It's been a week.

It's been a week and I still haven't spoken to Raymond. I tried my best to avoid him, spending lunch periods with Jaycee under the oak tree because I knew I'd see him if I went with the gang.

"What did you get for the Chemistry test?" Jaycee asked me over the phone. My parents had abandoned me here once again, Nicole and I being the only girls of our grade still stuck in boarding school.

Dad called me last week Saturday, after my outing with Raymond, and told me that Nathan and I were not coming home unless it was mandatory, prior to mother's request.

I begged and complained, at a point feigning sickness and coughing loudly into the phone call, but no matter what I did he remained adamant on their decision.

I was stuck in this hellhole.

"I think I got an eighty two," I told her. I sat cross-legged on my bed playing with the miniature soccer ball in my hands, throwing it on the wall and watching as it bounced back to it's original position. "You?"

Silence followed and I heard her sigh before she spoke dejectedly, "I got a ninety nine."

By now I was aware of Jaycee's need to excel in all her subjects, but she still gave me no reason behind her motive.

"Isn't that a good score?"

"It's not good enough to get into an ivy league college." Her voice held solid determination and I knew she was giving herself a hard time over this.

"What did you fail?" I asked, looking for ways to ease her anxious mind.

She gave a loud hiccup before she answered, "I didn't spell my name properly."

She knew it was coming. "Before you-"

Too late.

I burst into laughter, my whole body shaking with the action as I slapped my hand on the bed repeatedly.

"How the hell do you spell your name wrong?" It was hard to form that sentence as more laughter escaped my lungs.

"It's not," she gave another loud hiccup, "funny."

"You suprise me Cee."

A loud bang could be heard through the phone call, and my eyebrows scrunched at the sudden noise. An angry man's voice vibrated as he called for Jaycee.

"What's going-" The phone call ended before I could complete that sentence, and I brought my phone to my lap as I stared down at it.

What just happened?

I didn't really know much about Jaycee's family life but I knew enough to guess that her parents weren't around. There was this man that picked her up every Friday.

Maybe he's the one that called her, I thought to myself. I do believe there's something going on in her household that she doesn't want to talk about, but I respect her decision.

After three failed attempts at calling Jaycee I gave up, deciding to go to the cafeteria for lunch. I'll try again later.

Not concentrating as my mind whirled with worrisome thoughts, my shoulder came in contact with something hard.

"Ow!" I soothed the pain as I glared at the cream colored wall, my fist clenched with the need to retaliate.

"Are you seriously thinking about hitting that wall?"

His voice startled me, but I tried to redeem my cool demeanor as I looked at my brother.

"Where have you been?" I asked, my voice still curt from frustration.

"What do you mean?" He leaned casually on the wall beside me, hand coming up to rough his black curls.

"I haven't seen you this week," I explained. "Like you just disappeared or something." I didn't mean for the second part to come out weakly but it did. Even though I was never going to admit it, I missed him.

He looked at me, eyes calculating mine as he absorbed my words. I don't know what he saw in my eyes but he suddenly looked concerned, the feeling evident in his tone.

"Sorry Debs I've been busy with rugby practice and school work." He stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his dark blue joggers. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I wasn't okay though. My mind had been clouded with different thoughts, school work and extra curricular activities clogging my brain. I just wanted a day where I could relax on the couch, watching TV shows with Nate and Dad. My stomach churned at the thought.

I just wanted to go home.

"Why haven't you spoken to mum?" he asked, scanning me with worry filled eyes.

I scoffed. "We still have one?"

My relationship with my mother had been somewhat strained. The close connection I had with her died last year, along with my memories.

Nate's eyes hardened. "Don't you dare say that," he chided me, the Mama's boy in him surfacing through his exterior.

"Why the hell not?!" I shouted, my veins fueled with pent up anger. "She doesn't treat me like a daughter anymore!"

The thought of a woman I once knew to be a loving mother coursed through my mind, the times we'd stay up late catching up on our lives, our sweet gossip mixing with the darkness of my room.

All that vanished last year, I lost the love of my mother for reasons I couldn't control. Loading herself with lots of unnecessary work as a means to avoid her own daughter, to avoid caring about me.

"She isn't the same woman I knew before," I continued, hands clenched to stop myself from punching the nearest thing next to me. The wall didn't deserve my rage.

