Childish

81

Mom made my favorite for dinner. She made enough to feed a whole herd of people. I ate it as if I was a whole herd of people. She said Daddy could have come for dinner but I knew she was only saying that to be nice.

It probably took a lot for her to be nice regarding him considering he was the man who kidnapped me and took me away from her.

Mom and Dad didn't seem resentful. They seemed at peace. Like they had moved on with their lives after losing me and were focusing on what their future would look like. Maybe they pretended I was off at college or had moved into my own place. Or maybe they just wallowed in their sadness day in and day out.

I felt really bad for them. Losing a child like they did was horrible. No one should have gone through that. I knew there were better ways Daddy could have handled things. I wished he would have done one of them.

But we were all moving past it. Letting bygones be bygones.

Mom and Dad both wanted to know what I was up to since they last saw me. They said they got updates but they wanted to hear it from me. It meant more coming from me.

So we talked about everything and anything. I told them about school and Ms. Diane. I told them that I had a brother and how annoying Cooper was. Dad seemed to enjoy that.

And then I accidentally let it slide that I got shot and ended up in a coma. Apparently, Daddy never told them and it was the first time they were hearing about it. Rightfully so, they were mad and worried and hurt that they had to find out from me. I understood but at least I was alive to tell them.

Mom took it harder than Dad did. She broke down into tears and cried as she held me tightly against her chest.

I glanced at Dad for help, pleading with my eyes for him to get Mom off of me so I could breathe more easily. But he just shook his head at me. Clearly, Mom needed the minute to process everything she had heard and all the emotions that were passing through her.

"I can't believe you went through that and we didn't know. Why didn't Alex tell us? You're our daughter. We should have known right away." Dad put a hand on Mom's shoulder and gently squeezed it to get her attention.

"Honey, she's here now. That's what matters."

Mom put her hands on either side of my face and looked at me through tear-filled eyes. "I can't believe you're here. I can't believe it's really you. My baby girl."

I put my hands over hers. "I know, Mom. It's been so long and I've missed you so much."

"You're really okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Alex found a way to get me back to my original age so I'm... me again."

"It didn't hurt you to do that? I've heard where it's possible but you were so little."

I shook my head. "I don't really remember it."

"There's been so much going on in the news and I hate the thought that you've been caught up in it. All we've ever wanted was for you to be happy and healthy. I hated thinking you weren't."

A wave of sadness washed over me. Mom and Dad had every right to hate Alex. He had done a lot of things that were worth hating him over. But I wanted to forget about it and move on. He had changed his behaviors and was a better person and I wanted to focus on that. I really hoped Mom and Dad could do the same.

"There were times I wasn't happy but you know me. That was usually when I didn't get what I wanted or wasn't getting enough attention. It was hard adjusting to having a brother when I'm used to being an only child."