CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

I groaned and leaned my head back against the chair out of annoyance, I still can’t think of a way to get back at them for what they all do to Colby and me.

“Are you okay?” Kate asked.

“Yeah I’m sorry, I’m trying to figure out how to make myself more edgy and become tougher,” I explained.

“Get a tattoo,” The girl from before says.

“A tattoo?” I wondered.

“Yeah you know, permanent ink in your skin, have you been living under a rock?” She says, rolling her eyes again.

“No, but I have been living under a house for eighteen years,” I sighed.

Hayley patted me on my shoulder and gave me an apologetic smile.

“So where do I get a tattoo?” I asked with a mischievous look on my face.

“You’re kidding right?” Hayley says with her eyebrows raised.

“No, I’m serious,” I said honestly with a hard expression.

“Tattoo’s cost money, and think about them because they stay on your skin forever,” Hayley attempted to talk me out of it.

“I already have the perfect tattoo,” I say, excited.

“Oh, and what’s that?” Hayley asked with a sigh.

“Black doves right here,” I say pointing to my collar bone.

“Sounds painful, and also why black doves?” Jason asked curiously.

“Because doves are symbolism for purity and innocence, my innocence has been taken away from me,” I explained truthfully.

“Damn, that's deep,” Jason says nodding in agreement.

“Don’t encourage her,” Hayley says, smacking Jason’s shoulder.

“Why not seem like she has it all planned out,” He says, giving me a small smile.

“Whose money are you going to be using?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“I’ll find a job!” I said excitedly getting up.

“Right now?” Kate asked, starting to get up with me.

“Why not?” I asked.

“It’s not that easy,” Hayley says as I walked back to A&W.

“Excuse me, I would like to work for you, as long as I get paid today,” I said to the person behind the cashier.

“Do you have a resume?” The man asked, holding out his hand.

“No, but if you don’t hire me someone else will and then you’ll regret not doing so,” I said with a giant smile. 

There was silence for about five minutes.

“Alright fine, Clare shows her how to use the cash register and the pop machines, I’m going on break,” The man sighed.

He clocked out and left as I went to the other side of the counter.





































Colby’s P.O.V




Sitting in the living room I kept changing the channels on the television but all we got was static, I sighed and turned it off, I opened the blinds and the view I had in front of me reminded me of a beautiful painting.

We had a large deck with a barbecue and a playset which included; swings, a slide, and a pretend princess castle for a child, but it must have been from before us because we don’t have any children, at least not yet. 

I smiled at that thought, Chloe having our children in this beautiful house, the backyard was an open space but farther over I noticed there was a large moon gate covered in cherry blossom vines, they were in full bloom.

I began walking off the deck to take a better look at what could be past the gate. The smell of flowers twirled around me with the wind making it seem magical, I walked through the gate as my surroundings took me over, the path was made out of stone and there was a beautiful garden.

Different flowers were planted and fragrances were in the air.

It was magnificent to see. 

In the middle of the garden there was a fountain of an angel statue pouring water to the rest of the fountain.

I noticed that the water didn’t just stay in the fountain but went to all the flowers in the garden. I walked farther following where the water was flowing into where the fence ended. 

Not only were there flowers but there were also strawberries, blueberries, lemons and so many other fruits..

I picked off a blackberry and placed it in my mouth as the flavor exploded into a sweet, sour taste. It was delicious.

“Enjoy yourself,” A beautiful voice asked, Chloe.

“This place is beautiful,” I says in awe.

Suddenly a child ran behind her and ran towards me and I had a strange pull to pick her up, placing her on my hip. I smiled at her and the words I never thought I would hear for a long time came out of her mouth.

“Daddy, daddy come play with me,” The little girl laughed as she held herself up with her arms around my neck.

Chloe laughed as she watched our so-called daughter be all over me, I looked from the little girl back at Chloe and I just realized she has a ring on her finger.

Not the ring I gave her but a wedding band as well, I looked down at my own hand where there was a ring also.

I put the little girl down and for the first time I had no idea what to say, suddenly there was a searing pain in my chest making me collapse, groaning from the pain.

“Are you alright?” She asked me to run towards me.

 I don’t understand how I do not remember having a child or my wedding?

“Daddy?” The little girl asked scared, I got to my feet and picked her back up.

“Sorry honey, daddy just doesn’t feel like himself today,” I says with a sigh.

“Are you sick?” She asked, trying to understand.

“Yes, I’m sick,” I said with a small smile.

“Oh no mommy, we have to make him your special soup,” She says matter of fact.

“Oh no, I can’t do it by myself, will you be my little helper?” Chloe asked just as dramatically.

“Yeah!” She jumped down out of my arms and took my hand pulling me back towards the house.

I followed along as we went back up the deck and into the house and onto the couch. “Addy, how about you go get the vegetables out of the fridge while I talk to daddy for a second?” Chloe asked.

“Okay mommy,” Addy says, doing a salute and running off into the kitchen.

“Are you alright?” Chloe asked, turning toward me with worry in her eyes.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, sadness going through me like a wave.

“What’s going on?” She asked me as I put my hand through my hair, it felt good and I suddenly felt vulnerable.

“I can’t remember anything,” I told her I felt the tightness in my throat.

“Anything like what?” She asked, not understanding.

“Any of this, how we got here, when we had a baby, when we got the house, or when we got married,” Tears finally fell down my cheeks and I know I hurt her because she took a shaky breath before answering.

“Would you like me to remind you?” She asked, wiping away my tears.

I got on my knees in front of her and placed my head on her stomach and wrapped my arms around her, holding her.

“Please make me remember,” I said, my voice cracking as tears escaped my eyes.

She held my head to her with her gentle hands and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “What’s the first thing you want to know?” She asked softly.

“When did we get here?” Was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

“Four years ago,” She answered as she continued to caress my hair.

“When did we escape?” I asked.

“Four years ago,” She says again.

“When did we have a baby?” I asked worried, for a moment, she paused before she answered.

“Nine months after we got here,” She whispered.

“When did we get married?” I asked looking up at her now.

“Two years ago,” She answered in a whisper.

I just sat here shocked, mad, hurt, not at Chloe but at myself, how did I wake up this morning and not know my own daughter or remember my own house?

“What’s our daughter’s name?” I say whispering.

“Adelaide, but we call her Addy,” She answered, trying not to be upset or hurt.

“Okay mommy, everything’s ready,” Adelaide says proudly walking back in, I quickly looked away and wiped my tears sniffling.

I looked over at Adelaide, and pulled her to me and held her.