I can't believe the day of seeing my mom has come. Finally, after twelve long years, I'm in the same room as my mother, sitting face to face, with my eyes intently on the frail yet beautiful woman holding out her arms, asking that I hug her. I sat frozen on the couch, unsure of what to do. I wanted to hug her, hold her, and ask how she was doing. But as delicate as she looks, I'm afraid to break her the second my arms wrap around her—fearing my mother enfolding me in her arms and her scent triggering memories will cause me to squeeze her tighter, fracturing her brittle-looking bones.

I suddenly felt like I was in a half-conscious state—a trance and needed waking. First, my eyes bounced away from my mother, the doctor, and my brother. Then, after noticing all eyes were on me, I looked back at the one who went from being the happiest woman on earth to the saddest woman in the world—shutting my brother and me out of her life and wanting nothing to do with us after my father left.

Her hair was as dark and long as I last remember. The coloring of her eyes was still as blue as they once were, and her face was just as pale as it was when Justin committed her. The only thing new about her was the wrinkling below her eyes from aging. But those wrinkles also had me wondering if they were indentations from years of crying.

As the silence continued filling the room, what I've feared since coming into the room precipitated. My mother's scent atomized into the air, and it was diffusing rapidly throughout the room, instantly causing my mind to go into memory lane. As the memories flowed into my mind, my heart hurt even more to see that she was in the hospital and not in her own home. And I wasn't sure how to deal with the different emotions circulating throughout me.

I felt like running until I couldn't any longer. I wanted to run and hide where nobody could find me, begging for my morning to restart. I also wanted to forget where I was and who I was in the room with. But since I was, and the way my mother was looking at me with glumness in her eyes, I felt like an idiot for the crazy thoughts; I was thinking and like a coward for not wanting to stand and walk over to hug her.

You can do this, Aria. Stand up and hug your mother.

Finally, I talked myself into going over to her. And as I slowly stood from the couch, I looked at Justin. "Go to her, Aria," he quietly mouthed, slightly nudging his head toward my mother. I turned to her, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath before walking to my mother's open arms.

I lowered and wrapped my arms around her, and the second I felt my mother's body pressed to mine, with her arms tightening around me, all the emotions I had been bottling up inside for so many years came pouring out. It felt good to feel her cradling me again, and I felt frabjous that she knew it was me returning the hug. As my senses became more aware of who I was clinging to, the more I didn't want to let her go.

I only hope that with Justin and me being here, it'll be just what she needs to rejuvenate—to restore to her former state and that it'll help her start a new life. So, hopefully, when all three of us turn the page, it'll be a new chapter in all of our lives, with it being the best chapter yet.

And in this new chapter, I hope she'll realize that she needs to let things go, as do I, for the matter. But I also hope that this new chapter will help my mother do whatever she can to better herself to get out of this place and enjoy the life my mother was born to have—enjoying what she hadn't been able to for nearly twenty years.

"It's okay, Aria. I'm here," she quietly said, soothing me as her arms enveloped me tighter.

"Oh, mom," I cried.

"It's okay, Aria. It's okay..." she repeated, refusing to let go of me. I was allowing her to comfort me, and it felt good to hear and feel her consoling me—something she hadn't been able to do for nearly twenty years and something I assumed she had forgotten how to do.

How my mother was solacing me brought me back to the last time she reassured me—my sixth birthday. I was upset with my parents for canceling my outdoor birthday party because of the weather. Instead of switching the party to be held indoors or pushing the party out to a further date, my father canceled it entirely. Said I'd have to wait until the following year to have a birthday party. And to top the day off, my father wasn't even there to celebrate my birthday with me.

With this memory coming back, my heart suddenly felt more saddened. My birthday was just the start of this mess, and it was right before my father had moved out. And because of what I'm remembering, I hope and pray she's not lost in that time—thinking I'm this six-year-old girl, upset about her birthday. Worried that she was still stuck in that time, my arms loosened from my mother, and then they dropped as I pulled away from her.

