We all watch as Mom walks in. The room is now silent at her arrival. I would have preferred to get discharged without seeing her at all. All we ever do when we are in the same room is fight.
"What were you thinking going to a club?" Mom asks and places her handbag on the couch and rests her hands on her waist.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, with a bored tone.
"What am I doing here?" she laughs.
"I'm cleaning after your mess, as always." Mom spits and before I can respond, Dad beat me to it, surprising us all.
"Will you shut up for once in your life? Your daughter almost got raped and all you could think about is what people are saying about you?" Dad shouts.
To say I am surprised is an understatement. Dad has never raised his voice against mom, let alone talk back at her. So, you can imagine the shock on our faces.
"Can you be a mother for once in your life; she could have died, for goodness' sake. She is our only daughter, the only one you have yet. You treat her like shit. I think you have forgotten how hard it was for you to conceive." Dad emphasized the last word. No one is moving, and Nora's grip on my hand tightens.
"You are going to push her away because of your image? She is our little girl; did you forget the first time you held her in your arms? You once loved her and I know in that stone heart of yours there's still that love. You just have to open your heart and let her in; I know the bond you once felt when you held her can be reformed. I know you didn't spend time with her when she was young, but there's still time, it's never too late." My heart aches at my father's words. I have waited for 20 years to hear him saying those words and now that he is saying them, I don't know how to react. Tears fall from my mom's eyes and I gasp. This is the first time I have ever seen mom cry. Tay holds my hand in his to offer me some comfort, and I'm grateful.
"I know I have wronged you in the past, but don't push her away because of my mistakes. She is your little girl. Remember how excited you were when you bought baby clothes for the first time?" dad asks and mom runs out of the room sobbing.
Dad sighs and walks towards me; "She will come around," Dad says and plants a kiss on my forehead. He grabs Mom's purse and walks out.
"What did Dad mean by, he wronged Mom?" I ask Nora.
"It's something that happened years ago, don't worry about it," Nora says and my curiosity grows. She plants a kiss on my forehead and, after promising to visit soon, she walks out.
"That went well," Tay comments, and climbs on the bed beside me.
"Yeah," I agree. I expected mom to explode, and I thought she would need security to escort her out. The door opens, revealing Andrew and Future.
Andrew is holding my tablet and Future is carrying a granola bar.
"Olivia, I'm so sorry for forcing you to go to the club," Future apologizes.
"Future, it's not your fault okay, you didn't know that this was going to happen to me. I should have been more careful with my drink." I say and Future hands me the granola bar with a bright smile on her face.
"Here is what you asked for." Andrew hands Tay my tablet with ear sets.
"I asked Andrew to bring you your tablet because you will spend a few days here," Tay informs.
"But I feel better," I whine. I hate hospitals.
"The doctor doesn't know which drug that Cole guy used on you, so they want to keep you close if it has any side effects," Tay says, and I give in.
"Oh, before I forget there is someone who has been bugging me for hours wanting to talk to you," Andrew says and pulls his phone out of his jean's pocket. He dials some numbers and hands me his phone.
I realise it's a video call once I take the phone and within seconds Nate appears on the screen.
"Hey, sister-in-law," Nate says with a bright smile on his face, showing me his pure white pearl teeth.
"Nate," I say.
"You look like you just got back from the dead," Nate says and Tay scolds him over the phone.
"So, how is everything there? Are you settling in well?" Tay asks, and we all talk to Nate for hours. He couldn't stop telling us about his new room and how cool the training equipment and the team are.
Andrew and Future leave right after we say goodbye to Nate and now, it's just Tay and I. The weather has turned into a 180-degree, it's raining heavily outside.
Tay and I cuddle up on the bed with my tablet between us, watching Cruel Intentions, and soon enough I drift into a deep sleep.
****
The next few days pass by as a blur. Tay visited me with home-cooked meals because the hospital food doesn't do the trick. I received flowers from Chad, telling me to get better soon. Tay still hasn't visited his mother or heard anything from his father. Nate is also doing well at his scholarship program. Future is showing and yesterday, she had her first ultrasound. She showed us the picture of her baby although there was no baby yet, it was just a dot.
I just got discharged a few minutes ago, and I am waiting in the car for Tay. He had some papers to sign and told me to wait in the car. Cole was denied bail, and that made me happy. Crime against women is high that they developed a new law.
