Wolff

Not My Home

A couple days after Nala had woken up, Toto had convinced the hospital to be able to let her go back home with them. To Monaco. They had agreed, and Nala was finally being discharged from the hospital and would soon be boarding a plane with her parents back to her old home.

"Thanks again, Ollie. You're so amazing", Nala told him, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back, smiling down at her in the wheelchair.
"Always...Do you think you could watch the next race?", he asked hopefully.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I wish I could go, but I can't. Just know I'll be cheering from back in Monaco, ok?", she replied. Ollie nodded, an understanding expression on his face as he squeezed her hand one last time, then stepped back a step.
"Until we see eachother again", he said, bowing slightly, making Nala giggle, then they both waved as Nala was pushed away by her mother.

They entered a private car, Nala having to be carried in by her father, then her wheelchair was put in the boot. It was strange to be carried again as if she were a baby, especially by her father. They were always separated and didn't talk in public since Nala entered into the motorsport world, competing against her secret dad. It was too risky for them to be seen together.

On the way to the airport, the car was silent. Nala sat on the window side, staring out of it, with her mother in the middle and her father on the other side. The passenger seat was empty, no one wanted to sit up there next to the driver. The only time someone finally spoke was when Toto offered the driver some help getting their suitcases out, then Susie helped Nala transfer into her wheelchair. It was choas for a moment, Susie struggling to hold the dead weight of her daughter while her husband niggled at the driver about getting the bags. But soon, everything was settled again, Nala in her wheelchair and pushing herself along while Toto and Susie dragged their suitcases behind them.

Soon, they were finally onto their private jet, getting settled as they took off into the sky and headed for Monaco.
"Dad, why can't I come to Australia?", Nala asked mid-way through the flight. Toto looked surprised as he tried to think of a response.
"Because you can't. I don't want anything happening to you, and the flight is just too long. And I'd have to stay with you everywhere you go, and that also means ruining the thing you have about being 'Nala Cameron' and not 'Nala Wolff'. Everyone will know you are my daughter", he declared, and Nala sighed, knowing this would be true. She knew the truth would come out eventually, she just didn't want it to happen like this. And besides, he was right about him having to be with her all the time. She would want her own space, and he needed to work anyway. So there was no way she was getting to Australia.

Later, the plane landed in Monte-Carlo, and Toto and Susie took Nala home. It was strange going back to this place after such a long time away from it, Nala thought. In a way, she missed it. They drove in through the large metal gates leading into the property and down the driveway until they got to the front, parking the car right in front of the garage doors. Quickly, Toto came around to the back seat where Nala sat, getting her wheelchair and helping her out of the car. She settled herself in the seat while her parents got the suitcases out of the back, wheeling herself to where the stairs to the front door was. She watched them quietly, feeling guilty about not being able to help them. She always wanted to help, no matter who it was.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms clasp around her shoulders, frightening her for a moment before she looked back and saw one of her older brothers, Tobias.
"I was so worried, Nals. Please, don't ever scare me like that again!", he said, hugging her. Tobias was the most loving of her five older brothers. Sweet, kind, caring. Never wanted to let anyone down or see them get hurt. Nala knew he would have been the brother who was most saddened by her accident.
"Promise, Tobi", she replied back, patting his hand that rested on her shoulder. Then, she saw her other brothers stroll out of the house. Luka, Maximilian, Noa, and Matthias. They all gave her a short hug, then stood in a huddle in front of her.

"What was it like?", asked Matthias, or Matt as he got called. He was pretty inquisitive most of the time, and Nala loved that about him. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't remember much about it. The light turned green and I was going around the corner, next thing I'm waking up paralysed in the hospital", Nala recapped her experience and earned a disappointed look from most of her brothers. But that's all she remembered, just leaving out the part where Ollie was holding her hand when she woke up, and most of the time after that. Her brothers wouldn't have like that, they're pretty protective.

A couple minutes later, Nala found herself being carried up the front stairs by two of her brothers, Luka and Maximillian, the two stronger ones as they liked to call themselves. Once up the stairs, she was able to wheel herself to her old childhood bedroom, which, lucky for her, was on the first floor of the house. It was still the same as when she had left. That was almost two years ago, when she was around 15. That's when she moved to her home back in Rome with her grandmother. But then she passed away, and it was just her. And that's the way it's been since.

The room was smaller, but Nala liked it that way. The walls had white wood panelling throughout the entire room, the wall above her bed was painted a pretty purple colour, and the rest were white. The old, white-painted steel poster bed still stood in the middle of the room, a cream rug underneath it separating it from the wooden floors. The bookcase was still placed underneath the window, with all the books where she had left them. A vase of freshly picked lavender sat on top of the bookcase, just like she had remembered. Her mother must pick fresh ones every week and put them in here. It made the room feel a little bit more homey.

A couple of days passed, and Nala found it increasingly difficult to do things she normally would be able to do. But then she would realise that this was her normal now. There was nothing she could do about it. Her father left for the Australian Grand Prix, Nala begging him to let her go, but it wasn't happening. She was stuck in the house with nowhere to go.

Nala sat in her room most of the time, re-reading her old books and texting Ollie every now and then. She kind of missed him. But her mother would come in constantly, hanging around her for hours until she would have to do something like the laundry or cook. It made Nala flustered. Susie said it was because she didn't want to take her eyes off her daughter in case something happened or she needed her. But Nala just found it annoying.

"Mum, I want to go home", Nala said when Susie came into her room for one of her aimless visits.
"But this is your home, sweetie", she replied, getting some blankets and covering them over Nala. She fussed and tried to get away but she couldn't under her mothers hold.
"Mum. Mum, get off me! I don't want blankets, please!", Nala cried, throwing the blankets off her. Susie stood back, a shocked look on her face.
"What wrong? Why are you being like this? Are you feeling sick?", Susie immediately jumped to conclusions, stepping forward again and putting a hand to Nalas forehead. She quickly swiped her hand away, disbelieving.
"Mum, stop coddling me! I'm not a baby! I just want to go home, and that's not here", Nala cried, tears welling in her eyes and a lump forming in her throat. "This is not my home anymore. You need to understand that", she added quickly. Nala saw tears form in Susie's eyes and she regretted her actions straight away. She put her hand out slightly, her lip quivering, but Susie shook her head and walked out of her room.

At that moment, Nala had never felt so alone. Her career was gone, and simple things were such a big challenge. And then she had just shouted at her mother because emotions were running high. Nala felt so guilty. And it was all her fault.