"Aria, please don't leave me," she begged as I stepped back. Then, with her eyes filled with tears, she scooted closer to the arm of the couch, patting the empty spot beside her. "Please, Aria. Sit next to me," she begged, and before she broke down in front of the doctor, Justin, and me, I did what she asked and sat next to her.

The room suddenly got quiet again.

Justin and I held each other's stare, and then I turned to see what she was doing. She was looking straight ahead, looking as if she was incredibly nervous with Justin and me being in the same room as her, or it was a look as if she was thinking hard about something. Because of the long silence, curiosity got the best of me, and I asked what's been on my mind since our reunion hug. "Mom? Do you know how old I am?"

She nodded, then looked down at her fidgeting hands. "Twenty-six."

My heart felt like it was breaking moments earlier, but my heart formed back into one after hearing her say my correct age instead of six years old, as I thought she was thinking. It made me smile to know that she really was trying to comfort me and not consoling me about something that happened twenty years ago.

My mother looked at Justin and held up her arms. "Justin, I need a hug from you as well. Please come over and allow me to hold you in my arms."

He, too, did the same as I, but instead of slowly walking to her as I did, he rushed to her and gave her the biggest bear hug I've ever seen him give anyone. "You do not know how much Aria and I have missed you," he told her. "We've missed you so much, mom," he choked, "so much."

The doctor stood. "The nurses and I will sit and observe over at the table over there," he pointed, "we'll let you three get reacquainted, and if we need to step in, we will." He raised his arm, slid up his sleeve, and looked at his watch. "Your time with her is shortening. So in about ten minutes, I'll come over to see how you're doing," he said, sliding his jacket sleeve down. And then he looked at me. "Like I told Justin. She does very well during the first ten minutes of talking and asking her questions. After that, there's no saying how much longer she'll last. You'll be able to notice right away when she goes back into the other state of mind we've been working on. But I'm sorry to say that your reunion with her will have to end once that happens."

"Okay, thank you," I said.

Ten minutes is all we have to talk with her?

Now I'm confused. We've already been in the room talking with my mom for over ten minutes. So does that mean she's already on her way back to the woman she's been for years? Or did he mean once we start having a conversation with her?

"Wait..." I said as the doctor sat in the chair.

"Yes, Aria?"

"I'm confused with when the ten minutes starts?"

He smiled. "It starts when you start asking her questions about the past."

I nodded, then as I was about to ask him another question, my mother caught me off guard when she spoke. "I saw you on the TV, Aria."

I snapped my head toward her and then tilted my head to the side with my brows drawn to one. "You did? Where? When?" Feeling confused, I looked at Justin, asking, "I thought they didn't allow her to watch TV?"

"I saw you on the TV," she repeated. "You were fighting. You were doing just what Justin used to do that got him into a lot of trouble."

My eyes widened, and Justin quietly snickered but turned serious when he asked, "You remember that?"

"I do," she admitted, surprising us with what she said next. "I remember you beating up the neighborhood kids whenever they picked on Aria." So does that mean she knew that was the reasoning behind Justin fighting with them? She looked at me with a questionable look. "Is the reasoning behind you fighting because of how the kids used to pick on you?"

Again, I'm shocked by what she knows and remembers.

I shook my head slowly, surprised by what she asked. "No, that's not why I picked up fighting." There were other reasons I did, but now isn't the time to talk to her about that. Instead of telling her why, I asked, "You watched me fight? When?"

She smiled and then nodded. "I watched you fight. And after you won, there was a man who came to you, lifted you onto his shoulders, and then spun you around."

"Are you talking about my match from last night?" I asked, looking at Justin, who looked just as surprised as I.

He shrugged his shoulders then quietly mouthed, "It must have been."

"Our session this morning involved playing her a rerun of your match from last night. We wanted to explain to her and for her to see who you've become today," the doctor admitted. "We thought it might help her with your meeting today."

