Chapter Fifty-Seven
Did she just say 'who are you?'
No, no, no.
This could not be happening, there is no way my mum is now suffering from some sort of memory loss. Life was cruel and vicious but it wasn't this cruel, right? Surely it wouldn't rain its wrath down on one person over and over again?
There was only so much one could take before they completely broke. I was already broken, this would push me off the edge completely. I had just lost my dad, it would be malicious and soul destroying to have my only living parent forget who I was too.
This wasn't a book or a movie, this was real life. Memory loss after an accident or traumatic incident weren't that common despite it happening so often in the fictional world that it seemed liked an everyday thing.
"Mum?" I said hesitantly, petrified that she would break my heart in the next few seconds. "It's me Leah."
Please, please, please remember me.
A look of confusion dawned upon my mum's face before she winced. "I know who you are Leah." My mum said in a tone that suggested she thought I was insane. "Who is the man standing behind you?"
A huge wave of relief washed over me and I let out a weird high pitch laugh that sounded more seal like than human like. "Oh thank God." I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again. "He doesn't matter, he's not important."
My mum's eyes flickered behind me before landing back on my face, despite the puffiness and discoloration of her face, I was able to clearly make out the facial expressions she was displaying and the main one was confusion.
I could imagine how confusing and distressing it was for her to wake up to find her daughter and a man she didn't recognise or remember looming over her while she was covered in medical equipment and laying in a hospital bed.
Instead of reassuring her like a sane person would do, I just kept laughing as I squeezed her hands and uttered the same words over and over again. "I'm so glad you're awake. I'm so glad you're awake."
"I shall inform the doctor about your mother's situation." Vladamir told me as I continued making that high pitch laughing noise.
"Doctor?" My mum repeated in a quiet tone at the same time Vladamir leaned towards my ears. "Stop making that noise."
Both my mum's and Vladamir words had me stopping in an instant and the sombre reality of the situation hit me again.
"Where am I?" Mum asked as she tried to sit up.
"No, no. Don't move please, you'll hurt yourself." I told her as I gently pushed her back down.
She allowed me to push her down as she looked around the room. "Leah what's going on? Why am I in the hospital?"
Her questions sprung tears to my eyes as I stared down at her fragile state. Should I tell her what happened now or should I wait for the doctor to assess her before informing her of the devasting news that would destroy her world.
"I-I" The words seemed stuck inside my throat, refusing to budge no matter how hard I tried. "I'm sorry." I whispered as tears poured down my face like a broken tap. "I'm so sorry mum."
"Leah? What's wrong? Don't cry Sweetheart." She tried to soothe me but instead it had the opposite effect. "Tell me what's wrong."
She no longer cared about where she was or why she was here, her priority was me and calming me down. She was battered and bruised, lying in a hospital bed with wires and tubes inside her, most likely in agonising pain and all she cared about was making me feel better.
Her words and action only made the feeling of guilt and sorrow even stronger.
I slid down into the chair so I was no longer looming over her and placed my face into her hands. "Please don't hate me mum." I didn't know if she could hear me through my sobbing and sniffling but I still kept repeating those words.
"Shh, shh. What's the matter Leah?" Her hands stroked my face softly, the movement very rigid and limited due to the cannula that was on her hands.
I kept repeating those two phrases over and over again. "I'm so sorry" and "please don't hate me." My mum stopped asking questions and instead tried to calm me down which only made me feel more shitty. She was the one who was injured and lying in a hospital bed and instead of being comforted she was the one doing the comforting.
I was officially the worst daughter in the entire world.
The sound of the door opening and people coming in had me pulling away from my mum. Using my sleeves I wiped both my tears and snot off my face, grimacing slightly when I saw how wet and messy my sleeve now was.
"Hello Alice, I'm Dr Woods. How are you feeling?" The doctor from earlier introduced himself to my mum as he walked over to the machines and began fiddling around with it. Vladamir had entered the room too but he remained silent.
"Like I've been hit by a truck several times. What happened?" Mum tried to sit up again and this time I helped her and got her into a comfortable sitting position.
Dr Woods eyes flickered subtly over to me and I shook my head. I knew I should have told her what had happened but I didn't know where to start. I was also concerned about her memory, at first I thought she didn't remember simply because she had just woken up after a head injury and things may were just a little hazy for her, however, now I was actually concerned that she may be suffering from some sort of memory loss.
