Heart of Steel

Heart of Steel chapter 3

We talked about my crash for a while. Sue asked if i remembered anything, anything at all. I shook my head slowly and wondered why that was. If the doctors said that most things should be back to me by now then why couldn't i remember.

Sue said goodbye and we thanked her for her lasagne. She told us she would invite us over for dinner one night to meet the rest of the family and that she would send over Laila to meet me. i was exited about that but i wasn't sure whether or not i should be looking forward to meeting new people. What would they think of me?

I stomped upstairs, yawning and rubbing my eyes. I dodged the boxes filling my large room and flopped onto my bed, eyes shutting as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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"Charlie, wake up your wasting the day!" Dad was knocking - well banging - on the door to my bedroom with his fist.  I jumped awake and rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a thump. I groaned and slowly stood up, looking at the clock. 9am.

"Dad," i groaned.

He laughed. "Go and explore the town, Char. You've got school tomorrow."

I got dressed in light blue shorts and a white tank top, pulled on my maroon high top converse, brushed out my curly brown hair, grabbed my guitar and headed down the stairs. I could smell breakfast cooking, bacon and eggs. My favourite.

I sat at the table and breathed in the delicious scent that made my mouth water.

"Morning darling," mum said as she placed my breakfast on the table.

"Morning. Thanks mum," i said, immediatly hoeing into the bacon and eggs. After a few bites i realised something was missing and jumped up to grab the tomato sauce, smothering my place in its substance.

"Are you going exploring around town? It's a beautiful day." It was true. The sun was shining and the birds were singing their morning song. Well, brunch song. i was going to walk around the block to see if there were any corner shops or nice little areas. I was going to search for a park or beach and play my guitar there for a while.

I don't know if i used to play guitar or not but when i woke up and my parents had left the end of my bed i noticed one sitting in the corner. I picked it up quickly, not remembering any chords when i first picked it up. It has lately been the one thing that can help me escape my thoughts of trying to remember my past enter another world.

Once i had finished my breakfast i thanked mum, giving her a peck on the cheek and walked out the door.

I was greeted in the large culdesac to the sounds of kids playing ball and jumping rope. There were children everywhere. Mainly young kids but some younger teenages sat on the corner and talked with friends. Some stopped when i walk out and smiled or shot me a weird look but others just went about their business.

I decided to drop into Sue's and say goodmorning. I knocked on her door and waited for an answer. i knocked again and heard a little kid yell out.

"Mum! Door! Knock knock!" i smiled. That must be Louie.

"I'll just be a minute!" i heared Sue yell from the other side of the door. I jumped as the door suddenly opened, almost dropping my guitar.

"Oh! Charlie, what a pleasent surprise!" Sue smiled. "Do come inside," she insisted.

"I was just dropping in to say goodmorning. I'm going to check out town today," i told her, leaning against the wall. I felt a small tugging at my shorts and i looked down to see little curly blonde haired Louie smiling up at me.

"Hi," he said grinning. "Who you?"

"Hi little Louie," i said kneeling down so i was at eye level with him. "I'm Charlie." i held out my hand to see if he would shake but when he looked at me weirdly i instead held up my hand for a high five.

"Charlie." he high fived me and then laughed, running off to another room.

I sat down at the table where Susie was now reading the paper. She looked worried. "What's up?" i asked her.

"Some girl got kidnapped down south. Says she just disappeared." She was frowning slightly and had the paper close to her face. "There is no picture yet. The family doesn't want to release it yet."

I frowned. "But then people can help find her if they know what she looks like." Something about this felt strange. "What's her name?" i ask.

Sue looked around the page to find the name. "Hazel Simons." Doesn't ring a bell.

After talking some more about Hazel Simons i decided it was time to go exploring. I called out goodbye to Louis and headed out. When i opened the door and stepped out i almost fell down, running into someone else. I looked up and saw a tall blonde girl with brown eyes.

She looked down at me in surprise. "Sorry," i mumbled.

"No worries. I'm Laila. You must be the new neighbours. Carlie is it?"

"Charlie."

"Oh, right. Well nice to meet you Charlie. You headed out?"

I nodded and pulled the guitar strap over my shoulder. 'I'm gonna check out the town."

Laila suddenly looked exited. "I'll give you a tour!" she squealed. "I'll go get my shoes, wait up."

I smiled as she went inside, happy to have someone to walk around town with. I hoped to get to know her and hopefully become good friends. Maybe fitting in here wasn't going to be so hard after all.

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