"Oh..." I twisted my lips as I thought about how they knew what I'd been doing and shot my eyes over at Justin. Since he provided them with pictures of my family and us, he must have told them about this. Not that I care, I just feel that Justin still should have included me in what he's been telling my mother's doctors.

I didn't know what to say and wondered if it was a good or bad thing that she knew I was fighting, but as I looked back at her and how she was looking at me, she seemed to be okay with it. I looked up at the clock on the wall and saw we had only five more minutes with her before she supposedly would go back into her depressed state of mind.

Since it seemed like Justin was leaving all the talking and questions for me, I debated with myself about what Walter told me, mentioning that I should ask her about a woman named Stella to see what she knew about her. And because this was our first meeting with her in twelve years, I wasn't sure if now was the right time to ask or if I should wait and come back another time to ask what I'd like to know.

Justin finally started talking to our mother, so as they talked and she answered his questions, I debated about what to do while listening to them, with my two minds discussing with each other, one saying to ask and the other saying to wait. But then they agreed with each other, wondering, after all this time of not seeing her, would it be wrong or selfish of me to ask about a woman from her past?

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions...

I had better hurry and finally decide what I'm going to do since the doctor walked over and sat across from us, looking at his watch, alerting us that our time with our mother was close to expiring. "It's been ten minutes."

I looked back at my mother and saw she still seemed to be doing well, so I turned and looked at the doctor. "Our ten minutes may be up, but do you think we can get more time with her? She looks to be doing okay yet."

He nodded. "Of course. It looks like today is one of her good days. This is a good thing, so you can continue with your meeting." He held up his hand. "However, I will say that the second I see her slipping, I'll ask that you come back another day. Small, slow steps are the best for her road to recovery. And by you and your brother sitting in the same room with her is one of the biggest first steps for the healing that she needs."

Since I knew we didn't have much time left with her, I turned to face my mother. I took a deep breath, reached for her hand, and brought it to me, holding it tight.

She's the one who holds all the answers you are looking for. Walter said to me.

God, I hope he's right and that I'm not going to regret what I'm about to ask her.

"Mom?"

She looked away from the doctor and over at me. Then, she smiled, "Yes, my beautiful baby girl?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

Now, my heart is pounding against my chest. It's beating so fast that I'm sure my mom and Justin can see my shirt moving wickedly back and forth. I'm sure they can hear it if they don't see it.

I took another deep breath and looked down as I exhaled. Now, I'm not so sure I can ask her about Stella—fearing that if I do, it'll bring back a terrible memory, and she'll flip out, and they'll tell us never to come back to see her again. I also fear Stella will be someone I wasn't supposed to know about and that she could be someone I know that they've been protecting Justin and me from.

Fuck it.

She's my mother, and I deserve every answer to my questions.

Here it goes.

"Go on, Aria. Ask me what you'd like to know. I'm sure I have an answer for you," my mother insisted.

I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, looked at Justin, then at her. "Recently, someone brought up a name to my attention. Someone I'm not so sure who it is and was told you would have the answer to what I'm seeking. So I was curious if you could enlighten me on who this person could be?"

"I can try. What's the person you're curious about knowing?"

My eyes shot back over to Justin. Thank God he's here because I have a strange feeling this woman has something to do with him as well. "Do you know, or have you ever heard, about a woman named Stella?"

My mother's face turned as white as a ghost. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped fast, and then the word barely came out when she spoke. "What?"

Shit.

I think I just ruined whatever time we had left with her.

She squeezed my hand tighter, and then her breathing pattern changed. Not only did I notice her breathing become erratic, I felt the heat of her body change where it felt like I was sitting next to an open freezer.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What did I just do?

"Stella?" Justin asked, furrowing his brows. "Isn't Stella Cole's ex-girlfriend?"

After hearing Justin repeat the name, my mom squeezed my hand even tighter—very tight and to where it was hurting me. Then her eyes filled with tears, with a few of those teardrops escaping and strolling down her ghostly, pale-looking cheeks.

