Lex
After that day, people let me have space so I could breathe. I found a photo album and pulled it out. I took a seat on the couch. I flipped through it. It was family photos.
I was in more of the photos. I looked happy.
Maggie came and took a seat next to me, "I see you found one of the photo albums."
"I thought it would help jog my memory," I said as I flipped the pages.
"Has it?" She looked hopeful.
"No, sorry," I said as I closed the book and set it down. I sat there and ran my hand through my hair. Nothing looked familiar.
"I will head to the bakery. Did you want to come to Lex?" Nash asked me.
I sat there as Maggie suggested, "Why don't you go see the bakery?"
"Sure, why not?" I said as I stood up.
Before I left, Maggie pulled me to her and hugged me. I tensed then felt a warmth; then, I hugged her back. That felt familiar.
She let go of me, and I followed Nash to the car. We got inside, and he drove us to the bakery. We pulled up into the parking lot and got out of the vehicle. I followed him inside.
"Look around. I will check on things in the back," Nash said as I nodded. I walked around, looking at things. Then I came across a case of baked goods. Wow, those look amazing.
"Find anything?" I heard a voice ask. It was the same voice I heard in my sleep and next door. I stood up and came face to face with her. Damn, she was gorgeous.
"Um, not yet," I said as I stared at the woman. She had the most beautiful brown eyes, and her hair was a chestnut color.
"Care for a suggestion?" She asked me with a genuine smile.
"Sure," I said.
I watched her as she opened the case and reached in, pulling out a cupcake. She closed the case door and handed me a cake.
"How much?" I asked her.
"It's free since your dad owns the bakery," she smiled mischievously.
"Oh," I said, feeling embarrassed. I forgot Nash owns the bakery.
"It's okay. Nash is a pretty good boss," she smiled. I couldn't help but smile. There was something about this girl that I liked.
"Would you like a tour of the bakery?" The girl asked me.
"Yeah, sure," I said as I made my way around the counter. She led me to the back where the kitchen was. Nash was packaging bread, which seems familiar. I just shook the thought away.
I listened to the girl as she spoke. She was so animated and seemed like she enjoyed doing this. I asked questions, and she answered them truthfully. She knew what she was talking about here.
As she talked about some customers that frequented the place, I chuckled. They must get a lot of crazy people here.
"Uncle Nash?" Someone yelled.
"Yeah, in the back," Nash yelled.
I turned to see two guys walk into the back who looked identical. I stood there as they stared at me.
"Lex, meet Kain and Kaiden, your cousins and uncle Nixon's kids," Nash introduced us.
"You're not like your dad, are you?" I asked worriedly.
"Psh, nope. We are the newer and better version," Kain said to me. That made me chuckle a bit.
"Frick and Frack! I know you're both hiding in here," Nixon yelled.
"Yeah, what's it to you, old man?" Kaiden yelled back.
"I'll see, old man, you," Nixon said as he walked into the back as we all stood there. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me.
"I think I'm just going to go," I said as I walked by them. I didn't want to stick around after the last encounter I had with Nixon.
As I walked out of the bakery, I heard someone yell, "Lex!"
I stopped and turned to see Nixon running towards me. Great, now what?
"Look, I'm sorry about the other day," he said sincerely.
I furrowed my brows.
"I know I can appear an abrasive, but honestly, I didn't mean what I said," he added.
"It's just hard. I wish I could remember everyone, but I can't, and no one gets that. Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up and not recognize your family or people who claimed to be your family?" I asked him.
"No, I don't. But I know how it felt, seeing you lay there. How all of us came to see you and prayed, you would wake up. To hear your dad get a phone call, that scared the hell out of him. To watch him run towards a mangled car. Only to see if his boy was alive," he said truthfully.
I stood there, confused.
"I was in an accident?" I asked.
"Shit," Nixon mumbled.
"That's why I can't remember?" I asked with furrowed brows.
"Yes," he whispered.
I felt like everything crashed down on me. I didn't know about the accident. No one told me. No one didn't tell me much. Why?
Nash came out to me with the others following him.
"Lex?" Nash said.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"Tell you what?" He asked.
"That I was in an accident!" I barked. I was furious.
He looked at me as the others looked away.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I yelled.
"Because you would have reacted this way. Lex, it's not something that you drop on something right after they wake up from a coma. Yes, we didn't tell you. Yes, you were in a car accident. While you're dealing with memory loss, we were dealing with the fact we might lose you," he said as his voice cracked.
I stared at him with my mouth slightly agape.
"Getting that phone call was the worse moment of our lives. It felt like our world collapsed," Nash said as he started to cry.
I watched as the man who's my dad broke down in front of me. What I did next, surprise everyone. I hugged him. He needed that hug. At that moment, when he hugged me back, I cried. A warmth spread over me with a feeling I had been lacking, love, unconditional love.
"Lex?" He looked at me as I tried to get my composure.
"I feel this love. I can't explain it. When Maggie hugged me, it was the same way. Is this what it feels like?" I asked sniffling.
"What is?" He asked with a look on his face, one that said hope.
"Love." I looked at him with tears.
"Oh God, yes," he said as he grabbed me and hugged me tighter. "That's what it feels like for you and us."
I laid my head on his shoulder. I liked this feeling. For once, I felt like I belonged somewhere.
After I finally got my composure, I wiped my eyes.
"Sorry," I apologized. I felt so overwhelmed by my emotions. Ever since the hospital released me, I felt lost and felt like I didn't belong anywhere. To not know who you are or anyone else was frightening.
"Maybe it's time to go home," he suggested as I nodded. It had been an emotional day. I nodded in agreement.
We walked back to the car and went home. Once we got home, I went straight to my room. I needed to lie down.
"Nash?" Maggie walked over to him.
He looked at her. "Mags, he might not remember us, but his heart does."
Her eyes widened when he said that and she started to cry. He wrapped his arms around her. "Baby girl, one way or another, we'll get our boy back."
She nodded as she buried her head into him as she held him tighter. The thing about Maggie and Nash, they had hope. I hope that one day I would come back to them. I may not come back to them in the way they expected, but I was coming back. It was just going to take time.