My New Home

Visit from an old friend

(I knew like- 20 of them)

Freddy came back with the others and they all looked serious. It was weird.

I was nervous. I didn't want them to know about me not having anywhere to go. It was none of their business, anyway.

"Superstar, are you... Homeless?" Freddy asked me.

I looked away, and that was enough to give him an answer.

I thought that he'd be disgusted, or that he'd make fun of me for it. But he didn't. Not even close.

Instead, he gently pulled me into a hug and asked why I didn't live with my parents.

"He doesn't know what happened to them. His brain has suppressed those memories very far down. But, there are ways to get him to remember," Nel said for me.

"Well, do you want to remember?" Chica asked me.

I nodded, not fully being sure. I did, but if it was so bad that my brain had suppressed the memories of it, then maybe I shouldn't remember.

"So how do we do it?" Monty asked.

"Maybe we trigger the memories somehow?" Roxanne asked.

Nel nodded and asked me if I remembered anything about them or who they were, or my own last name. I told her no, and thought for a second.

My head snapped up as I remembered something.

"Anything?" Nel asked.

"Yeah... Um... A police car, and a man with a long beard and a rude attitude throwing me into the car."

"Lemme look into it," Vanessa said, walking off.

"Well, I'm gonna go listen to music, call me if you need anything," Chica said, walking off.

A few minutes later, I went to go see what Chica was listening to.

As I neared the door, I heard part of the song. I repeated it in my head.

'Band-Aids don't fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show. You live like that, you live with ghosts.'

A memory sparked inside of me.

I moved the seat belt a bit. A woman handed a pencil and I held it up to my mouth.

I sang along with her, swaying around as my dad grumbled, pretending to not enjoying it.

We pulled into a driveway and I jumped out of the car a few moments later.

I ran to the front door of the house and knocked with a big smile on my face.

There was no answer, so I knocked again.

Still no answer.

This time I knocked a bit harder. The door moved open a little from the force.

I walked in as the two adults unlocked the door.

"Grandma...?" I heard myself ask. "Are you there?"

I walked through the living room to her bedroom and opened the door.

"Grandma?" I asked, opening the door.

I froze. I screamed. I cried.

The woman came running in to see what was the matter. When she saw the old woman sprawled across the bed with her nightgown pulled up and her eyes open wide forever, she rushed to cover my eyes.