Take On Me

by Stacy Claflin

  Nick clenched his fists. “Why did Corrine ever have to bring that man into our lives?”

  Alex frowned. “I’m sure she didn’t expect things to play out as they did. I highly doubt she wanted to end up in prison for life.”

  “No, she didn’t. I remember how full of dreams she was when we were young. Wanted both a family and a career, and she was sure she could pull it all off. She had such a light in her eyes when telling me her plans.”

  Silence rested between them.

  “Maybe you should look at the results.”

  Nick gave him a double-take. “Now? Here?”

  “Why not? Just get it over with—it’ll be like ripping off a Band-Aid. And besides, we still have a lot of driving ahead of us. It’ll give you time to process everything before you get home tonight.”

  “You might have a point.”

  “Might?” Alex gave him a mock-offended expression. “Of course I do. I assume you have it with you?”

  Nick nodded.

  “Do it. Rip that sucker off.”

  Color drained from Nick’s face.

  Alex felt bad for his friend, but knew it would be best for him to stop putting it off. “I’m here. You can yell at me if it’s bad news.”

  He shook his head. “You really think I should look at it now?”

  “It’s better than putting it off day after day, week after week.”

  Nick reached into his coat’s inner pocket.

  Alex’s heart raced. He could only imagine how Nick felt.

  He pulled out the envelope and stared at it. Glanced up at Alex, then back at the envelope. “Probably should do this.”

  “It’ll be okay, no matter what the results tell you.”

  Beads of sweat formed along Nick’s hairline. The stress in his eyes was almost enough for Alex to tell him to forget about it. But his friend needed to do this, to stop putting it off. Alex and Zoey had survived the news about Zander’s paternity. Nick would also live—no matter what Parker’s paternity was.

  Nick pulled out a pocketknife. For a moment, Alex thought he was going to cut the tension in the air with it. Instead, he sliced the envelope’s seal. Then he paused before pulling out the piece of paper.

  Alex realized he was holding his breath.

  “Here’s your food, officers.” The waitress set the food in front of them. “Anything else I can get you?”

  Alex shook his head, still focused on Nick.

  “Enjoy your meal.” She left for another table.

  “Well?” Alex asked.

  Nick put the paper back into the envelope. “We’d better eat. I’ll look at that later.”

  Alex’s heart sank. “Really?”

  “Yeah. We need to eat and get to the hospital.”

  “You have to look at it eventually, you know.”

  “Oh, I know. Believe me, I know.”

  Unfamiliar

  Ayla’s heart thundered in her chest. The adults were all talking outside of her room like she didn't know what was going on. Obviously, they were talking about her. Who else would they be discussing? Somebody other than the girl who’d stumbled out of the woods, blindfolded, bloody, and scared half to death?

  A girl who couldn’t remember anything. Just one uncle. Her only memories were of her Uncle Alex playing with her when she was little. He’d held her high in the air while making airplane noises, and she’d squealed with excitement. Uncle Alex had pushed her higher on the swings than her parents ever let her go, and she’d loved every moment of it. He’d bought her ice cream before lunch and told her how to deal with a preschool bully.

  But that was all she could remember. Not how high her parents would push her on the swing. Not who the bully had been. Not even what her parents looked like. Or even what happened to her before she stumbled out of the woods.

  For some reason, it was all a blank. Everything except for Uncle Alex.

  She sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Would her memories ever return? The nurses said yes, but what did they know? They probably just wanted to keep her looking at the bright side.

  And how did Ayla know this? That too was a mystery. Everything was a mystery. Even the cuts and bruises all over her body.

  She strained to hear what the adults were saying. To listen for Uncle Alex’s voice. Would she even remember it? She did recognize his picture when the one policeman showed it to her.

  None of the voices outside her room brought any familiarity. What she wouldn’t give for something she knew. Just one thing she could remember.

  At least her uncle had agreed to travel across the state to see her and take her home with him and his family. It sounded like that would be better than going to foster care, but would Alex’s family be any less of a stranger to her than actual strangers? Or might she remember them?

  She rubbed the skin around her eyes. It was still chafed and sore from the blindfold. How long had it been on her? They’d had to cut her hair to get it off.

  One of the doctors walked into her room. He smiled widely. “Hi, Ayla. I’m Dr. Meyers. Do you remember me?”

  “Yes.” She struggled to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. “I remember everything since I left the woods. It’s the stuff before that I can’t remember.”

  He nodded. “Good. I think that’s a great sign that you’ll recover your memories.”

  The question was, did she want to? Whatever happened in the woods had been so horrifying she’d blacked it out. “Is my uncle here?”

  The doctor nodded. “We’re filling him in on everything right now.”

  Ayla frowned. “Then I can leave?”

  “As soon as we get you checked out. That could still be an hour or more. It always takes longer than patients would like. Boring paperwork has to be filled out, you know.”

  “I don’t know anything.”

