My dad and Joyce came to the hospital to fill out the release forms and bring me home. As we drove from the hospital to the house I noticed this town was nothing like Pittsburgh. The air smelt putrid, and everything seemed so blah. Trees for miles and miles with boring suburban houses lining the streets.
As we slowed down I could tell we were on the street where I supposedly lived. We pulled into the driveway, a small white house residing on the property. I got out of the car and looked across the street to see the car from the picture parked in the driveway.
"C'mon" Joyce said grabbing my arm and navigating me inside. She lead me upstairs to a room with two beds.
"Um, who else sleeps here?" I asked confused as to who the bedroom is shared with.
"Oh ah El and Jonathan and Will are across the hall" Joyce said pointing to their bedroom.
"I don't have siblings? Wait are these people my new siblings?" I asked.
"Um, yes and no. We all just moved in together a few days ago. Your dad and I are dating" she said. I gave her a weak smile.
Joyce walls out of my room living me alone, I look around. My fingers trace photos of the boy and I. My smile seems genuine and so does his. Pictures of us from thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays. One photo, however, stood out to me the most. It was labeled July 4th but it seemed to be mislabeled. We were sitting on an ambulance sharing a blanket. Billy and I looked bruised and beaten.
"Hey" a voice says behind me making me jump. I turn around to see Max with a box.
"Hi" I said softly.
"I brought over photos we could look at and stuff maybe to help your memory?" Max suggested I shook my head and sat on my bed, the girl joined me positioning the box to her left.
We began to sort through the photos.
"Hey look this is from a date you and Billy must have went on" Max said handing me a photo. It looked like we were at a park.
"Oh and this is us three at Lake Michigan. My mom took us for a few days on spring break" she explained.
"That's you and Steve. Funny story my brother and him didn't get along in the beginning" Max said. I remained quiet, studying the photos as she handed them to me.
"This is -is nothing" she said throwing it back into the pile. I quickly snatched it. It was a photo of Billy and I in front of a grave.
"Is that my mom's?" I asked. Max shook her head.
"Yeah uh Billy took us to Pittsburgh for the day. We stopped at the cemetery and I took a picture of you two in front of it" Max said quietly.
"Who's this?" I asked holding up a picture of a man with Max, Billy and who I presumed was her mom.
"Oh that's Billy's dad. He's in jail" she said casually as she continued to shift through photos.
"What'd he do?"
"It doesn't matter anymore. He's locked up" Max said changing the subject.
"Fourth of July. What happened?" I asked showing her the photo. Max stared at the picture.
"The mall had a fire. We were lucky to survive but some didn't" she said handing it back to me.
"Girls time to eat" Jonathan said as he Will raced down the stairs. We gathered at the dining room table. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes were on everyone's plates.
I sat there listening to their conversations, they talked as though nothing was different. My dad asked Jonathan if he needed help fixing up the car. Joyce asked El if she was having trouble in school. I just stared blankly at my food. Not eating a single piece.
"Not hungry?" My dad asked. I shook my head sliding the plate forward and heading to my room.
I hopped in bed propping myself against the wall and stared at the jean jacket in my closet.