Forgotten

Chapter 12

On the way out of the hospital, a doctor had appeared to tell Chloe and Gabriel that if any symptoms such as nausea or confusion presented themselves, they should come back to the hospital. Gabriel was also told that Chloe should avoid anything too strenuous for a while, and stress should be avoided as much as possible. Finally, the extra instructions finished with a reminder that Chloe would have to come back to the hospital every week to check in on how she was doing and how she was readjusting to living in the outside world without her memories intact.

The four of them climbed into the car, with Chloe sitting in the middle of the backseat with Nathalie and Adrien on either side while Gabriel sat in the front seat, silent. No one spoke, really, but Chloe spent the entire trip home gazing out the window, trying to get her bearings in a world she barely remembered. There were details that she knew, like she lived in Paris, but her knowledge of the city layout was extremely fuzzy, at best. Oh well, it was to be expected. She could relearn everything, given the time.

When the car drove through the gates and into the driveway of the mansion, Chloe couldn't help but to feel like something wasn't connecting properly.

Before she could think too much about anything, they had arrived at the mansion. Everyone climbed out of the car and Chloe gazed up at the house in front of her. Had she really grown up here, in this imposing, lonely building? It barely looked like it was lived in, let alone lived in by a happy family. There was a pit forming in Chloe's stomach. Shouldn't her home inspire some kind of happiness or comfort, not this sense of dread?

"Adrien, please show Chloe around the mansion to reacquaint herself with everything." Without so much as a goodbye, Gabriel was gone. Nathalie trailed after him, already tapping on her tablet as she hurried up the stairs. Chloe and Adrien were left standing out in the snow, cold air biting at their skin.

"Should we go inside? I can show you where you room is first." Adrien gestured to the door, and Chloe nodded.

Everything echoed. Footsteps bounced off the walls. Every small noise was projected back at you. It felt like the building was listening, waiting for the smallest misstep. Even though Adrien was walking right next to her, she felt like she was a world away from anyone and everyone else.

"Your bedroom is close to mine, so if you need anything, I'll be right next door. Once you've had a look around your room, I'll show you the other rooms. There aren't a lot you need to know, mostly the dining room." Adrien paused, looking around at bare walls and uniform doors. Had he really lived most of his life in a house with so little to describe?

The door closed behind Adrien and Chloe spun in a slow circle, taking everything in. She was a little overwhelmed but didn't want anyone to worry more than they already had. She had seen the looks that everyone was casting towards her, even if they didn't say anything. Poor Chloe, having lost all her memories. Poor Chloe, having to be shown around her own house like she was a guest, like she didn't belong. Poor Chloe, can't even remember her own mother.

She hated it. She didn't want to be pitied. She just wanted everything to go back to normal, before anything went wrong. All Chloe wanted was her family back. But until she got her memories back, that wasn't going to happen. Her eyes burned, but Chloe blinked quickly to force the tears away.

In case her eyes were red from almost crying, Chloe decided to poke around in her room. She opened drawers and cupboards, even going as far as to pick up some of the pillows to test how soft they were. Everything was perfect, just the way she would want. But none of it seemed quite right. Like someone had tried to recreate her room from memories alone. And Chloe knew better than anyone else how unreliable memories could be.

There was nothing out of line anywhere. Her clothes were lined up perfectly in the cupboards in specific colours and styles. The bed was perfectly made without a wrinkle in sight. Even the mirror in Chloe's bathroom was sparkling. Had someone cleaned everywhere before she came home?