Lost Nor Found

Chapter 3

"Mom?" Laelynn called as she opened the front door, entering her small but comfortable house. It wasn't everything you could dream of in any way, but it was perfect for her. Anything was, as long as her mom was comfortable. As sappy as that sounded.

"I'm home!"

No response.

That's weird, Laelynn thought. Usually, her mom would respond to her, no matter how she was feeling. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Today must be even worse than yesterday. She slid her backpack off her shoulder and onto the floor with a soft thump.

"Mom, where are you?" she tried again, trying not to panic. Just look around, she told herself. She can't be far.

But that was the thing. She definitely wouldn't be somewhere other than home. Where could she go? If she wanted to go to the store, she would have to use the car, and the car was still parked outside. So she had to be inside.

Laelynn crept into the living room, dining room, kitchen. Nothing. She headed upstairs to check in her mom's room when she heard a soft sniffle. Then a muffled sob. Laelynn's heart lurched in fear as she ran as quietly as possible. The crying was coming from... her room.

Opening the door, the sight shattered her heart into millions of unfixable pieces.

Her mom was slumped helplessly on the ground, leaning against Laelynn's bed, holding a picture frame that Laelynn kept on her shelf.

It was before her father had left. Before he started drinking. Before it all crumbled to dust.

Laelynn didn't even have to look at the picture to know exactly what it looked like. Laelynn's father had one arm wrapped around Laelynn's mom, and the other around a beaming twelve-year-old Laelynn. His aluminum-gray eyes reflected Laelynn's, his sandy blond hair standing out against the girls' matching soft brown hair, like the color of browned leaves after the first wisps of autumn rained from the sky. They were all smiling - even her mom. Her father always helped her through an episode, always convinced her to take her medicine so she could feel better. He was such a good man.

But Laelynn knew better than anyone that good things never last.

With her own tears burning and threatening to fall, she walked cautiously towards her mom.

"Mom?" Laelynn's voice was barely a whisper, but she knew her mom heard.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Her mom whispered, her voice broken. It crushed Laelynn.

She crouched down, wrapping her arms around her mom. Her mom sobbed harder.

"You don't deserve a mother like me. I mean, look at me. Here I am crying like a child and you're comforting me when I should be the one helping you." Her mom choked on her sobs, coughing.

"Hey, mom. Stop. Look at me." Laelynn waited patiently until her mom's light blue eyes met her own. "You are an amazing mom, and an amazing person and I -"

"How am I an amazing person?" Her mom interrupted. "I'm not deaf. I've heard what people say about me. What your father said about me." Her voice cracked, and Laelynn couldn't hold back the two traitorous tears tearing down her cheek.

"I'm... hopeless."

That felt like a slap in the face. No, you're not.

She was going to make her mom believe that.

"No, you're not. Who cares what others think? You're Alesta Esmeray. You're fighting Bipolar Disorder. You have been fighting it since you were my age. You still are. Look, people are blinded by wanting to look good, look powerful, be famous and become stars. They can't see a true warrior even if they're right in front of their eyes. But I know you." She wiped away the few tears that were falling down her mom's cheeks. "You are a true warrior. You keep fighting. For yourself. For me. And that's more than enough for me. I promise."