the amnesiac

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

We drive home together in silence as I fiddle with the loose strands on Kate's denim shorts. We pull up in front of my house and Jack takes the keys out of the ignition. I unlock my seatbelt and open the passenger door, stepping out of the car. I start to walk towards the door and hear Jack close his door and lock the car. He jogs towards me and stops when we are shoulder-to-shoulder. He nods to a red Porsche in the driveway.

"Who's car is that?" he asks.

I shrug. "Not sure."

I twist the doorknob and, thankfully, it is unlocked. I open the door and step in. Jack follows close behind.

I hear my mom's laugh coming from the kitchen. I look up at Jack quizzically and he raises his eyebrows. I sigh. "Mom? I'm home."

The giggling stops and my mother comes out from the kitchen. "Hannah," she says worriedly. "I didn't think you'd be back until tomorrow."

I shrug. "Well, I'm here now." I motion towards the front door. "Who's car is that?" I ask.

She smiles nervously as a tall man walks out from the kitchen.

My heart drops when I see his face.

"Mr. Smith?!" I screech. I turn to my mother. "Why is he here?"

"Hannah," my mom says, stunned at my outburst. "There's no need to be rude."

I scoff and stare at her, waiting for her to answer my question. "Hannah, you might want to sit down." She turns to Jack and thanks him for driving me home. "You should go back home, Jack." She smiles sweetly and nervously at the same time. Jack nods. "Yeah, I should get back." He smiles slightly in my direction, with warning in his eyes. "I'll see you later, Hannah." He turns and my mother waits until he is out of the door to speak. "How about we sit in the couch and talk?"

She motions for me to go sit down, and I do. She and Mr. Smith follow closely behind, taking the seats on the couch across from me.

"We've been meaning to talk to you about this, but then you had the accident and there was already too much stress getting piled on top of you."

"Talk about what?"

My mother smiles at Mr. Smith, and he takes her hand in his. My jaw drops. "Rich and I have been dating for the last couple of months. It's been hard keeping it from you, but we've been able to do it."

My mouth opens to say something, but I can hardly speak. Rich takes a deep look into my mother's eyes and smiles. "I'm in love with your mother, Hannah. That's why I've asked her to marry me."

This time, I have jumped off the couch and screamed. "What?!" I look at my mother. "Is this a joke?"

"Hannah, sit down," my mother tries to calm me down.

"No! I can't believe you've been keeping this from me! What kind of mother are you?" I see my mother flinch at my hurtful words, and she bites her lip, trying to hold back her tears. Mr. Smith stands and puts his hand in my shoulder. "Hannah, let's just sit back down and talk about this." I slap his hand away. "Don't even speak to me! Don't even say my fucking name!" I scrunch up my nose and turn around, running out the front door.

They don't beg for me to come back.