  “What’s five times five?”

  “Twenty-five.”

  He patted her shoulder. “You know plenty. It’s just a matter of remembering what happened to you.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “Give it time. Your mind needs to process what happened.”

  She held his gaze. “What did happen?”

  “The police are looking into it. Searching the woods for clues.”

  Ayla sighed. “Then what?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe they’ll be able to tell you what they find, and then you’ll remember.”

  “I doubt that. You said my uncle is a policeman?”

  He nodded and wrote something on a pad of paper. “He is.”

  “I don’t remember that, either.”

  “You wouldn’t. He’s a new officer, and he says he didn’t even have aspirations to become one when he stayed with your family.”

  “Oh.” What else was there to say? She remembered him, but not her parents—the people who raised her.

  “Can I show you something?”

  Ayla shrugged. A sharp pain ran down one of her shoulders. She tried not to wince.

  “What do you think of this picture?” He showed her a phone screen with a picture of a pretty lady with light brown hair and dark eyes. She smiled and looked nice.

  Ayla studied the woman’s features then looked up at the doctor. “Should I know her?”

  “I’m not sure.” He slid his finger around the screen. “What about this?”

  She peered at the second picture. A man with black hair and piercing dark eyes. His smile was friendly but there was something about him that didn’t sit right with her.

  “Do you recognize him?”

  Ayla glanced up at him. “Should I?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “Did he do this to me?”

  The doctor paused for a beat. “Did he?”

  “I don’t know!” Tears blurred her vision and she blinked them away. “I can’t remember anything! Who are those people?”

  He frowned. “Your parents.”

  A sinking feeling enveloped h
er. “They’re my mom and dad?”

  “Yes. Do you want to see another picture? One of you together with them?”

  “Where are you getting all these pictures?”

  “Social media.”

  “Do I have social media? Can I look at those?”

  “One thing at a time, sweetie.” He showed her the phone’s screen. This time it was a picture of the two people—her parents—with her in between them. They were all smiling and looked happy to be together. Ayla sat between them and they both had an arm around her. They appeared to be in a living room. “Does this bring back any memories?”

  She shook her head, blinking back more tears.

  “This was your last birthday.”

  “Oh.” A lump formed in her throat. Why couldn’t she remember any of this? Not them, not her birthday, not the room they were in. Was it their living room, or someone else’s?

  A nurse came into the room. He smiled at Ayla. “Your uncle would like to see you. Are you ready, sweetheart?”

  Ayla chewed on her lower lip. Her heart thundered in her chest.

  Was she ready?

  Comfort

  Alex’s mind spun with everything the doctors had just told him about his young cousin. He needed to be careful with how he worded things, and he needed to encourage her to remember. Hopefully, he could pull it off without accidentally further traumatizing the poor girl.

  One of the doctors turned to Alex and smiled. “Ayla’s ready to see you. Remember, be positive but don’t try to ignore the reality of the situation. We need to encourage her to recall what she can before the memories are permanently sealed away.”

  “That can happen?”

  “It’s a possibility. The human brain is still a mystery in so many ways, but I think we can all agree it would be better for her to start remembering sooner rather than later.”

  Alex nodded then took a deep breath. The responsibility weighed heavily on him, especially with Robin and Brock nowhere to be found.

  He stepped inside the hospital room, and the first thing he noticed was how small Ayla looked in the bed. She was huddled under the covers, staring at him with wide eyes.

  “Uncle Alex?”

  He nodded and considered his words as he slowly made his way to the bed. “It’s good to see you again, Ayla. I’m sorry it has to be under these circumstances.”

  She looked him over, her eyes growing even wider. “Are you going to take me home?”

  “To my home.” He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands over her hair, like he’d done many times when she was little. Now it was brittle and oddly cut. A monster had glued a blindfold to it. He shuddered, trying not to think about what else had been done to the frail girl in front of him. “I hope that’s okay. My daughter Ariana is just a little older than you.”

  Ayla tilted her head. “Did she stay at our house when you did?”

  “No.” Alex considered his wording. “I was going through some things at the time. Plus, her grandparents adopted her, so she was living with them.”

  “Does she live with you now?”

  “We all live together.”

  “Oh.” Ayla picked at a nail.

  “I know it’s a little confusing, but it’s a house filled with love—and everyone is eager to make you feel right at home.”

  She held his gaze, but her expression didn’t reveal what she might be thinking.

  “I imagine this is really hard on you.”

  Ayla nodded, tears shining in her eyes.

  He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “The nurses are in the process of getting you checked out. I’ll give you some privacy so you can get dressed.”

  Her eyes widened. “Do I have clothes to change into? The ones I was wearing…” Her voice trailed off and pink colored her cheeks.

  One of the nurses had told Alex her clothes had been torn and soiled.