Anyone who rapes or murders a woman will be denied bail and application to parole. And that sounded like music to my ears.
The sound of a car opening has my head-turning. Tay slips in and buckles up. He roars the car to life and pulls out of the hospital's driveway. He places his hand on my thigh as he drives.
We have gotten pretty close; he slept with me at the hospital in case I had a nightmare. He still hasn't told me he loves me in my face, only when I'm asleep.
It hurts, but I feel relieved at the same time. For once, I don't know how I would have reacted if he told me, he loves me face to face. The scenario that played in my wild imagination was fainting after he said those three words and woke up with amnesia.
"You okay?" Tay asks, breaking my train of thoughts.
"Yep," I reply and half-smile at him.
"You sure?" Tay asks, this time turning his head to take a glance at me.
"I'm fine. I'm just happy that I got discharged." It wasn't entirely the truth or lie. I am glad to be discharged, and I was missing the ultra modern bed. He removes his hand from my thigh and grabs my hand. He brings to his lips and plants a kiss while driving. I pull my lower lip between my teeth and watch him.
We drive home in comfortable silence with my hand still in Tay's grip. I didn't mind, in fact I love the affection.
After half an hour, Tay parks his car next to an unknown car. I unbuckle my seat belt and hop out of the car at the same time as Tay does. He grabs my hand as we walk to the front door with a bag in his other hand. I'm in leggings, a creamy sweater, and small soft boots, also my long hair is in a bun. Tay is wearing faded black jeans with a long white sleeve t-shirt and black superstar sports shoes.
He opens the door and waits for me to enter first, and I come to halt the minute my eyes meet a certain someone sitting on a couch with a glass of juice in her hand.
"You okay?" Tay asks, oblivious of my Mom sitting in our living room.
"Sweetheart?" my breath hitches in my throat as the words leave my mother's mouth. Tay snaps his eyes towards the new voice.
I have waited for so long for her to call me sweety or daughter and now that she is calling me, I don't know how to react.
"Mrs. Ferguson," Tay says and nods his head towards my mother.
"Please call me Grace," I gasp.
O-okay, I'm officially dreaming. There's no way in hell my mother would say that.
"Grace,' Tay nods in understanding.
'Can we talk Olivia?" My Mom asks and I nod as I have lost my voice due to shock.
"I will be in the kitchen if you need me," Tay says, pecking on my forehead and heading towards the kitchen.
"Come on." Mom gestures for me to come to sit next to her, and I oblige.
"I know, I have never been a good mother, hell I haven't been a mother to you at all," Mom begins and takes a deep breath.
She takes my hand in her and my heart beats so fast I think it's going to pop out of my chest.
"I came here to apologize. For neglecting you and for being such a horrible mother." I gulp down the lump that has formed in my throat. My hands are sweaty and I'm sure she can feel it, too.
"I'm sorry for trying to control your life, for telling you what to wear, to eat, and how to speak in front of people," Mom continues to list the things which she had tried to force me to do.
"I have scheduled an appointment with a psychologist," Mom informs me. Okay, I didn't expect that. I knew she had some issues, but I never thought she would want to get help.
"I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but I hope you do one day, and we can have a relationship." Mom says and stares at me. Tears are threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes.
"I... I—" I struggle to form a sentence, too overwhelmed to say anything.
"You don't have to say anything to me to make me feel better. But can I ask you for something?" My Mom asks and I nod.
"Can I get a hug at least?" She asks, and my heart pounds faster. I bet she can hear it.
Our first hug.
"Y-yes," I stutter. She stands up, and I do the same. For a moment none of us have any idea how to do the hug thing.
I surprise both of us by hugging her first, and she wraps her arms around my body. My head rests on her shoulder, and tears fall from my cheeks. We stay like this for what seemed like forever.
"Is it okay if I call?" She asks as we break into the hug, and I nod. She retrieves her handbag from the couch and walks towards the door.
Tay is by my side the minute mom walks out. "How are you feeling?" Tay asks.
"I don't know." I honestly do not know how I'm feeling. I never thought I would live to see this day.
"It's okay not to feel anything," Tay says and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"Come on; let's get you something to eat." With that, Tay led us to the kitchen, and we spent the rest of the day in the kitchen with Tay, teaching me how to cook.