"Mom? Are you okay?" I asked, worried that what I asked instantly turned her back to the woman she's been for twenty years. She turned much paler. Her hand was clammy, and then I felt her hand sweating.

Doctor Fisher stood fast, and the nurses standing at the other end of the room rushed over to us. "I think we're finished with today's meeting," the doctor said, with a hint of worry in his voice as he looked at my mother. Then, he looked at me, saying, "You brought up a memory of someone we haven't had a chance to work with her yet."

So does that mean he, too, knows about this woman named Stella? Because if he does, then he needs to inform Justin and me about her if my mother cannot.

"What memory is that, Doctor Fisher? Huh? I need to know who she is!"

"Aria!" Justin snapped. "Not now. We can find out who she is another time!"

My head snapped toward Justin. "I'm not leaving this room until I find out who she is!"

Justin walked over to me, reached for my arm, and then gripped it hard as he pulled me to the door. I fought to get out of his grip, then he spun us around and pointed to my mom while snapping at me. "Look at what you did just by saying that name! We're leaving!"

"Wait! Don't leave," my mother cried out.

I snapped my arm out of Justin's grip and stepped forward, curious to hear what she had to say.

She looked at Justin and me while waving for the doctor and nurses to get away from her. "My kids need to know who she is. It's time they know the truth," she said tirelessly, wiping away the tears that had covered her face.

"What truth?" Justin exhaustedly breathed, frustratedly dragging his fingers through his hair.

After a long moment of silence, she finally said, "The truth is, Stella is your sister, and they stole her from me. From us."

***

After learning about who Stella was to me, I was on a mission to forget this day even happened, so after walking in the front door and hearing Gunner and Walter asking how my day went, I ignored them and headed straight to the kitchen.

I walked to the fridge, crossed my arms, and looked at my upcoming schedule. Even though my next fight wasn't for another two weeks, what I wished to do would not stop me from going out drinking.

I wanted to get drunk.

Scratch that. I don't want to. I needed to get drunk.

I closed my eyes when I felt a pair of solid hands cup my neck, using his thumbs to massage it in a circular motion and then down to my shoulders. Then the heat of Gunner's breath pierced my skin, causing goosebumps to form when he leaned over to kiss my cheek. "I take it things didn't go so well today?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because when you came in, you ignored Walter and me. And now you're standing in front of the fridge looking dazed and confused."

I turned around, wrapped my arms around him, and rested my cheek against his chest. "I have another sister out there," I sighed in disbelief.

Gunner squeezed me tighter and kissed the top of my head. "Did she tell you where she is?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "All she told us was that after she delivered the baby, the doctor allowed her to hold my sister for a few minutes, long enough for her to name her Stella. And because she was born four months early, she claimed the doctor then ripped her from my mother's arms and told her they were bringing her into the NICU. And then, the day after the birth of my sister, my mother went against the doctor's orders and went to visit Stella. But once she got into the NICU room, the nurses immediately told her the baby didn't make it."

"If she was told the baby didn't make it, she must not have, right? So why would they tell her that if she made it?"

I looked up at Gunner. "She claims she's alive—claiming that they unlawfully took the baby from her after she was born. All the suspicions I had about her trying to kill herself, to harm the baby, and wanting to hurt my father never happened. My mom later found out that they purposely hid Stella from her, and she was given to a couple here in Seattle, someone who demanded that they'd be the one to raise her. That's why my mother's depression worsened, Gunner. It wasn't because she tried hurting herself to hurt the baby; she was upset someone stole her daughter from her. She's here, Gunner. She's alive, and my mother asked Justin and me to find her."

"If someone demanded to take and raise her. Then that means that someone close to your family or even a family member asked to have your mother's rights taken away. So, do you have any idea about who that would be?"

I nodded, then breathed, "I have a pretty good idea. And when I find them, they'll wish they never did what they did to all of us. But before I start searching, let's go somewhere so I can get drunk."

I hope the chapter was okay....