Forgotten Memories

Absence Tends To Cause Problems

"I'll do it," Ally said one morning,"I'll talk to Lydia. She's not gonna stop bothering us so let's just rip off the bandaid."

"Well, this is one heck of a way to start the morning," Stiles said, more than a little tired. The night before, he had to entertain Hope's family until she had calmed Ally down enough and told them it was time for them to go.

When Stiles called Lydia didn't even make a full ring for a second. He set up the meeting place, and of course Lydia decided to show up thirty minutes early.

"Remember," Stiles told Ally,"The second you say the word, we're all gone."

Ally held both of her parents' hands tightly, the last time she had done something like that she had been nine years old but she needed the support of both of them.

They walked into a small diner, the kind of place Lydia normally wouldn't be caught dead in.

There were a few people lingering in the place, the breakfast rush over.

Lydia stood when they opened the door, her eyes immediately went to Ally. Seeing their similar features, the shape of their faces, the color of their hair, but where at the age of twelve Lydia had flair for the latest stylish trends, Ally had gotten all her clothing style from Hope with a small touch from Stiles.

Ally slowly walked forward, wearing her red v-neck; ripped jeans; high heeled boots, something not many twelve year olds preferred to wear; and the finishing touch, a blue plaid shirt over the v-neck. Red and blue, Ally's favorite colors.

"Hi," Lydia told her biological daughter, offering a small smile but she didn't return any kind of positive emotion in response.

They both sat down in a booth while Hope and Stiles sat on the stools in front of the counter.

"I, uh, already ordered you something," Lydia said when the waitress came out, placing a stack of pancakes on the table in front of her, sliced strawberries scattered across them and covered with syrup.

Ally looked down at the plate, then back up to Lydia, and the first words she had ever said to her was,"I'm allergic to strawberries." With that, she pushed the plate to the side.

"O-Oh," Lydia stuttered,"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Ally asked casually.

Hope's brows raised, mouthing to Stiles,'Wow.'

Stiles nodded in agreement, able to hear the conversation as well.

"Look, Ally--"

"You can just call me Allison," She interrupted, only people she liked got to call her by that name.

"Allison," Lydia amended,"I...know it was a mistake to give you up. There hasn't been a single day in the past twelve years that I wished I could have held you just once. I'm so, so, sorry, but I want to make up for that now. There is no greater pain than regret."

Ally scoffed,"Try abandonment. Do you have any idea what you really did? Dad made it seem like you were some secret agent who couldn't be in our lives because a bunch of killer assassins would come and find us if you did. And when he finally did tell me...I've never been so angry in my life."

"Allison," Lydia whispered,"I was eighteen and I had a baby. I didn't know what else to do."

"You could have kept me," Ally suggested,"You could have held me. You could have given me a name. I used to have this recurring nightmare when I was six. I couldn't see anything but I could hear. I remember your voice saying, take it away. I can't be a Mother. Does that sound familiar?"