Read it, give it a chance. If you like it then by all means please follow/favorite, if you don't then feel free to move on or give a review to make it better. It will follow most of the storyline, but motives will change. I got up to 30 chapters written, so no fear of last minute chapters for updates if you follow. And I leave you with these parting words... Have at it. -K.C. Doe
Chapter One: We're off to see the … Oh.
I drove up to the all too familiar hospital in my blue pick up. The wonders that welfare did for orphaned children. Although I really wasn't orphaned, per say. The music of any radio station that I could get my hands on was blasting in my car since my hands were too shaky to actually grip the keys in the ignition. "Come on, Evelyn," I coached myself keeping my voice level.
Glaring at my reflection in the rearview mirror, I finally beefed up enough courage to shut the car off. The silence around me was deafening as I stared at the intimidatingly white building. Only sick people came here, not crazy. "Sick people," I scoffed at myself. That was the lie that kept me thinking that my own mother wasn't a whack-job.
Sighing deeply, I exited the car and walked into that dreaded building. A janitor was mopping the floor beside the receptionists' desk and I took the time to stare at him. Anything to keep me from walking any deeper into the building. When the blonde young woman working receptionist had recognized me I knew that I was caught.
"Evelyn," she called as I walked over obediently.
"Hey-" I said looking down at her nametag, "Sarah?" She didn't notice the questioning tone in my voice because she continued to talk hurriedly.
"They have your mom in intensive care, sweety," she explained slowly watching for a reaction. Apparently mine was the wrong one as I narrowed my eyes at her. "She's what?"
"Well, she went in this morning. Thrashing in her sleep and whatnot. She should be fine now though," the woman explained. I felt my hands clench into fists. How was I not notified, it's not like she was my mother or anything. I nodded slowly trying with all of my might to keep from knocking that blonde bobble head of hers silly.
The woman stood up and led me to where my mom was staying. I didn't like these rooms. Windows should be bright and sunny, not dark and tinted. The walls were a blinding white and a single naked bulb was shining in the middle of the ceiling. Reeking of bleach, the doctor followed in behind me to check on her.
At least these people had the decency to wrap her up in a nice white blanket. Or a blanket with sleeves. "You put a straightjacket on my mother!" I demanded one of the white coats standing in front of me. He seemed flustered and shied away from my glare.
Instead of focusing my anger on the idiot, I walked over to my mother who was mumbling names in her sleep. Tears nearly slipping out of my eyes, I untangled her from the jacket. There was one name she said over and over again, but every time that she mentioned it she cried. His was the name that I would remember for the rest of her life. If I ever came across him, I would kill him myself.
Once mom was awake, I went through our doctor-recommended exercises. I sat in a chair and she was propped up on her bed murmuring incoherently. Clearing my throat, I faced her as her eyes met mine. Something that I was proud of was that even though my brown hair was from my father, my green eyes and high cheekbones were from her.
"Hi. My name is Evelyn," I said hopeful that my name would trigger some memory. Her soft voice echoed out, "Evelyn."
Nodding, I continued, "Do you know who I am?" By her shaking her head I felt depressed, but the doctors told me specifically to not get discouraged. Shrugging it off, I pushed on even though a small pang went off in my chest. "Well do you know who you are?"
"I don't know why I'm here," she said softly her eyes flashing up to mine. Just when I thought I saw them flash with recognition at mine, she whipped out, "I just want to go home."
"We can go home. I just have to make sure that you know everything. See that man over there?" I asked pointing to the doctor behind the viewing window, "He won't let you go until you answer a few more questions."
She nodded easily complying with what I was asking of her. "Where is home?" I ask. She thought about it. I knew her usual answer, I don't know. Then she hummed out letters like she was a toddler sounding out their first words.
"Mystic Falls, Virginia... Maple Street 9145," she said aloud softly. Hope flashed in my eyes.
"Do you know who you are?" I ask without thinking about the pressure she must feel under.
"Maria Miller," she answered without the pausing this time.
"What about this Mystic Falls?" I ask, "Visit there?"
"I lived there, before I had my... my... my... my daughter," she said. I swear I could have kissed her. Tears were streaming down my eyes as she remembered, but it quickly died down as I found out she was compulsively listing down girl names. She was trying to figure out who I was.
"We look alike," she stated suddenly breaking the list of names. I gasped out. Was today going to be the day that she remembered me? That was when a doctor swung open the door. Beside him was a familiar psychiatrist from across the street. She looked so formal as she approached my mother and I in her women's cut suit.
