“I’m worried about Leon. I mean, I know he’s still a kid. But I don’t wanna encourage him into something like this. It will be bad for his growth.”

He looked at her intently and kept clicking his pen, making annoying sounds. It was nerve-wrecking and she wanted to just yell ‘shut the fuck up!’ to him. But she understood, it was part of the process.

“Define that last sentence.”

Her brows furrowed, making a confused mark on her face. “What? That it will be bad for his growth? Of course! People are gonna laugh at him. Those kids in kindrgarten, God knows how many times they’ve bullied my son.”

“And why do you think that is?”

She rubbed her face twice before letting out a deep sigh. “It’s fucking common sense, doc. Who would want to believe when you told them that you have an imaginary friend? And that imaginary friend seemed so real - the way he described it, the way he drew the pictures and how he talked to…it. Everything seemed so fucking real, doc.”

He scribbled something on his notepad and cleared his aging throat.

“Why do you think that it’s real?”

Meike blinked softly at him. A glimpse of sadness etched on her face.

“Because I know him. Leon’s imaginary friend, I know him doc.”

---

The spaghetti’s boiling, the Bolognese sauce was done and just a few more minutes, they will be having lunch – the two of them at least. Daniel hadn’t got back from his work and noted that he will be late. Meike ran upstairs to his son’s room to wake him up from the regular nap he was having.

“Leon, wakey wakey honey. The lunch is ready..” she turned the doorknob and her heart stopped for a second. Leon wasn’t sleeping. Instead he stood still beside the window, looking down at the snowy ground outside.

“Leon why aren’t you sleeping? Can’t sleep, darling?” She pulled him closer and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Mommy, Jimmy wants to build a snowman.”

Meike closed her eyes. How the hell would she explain to Leon that Jimmy doesn’t exist? Well, he existed once but then he ceased. There is no way that he could come back and being Leon’s imaginary friend at that.

And how in God’s name did he know Jimmy? Meike tried hard but didn’t remember a single moment she showed Jimmy’s picture or anything related to Avenged Sevenfold to him, beside their music. So…how is this just something made up from his fertile childish imagination? She was almost believing it was…not made up.

“Baby, let’s go downstairs, shall we? The lunch is ready. I’m making you pasta. You love them right?”

“Yes, mami, I love it! But after lunch, can I go help Jimmy? He’s waiting for me.” Leon asked with a glow in his eyes. The kind of glow Meike had never seen before when Leon asks to play outside with his ‘real’ friends. That was so complicated, she wished Daniel was there to help her handle this situation.

“It’s already late, honey, after lunch you have to take a shower and go to bed. It’ll be dark outside…” she sighed. She didn’t want to make her son to believe there was really a Jimmy outside waiting for him, but she needed to convince him he couldn’t go there now. “Jimmy can wait until tomorrow to build the snowman, alright?”

“Wait, mom, let me ask him first.”

Leon went close to the window again and made a move with his hand like calling someone really tall to bend down to his short height. Then he curved both of his tiny hands on his mouth and stood on the tip of his feet to whisper something to the air. Well, in his mind, he was clearly whispering something to someone.

“He said okay.” he came running at Meike’s direction and gave her a hug before heading downstairs on that same fast speed.

Meike couldn’t help but look everywhere on his bedroom, any sign of that well-known ghost would be perfectly enough for her to believe in her son. But nothing, it was completely empty.

God, this is not normal… Maybe he’s ill…
Maybe I am overreacting…

She turned off the lights and followed Leon’s steps to the kitchen with only one thought roaming through her worried mind: I gotta talk to Daniel about this…

That night, Meike wasn’t able to find a single drop of sleep in the middle of her tumultuous thoughts. She had lost count of how many times her body changed positions on her lonely place on the bed and when she finally gave up from sleeping, a noise came from the doorknob, making her eyes automatically wander for the watch on her nightstand: 2:30 AM.

She watched Daniel make his silent way through the bedroom and sit on his side of the bed. That was when she felt the urge to spit the whole thing that was messing with her head lately.

“Dan…it’s so late…You had extra work to do?” she mumbled to not scare him.

