Evermore {ON HOLD}

Chapter 16 - Forgotten Memories Part 2 ~ Ayla

And then...

"What the hell was that?!"

If I had been in my normal state of mind, I probably would've done the logical thing and gone deeper within the closet. I most likely would've buried myself in a mound of rags and dishwasher and pretend that it's your everyday hide and go seek game, but I kinda wasn't myself right then and there. That was the reason why I didn't bother to move at all from my fetal position against the right wall from the door.

"Stop it! Don't go in there!"

"What are you hiding from me, Nash? Tell me! If you don't, I'll break down this entire door whether you like it or not, and I don't care if you go down with it!"

"Chad! Please, just leave the poor boy alone!" His mother cried out.

"Go ahead. Beat me up all you want. But I'm not moving," Nash replied.

Please, I thought. Enough already.

There was a long, agonizing silence. I breathed a sigh of relief as my headache quieted as well.

But it was all gone in a second.

BANG!

I launched out from my crouch as a thunderous wave of catastrophe flooded into the cramped space. The door had splintered apart and sawdust clouded in the air. I could make out a sprawled figure on the ground and another slowly rising beside it. A scream pierced through the thick tension. It came from Nila, who seconds later fainted on the spot.

"It's you.. It's YOU!!!"

The second figure raced toward me, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was Nash's dad. Callused hands roughly seized me by the hair, and the momentum of his approach knocked me off my feet. I gasped as my knees slammed into the cold concrete floor, but my upper body was still upright by Chad's clutch. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I vainly clawed at his hands to release me.

"Let me go! Please, it hurts!" I sobbed.

Memories flashed before my eyes, merging into the now.

"You no good lazy girl! How worse could you possibly get?!"

I lay in a heap by her feet, one hand raised to my flaming cheek while the other held out in a sign of mercy and defense.

"Get up you worthless piece of s***. I can't believe I got to be stuck with you," she ranted.

I whimpered where I lay, feeling lost and forlorn. I looked up at her again with puzzled eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that! I'm not your mom, your mom is dead thanks to you! Now get up and start cleaning, or are you too stupid to understand what I'm saying?"

My little fingers subconsciously picked at the bandages covering my head as I sat perplexed at what she was saying. I struggled to get up, tripping over the fallen rag, and reached to grasp her hand that rested on her side, my face upturned to her scowl.

"Don't you dare touch me!"

The hand that I once clasped for granted recoiled and struck out again. I fell down once more as I gingerly rubbed at my other cheek. I didn't understand what was happening. Did my mother not love me anymore? Did she forget who I was?

Maybe, I thought. Maybe this lady really isn't my mother. She couldn't possibly be the gentle, loving mother I adored. But then, how come she looks just like her?

The lady who was my mom, but at the same time wasn't, leaned in and pointed a finger in my face.

"I. Am. Not. Your. Mother." she said, every word a stab in the chest.