Chapter 73: Chapter Seventy-Three
"Let go of me, you bastard!" Sam yelled as she kicked and squirmed. However, no matter how hard she struggled, Edward wasn't phased. He looked at Mrs. Snow and nodded. She brought out her phone and immediately called Leila. As Edward brought his attention back to the woman hanging a foot or two above the ground, Sam looked at him and shouted, "How are you so freakishly strong? Are you a freak, too?"
"That's not a very nice word," Edward told her. Sam struggled some more as she acted like a grounded fish. Edward ignored all of her attempts to force his hand open- even on the few occasions when she kicked his face, "You're Leila's roommate, so I'm not going to hurt you. Stay silent, please."
"Hey, Leila! It's me, Anne. We've arrived at your apartment building, but we've run into a little bit of an obstacle on our way here, and I think you may be able to help. Would you please come down?" Mrs. Snow said with a smile on her face. Leila's faint voice echoed from the other end of the line, though Sam's constant complaining made Leila's voice hard to listen to.
Edward continued to hold Sam in the air for a minute or so until Leila appeared at the other end of the front doors. Unlike her avatar in Avalon, she was wearing ordinary clothing. The contrast between the appearance he was used to seeing in leather armor and the fashionable clothing upon her body sent his mind into a haze for a moment.
Once Leila opened the door, he was brought back to reality. Leila gazed forward, startled by the scene happening before her, then turned to Edward.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Your roommate doesn't want us to see you, so she locked the doors to the apartment building," Edward told her. He looked to Sam, "When she learned who we were, she tried to punch Mrs. Snow."
"Sam!?" Leila shouted, her voice filled with concern.
"Leila, these people want to abduct you! Run!" Sam screamed, her arms and legs still flailing against Edward's face.
"I really am sorry, Leila. This isn't how I thought our first meeting would go," Edward smiled. He lowered Sam to the ground. Now that Leila was here, there wasn't any reason to prevent Sam from moving about.
"Leila, follow me! This guy is freakishly strong!" Sam shouted. She ran to Leila and took her arm. Then the tomboyish roommate tried to run back inside the building, but she was surprised when Leila refused to move.
"Sam, he's a friend of mine. You don't have to treat him so rudely," Leila smiled. She looked to Edward, "Give me a few minutes to get my things."
"Things?" Sam gasped, "Wait, are you leaving?"
"I'll come back when I can," Leila replied. She took her friend in a hug, the tomboyish woman was too weak to resist Leila's advanced stats. The two of them embraced for a moment before Leila let go.
"We'll be waiting," Edward smiled as he put his hands in his pockets. Leila smiled, then ran back into the building. Sam was standing still, frozen by the occurrence of events. A moment later, she turned to Edward with a snarl on her face.
"Are you the one that convinced her to leave? This never would've happened if she never played that stupid game, like I told her!" Sam shouted. She ran back inside, tears beginning to spill from her eyes, as she attempted to catch up with Leila.
Mrs. Snow and Edward stared at the glass doors as they slowly closed shut.
"Well, that didn't go well," Edward sighed. He looked to his left and found a stone bench to wait on. Mrs. Snow soon joined him in relaxing her legs.
"She seems to be a very kind person," Mrs. Snow smiled. Edward looked down at the ground as the memories of their conversation by the firepit surfaced in his mind. A smile grew across his lips as he turned to Mrs. Snow.
"She is," He replied.
A few minutes later, Leila left through the building's main entrance with two suitcases trailing behind her and a backpack hanging from her shoulders. She wore thicker clothing than she had worn only a few minutes prior- a leather jacket and jeans along with a black hat over her dark locks. Sam was nowhere to be seen.
"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Snow," Leila spoke as she approached the two. She gave a small bow, her eyes widened from the nervousness plaguing her mind. Mrs. Snow chuckled before standing up. Then, she stepped forward and gave Leila a quick hug.
"I've heard so much about you. It'll be a pleasure to work with you," She said. Edward looked at the scene in confusion.
'She never acts that way to me. What the hell? I always feel like she's walking on eggshells around me, but now she's treating Leila like her new best friend?' He thought to himself. Naturally, he didn't even attempt to relay his true thoughts, as that would cause a disaster too large for him to contain. Instead, he stood up and turned to Leila.
"Hey, Edward," Leila smiled. After a moment, she chuckled and put a hand over her mouth, "It's strange seeing you without your mask. You should be showing off your face more."
"Ha! Maybe," Edward laughed. He stepped forward, then embraced Leila in a hug. His heart skipped a beat as he did so, but he tried to calm his expression so Leila couldn't tell he was feeling nervous. He felt that it was embarrassing to be acting this way in front of his friend, as well as rude, "It's nice to meet you, Leila."
"Ha, a wise guy. It's nice to meet you too," Leila smiled as the two of them parted. Leila turned to Mrs. Snow, the nervousness on her face returning as she did so.
"Now then, shall we head back to the car?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Kenny_Kennilicious
Kenny_Kennilicious Its time for Leila to join Desert Industries!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone