Hostel Life

Death Bed?

I wanted to make up a story, a false memory, but I knew she'd figure out I was lying so I opted for the painful truth instead.

"I can't-"

"Remember?" She finished for me. "I thought so." She just looked disappointed now, as though it was my fault for my loss of memories.

At that moment I just wanted to shut my laptop. I can't believe that even for a minute, I thought our relationship was back to normal.

"Mum," I started, looking for straws to grab at. She looked at me expectantly, a frown painted on her face. I'd do anything to wipe it off.

"I love you."

I meant it. Even though our relationship wasn't going back to normal anytime soon, I wanted her to know how much I treasure her.

"I love you too sweetie." She gave me a faint smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. It felt fake but I pushed past it.

"Where's dad?" If I couldn't make her smile I know he could.

As though on queue he jogged towards my view on the screen, tapping on his Beat watch to stop his exercise. Once he noticed me he gave me a big careless smile, the whole expression brightening up his features.

"How's my favorite daughter doing?"

Unlike mum he didn't work on Saturdays, using that time to catch up on his fitness training.

I rolled my eyes, glad that he could intervene our conversation. "I'm your only daughter."

"But you're my favorite." He gave me that signature wink that I'm sure could melt the heart of young teenage girls back in his days.

My mum just stood there observing the both of us, looking deep in thought, her lips pressed in a thin line.

"How's Nate doing?" he asked, grabbing his water bottle and squirting some in his mouth.

"Nate is..." We gave each other that familiar look whenever it came to describing Nate.

"Natey," we both said, bursting into laughter.

Mum rolled her eyes, but I could detect the emotion she tried to hide. Jealousy? "Are you done?"

Dad laughed for a couple more minutes before noticing her serious expression. "Yes," he said, coughing profusely to hide his laughter.

"Deborah." She brought her attention back to me. "I need to get back to work."

I nodded robotically, feeling guilty that I had taken away her lunch break. Her phone vibrated and she quickly answered it.

"What do you want Carl?" Her voice immediately back to it's professional tone. "What do you mean the court meeting is today?"

She looked frantic, quickly getting up. Dad came beside her instantly, rubbing her shoulders in a way to calm her down. It seemed to work.

"You're the most useless assistant I've ever gotten!" A memory sparked of the times she'd complain about Carl and I tried to hold in a laugh, smiling at her words. "Just check my schedule again!"

She looked at her laptop screen and when she saw my smile, she replicated it. I guess she remembers too. "You're so stupid," she directed to Carl.

"Of course it's tomorrow. Make that mistake again and you're fired." Her voice was so calm that you wouldn't even think she'd threatened to strip a man of his job.

Cutting the call she let out a relieved sigh before sitting down once more. "We'll talk more just don't call me during work time," she warned lightly.