This may seem rushed, but I just don't want to get stuck in the hospital for too long. I'm just making things up, with very minimal research of medical practice. In other words, I don't really know what the heck I'm talking about. Please keep that in mind when you read this. LOL!
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Claudia Zacchara sat alone in her bedroom staring at an old children's storybook. The cover showing "Hansel and Gretel" was faded and worn, but she opened it with great care. A note inside read, "To my dear sister, I found this in an antique store and thought of you. One day I hope you return home and we can push father in an oven!" She smirked and flipped some pages until a small photograph slipped out. She picked it up and studied it. A 16-year old version of herself smiled back at her. In her arms she held a baby wrapped in a blue receiving blanket. Behind them was a beautiful Italian villa. She ran her finger over the baby's picture. "Damiano," she whispered. She held the photo to her heart as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Claudia!" Johnny called from the hallway.
Claudia jumped. Hiding the photo back in the book, she set it down on the bed. Then she wiped her face and flung open the door with a smile. "You bellowed?"
"I want you to leave."
"What?" Her smile faded.
"I'm giving you until the end of the day today to pack your things and get the hell out of here."
Without another word, he turned and walked away. Claudia stood there speechless. "It's MY apartment," she yelled after him.
"Fine! Then I'm leaving," he shouted back. She heard the front door slam.
Claudia slammed her bedroom door in response and fell onto the bed. She hugged the book to her chest and sobbed.
-
Dr. Winters directed Mrs. Spinelli to a chair in front of her desk, then took her own seat. "Mrs. Spinelli, I don't mean to pry into your personal business, but you need to know how serious this situation is. It appears that Damian is suffering from post traumatic stress over something he doesn't even remember. Obviously his mind wants him to or he wouldn't have reverted into this childlike state. I'm guessing he's remembering the moment before his life was blown apart in some tragic event.
Mrs. Spinelli gulped, but kept her composure. "You got it all figured out don'tcha?"
"No, I don't, Mrs. Spinelli. That's why I'm asking… no… begging you… to please help me help your grandson."
The old woman stared her down.
"If you don't he could get worse. I know you don't want that."
Mrs. Spinelli softened a bit. "I know you want to help Damian, but you don't understand." She got up and shut the door before continuing. "We've been in hiding for twenty years. If the wrong people find him it could cost him his life."
"Whatever you tell me in confidence will go no further than this room. Your secret is safe with me. But if you hold back anything it could cost him his sanity."
Mrs. Spinelli nodded. "Fine. I will tell you what I can without naming names." She cleared her throat. "My daughter got pregnant when she was a teenager. I took care of her until she had the baby. Her uncle--"
"Rudy?"
"Yes. Rudy was a very powerful man with powerful friends, the type of people who could make you disappear if you wanted. Make it appear as if you never even existed."
Lainey nodded.
"He came to me one night and told me to get the baby, that it wasn't safe there anymore. He was going to take us somewhere else. My daughter was to join us at a later date. We left without even saying goodbye. I never saw her again. After a few months I figured it was best to let people think I was Damian's mother to avoid the obvious questions." She stared into space. "We were moved constantly, to stay a step ahead of whoever was after us. To this day I'm not exactly sure who or what the threat really was. Most likely my psychotic ex-husband."
"Why would your ex-husband want to hurt his own grandchild?"
"He's crazy. That's all you need to know."
"I'm sorry, but that still doesn't explain Damian's state of mind. Moving around can be hard on a child, but it's not something overly traumatic.
"No, it wasn't. We were fine for awhile until… It was a couple days before Damian's tenth birthday. I was making a cake and getting things ready for the party we had planned. Damian was playing one of his favorite video games, some wrestler mania thing. Two men showed up at the house. I saw them from the kitchen window. I had a really bad feeling. I ran into the living room to get the boy and take him out the back way. But before I could, they kicked in the door. They had guns and they wanted us to know they had them. They were shooting at things in the house: the TV, the furniture, pictures on the wall. One of the men grabbed me. The other had my little Damian in a chokehold. He was crying. The man shook him and told him to shut up or he would kill me. They dragged us out of the house and threw us in a car. I thought for sure that was the end for us both."
