The Nest had definitely earned its name. From the small houses that they passed by, to the well-maintained environment, and tranquility of the whole atmosphere was so inviting.
Angel looked at the baby in her arms, then at his older sister. She could not help but feel content. Even with her missing memory, there was an old age instinct to take charge and become a mother to these two kids.
"Angel, babe," called Pyr. She should be insulted by the way he kept calling her babe, so why wasn't she? "you good?"
She gave a sigh of defeat and looked that Pyr via the rearview mirror. "I'm good, as I can be right now. I want to tell you what happened before those thugs showed up," Angel said, "I guess, I was too preoccupied with what those aholes had done."
"They have no place in your mind, babe. You have your memory to recover; thinking about them will not help you in any way. Besides, I already sent someone to deal with them. They won't be bothering people for a long time."
"Like what, kill them?"
The casual way she spoke about death and killing, even she was starting to doubt her memory lost.
"Babe, don't," he suddenly said. "I can see the doubts in your eyes." She could only raise one of her eyebrows in response. Pyr stopped the car in front of a big open pavilion, and then faced her, "Babe, I can read you like an open book. No, apparently, you have that automatic defense mechanism that you donned like a second skin. Do not ask me why, I can read you. Instincts I guess," he added.
Angel knew that he was not telling her something. What that was, she has no idea. Or maybe she does. The deep masculine voice that shouted 'mate' and 'no' inside her head was kinda getting on her nerves.
But…
She could see a big welcome sign with Kayla and Cole's names written on a tarpaulin, where Pyr stopped the car. The place was decorated with festive colors that were suited for children of Kayla's age. Balloons of animal shapes and designs were tied at each post.
Pyr opened Kayla's side of the door and woke her up. The little girl blinked several times before she asked to be lifted in his arms.
A warm glow started to pulse inside her, as a memory surfaced from her empty mind.
Her daddy never left her side. On her mommy's death bed, it was the last thing he had promised before she took her last breath.
She could remember how much her daddy had cried when her mommy's body was buried. Her brothers were so sad that they made a camp near mommy's grave.
If not for her grandfather, they would never snap back to their senses.
"Stupid kids! Do you think your mother would appreciate that you made a campsite near her grave?!" he bellowed. His voice was so loud that she and her daddy could still hear him even if they were inside the car.
"Daddy?" she asked, "will mommy be mad at my brothers?"
Her daddy took her in his arms and kissed her forehead, "No, angel. Your mommy will not be mad…"
"Really, Daddy?"
"Yes, my angel, she won't," assured her daddy.
Happiness filled her heart, as she started shouting at her grandfather. "DADA!!! Daddy said mommy will not get mad! Come on! I wanna see the lake!"
The word lake made her brothers abandon their campsite and race to the two cars parked near the site. Dada laughed, and said to his daughter's grave, "See? If your little angel did not shout, those boys will still be here for God knows how long. We miss you, my child. We will try to visit now and then." She saw dada kiss his finger, then touched mommy's tombstone, then walked back to his car.
As they were driving away, she looked back. Her mommy was standing beside her grave and was waving at them. Mommy made a shushing action. She smiled and mimicked her.
"Angel, is there something wrong?" her daddy asked.
She only shook her head, after all, her mommy told her not to say anything…
"Babe?" The endearment was followed by a soft brush of a finger against her cheeks. "You remembered something?"
Angel took several deep breaths to compose herself, when she looked at them, Kayla's head was resting on Pyr's shoulder, while he gently cupped her face. She nodded.
The emotions running through her were pain, loss, and confusion. "My mom passed away," she began. "I don't know how old I was, but I remember my dad, my grandfather, and my brothers." She looked behind him. There were children, and from the looks of things, they were having fun. "Dad cried, she was his anchor, and my brothers camped at her gravesite, three days after we buried her. I don't know how long, but my grandfather was shouting at them. I asked my dad if mom will get mad at my brothers, and he said no. So I told my grandpa to hurry up so we can go to 'the lake'. The word 'lake' snapped my brothers from mourning and ran to the cars."
Cole squirmed her arms. She adjusted her hold, making sure he was snug and comfortable as he slumbered.
"Babe, what triggered it?" He asked.
"You," Angel could see the shock written all over his face. He was not expecting that answer, who would?
"Angel…I," Pyr started.
She shook her head, "It was a good memory -"
"You cried, babe, how can it be a good memory?" He asked ridiculously.
"It was good because I know that I had parents who loved me." Kayla was awake, she could see that he was not bothered by the way the little girl was tugging the neckline of his shirt. "You will be a good papa, Pyr," she laughed when the man's face turned red in embarrassment.
"Don't say things just yet, babe. It is too early to say I will be a good papa or not," he countered, but he gave a swift kiss on Kayla's forehead.
"He called me angel, Pyr." She softly said.
"Your dad?"
"Yes, he called me Angel."