T W E N T Y T W O

When I awoke, a heavy weight came down on my shoulders mentally, as a result of not knowing what had just happened.

I didn't open my eyes yet, mostly because I was afraid to. Nothing felt right. The first thing that came to my senses was the smell of where I was. It smelled too clean, too pristine to be my bedroom. I was lying in a warm bed but the bed quality was way below the Jennings' wealth with a mattress as hard as this and a pillow as sturdy as this. Secondly, something was in my arm.

Something was in my arm!

My eyes opened and I jolted awake, panicking. Was somebody taking blood from me? I looked down to see a tube connected from my good arm-- the unwounded one, to a machine. My eyes were blurry and the sight was trippy. Though they soon focused on an empty chair sitting beside the bed.

The silence killed me. The white lights, white walls, the single black-screened television hung on the walls and the machine tracking my heart pace was enough for me to realise I was in the hospital, lying in an uncomfortable bed.

"You're awake, oh my God!"

I winced. My mum's familiar voice was loud and piercing. It nearly made me cry. I moved my head slightly to see Mum standing by the doorway of the small room, holding a cardboard cup holder with what seemed like two cups of coffee inside.

She rushed over to me, putting the cups of coffee on the table and knelt down by the bed, pushing my hair out of my face. I winced. My eyes focused on her face. Mum had cancer. It was only then that I realised her skin looked yellow. She looked more different than the last time I had seen her, in a bad way.

"Mum?" I croaked.

She let out a breath of relief and pulled my head into her embrace. "I was so worried, baby." Her voice was shaky like she was about to cry.

I pulled away. I swallowed a lump in my throat. My mouth and tongue felt dry and bitter as if I had downed a cup of dusty powder.

"What happened, Mum? Why am I in the hospital? I just felt a little sick last night. This is too much," I whispered, feeling scared.

Mum leaned back and looked at me, pursing her lips. She reached a hand out and touched my forehead with her shaky hands. "Oh, honey. No. You've been here for a week, Stella," she mumbled.

I blinked. What? "No, you're kidding me."

"Stella, you overdosed on a drug. Your friend, Caleb came rushing over last week, telling me you guys were on a phone call and you passed out from something." Mum's dry lips pressed into a straight line as fear pushed its way through every nerve inside of my body.

"What?" Caleb came to my rescue? I cringed when I thought about what Caleb had to go through, hearing me puke up my remains and all.

I stared at Mum for a moment before leaning back, feeling dazed. I felt oblivious, confused and tired. "The doctors ran tests and found a drug called Haxcist inside of your bloodstream. It's a drug often used by certain people to make you forget things."

"What? Haxcist? Mum, I don't understand what you're saying," I whimpered, closing my eyes. I wanted to bring my hand up and shield my eyes from the bright ceilings lights but I worried the tubes inside my arm would be disturbed so I left my arm stiff on the bed beside me.

"Thankfully, there wasn't enough of that drug to make you forget anything. The doctors confirmed that with me yesterday. You don't know how worried I was, Stella."

"Mum. Why was there a drug in me?"

"Dad and I and everyone who knows are trying to figure that out. Stella, what did you do?"

I felt offended. "What do you mean? You think this is self-inflicted?" I wanted to cry. Never, would I harm myself. I didn't even know what that drug was.

"No. But we have some people who want to ask you some questions so we can help figure out what happened. They've been waiting for the time you wake up."

I swallowed, trying to process everything in my head. Nothing whatsoever came to mind. I knew-- I knew whatever had happened to me--that I didn't lose any of my memory. The only thing I didn't remember was sleeping in this bed for one week, which was reasonable since I had been unconscious.

The only drugs I had been exposed to but never taken so far in Kellington was Excelt. Or Eztein. I didn't have a clue about Haxcist. What was with all these names? I didn't know anything. The only thing on the brink of my mind was what Caleb told me.

"Mum, do you have cancer?"

Mum froze.

"What?"

"Do you have cancer, Mum?" I said again. My voice came out firmer than I had predicted it to be. Mum was silent.

"Stella, who has been telling you this?" Mum whispered, the top layer of her eyes glazing over with tears. They were glossy.

"When were you going to tell me, Mum?" I asked. The firmness in my tone was fading. The words coming out of my mouth were weakening and turning shaky.

"Stella. Stop. We can talk about this later. You've just gotten away with anmesia and woken up from a week-long coma."

Something broke inside of me. Mum really had cancer and it was serious. She didn't want to tell me, nor was she ever planning to.

"Okay."

Mum left the room in a haste and Dad came in. He looked down at me before kissing me on my forehead. "You're a strong girl, Stella."

I moved away from him. "I don't want to be left in the dark, Dad."

Dad pulled his bushy eyebrows together. He bent down to sit beside me. "I honestly don't know what to say, Stella. There is so much on my plate. Okay? I had to sit for nearly one week straight wondering if you were going to wake up and not remember us. Okay? I had to sit there and figure out who could've done this to you. I know you would never do this to yourself, no matter the circumstances because you are my strong little girl. To top it all off, your mum has been going for something called radiotherapy to help her live longer."

I was crying. "D-dad, Mum's going to die?"

Dad stroked my head, and leaned down to hug me. "It's too late to do anything else."

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The doctors wouldn't let me leave the hospital until they ran further tests to see if the harmful substance was completely clear from my bloodstream. As I was lying in the bed with no other company other than Mum and Dad who popped in and out, a lady who was dressed in a police uniform had come in with a notepad and some questions for me.

The headache I received after straining by brain to recall was agonizing until the point the lady gave up and had to leave.

The room was dead silent after that. How did I even end up here?

"Mum?" I called out. Mum came in with her eyes looking all red. "Mum, I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, coming over to the bed. She put her hand on my forehead and then closed her eyes. "Everything will be okay. Just a few months, Stella. Life goes on."

Tears spilled out of my eyes again. I didn't know why I was crying so much. Perhaps this was the side effects of the drug that was in my system. But I really didn't care about that. I was not straining my memory to recall what had happened. All I was thinking about was my mum.

"I can't lose you," I mumbled.

"You won't."

//

this chapter is a little short cause i have a little headache.
nevertheless, tell me what you think.

how do you think she got that drug in her bloodstream?

do you think she lost any memory?

ARE U OK?