“Oh, honey, you’re still awake?” he breathed heavily and turned on his lamp before facing Meike. “Yeah, I had to cover for someone and then I had a fucking flat tire on my way back home. You have no idea how hard it is to change tires with these heavy winter clothes…” he sighed again, heavier than before and curved his mouth.

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey…”

He was clearly more stressed out than usual but Meike couldn’t wait for tomorrow. She had to let out of her system all that turmoil in her head before she would spent a whole night sleepless.
She bit her lower lip as watching him getting undressed.

“Daniel, I need to talk to you about something…”

“Oh, Mei, can’t we just go to sleep now and then we talk tomorrow morning? I’m exhausted.”

“I don’t think so. I can’t sleep with this pumping in my head.”

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant!”

“NO, DAMN IT, DANIEL, I’m not pregnant, jeez! It’s about our son…”

“What about him? Those mean kids still keep bullying him?”

“Just let me explain. Leon has an imaginary friend now…” she bit her lower lip.

“Yeah, I know that, he’s always talking to the walls everywhere. But didn’t we all have imaginary friends on our childhood? It’s kinda normal at his age…”

“Yes, it is normal. But…” she got up from the bed, picked up one of Leon’s drawings stored on her nightstand and handed it to Daniel. “Look at this, he drew his friend.”

“And…?”

“And I know him.” she hesitated and he frowned. “He’s…the former Avenged Sevenfold drummer.” Daniel kept staring at the drawing and Meike felt her heart beat on her throat expecting for his answer.

“That band you like? Hmm, he must have seen a picture of him or something. Completely normal.”

“Turns out I never showed him a picture of Jimmy and…well, he’s dead.” a killer silence lasted for too long between them.

“Really? So…you’re implying that he’s seeing things, that he’s some kind of…psychic?”

“Yes, Daniel, exactly. And I just don’t know what to do now, what should I say to him, should I just explain he’s not real and upset him or…”

“It’s all your fault…” he nodded in denial, ignoring all her worried inquiries.

“Excuse me?” Meike frowned at him and kneeled on the mattress.

“You’re the one that keep listening to this…trash band all day long, in the car, here, everywhere! Oh, and don’t say that he has never seen that guy before, you watch that old live DVD almost every saturday night with Hella. Don’t be naïve…”

“He never watched that live concert with us, you know that, I never allowed him!” she couldn’t believe the words he was throwing at her face.

“What do you want me to say? You brainwashed our son, damn it! Even during your pregnancy you listened to them.” he almost screamed those words shortly before remembering that he could wake Leon with his loud tone. Meike had a flabbergasted expression written all over her face.

“How dare you! I’m always looking out for my son, and I know what’s best for him. My music didn’t do this!” she said it with certainty

“Fine! Believe whatever you want. Take him to a shrink or something.”

“I’ve seen a therapist myself and it was useless, they can’t understand it…” she didn’t even notice what she had just said, she just let it simply out. But she only forgot one thing: Daniel didn’t know about that appointment.

“Hell, you’ve been to a fucking shrink without telling me? I love when you keep secrets from me, Meike!” his furious expression made her turn away from his gaze. She wished she had told him before but she wouldn’t back out on this now.

“Well, you’ve been really busy to give a fuck, right?!” they had cold stares stinging each other. He nodded negatively again with a sarcastic smile and picked up his pillow roughly.

“I’m sleeping on the couch…” he headed heavily to the door.

“FINE!” Meike let it out with her angriest tone.

“FINE!” he got out without throwing a single look at her again and had to stop himself from slamming the door.

That moment brought tears to Meike’s eyes instantly. She regretted those last words she said from the bottom of her heart. But he hurt her first with all that ‘your music is the one to blame’ shit.

Great…now he thinks it’s my fault. But you know what? It takes two to raise a kid. I’ll make him understand that someday…

She let her head fall into her pillow with the weight of the world and just waited for her tears to dry out on their own.

Notes

A/N: okaayy so that is the first round of this one shot..a birthday present for our dear friens @MeRi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

-Leyla & Rye <3