Memories || Calum Hood

43

'Hey Albert,' I smiled widely, looking at the old man standing in front of me.
'Look at you walking without crutches' I said.
Albert smiled, looking down at his leg that was still in its cast.
'Yeah, I'll be heading home in a few days if everything keeps going good' He said.
'Aw that must be great' I smiled 'I eh...Cal told me to tell you that he'll be here in about an hour or so. He had to do a math test after his classes ended'
Albert nodded, looking through the hallway.
'Okay, that's actually perfect because my wife will be here the same time Calum said he would be'
I nodded not sure what to say.
'Alright, I'll just eh...go visit Nani now' I said, waving at him before walking to her room.
'Hey Nani' I said, a little nervous since Calum wasn't here with me right now.
'How's it going?'
I looked at her. She was sitting up straight in her bed, the picture of her and me in her hands.
She looked furious, as if she was about to jump out of the bed and attack me.
'Nani?' I said, my heart beating in my chest.
Nani just stared at me, her mouth hanging open a little bit to get more air in her lungs.
I cautiously walked up to her.
'What's wrong?' I asked, wanting to place my hand on hers, but she pulled her hand away.
'Who are you?' she asked, her words drenched in disgust.
'What?' I asked, not willing to believe what she just said.
'Who are you!' she yelled, grabbing my wrist in her old little hand.
'What are you doing here?! Why are you in this picture?! WHO ARE YOU?!'
I flinched away as she pulled me closer, her little hand probably leaving marks on my wrist from how hard she was squeezing.
'WHY ARE YOU NOT TALKING?!' She yelled again.
'Nani, it's okay,' I tried, knowing deep down that nothing I did was going to calm her down.
'I'll explain, you just need to calm down and you need to let go of my hand' I said, as calm as I possibly could.
'WHO IS THIS GIRL?!' she yelled, ignoring all the things I just said.
She lifted the picture up, pushing it in front of my face to make sure I could see it clearly.
'That's me' I replied, trying to wriggle out of her grasp.
'But who are you?!' She asked.
The words stung and made the tears in my eyes form faster than ever.
'You have to let go of my wrist' I said, biting my lip to keep my tears inside, but Nani just looked at me, waiting for an answer.
And then I did the one thing I thought I never had to do.
'Help!' I yelled, hoping someone outside of this room would hear me.
'Somebody help me!'
But all I could really think about were her words.
She doesn't remember me.
She doesn't remember me.
She doesn't remem-.
'Just keep breathing Mikaila' Albert said behind me quietly.
I turned around, looking at him as he took my other hand in his, doing the best he could to comfort me.
'They're on their way' He said softly.
'Albert?' Nani said, looking at the old men behind me.
'Who is this?!'
I looked down at my feet, no longer able to keep the tears back.
'You need to let go of her arm Elly' Albert said, stepping away from me and walking over to Nani.
'No' Nani said stubbornly.
'Not before you told me who she is'
'You need to let her go' Albert said, more sternly this time.
'WHY IS NO ONE TELLING ME WHO SHE IS' Nani yelled, squeezing my wrist even tighter.
I squealed softly, trying to keep myself from sobbing but even my own brain seemed to mock me now.
She doesn't remember me.
She doesn't remember me.
She doesn't remember me.
2 nurses came walking in the room, one took the picture frame out of Nani's hand while the other took a hold of the hand that was holding mine.
'Elizabeth, you need to let go of the girl' The nurse said sternly, but Nani didn't budge.
'WHO IS SHE?!' she yelled instead.
I shook my head, and tried to pull away my hand. I couldn't stay any longer, I could feel my mind drift off to insanity.
The doctor and 2 other nurses came running in and just like that, it got too much for me.
'I need to get out of here, please make her let go of me,' I said, my voice growing higher at the end of my sentence.
'Please make her stop'
I pulled on my wrist a little harder, adrenaline running through my body.
'Please I need to go, make her stop'
The nurses and doctor got a hold of Nani and somehow got her to open her hand.
I pulled back instantly and walked to the door.
I looked at the nurses and the doctor that were trying to calm her down as she only started screaming more, I looked at Albert who had tears in his eyes but was determined not to leave her side despite the fact that his wife was waiting for him downstairs, and then I looked at my hands that were shaking, my wrist that had Nani's perfect hand print in it, my shoes that suddenly seemed so useless.
Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing was useful.
Everything was wrong, the world suddenly seemed to look so different, but I was the only one seeing it.
I walked out of the door, only one thing on my mind as the tears kept streaming down my face and my head hung low, staring at my moving feet and the floor underneath them.
She doesn't remember me.