Lost Nor Found

Chapter 5

"Well then," Laelynn said, glancing around the small house. There wasn't a single thing out of place. Everything was clean, to perfection. She stalked to the kitchen in awe, and...

Was greeted with the most amazing smell ever.

"Did you cook something?" She asked her mom. Alesta nodded eagerly, smiling as she dragged Laelynn into the kitchen.

"Woah, okay, okay, I'm going..." her voice trailed off when she saw the amazing sight before her.

Her mom had made delicious looking lasagna, which was Laelynn's personal favorite, along with a batch of chocolate cupcakes. The last time she had made this exact meal was...

Before her dad had left. Exactly a week before. He had been good that day - actually sober. He was able to control his anger and she surprised him with a delicious meal.

"This is amazing, mom. But you really didn't have to." Laelynn said, smiling through the tears welling in her eyes. But she wouldn't cry. Not in front of Mom.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you! Please tell me you're surprised. I know you like surprises. Remember, when you were little, I would try to surprise you with different gifts, and once - a surprise handmade birthday cake! You loved chocolate cake so much... Well, you loved chocolate in general. So today, I made chocolate cupcakes! With sprinkles. See? Colorful! And-"

"Woah, mom, slow down." Laelynn smiled, trying her best to disguise her worry. She walked over to her mom and hugged her. Her mom grinned, squeezing Laelynn back lovingly.

"I knew you would like it! You're the best daughter ever, 'Lae."

Laelynn laughed. "And you're the best mom ever."

"Of course I am!" Her mom exclaimed, chuckling into Laelynn's shoulder. "I did just make your favorite food, did I not?" Laelynn pulled away to match her mom's ecstatic grin.

"You sure did. But you must be really tired after cooking so much. I'll bring you some food - go relax on the couch, okay?"

A rush of hot air escaped her mom's lips in an exasperated huff. "Fine." She slumped over to the couch and plopped down, turning on the small TV they had.

Laelynn's grin faded as her mom turned away, knitting her brows as she mentally took note of the symptoms her mother was showing. The article she reviewed earlier that day popped into her mind as she tried to understand what kind of a mood episode her mom was having, comparing what text she remembered to her quick analysis. She was clearly in an elevated state; she was either having a manic episode or a hypomanic episode.

"A hypomanic episode is less severe than a manic one," Laelynn murmured to herself, remembering what she learned.

Her mom had been a bit worse than this a few times before. Laelynn remembered different episodes her mom had and, now that she thought about it, it was possible that a few of them were manic. Like those times when she would come home to find her mom boast on and on, complimenting herself to the point of idiocy; Or when her mom would randomly drive out to the mall by herself and spend money - that they didn't have. And now that her mom couldn't work at her office, Laelynn had stepped in as the breadwinner - working as many hours as she could at the bookstore, so long as it didn't interfere with her schoolwork. She was surprised she managed to hold up this long - caring for her mother, working, school... the bullying. She physically shook the thought away, refusing to open a window for the monster.

Getting her thoughts back on track, Laelynn assumed her mom was having a hypomanic episode. But she couldn't be sure - she clearly remembered this type of episode lasted at least 4 consecutive days.