She opened the door to Leo looking directly at her. Her heart immediately raced upon the sight of Leo. "Leo.." she opened her mouth to speak and that is the only word that came out. Leo still looking at her, his eyes searching her face,"I was worried sick," she immediately felt lightheaded as Leo suddenly pulled her to his embrace.
The whole world was spinning around her at this moment and all she could feel and see was this very moment. Lily's heart was beating so fast that she could hardly feel it. The warmth that came from the hug left a tingling sensation down her spine.She felt warm air graze her neck as Leo breathed softly in her embrace.
Leo slowly pulled away from Lily embrace as he continuously looked at her. "You look better," Leo remarked. "You must have gotten assistance from a good healer and I'm even surprised those kind of healers can still be found here in Umbra town," Leo added.
Lily responded still equally looking at Leo, "yes I was surprised too, I'm totally fine now, thank you." Leo looked at Lily with confusion in his face and Lily immediately added, "for helping me out...in the witches' forest and bringing me here," she smiled.
Leo could not explain the feeling he was experiencing at the moment and he was trying so hard to compose himself. What he was not aware of was that Lily was also going through the same thing.
"It's nice of you...coming back to check on me," Lily stuttered. "Of course I had to make sure the forest fairy is safe, imagine what would happen to the forest if the forest fairy is not feeling well," Leo responded playfully.
He saw a smile on Lily's face and that made him feel contented. He had not been able to explain his reactions towards Lily over the past few days. As much as that was on his mind, he still found himself being at peace with the fact that Lily was okay and standing before him at the moment.
"What about your grandmother, how is she right now," Leo inquired, his expression getting serious. "The spell has been broken," Lily answered. Leo happened to notice the disturbed look on Lily's face and how the tone in her voice had somehow changed.
"What is it Lily," Leo searched Lily's face. Lily suddenly felt like an open book since it was the first time ever someone was able to read through her. She wondered how easily Leo could detect something was amoss.
"She hasn't woken up yet," she answered, giving up the tough impression she had been trying to hold up. "That doesn't sound good," Leo responded. He wished that he could be of assistance in this situation but there was nothing much he could do really.
Lily this time realized that Leo was silently beating himself up over her grandmother's situation even after being so helpful to her.
She thought of how she wanted to do it alone but he still helped her anyway.
An idea suddenly came across Lily's mind. She recalled how Leo was able to attack whatever had invaded her and neutralized it. This immediately made her wonder if at all the same thing would be possible in her grandmother's case.
Time had elapsed and Lily had a hunch at this point that her grandmother's lack of response was not a normal thing. She had already suspected that perhaps there was still something remaining in her grandmother, lingering within her and keeping her unconscious. Something that Christopher's mother could not easily detect.
Even though Lily was thinking of Leo being a possible help, she was not totally sure. She of course had doubts of her own. For instance, she did not want to have to do so many explanations about things she was not willing to disclose.
What if Leo got suspicious? What if he accidentally saw something he shouldn't see? There were so many possible risks that Lily had to count on top of Leo being on her radar. He was already too close to her and she didn't want to him to be any closer because she understood the risks it came with.
Another valid reason to not let him close to the matter was how she would be forced to tell him about the truth behind her feeling better. This she could not do since she was in the know that Leo knew perfectly well that just a normal person like her could not be able to feel and understand the difference between the energies, leave alone surviving the battle.
"Your folks seem like very nice people, they really care about you," Leo spoke, breaking the silence that had developed for a few seconds. Lily smiled and passed around the compound as she looked further away where the other houses started from.
"Yes they are nice and very helpful. They are like family to me. I hope Chris was not too hard on you, he doesn't like new faces," Lily stated with a little embarrassment as she looked at Leo who was walking through the compound with her.
"He seemed pretty nice actually," Leo responded twisting his head followed with a goofy head shake. "He is a very good friend, he is very caring," Lily responded. "He and his mother have always stuck around for me and my grandmother."
"I haven't heard you mention any other person," Leo progressed. "Or you are the fancy kind who leave the city and come to visit grandparents in a small town hoping to find an adventure along the way?" Leo mocked.
"That is not entirely wrong actually," Lily spoke in a soft chuckle. "Very interesting," Leo added. "I hope I will someday get to hear the entire story, perhaps you could inspire me with a little bit of your adventures too," Leo stated. "Sure why not," Lily responded with a smile.
"Lily," a familiar voice came from the small entrance. Chris walked towards Leo and Lily and could not help but curse inwardly how this guy just seemed to be popping up a little too much to his liking.
"I better get going," Leo faced Lily with a smile directing his statement to her. "See you around forest fairy, you always know where to find me in case you want to take a break from civilization," Leo winked playfully as he rubbed Lily's hand before turning around and walking out.
Chris was staring all this while with disbelief. He did not believe how this strange guy who might have actually just know Lily maybe for a short time had gotten so comfortable around her. He did not like it at all.
"Chris, you came back," Lily spoke walking back towards the house. "Who is that guy Lily and why is he that comfortable around you?" Chris asked immediately, not even trying to hide his displeasure.
"Come on Chris, I know him," Lily answered in a relaxed way. "Yea obviously you do, otherwise he wouldn't be back here. It's just strange that non of us know him." Lily eyed Chris as they entered the house.
"Knock it out Chris," she responded, this time a little serious. "Geez calm down Lily," Chris tried easing the situation. "I just care about you that's all," Chris added walking towards the dinning area, "I know Chris, and I appreciate it," Lily responded with a smile.
Her smile quickly warmed up Chris who could not stay mad at her for long.
Sighing, he sat on one of the dinning chairs, "how is she?" Lily was quickly brought back to her current worry by Christopher's question. "She still hasn't woken up Chris, I'm worried," she wore a sad face as she talked to Chris.
She knew it was okay to feel vulnerable around Chris because after all, they were the closet thing she had to family other than her grandmother. Chris could not help but feel his heart break for Lily.
He knew she was going through a lot at the moment and that she could use all the help she could get even though he knew she would never easily ask for it. Chris was still trying to get to know this new Lily better.
He agreed to the fact that Lily was different now and that they were no longer kids anymore. He had to be keen and careful with her because to him, Lily was still his long lost best friend and he still loved her so much.
Lily had also noticed that their friendship still proved existence and that is how she could easily explain her being too comfortable around Chris and trusting him with very personal things. She knew she could rely on him and trust him. It was good that she had someone like him and his mother around her.
Chris and his mother together with Lily's grandmother were the only people that reminded her of a normal life and at least tried their best to make it comfortable for her and she was not going to try and forget that.
In that case, she wanted them to remain safe and away from any threats that would expose them to the dangers of her ventures.
The last thing she wanted was to have to fail her mission inorder to keep them safe. So in this case, they had to be as far away from her ventures as possible.