  Nick stepped inside with some clothes. “Hi, Ayla. I’m your uncle’s friend, Nick. These are some donated clothes you can wear for now. If you’d like, we can take you to your home and you can get your own things to bring with you. The local officers are done looking at your house.”

  “They were at my house?”

  “Trying to find your parents. We’re not sure where they are. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been there for maybe a week.”

  “Oh.”

  Nick set the clothes down on the end of the bed, and everyone cleared the room.

  A woman came up to Alex and Nick. “Is one of you the girl’s uncle?”

  “I am,” Alex said. “Well, her cousin. She called me uncle when she was little.”

  The lady nodded and held out her hand. “I’m Allison Wilson, one of the social workers assigned to her case. I have some questions and paperwork for you, then you can check her out.”

  “Okay.” He followed her over to some chairs, and they sat.

  Allison handed him a stack of papers. “You can fill these out while we chat.” She started off with some basic questions. Then she said, “I understand you’re going to take Ayla to her house.”

  “So we can pick up some of her things. One of the local officers is going to escort us there.”

  “Good, good. I’d give her time to look around. We really want something to jog her memories. Her home seems like the natural place for that to happen.”

  “Even though she didn’t recognize pictures of her parents?”

  “She’s lived in the same house her entire life, so it seems likely something could spark her memory there.”

  She’d known her parents her whole life, too, but seeing them didn’t do the trick. “Let’s hope.” Alex handed her the paperwork. “And nobody has a clue about where Robin and Brock are?”

  Allison shook her head. “There were no clues at the residence—no signs of a struggle or anything of that nature. From what I’ve gathered, they all went to work and school last Thursday, but nobody has seen them since they left their respective locations.”

  A chill ran down Alex’s back. It was truly a curse to be related to the Mercers. A ridiculous number of his relatives had been through tragedy of one form or another, usually related to an abduction. “Do any other relatives want to take temporary custody of her?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Your family is the closest in the area. The parents both have family all around the country, but none here in Spokane. And besides, you’re the only one she remembers.”

  “Why is that? I haven’t seen her in years.”

  Allison shrugged. “Who can explain the brain? Maybe she felt safe with you. Maybe your relationship is far enough removed from the trauma she just experienced that her mind let her recall times with you.”

  “That could be.” He rubbed his scruff. “Is there anything in particular I should say to her when we take her to her house?”

  “Point out things that might spark a memory. Ask her questions. Be curious and comforting. Don’t show disappointment if she can’t remember.”

  Alex nodded. “I can do that.”

  Nick poked his head around the corner. “Ayla’s ready for you.”

  Allison gave him a sympathetic smile. “Just remember, it’s not an exact science. Do your best, and don’t be hard on yourself. It could take a while.”

  “Thanks.” He shook her hand, then went with Nick back to the room.

  Ayla sat on the edge of the bed, now wearing a teal hoodie and black leggings. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. She appeared a lot less frail in street clothes and without her hair hanging like strings around her face.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”

  She looked at him, her eyes wide. “I can finally leave?”

  He glanced at a nurse typing frantically on a laptop. “Is she free to go?”

  “She sure is.” The nurse smiled at Ayla. “I wish you the best, sweetheart.”

  Ayla frowned. “Thanks.”

  Alex held his hand out toward her to help her up. She surprised him by jumping up and throwi
ng her arms around him. He held her close and rubbed her back. “No matter what happens, I promise to take care of you.”

  She squeezed him harder.

  House

  Ayla held her breath as she stared at the sprawling rambler with a huge front yard full of pretty flowers. She’d lived there her whole life? In the dim evening light, she couldn’t even tell the color of the paint. Was the house yellow or white? Or maybe a soft lilac?

  “Are you ready?” Uncle Alex asked, his voice kind.

  She wanted to cling to him, but she was too old for such things. That was something she’d have done when she was little.

  “Would you rather stay out here?” he asked.

  Ayla grabbed his hand, even if that did make her a baby. She stood as tall as she could. “Let’s go.”

  He squeezed her hand and gave her a warm smile. Standing with him made her feel like she could manage this. Uncle Alex was so tall and so strong, she could do anything with him at her side—even face memories that might or might not come.

  She didn’t know which thought scared her more.

  They walked up to the house together, and when they stopped at the door she turned to her uncle. “How are we going to get in? Do you have a key?”

  “There’s an officer waiting inside for us.”

  “Oh.” She really needed to stop saying that. Surely, she could think of something better to say than just oh all the time.

  Nick knocked, then just a few moments later the door opened. Another policeman appeared and introduced himself. “And you must be Ayla.”

  “Yeah.” She stepped even closer to Uncle Alex.

  “Come on in. If you don’t mind, we have a few questions for you before you pack to stay with your uncle.”

  Ayla glanced at Uncle Alex. He gave her a reassuring nod. She turned back to the new officer. “Okay.”

  “Maybe we could sit?” Nick gestured toward the living room. It had the same couch as the picture the doctor had shown her.