I Need Your Love (Austin Carlile Fan Fiction)

Ch. 20

*Dahlia's POV*

*week later*

"Mom, don't rip the paper off." I said, taking the crayon out of her hands.

She pouted and picked up another crayon, coloring her picture. She laid on her stomach, coloring a picture of a flower. I watched her. Everything about her was child like. What happened?

"Mama." She said.

I frowned. Did she just call me mama? She looked up at me, looking annoyed. "I'm thirsty."

"I'm not your mama. I'm your daughter." I said, getting up and going to the kitchen.

I heard the front door open. "Hello?" Benny said.

"In here."

He came in the kitchen. "I talked to that therapist earlier."

I poured Mom her juice and turned to face Benny. "Yeah?"

He set a plastic bag down on the table. "Yeah. She says that Mom shows all the classic signs of multiple personality disorder."

I leaned against the counter. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

He nodded. "She said that the trauma of almost losing another child and losing her grand son probably triggered this personality." He motioned to the living room.

I frowned. "Yeah, but that was 5 years ago. This personality hasn't really showed itself that bad until about 4 months ago."

He shrugged. "Maybe it was just a gradual thing." He looked into the living room. "When was the last time she used?"

"Used what?" I said, walking to the living room."

He followed me. "Heroin."

"3 and a half months ago." I said, giving Mom her juice.

Benny said down. "I don't know. All I know is that you're miserable. You're mothering an almost 50 year old woman." He looked at Mom. "And she's trapped inside her own brain."

I looked at Mom. She sat up, her legs crossed, drinking juice. "Ya know, the last she was herself, was 4 months ago."

Benny patted my back. "I know."

I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder. "I miss her."

"I miss her too." He said. "I think we have to discuss something."

I looked at him. "What?"

He looked at me. "I think we need to think about putting her in a home."

I frowned. "Like a looney bin?" I shook my head. "No Ben. No fucking way. She's not crazy."

Benny shrugged. "She's not sane, Dahl. She's a 49 year old child. That's not normal. And you need to live your life. Not stay at home forever taking care of her."

I moved away from him. "No. I can take care of her. That's my job. She's our mother, Benny."

"I know. And that's why we should send her somewhere she can get proper health care." He said.

I looked at Mom. She sensed we were fighting. She hated fighting. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she hid her face.

Benny shook his head. "Look at her Dahl. You think she's happy in this house? With Cal screaming all the time?" He looked down and then back up at me. "Dahlia. She doesn't even know who we are."

I wiped my tears away and shook my head. "She's in there, Ben. Somewhere, deep down, Mom is in there and I'm gonna find her."

He stood up. "How?" He grabbed the three bottles of pills off the tv stand. "By shoving pills down her throat until she's herself for an hour? This isn't healthy." He was crying.

Mom picked her head up. "Mama? Why is that man yelling?"

Benny threw the pills at the wall. I slid off the couch and wrapped my arms around Mom. "That's your son, Benny. Remember?" I looked at her. "And I'm your daughter, Dahlia."

She shook her head. "I don't have any sons or daughters."

Benny leaned against the wall. "She thinks your her mother, Dahlia. She doesn't even know the fuck I am."

I looked at Mom. She looked at me. Her eyes were sad and clouded over with confusion. Her hands held on to my arm so tight I knew there was gonna be a mark.

"She used to be so strong." I said, looking at Benny. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "I wish I knew. I wish I could fix her."

I looked at her. "Maybe it is for the best that we put her in a home."

Benny wiped his eyes and came over to her, kneeling down and wrapping his arms around us. "This is for the best, Mom."