the amnesiac

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I wake up in Jack's arms and smile up at him. He puts his hand behind my neck and draws circles on my cheek with his thumb. "Good morning," he says. "Any plans for today?" I ask. He pouts. "Ready to go back already?" I smile and close my eyes again, scooting closer into his chest. "Well, I guess we can stay a little while more."

"Good idea," he says as he kisses my head.

Later that day...

"We should get going now. Your mom might want to talk to you."

I frown but stand up and follow Jack back down the hill.

We get in the car and drive back to my house in silence.

"Want me to come with you?" Jack asks as we sit in the car, staring at my front door.

I shake my head. "I think my mom would want to talk to me alone." He nods in agreement, and I sigh as I reach to open the car door. "Hey," Jack's hand grabs my arm and pulls me back towards him. His lips connect to mine, and my heart flutters. I close my eyes as he wraps his arms around my waist. I reach for his hair, but my arm accidentally honks the car horn. I jump and Jack bites his lip to hold back his laughter. I roll my eyes at him and playfully punch his chest, turning around and reaching for the door handle again. This time, he doesn't stop me. I step out of the car and smile at him before I close the door. "Good luck," he tells me. I nod. "Thanks."

As I walk towards the front door, I could feel his eyes watching me, making sure I don't panic. My hand reaches the door knob, and I hear him start the car. This time, I know he's going to leave me here. He knows I'll stay.

I know that I'm not going to run away this time.

I open the door and step into my house. "Mom?" I call as I close the door behind me. I hear a shuffling, then see her standing in front of me. "Hannah," she whispers, then embraces me in a warm hug. "I'm sorry, honey. Really, I am." I nod. "It's okay, Mom."

She pulls back and we walk towards the couch together. I wait for her to speak first. "Rich and I are no longer engaged."

My mouth drops. There was a long list of things that I thought she might say to me, but I did not expect her to tell me that. "What?" I screech.

She sighs. "I should've told you about us dating, but I never did. And then I told you that we were getting married for Christ's sakes!! That's a lot to take in." She smiles sadly at me. "And I know that you don't want him to be your father, or stepfather, or anything. I understand." I shake my head, confused by what she's telling me. "So you're not getting married anymore?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "No, sweetie." I sigh and try to focus. "But...but don't you love him?" I ignore the shocked look on my mother's face. "Isn't that why you were going to marry him?"

She looks down at her knees. "Of course I love him, honey. But I don't love him any more than I love you." She stands up and walks towards me. She sits down next to me and puts her arms around my shoulders. "Your needs will always be put before mine. As a parent, I make sacrifices for you. Sometimes, it's hard. But trust me, none of them make me love you any less than I already do." I smile and throw my arms around her. "Thank you, Mom."

She smiles and hugs me back. "I love you, Hannah."

"I love you, too."

We are interrupted by my phone ringing, and we pull apart so that I can read the text.

It's Jack.

Everything okay?

I smile at the words and type a response.

Perfect.

It's at that moment when I realize that I've been worrying about everything for so long that I've gotten caught up in my mistakes. This whole time, I thought that getting amnesia was tragic, that Aaron was my enemy, that my mother didn't think about my feelings. I thought that my life was ending.

But now I know- my life is just beginning.