"But you're here now. So obviously you got away."
"I guess Rudy's people were watching us because a few minutes later our car was pulled over by two other cars. I held Damian in my arms while he watched his Uncle Rudy kill the men who took us. He blew their heads off like it was the easiest thing in the world." Mrs. Spinelli pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
"I understand now. Thank you for being honest." Lainey stood up.
The old woman put her glasses back on. "Honey, you might want to sit down for the rest of the story."
Lainey's eyes went wide as she slowly sank down into her chair.
-
Mac stood up from his daughter's bedside post and stretched. He picked up his coffee cup, but it was empty. He took it with him and headed down the hall.
Maxie opened her eyes, still feeling a little groggy. She figured it was still morning since the sun was pouring in through the curtains. She sat up and was relieved she had the strength to stay there. She needed to see Spinelli. And if nobody would take her, she would find him on her own. She pulled out her iv and heart monitor and slipped off the bed. Uncaring of her appearance, she hobbled out of the room on bare feet, steadying herself at each wall she came to.
She made it to ICU somehow and snuck past the nurse's station. Good thing those young women liked to gossip. They were so lost in their conversation about Dr. Drake's hair, they never noticed her. She searched the name plaques by each room until she found D. Spinelli. She ran her finger along his name and felt her eyes sting. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and went inside. He was sleeping peacefully. His shaggy hair was covered by a turban of gauze, his sweet face was marred by scrapes and bruises, but to her he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He was alive. She took the stool by his bedside and sat down. When she touched his hand his eyes fluttered open slowly. "You're awake!" She beamed at him. He didn't speak. She waited for the inevitable anger and hurt he would direct at her. But none came. He just looked at her in awe.
Maxie lowered her head and spoke softly. "I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but I had to come. I had to explain. It's not that what I was really doing at the hotel is much better… I mean, it's still pretty bad. But it's not what you're thinking. I would never do that to you… ever. It was all a set up. Just a stupid plan to break up Johnny and Lu Lu. Claudia's plan, actually." She looked up at him, needing him to see the sincerity in her eyes.
"I don't know—"
"I know you don't know what I was thinking," she interrupted him. "Neither do I. Sometimes I just do things without thinking at all. Actually, most of the time. Well, maybe all of the time. But you know that about me. You've always known that. And you accepted me anyway. I just hope you'll accept me now and believe me when I say I will never do anything like that again. I promise."
"What did you do?"
Maxie stopped babbling and looked at him like he was joking. "You don't remember?" Maybe this was a good thing. They could spend some time together and then she could explain what happened and he would forgive her like he always did. End of story. "Oh," she chuckled. "We can talk about that later."
"Who are you?"
Maxie felt like she had been slapped in the face. "Who am I?" It must be the pain medication he was taking. She waved her hand in front of his face. "It's me, Maxie."
"I'm sorry—"
"No, don't be sorry. I know you just had brain surgery and you're on drugs and you're tired. Of course, you're not thinking clearly. I just wanted to come by and see you."
"I don't know who you are," he finally said.
Maxie thought he meant her behavior until she noticed the way he was looking at her. "What do you mean?"
"Dr. Patrick says I have amnesia. Dr. Lainey is helping me to remember things. And my mom's here now, so I might get to go home soon."
Maxie gasped. She looked at him, really looked, and saw no recognition at all. Her Spinelli was gone, replaced by someone she didn't know. She got up and stumbled back, bumping into a dresser.
"Maxie!"
She turned to see her father in the doorway. "Daddy," she whimpered. "He doesn't remember me." She took a step towards him and crumpled.
Mac rushed over and caught her in his arms as she fainted. He glanced at the confused and frightened young man in the bed. "Um. Hi. I hope you get better real soon." He carried Maxie out of the room.
Spinelli squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. "Maxie?"
--
TBC
Okay, I know you're all so spoiled now because I've been adding chapters almost daily this week. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to add the next installment for awhile. Feel free to send me your story suggestions if you have them. Or leave comments here. Thanks so much for reading!