"Ms. Miller, I'd like to have a word with your friend here," the woman asked my mother. She waved us off as she stared out the window listing more girl names subconsciously. I gave her one last glance before following the doctor and psychiatrist out.
"It's the most progress that we've had with her for months. This place that she is talking about, what is so important about it?" Dr. Brooke Fenton, a long-term psychiatrist of mom's, asked. I shrugged not wanting to be anymore helpful to the shrink than I needed to be.
"It was her place of birth. That address was given for many different contact sheets on your medical forms, Evelyn," the other doctor piped.
And? I almost wanted to snap. That place was where I was born, but as soon as I was, mom was hit with the crazies. Many things must have happened in that small town for my mother to be so traumatized that she lost her memory. "Maybe you should go back. It might jog more of her memory. I have a colleague that is working at Mystic Falls General. If anything is going wrong then you can call her," the doctor suggested.
Okay, time to be obnoxious. "What the hell makes you think that I would just pick up my life, at the end of summer, no doubt, and move to some small hick town to live in? I've never been there! I don't know people there!"
"Please, Evelyn. I consider you and your mother family. I assure you that if you go, this could benefit her for the better. Don't you want that for your mother? To have her back?" Dr. Fenton pried.
"For your information," I snapped, "I love my mother, but there was never anything to collect from. I never knew her as mother and daughter should, I knew her as Maria and apparently I'm just Evelyn to her."
"Please," she begged, "I will deal with any minor details that come up, like school and care for your mother. Just try this for her. I promise that you will not be disappointed. I've known you for 7 years, Evelyn, and I've never been more sure of a breakthrough in my life."
Sighing in defeat, I tried not to throw up my lunch as Dr. Fenton squealed in delight. She would make sure that we could live peacefully in my mother's old house and go to school with people I probably met as babies. Seemingly new town to me, but all I can think of is free rent. "Fine."
We rode into the small town of Mystic Falls with Fenton driving. It was only a state away, but she wanted to have us settled in before she left. The house we pulled into was larger than the tiny apartment that I had. I looked over to Dr. Fenton as she beamed with confidence at me. Mom walked out of the car slowly approaching the house cautiously.
I felt my chest tighten. Would this be the biggest breakthrough? She already knew who she was and where she lived, but could she remember me? While these questions kept flying through my mind, she broke down crying. "No, no, no," I said running to her side.
Kneeling down next to her, I brushed the hair out of her face to see her tear streaked face smiling. "Mo- Maria?" I asked slowly putting my hand out for her. She took it standing shakily. I knew that this was a bad idea. My glare said it all to Fenton.
"I'm home," my mom said suddenly.
"Yes, you are Maria," Dr. Fenton said.
"What about my daughter?" she asked us. I shied away from this question because the need to grab her shoulders and shake her was too strong. Right here, I wanted to scream into her ear. Make her remember me and maybe we could have a normal family relationship.
"She's around," I said cryptically looking away from her to the rest of the street. A lot of middle-aged people lived here with their families. A family of three walked out of the house next to ours. Ours, it sounded so weird. I've never been able to fully say that I owned something with my mother, considering the fact that she spent most of her nights in the observation room of the a hospital.
"Do you want to go inside?" Dr. Fenton asked, but Maria had something catch her eye. She walked over to the other house, her target the family of three making their way to their car.
"Oh My God, Jenna?!" she squeaked. The woman ushering the children out of her house looked up to her and grinned widely. "Maria!" the woman called Jenna yelled out hugging my mother.
I only jogged over to her to stand awkwardly between the two children with Jenna. Then Jenna took notice of me. "Are you Evelyn?" she said releasing her grip on my mother.
"Yes," I said curtly. Oddly enough she put out her hand for me to shake. I took her hand and she smiled warmly at me. "I'm Jenna Sommers."
"I was a friend of your mom's when she lived here," she said releasing my hand.
"Something tells me that in a town as small as this you don't forget people's names easily," then I realized what I just said and laughed to myself. Dr. Fenton walked up behind us.
"Hello Ms. Sommers, I was hoping that you had a moment. This is regarding Ms. Miller," she said formally. This doctor crap was not fooling me, and I was happy to see that it hadn't fooled Jenna either.
"Okay," she said slowly unlocking the door to her house, "Why don't you come on in? Elena could you drive Jeremy down to the Grill or something?"
With that the two teenagers drove off leaving us with Jenna.