Hit And Run With It

Chapter 4

A few days later, I was discharged from the hospital under the watchful eye of Caleb. As he helps me into a wheelchair, I roll my eyes because even though I feel fine, it's policy to get carted out in one.

"You're going to have to remember where I live," I say over my shoulder while Caleb pushes me down the hallway. He laughs and I twist around to look up at him, confused. The humor disappears and realization takes its place.

"Oh...you weren't kidding were you?" he says with a grimace. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I say, forcing a little laugh.

When we get to the entrance, he tells me to wait while he gets his car. The whole five minutes he's gone, I try to remember where I live, my cell number, my birthday. Nothing surfaces. It's like the harder I try to remember, the farther the memories slip away, right through my fingers.

Caleb comes back through the doors, snapping me out of my trance.

"C'mon, Belle," he says with that gorgeous half-smile. "Let's get you home."

************

After we turn onto a street called Oak Ridge, Caleb slows down and the car crawls along. I look over at him, confused.

"I know where you live," he explains, smirking. "Let's see if you can remember. Maybe seeing your house will bring back the memory."

I turn back to the foggy window, making streaks in the condensation with my fingertips.

"Maybe," I echo, wiping the streaks away, like I wish I how I can wipe away the accident and everything after it. A red haired little boy with dark freckles is outside a squat blue house with a black roof, playing in the small amount of snow left.

"Danny!" I exclaim, realizing I recognize him. Caleb signals right and turns into the driveway. He lets out a sigh as he parks, smiling a little.

"What?" I ask, smiling a little too.

"You remembered," he says, climbing out of the car. I smile to myself.

"I remembered," I repeat quietly, so only I can hear.

****************

"Belle!" Danny squeals when he sees me. He rushes over to give me a hug, but since he only comes up to about my stomach, he ends up hugging my knees for dear life.

"Hey, Danny," I say, laughing. I don't know why he'd be so excited to see me. He pulls away, but grabs my hand and starts leading me to the house.

Once he takes off his snow pants, jacket, scarf, toque, mittens and winter boots, I see that he's actually a pretty scrawny kid underneath all those clothes. Danny darts off somewhere into the house, and I take the opportunity to look around. Pictures in metal frames adorn the cool grey walls, with black furniture to match the mood. Apparently we like to stick to minimalistic decor. A flatscreen tv is mounted high up on the far wall, and to my right, there's a staircase leading up to the kitchen. Gwen pops out at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, walking up the stairs to greet her.

"Oh just came over to take care of Danny boy while you were gone," she answers, taking my hand and leading me into the kitchen. Caleb follows, stopping to look at all the pictures. He looks visibly relieved, not like how tense he was in the car. Gwen sits me down at the kitchen table. A stand-up picture frame sits in the middle of the mahogany table, and I reach over and gingerly pick it up. Immediately I recognize Danny, but the other people in the picture are strangers to me. There's a couple smiling widely, the woman with fiery red hair and freckles, and the man with dark brown hair and a dazzling smile.

"Gwen," I ask, not able to take my eyes off of the woman who looks like me.

"Yeah," I hear from across the kitchen. She wipes her hands on her pants and walks over beside me.

"Who are they?" I ask quietly.

"That's your family, hun," she tells me, as if we were discussing the weather. She points a slender finger to the woman,

"That's your mom, Elena." Then she points to the man, "That's your dad, Jordan." Then she points to Danny, "And this is your younger brother, Daniel. Better known to you as Danny."

My fingers touch my mom's face; fingers trailing down the glass. Gwen watches me for a minute.

"You know, you look just like her," she tells me quietly. I have to smile when she says that.

"Where are they?" I ask, finally looking up at her. She turns back into the kitchen when the stove beeps loudly.

"They're vacationing in Hawaii, but once they heard about the accident, they hopped on the first flight home. They should be here tomorrow," she explains with her head in the oven, pulling out what appears to be pizza.

"Oh," I breathe. Something inside me shifts; I guess I'm anxious about meeting my parents. Well, re-meeting them.

"Dinner!" Gwen yodels out to Caleb and Danny, who thunder like a herd of elephants up the stairs.

"Pizza!" Danny squeals, lunging across the table for a hot slice. Gwen slaps his hand away, giving him a stern look. Danny looks up at her with puppy dog eyes, but she holds her glare. He slumps his shoulders, defeated and then takes a seat next to me at the table. Caleb sits down across the table from me, his long legs stretching out and brushing mine. His head snaps toward me and he quickly folds his legs under his chair.

"Sorry," he murmurs, his face turning pink. I lean forward, letting my hair fall off my shoulders and hide my face before smiling like an idiot. Gwen sets plates down in front of us with slices of pepperoni pizza. The steam wafts up to my nose, carrying the delicious smell with it. I can practically taste the spicy pepperoni, the stringy, gooey cheese and the tangy, bright red pizza sauce. I take a bite. It tastes even better than it looks.

The whole dinner is spent immersed in laughter and jokes, stories of friends and the memories, and I start to feel like I'm actually home.