Chapter 14
I stirred from my slumber after feeling something next to me, which made me open my eyes. My eyes landed on a nurse taking wires out of me. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled. “Can I get you anything?” she asked me. I gave her a small smile and shook my head. I felt fully rested, even though it was only for a few hours. I didn’t think about the yellow eyes once; Maybe the dream had gone. I looked around my room but was startled when the nurse spoke. “She’s not here,” she said, making me look at her wide-eyed. “Your mum,” she said, “She left when you fell back asleep. But I think she will be back, she wanted to talk to the doctor, and I know he will be doing his rounds soon.” I stared at her. “When can I leave?” I asked, even though the thought of leaving was supposed to be a happy feeling, but it made me feel dread as I knew I had to stay with my mum. The nurse looked at me and shrugged. “The doctor will let you know,” she said as she walked toward the door and smiled. “I will see you in a little while.” I smiled and leaned into the bed. My head was fine for now, but I didn’t know what would happen if my mother walked back in here. What the hell was I going to do? I needed to leave and go back home. I started to run some ideas through my head when after a few minutes my door opened and in walked my mum, who looked at me. I frowned. Her eyes stayed on me for a moment; they were bloodshot. She had clearly been crying. My mum walked over to the chair; my eyes stayed on her until she sat. She looked at me, “The doctor will be in…” she started to say, but the door opened, which cut her off, and in walked the doctor with a smile. “Leah,” he said, “It’s nice to meet you finally.” I stared at him but didn’t say anything. The doctor walked in further and stood at the foot of my bed. He took my charts from the end of the bed, scanned them over, and looked up at me. “Well, we are going to keep you in for another night to make sure you are fine,” he said, looking over to my mum, “but she may be fine to leave tomorrow afternoon.” I stared at him. How the hell can two people make someone feel like they are not in a room? Because that’s what just happened. I looked between the both of them. “So, I can leave tomorrow,” I said. The doctor looked back at me and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “You will still have to take it easy, and I suggest rest for a few more days before your adventure outside, but I will book you in for a check-up to see me. I want to keep an eye on the headaches. I may have to send you for another scan, but we will see how it all goes when you go home.” I stared at him. My mum smiled. 1 “Well, I will see you tomorrow, Leah,” he said. I watched him walk toward the door and head out without saying anything else. I kept my eyes on the door, but my mum moved slightly, making me tense. I didn’t want to talk to her. “Leah,” she whispered. I ignored her and closed my eyes. Why would she want to talk to me again? She knows how I feel; it wouldn’t have changed in the last few hours when she was gone. “Please, Leah,” she said, making me look at her. I glared. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I spat and frowned. My mum sighed. The room was filled with an awkward silence for a while. I looked around the room but never looked at my mum. I needed to leave and soon. After a few seconds, the door to my room swung open, and in walked a man. I stared at him. I knew him. He looked at me and smiled, but he moved toward my mother. I knew him, but where? My mind raced more as I watched him walk over to my mother and bent down to kiss her cheek. He moved back and placed his arm on the chair behind her. “Hi,” he said. I didn’t utter a word. Who the hell was he? My mum cleared her throat. “Leah,” she said, looking at me and then back at the man, “This is Josh.” I stared at them. I felt a pang of hurt riddle through me as I watched how he looked at her, his eyes moving back to mine. I knew the look he was giving her; I had seen it years ago. It was the same look my father had for her when they were together. I could tell Josh loved her. I stared but never opened my mouth. “So,” Josh said, “How was everything with the doctor? When can she come home?” “She will hopefully be home tomorrow afternoon,” My mum said, looking back at me. I felt so out of place right now. How the hell was I supposed to feel about all this? I felt numb more than anything. Josh cleared his throat. “That’s good news,” he said with a smile. “We have a room for you all made and ready.” Great playing happy families now, are we? I looked toward the door, trying not to let my anger take over, but I knew Josh and my mum were looking at me. “Leah,” my mum said, but I cut her off. “I don’t want to stay with you,” I said, looking back at her. Her eyes stayed on me, but the awkward tension was back between us. How the hell was I supposed to act with them? “Leah,” Josh spoke, making me look at him. He sighed. “I know this is all new, and with everything that you have been through, we just want to make sure you are okay,” he said, looking between my mother and me. “We can discuss everything when you have settled into the house. We can explain more, but you and your mum need to…” “You don’t know what my mum and I need,” I spat out, anger fueling me again. My head started to pound slightly, which made me close my eyes. I took deep breaths in and out, but after a little while, I opened them. I looked back at Josh and my mum, who looked on with concern. “Stop looking at me like that,” I shout. I didn’t want anything from them. I was about to flip out more when the door opened, and in walked two people, a man, and a woman. I stared at them. Who the hell are these people? The woman looked like an older version of my mother, while the man was like the other guy I had met the last time with my mother. They were clearly related, but I didn’t know how. Her parents? I stared at them, but the tension in the air was too high to handle as my eyes landed on the older man. His eyes bore into me. His face hardened. He clearly didn’t like me or want me here. My mum cleared her throat, “Mum,” she said, “Dad, I told you to wait till I spoke to her. This is not the best time to introduce yourselves.” I stared at the older couple standing at the foot of my bed. The woman smiled, but it was the man that caught my attention. Considering he’s her father, my grandfather, he looked like he wanted to get away from me as much as I wanted to. The look of disgust appears but vanishes when he looks over at my mother. “We wanted to see her,” he spoke bluntly. I stared at him, but my head started pounding; this wouldn’t end well. I needed to close my eyes again, but I didn’t. The man I learned was my grandfather stared at me, his face hardened. I didn’t say anything. “You must be Leah,” said my grandmother, who walked closer to the side, which made me look at her. I frowned. “It is so nice to meet you finally,” she said as she stuck out her hand for me to take. I looked at her hand but looked up at her. I wasn’t going to shake it. I didn’t know these people. I didn’t even think my mother had a family until she told me earlier. When living with us, she never mentioned any family to us, not even in front of my father or me. My grandmother moved her hand back and looked slightly hurt. I looked over at the grandfather, and he looked pissed. I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t know any of these people. Why the hell were they all here? I looked at my mum, who had a weird expression. I cleared my throat. “I need sleep,” I said, lying. I needed everyone gone. 1 I watched as everyone looked at each other and slowly departed the room, only leaving my mum and me. My mum inched closer to the door. “You know, this was all nice being introduced to your lover and family,” I said, letting the anger drip out. “But you could have waited till I was out of the hospital before you decided to play happy families.” My mum stopped and stared at me. “I know you are angry,” she said, but I shook my head. “I’m angry, alright,” I said. “I don’t want to be anywhere near you or this place or even those people, but since you made it your mission to make my life hell, I will have to stick around. I know you have your rules, and I will try to obey them, but a year can’t come quick enough for me to leave.” I watched as my mum’s eyes glistened, and I knew I hurt her, but what about me? She couldn’t seriously believe that I would forget everything she had done. My mum opened the door and walked out, leaving me alone. I stared at the door, but there was a loud noise from outside. Shouting, more like. I leaned back into the bed and sighed. I needed to get out of here and fast. I wouldn’t hang around and wait for them to start being nice to me. I knew I had to wait until dark; no one would be around. I might get some rest for a while; I needed to keep my strength up for the journey back home.