Should I wait and let her remember on her own, should I tell her a little bit of what happened in an attempt to help her remember or should I tell her everything?
"What do you remember?" Dr Woods asked as he took my mum's temperature. "Do you recognise the man standing at the back of this room?"
My mum nodded as she looked apologetically at Vladamir. "Yes. He is my daughter's boyfriend. I don't know why I didn't remember him before."
"That's okay." Dr Woods told my mum as he took her blood pressure. "Sometimes our brain needs a little time to remember certain things after a traumatic incident."
"Traumatic incident?" Mum echoed before frowning. "Where's George? What happened?"
Hearing my dad's name sent a spasm of pain through my body and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out loud. Mum didn't remember anything which meant that I would have to tell her that both her and dad were attacked in their house and that dad didn't make it.
"There was a... break in." I was unsure of how to describe the situation. "Do you remember that?" I was hoping she would remember it all on her own and I didn't have to relay the scene I walked into.
"A break in?" Mum mumbled to herself as her brows furrowed in concentration. "I think I remember."
Dr Woods pottered around mum, taking more measurement as we all remained silent in order to allow mum to concentrate. I didn't know if I wanted her to remember on her own or not remember at all meaning I would have to tell her. Both were awful ways of finding out what had occurred.
Mum let out a gasp and realisation and horror filled her face. "Oh my God." She whispered as the machine around her began beeping loudly and rapidly indicating that something was wrong.
"It's okay Alice, calm down."
"What's wrong? Why is it beeping so loud?"
Both Dr Woods and I spoke at the same time as the machine continued beeping obnoxiously.
"Let's regulate your heartbeat, can you take in a deep breath for me?" Dr Woods began to help mum calm down as I took a step back and closed my eyes.
She was obviously remembering everything now and I could only imagine how painful and traumatic it must be to relive it all over again. Just remembering the scene I walked into made my breathing come out in shallow pants, my palms slick with sweat, and my heart ache.
"We were attacked." Mum gasped out, putting her hand over her mouth. "Someone attacked us in our house."
Tears began to build up in my eyes again as a range of emotion flittered across my mum's face. Seeing her like this was heart-breaking and it wasn't even the worst of it.
"Is George okay?" Mum asked softly as she wiped away a tear that had escaped her swollen eyes. "How did I get here?"
"Leanne called an ambulance." Vladamir finally spoke, ignoring the first question she had asked.
Mum's eyes widened at that news. "Leah, you were at the house?" She looked even more horrified than before, if that was even possible. She must have forgotten that I was planning on coming over for dinner.
I gave her a small nod, my voice no longer working. Her swollen eyes scanned my body multiple times as if she was searching for something. "Are you hurt? Did the man hurt you?"
The terror and concern for me in her voice had me choking back tears and I felt myself getting overwhelmed.
"Calm down." Vladamir muttered into my ears as rubbed my back soothingly. Turning to my mum, he answered the question for me. "No, Leanne is not hurt. The attacker was gone by the time Leanne arrived at your house." It was a lie but there was no need to stress my mum out further.
Mum's was filled with relief while my whole body began to fill up with guilt and agony.
"Dr Woods needs to examine your mother properly. Why don't you step outside for a few minutes Leanne?" Though Vladamir was talking to me, he spoke loudly so everyone could hear him.
I shook my head. "I'm not going to leave her."
"I need to speak to you Leanne, it is important." Vladamir insisted as he took a hold of my arm.
My eyes darted over to my mum who nodded. "I'll be fine." She gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.
I returned the smile, my own just as hollow as hers. Once we were outside I snatched my arm out of Vladamir's grip and pounced on him. "What?" I hissed. "What's so important that you made me leave my mum?"
Vladamir hesitated and it looked as though he was having an internal struggle about something.
The anger in my body dissipated as worry replaced it. Something was wrong, I knew it. "Vladamir?" I said his name slowly and quietly. "What is it?"
It turns out life could be that cruel and would continue to rain its wrath on me over and over again.
"Your father's body is missing."
@=#~=~#=@
A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter
Poor Leah, she can't catch a break!
Who do you think took her father's body and why?
Let me know what you think is going to happen next
Next chapter will be up in a few days but you can read the full story and the start of Luca's story on www.patreon.com/kayy_b or on my subscription page on www.inkitt.com/kayy_b
Thank you for reading :)
-Kayy xx