Love Me, Again?

Chapter 14: Home Sweet Home

Chapter 14: Home Sweet Home

Present time

“How could he! I knew he was an a-hole, but still!” Mary Joy exclaimed as Leila sobbed onto her shirt. “My step brother can be a real d-bag. You’ll get through this. I’ll even help you.” Mary Joy cooed as she felt Leila shake in fits of giggles.

“A-Hole? D-bag? You haven’t changed one bit, MJ!” Leila giggled as she wiped her tears away.

Mary Joy was raised by her god fearing, Catholic mother. Having to attend Catholic school all her life and being a devoted altar server, she avoided cussing at all times. She made some shortcuts for those words.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh at me all you want. You were breaking down and now you’re laughing! See, I’m such a great best friend,” Mary Joy grinned widely and hugged Leila. She whispered, “I miss you so much, LJ.”

“I miss you too, MJ.” Leila pulled out of the hug as her parents reentered the room.

“Great news! The nurse said that you only need to finish one more bag of IV and then you’ll be able to get discharged!” Her mother’s eyes shone brightly.

“Okay.” Leila looked at her father closely now.

His brown hair was mixed with white and gray strands of hair. His eyes looked like they had been pushed in and his eye bags were very dark. He didn’t look like that same energetic and fun loving dad she once loved. He looked tired and ten years older than his original age. He struggled to get enough money for… Leila looked away from him. She couldn’t think about that now.

“That’s great news, Mrs. McCormick,” Mary Joy broke the uncomfortable silence. “I’ll be helping Leila get her memory back. Well, only the good memories… Most of those should have me in it.” She mused.

“Thank you dear,” Leila’s mother laughed lightly.

“Anyways, it’s been nice but the jet lag is catching up to me now. I need some sleep. I just came from a nine hour flight. The hospital was on the way home, so I couldn’t wait to stop by and see how you’re doing. Stay strong, girl friend!” She kissed Leila’s cheek and left.

“I did always like that girl. Very good influence.” Her mother mumbled as she looked at the half empty IV.

“Your room is just like how you left it. I hope that you do get your memory back, princess. Mason must be feeling really bad right no-“

“Stop it, dad. I don’t want to hear about him right now, okay?” Leila felt the tears forming but blinked them all away. She made a promise to herself that she’d never cry about him, ever again.

“Okay. I’m sorry, princess.” Leila truly missed her father. He would always call her princess and he, in return became her prince. He had always been supportive and comforting towards her. She was a daddy’s girl, well; she was daddy’s ONLY girl.

Leila drifted off to sleep and dreamt of her brother. They were back in the park, her swinging in the swing sets. He pushed her as she asked for him to make her go higher. With one full blown push, she felt like she was flying in the air! She came back down and stopped swinging. She looked back and noticed that it was no longer Louis who stood beside her. It was none other than Mason.

She woke up with a jolt. Her mother flinched.

“Are you alright?” Leila looked to the other direction and found a nurse removing the catheter from her hand.

“I’m fine. Just had a bad dream.” Leila wiped the seat which formed on her forehead.

“Okay then. Eat healthy foods and drink lots of fluids. Your memory might take time to come back. Just make sure that you talk to some people, have them tell you stories or even show you pictures or videos. Tell me again, sweetie, what is the last thing you remember?”

“I remember my brother’s funeral and going to home school.” Leila tried to remember something further than that, but felt the blood rush to her head. She sighed, finally giving in.

“Okay. You are free to go. All you need to do is sign some papers. The doctor recommended some medicine. It just for the headaches or migraines you might be getting.” The nurse handed her some papers.

Her eyes bulged at the sight of her name. Leila McCormick-Carmichael. Just great, how was she going to sign the papers? She tapped the pen on the paper and just decided to use her old signature. She’ll sort all of this out later on.

Leila happily left the hospital, missing her home and the outside world. The hospital food didn’t help too. They tasted too bland for her. She looked out the window and sighed at the sight of her home. She missed it dearly.

“You ready?” Her mother held her hand as she unlocked the door. Leila took a deep breath and nodded. The doorknob turned as Leila was greeted by the familiar vanilla scent of her house. She took off her shoes and looked around. The furniture was rearranged, there were more pictures on the walls and they changed the rough carpet on the living room.

Leila fixed her eyes on the pictures. One was of her and Louis smiling, with the horizon in the background. The next was of her smiling brightly as she held her diploma in one hand. Leila looked through many of the pictures. Some of them she remembered, most of them were forgotten. She gasped at the last picture she saw. It was the picture right above the fireplace.

In the picture, her hair was curled beautifully as she wore a marvelous white gown. Mason wore a nicely ironed black tuxedo and had his hair gelled to the side. He looked very handsome.

“I’m sorry! We only came home to get some spare clothes or to sleep… I forgot to take those out.” Her mother took the picture from her hands and smiled weakly.

“Call Mr. Tyree. If I really am married to him, I want to file a divorce as soon as possible.” Leila turned and headed for the stairs.

“Are you sure about this, sweetie? You two were so in lo-”

“I’m sure about this, okay? I don’t want to stay married to him.” Leila snapped and stomped her way up the stairs.

Leila stopped and turned to the familiar navy blue door. The door to her brother’s room. She slowly turned the doorknob and was overwhelmed by the same manly scent Louis also wore. She walked over to his nightstand and looked at the postcard.

It was the postcard she sent to him from Band Camp. Leila signed up for camp in Tennessee, where she met Mary Joy. Mary Joy was the first chair and Leila was the second chair of the band. They were both violinists. Leila’s lips twitched as a small smile formed on her face.

Leila ran her fingers through the beautiful designs of his scrapbook. Leila, Louis and their mother used to make scrapbooks together. She delicately picked it up and looked through the pages. A piece of paper fell. Leila set the scrapbook back on the nightstand and retrieved the paper from the floor. She gasped as she read what was on the paper.

It was one of her essays during her freshman year.

The title read, ‘What do you miss most about your life?’

Those eight words sent her back to freshman year. The year that held so many bittersweet memories. The year the old Louis resurfaced…

--------------------------------------END OF CHAPTER 14-------------------------------------

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