"She's grieving Debbie." Nate's eyes softened once more, his strong resolve loosening. "She lost a part of her daughter last year."

"That's not fair," I retorted. My next words came as a whisper, my mind still not fully accepting what I've come to know.

"I lost my mother last year too."

This isn't the peace I wanted, I didn't want to talk about a part of myself that I was never going to remember. I didn't want to address the reason behind coming here.

But I knew I had to.

"Why can't you just tell me what happened last year Nate?" I asked him, desperation seeping through my voice. "Why do I need to come back here?"

"The doctor said you need to be reacquainted with the past in order to remember it." That's all he ever said when I asked that question. That's what everyone told me and I was sick of it.

I already knew his next words before he spoke it. "It has to come naturally to you."

"I've been here for two weeks now and I still don't remember anything." I tugged at the roots of my hair, trying and failing to calm myself down.

"What happened last year Nate?" I asked once more, already not expecting an answer.

"I can't tell you that Debs."

"What happened?!" Looking for anything to grasp onto, I clenched his shirt, my hands scrunching the fine cotton. Nate just stared at me, his breath even as he brought his hands to hold mine. The touch calmed me down, and after some time, I let go.

"I lost a part of myself too." I had no hope in this working. If I didn't get them back then, how will I get them now? "I don't think I'm ever going to remember."

Whenever my brain shifted to those thoughts, it felt like there was a door locking me out, enclosed behind sturdy bars. If I thought too intensely, a surging pain would travel through my entire head, distracting me from the goal I was trying to reach.

Like a bird stuck in a cage, or a princess imprisoned by the walls of a castle, I felt helpless and weak.

"You don't understand how it feels Nate." I rested my head on his chest, trying to ease the headache already forming at my temple.

He engulfed me in a hug, hands rubbing circles at my back. "I know Debs." It was when he said my name that I realized hot tears had left my eyelid. "I know."

We stood like that for some time, only when I could feel my heartbeat matching his did I let go of his embrace. I looked up at him, my appreciation shown in my small smile. "Thanks for that."

I needed to let it out, all the pent up frustration I've been feeling this past week suddenly flowing out of me.

"I needed that," I said, feeling calmer than I'd been in a short while.

He matched my look. "You know I'm always here for you, right?"

I nodded silently. Just then someone shouted Nate's name, and he shifted his attention to the person. "I'm coming Isaac!" he yelled back.

"Talk to mum okay?" I nodded again, my hard resolve replaced with the need to speak to my mother.

"Stay safe Debs." With that he left in the direction of the person calling him. I watched my brother go as I tried to muster up enough energy to speak to my mum.

Walking back to the hostel, I passed by the matron's assistant, who gave me an encouraging smile as though she knew I was about to face a battle I wasn't prepared for.

Nicole came out of her room, skateboard tucked under her right arm as she strapped her green protective helmet on top of her red curls.

"Didn't know there were skating rinks in this boarding school." What if she doesn't want to speak to you? I tried to push the thought away, focusing on Nicole.

"There aren't," she replied. "I'm just going to skate round the parking lot."

"Oh okay." When I could no longer think of a conversation, I gave her an approving nod and headed back to my room.

Sitting on my bed, I stared at my phone for the second time this afternoon.

I'll pick you up at 8.

The text was from Michie, still steadfast on us going to Martin's party that had been shifted to today. I was honestly glad for that, needing to distract myself for a few hours, leaving the stress of school work behind for just one night.

Can't wait.

The plan was to sneak me out of hostel and back without the matron noticing. Unfortunately she did not leave this weekend, so her beady eyes were trained on keeping us confined here.

Once that was done I quickly scrolled through my contacts until they landed on a particular name. Mum.

My hand hovered over it before I closed my eyes and pressed the button, bringing the phone close to my left ear.

It rang for a few minutes, the beeping sound of her bleary ringtone only adding to my anxious state. Finally, she picked up.

"Hey mum."

***

Another update! Wow!

Well the next chapter is going to be her conversation with her mum. Who knows, maybe she'll spill the tea on Debbie's incident ;)

Question of the day: Who do you prefer more, your dad or your mum?

Anyways don't forget to vote if you love your parents <3

Read, vote, comment and enjoy!!!