. The band tried to get her to leave him, her friends tried to get her out. But Laura wanted to stay. She saw nothing wrong with their relationship, even when he held her over a thirty story balcony threatening to kill her she wouldn't leave him. I suppose that's when her fascination with jumping started. Maybe that’s why she jumped in the end.

After watching my daughter on the news, being dangled over the balcony like a rag doll, I got on the bus and came to Bridgeport. They wouldn't see me, of course. So I called O+ Records and even though they were in the middle of recording an album, Krisis made time for me. I was shocked, a big star like him would even see me. 

I begged him to get her out. He didn't want to get involved, you know Vampires are strict on loyalty, he didn’t want to turn on Vladimir. So I left, but not before I told him if Laura died, her blood would be on his hands. Funny, how life has a way of turning out. She ended up dying in Krisis' care. And he took it hard. Never got over the fact that he helped her kill herself. He could have saved her. But it's not what Laura had wanted. She was tired. She wanted peace. I still grieve for her. But I've learned to make peace with it and find comfort in knowing that she died on her own terms, she went the way she wanted. She wasn't thrown over a balcony. She wasn't beaten to a pulp by a jealous lover. She died strong and sane and she was aware of every minute of it all. But Krisis, could never make peace with it." Mrs. Greene stopped talking and Leigh brushed the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No tears, child," Mrs Greene admonished Leigh gently as she retrieved a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and handed it to her. It was white, with LG monogrammed in one corner, the other 3 were covered with roses.

"I couldn't," Leigh refused to soil it.

"Yes you can. Laura hated the damn thing, she always said it’s for grannies!" Mrs. Greene laughed, she sounded happy now, it was almost as if talking about her daughter had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.

"How did Krisis get her out?" Leigh held her breath, her heart breaking just a little as she waited to hear her husband's love story with Laura.

"He compelled her."

Leigh felt like the wind had been knocked right out of her and she couldn't breathe. Everything suddenly made sense, why Krisis was so against compulsion, how he'd lost it when Jacqueline compelled her and why he'd gotten her the necklace she still wore to this day even though she no longer needed its enchantment. Their fight the night before, when he told her Laura wasn't insecure, and how he'd quickly kept quiet when he realized he'd said too much. She'd been so quick to take everything out of context, so quick not to hear him out. Laura wasn't insecure because she was so damn sure of their love. He'd compelled her. He'd made her to never doubt him. He wasn't in love with Laura, she wasn't in love with him, but he'd cared about her well-being enough to make her believe she was in love with him, to make her believe she belonged with him. He'd loved Laura enough to use the one ability he abhorred on her. 

Leigh wanted to cry then. For both Laura and Krisis. For Vlad too. His love for Laura had led to his death, her blood had literally made him insane. It wasn't an excuse for his actions, but it was the truth. And if Laura was as amazing as everyone thought she was, and she'd loved Vlad, Leigh had to believe somewhere in all that darkness there was a good man.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Leigh didn't realize she's spoken out her thoughts till Mrs. Greene spoke.

"Because he's ashamed. He did something he abhors because I asked him to. He went against everything he stands for to help my daughter, to keep her alive for a little while longer than she would have lived had she stayed with Vladimir."

"Does he know that I'm here?"

"No. The last I heard from him was two months ago, on my birthday. He sent me flowers and a card. He called too, but I was sleeping. Never heard from him since and I figured you and the kids were keeping him busy."

"He loves you," Mrs. Greene added, surprising Leigh.

"How do you know, how can you say that?"

"If he wanted Laura back, if he wanted you to replace Laura he could have compelled you into thinking you were her, he could have forced you into a loveless relationship. But he didn't. He wanted you. He wanted a clean break with you."

"I have to go," Leigh got up from her seat and held out the handkerchief. She was still very angry over Krisis' alleged cheating, she didn't want to entertain any ideas of a reconciliation.

"Keep it."

Leigh felt bad about taking it, especially since it held sentimental value, but Mrs. Greene seemed happy to part with it.

She squeezed the old lady gently on the shoulder before she headed for the door. Just as she was about to disappear from view, Mrs. Greene stopped her.

"I know you wanted to believe you and Laura are related. But knowing what you know now, be happy Ashleigh, be glad you and my daughter are not related. She carried nothing but darkness all her life. The only light she ever had was the lie Krisis made her believe. If you were her sister, if you were related you would have carried the same darkness."

"I know but it doesn't make sense, why I look like her."

"Sometimes there isn't an answer. And sometimes we have to learn to be okay with not having answers. Sometimes the beauty in life lies in the unknown. Krisis falling in love after Laura is normal. But Krisis falling in love with you, especially when you look like Laura is an anomaly, a glitch in the timeline. But just because something doesn't make sense it doesn't make it any less real."

"Thank you," Leigh said, she didn't know what else to say. She was too tired to make sense of Mrs. Greene's parting words. Maybe tomorrow she would. But for now she wanted to go home and run herself a long bath, and maybe shed a tear or two over a cold glass of Chardonnay.

So she stopped at the liquor store on her way back to the beach house. The kids were sleeping when she got home. Eloise was up though, obviously waiting for her, no doubt to berate her some more.

Leigh was pleasantly surprised when she didn't though.

Eloise took the bag from the bottle store and while she unpacked its contents, Leigh went to check on the kids before she took a much needed shower.

They went to the patio and watched the night sky. Leigh told her about Mrs. Greene but didn't share any more.

They slipped into a comfortable silence, occasionally Leigh would look up and find Eloise staring at her.

"What?" Leigh asked after the third time.

"Nothing. You look different. Calm."

"I am." Leigh replied.

"So the art…Was it everything you wanted?" Eloise asked.

"Yes, it was. But I realized I have no room for it, the gallery is too small. So I'm leaving it out," Leigh smiled her first genuine smile since they arrived at Roaring Heights.

"Good!" Eloise smiled back. "I'm glad, you don't need all that clutter!" She added as she refilled their glasses.

It was just after 4 am when they both went back inside the house and went to bed.

Leigh grabbed her phone from the end table. It was late. She was drunk. She shouldn't be calling him.

But she missed him. She needed to hear his voice. One whole day without him and she was just about to ready to climb walls.

He answered the phone on the first ring. 

"Leigh", his voice sounded hoarse, like he'd been crying, or chain smoking or drinking. Or maybe all three.

"I'm so sorry. Please come home, I miss you. I miss the kids. Come back to me. I can fix this, please give me a chance to fix it," he pleaded.

Leigh ignored him. "I found the art." She said.

There was a heavy pause on Krisis' end.

"But I'm not bringing it home. I have no room for it." She carried on.

Krisis laughed, he sounded relieved. "That's good. I'm glad."

"I need time Krisis. It's not just the art, it's everything. It's us. I need time. But I would like it if you stayed on the phone with me till I fall asleep. Please?"

"Okay," he replied. "I love you," he added after some time.

But Leigh was already fast asleep...