“welcome back honey,” Dave said as his daughter opened her eyes.
“you had another faint.” He continued. He pressed the bedside bell on beside Elena. to signal a nurse for her.
Elena smiled. She was back.
Dave searched her eyes. Asking the silent question. And with the way he tweaked his eyes and drew in his brows, she could tell what was going on in his head.
He was searching. To see if he had gotten his daughter back. Not her, but his daughter who had disappeared after the accident. He was searching to see if she remembered.
Elena knew. Read his eyes. And shook her head in the negative. To show that she didn’t remember. She saw his eyes drop. His shoulders fall.
Oh well.
Elena looked away. she didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. The heartbreak.
Dave had gotten a call about his daughter and had rushed to her side. He had hoped by some miracle that she would remember. That this faint will somehow jolt her
Emma heard a knock on her door. It was just past 10.00 am and it was a Saturday. She had been having some back pains and hadn’t had a good night's sleep. So she was just about to fall asleep again when she heard the knock.
“We need to talk. ASAP.”Those were the words that Dave left on Elena’s voicemail. He had called her after speaking with Susan. She hadn’t taken the call. She was likely asleep. But Dave left a message.For the rest of the night, he could barely sleep. His thoughts wandered around. About what could be going on with Elena. He finally fell asleep at 4.00 am and by 7.00 am, he was up again. He checked his phone. She still hadn’t called back.He called her again. She didn’t pick up. Dave’s heart beat increased by 100%. He was in panic mode. He had to make sure she was alright. Had someone hurt her? Was she in danger because of what she knew? Dave threw on a shirt and left the house. He headed over to Elena’s immediately.He dialed the intercom and she picked up at the first ring.“Elena. it’s dad.”“Oh. Okay. Come right up.” Elena buzzed him in. She was already dressed for work and was almost heading out when he came. She quickly opened the
He was a free man.Him, Cameroon River. The man who had allegedly murdered his friend and partner. The news flooded every news station, blog, internet, newspaper, and every form of media.Cameroon River was free. He was been released and all criminal records were been expunged. The state offered him an apology and cleared up his record. A clean state.Cameroon couldn’t explain what he felt the day he got the news. That he was free. He was happy, ecstatic even but there was numbness.Why? Because he found out that the closest people to him, had not only had an affair, they had also conspired to have him go to prison for a crime he did not commit. And not only that, Fred, his partner was actually alive!The level of betrayal he felt was unexplainable. It covered the joy he felt.He had trusted Fred. Had even believed Fred was dead. But to hear this? Now.He couldn’t place how it was he felt exactly.But one feeling
Elena spent the night at Cameroon’s place after all the guests were gone. Cameroon had a cleaning service set up and they came in to clean after everyone had left. By midnight, it was just
“Hi, Jake. Look who is here.” Vanessa almost shoved Elena into the office. Jake stood up as they entered. A big smile on his face like everything was fine and good in the world. Like there wasn’t any war going on in some part of the world. Or going through Elena’s head also.Because there was a war in her head. She was warring with herself.“Hi, Elena,” Jake said. And then he hugged her and planted a kiss on her forehead.“Hi, Jake. What a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you today.”“well, I’m sorry if I caught you unawares. I just needed to see you.”“okay. What’s up?” Elena set her bag down and sat opposite him. And Vanessa left them. She closed the door behind her as she left.“I got you something. Your favorites” he handed her a bouquet. Up until he passed them to her, she hadn’t taken note of them. She was still too preoccupied with the battle in her mind.“oh, thanks.” She took them from him.“Jake, why are you really here? In my office?” she asked
“stop walking!” it was a command. Not a suggestion. A bold order but she paid no attention to it. She kept walking.Then he grabbed her arm. Gently.“let go of me” she screamed. And he did. She kept walking till they got to her car. She was parked at the underground parking lot. No one was there. Then she stopped.“you can’t show up like that. Like this.” She pointed her arms at him with vigor.“what do you mean I can’t show up like this? Do you mean I can't show up at your office? Without an appointment?”That wasn’t what she meant. She didn’t even know what she meant. Elena wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed or angry. “I work here. I have people working for me. The last thing I need, is to have my employees gossip about a boyfriend battle going on in my office!” Elena spoke in a very high-pitched voice.She was angry.She was upset.She was embarrassed.She was confused.She was scared.She was a lot of things. And s
“Thanks for coming with me,” Elena said to Vanessa. They were going to see Elena’s doctor. Vanessa had insisted. To check out what was going on with Elena.They had agreed not to mention it to her parents. She didn’t want to get their hopes up.“you are welcome, Elena. I hope we get some good news.” Vanessa repliedThe good news to Elena was a relative term. What mattered as good news to her at that time was certainly going to be different from what Vanessa considered as good news.The doctor came in to attend to her and she did some scans and some evaluation. Then the doctor brought the two friends into her office.“from the look of things, you are okay. Everything is the same as the last time you came in. You said you can remember?” she asked Elena.“well, I see flashes. When I take a look at a photo or video from before the accident. But I don’t remember anything else.“that
After Elena handed Susan the flowers, Susan had the biggest smile ever. Roses. They were her favorite and it warmed her heart. She hurried to the kitchen to place them in an appropriate jar with the biggest smile ever. Elena had always gotten her flowers, even before the accident. And here she was, doing the same thing again. So Susan was happy. After she left to the kitchen, Dave turned to his daughter,“still having those visions?” he asked, referring to what she told him about dreaming of Cameroon.“yes, Dad.” She confirmed.“Okay.” She saw his shoulders sink. He wanted her to be okay. Then Elena remembered the gift and what Angie had told her. Even though she didn’t want to raise their hopes, she wanted to give her parents something in return. So she said to her dad,“can I see a picture of us together? From before the accident?”“sure love.” Dave pulled out his phone and flashed a picture to her. She was wearing a green dress and he was