Till death do us part

Chapter 44: The tattoo - Present time

Third person's POV

After the serious conversation about their future, Cora and Rose went silent. They were both looking at the people around them.

Cora was thinking about the future. She was really wondering how they would deal with Rose's condition. Would it get solved on its own or would she need treatment? Would it be safe for Rose to get out in the world again? What if she starts to forget things again?

Rose looked around, at nothing in particular, when she suddenly started shivering. She rubbed her arms and legs, trying to get warm. "Cora," She said, looking at Cora. "Why are we not going back yet?"

Cora smiled a bit but didn't really give a response.

"I'm getting cold," Rose tried again. "Maybe we can go back?"

"How's your memory?" Cora asked, completely changing the topic.

Rose frowned. "Good, I think," She rubbed her legs and arms a bit faster. "I'm really getting cold, Cora," She moved a bit, trying to show how urgent the matter was. "Can we go back?"

Instead of taking her back inside or talking to her, Cora crossed her arms and looked elsewhere. She smiled a bit.

Rose let out a breath. She started getting really frustrated. "I'm cold." She then released the brake of her wheelchair and wanted to go back by herself. 

"Rose," Cora immediately stopped Rose and put the brake back on. "Stay."

"I'm cold, Cora!"

"A little bit more," Cora smiled and tried to pull Rose a bit closer. "We're good here."

"No," Rose then pushed Cora away. "I'm cold! I want to go back!"

"Rose, calm down, we - "

"I want to go back," Rose yelled. "If you don't bring me, then I - "

"Mom?"

Rose immediately stopped fighting Cora. She was frozen as she heard a sound, a voice, she hadn't heard in so long... She released the brake of the wheelchair and, this time, Cora didn't stop her. She turned around and saw the one person she had been missing. "Hope."

Hope smiled and ran to Rose. When she was near, she jumped on Rose and the two finally hugged.

Cora smiled at the sight before looking at Dara and Naheed, who had brought Hope. She nodded at them, as a way of thanking them. They nodded as well before slowly retreating to give the little family some time alone.

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As soon as Hope had arrived, Cora allowed Rose to get back inside. But instead of going to Rose's room, Cora took them to the cafeteria. Cora agreed to get inside but refused to have Hope see Rose's room. She didn't want Hope to see that side.

They took a seat at a table and brought Rose close to the table so they could talk. "I'm so happy to see you," Rose started, mainly talking to Hope. "I've missed you so much."

Hope smiled big. "I've missed you too, mom."

"How have you been?" Rose went on. "How are things? At school? At home?"

Hope's smile lessened a bit. Rose didn't notice, but Cora did. Cora knew Hope went through a hard time since Rose's accident. She felt lost. She felt abandoned. She felt alone. Cora tried her best to maintain a relationship by calling her frequently but it wasn't enough. She could see here what Hope really needed: her family. "Things were ok." Hope simply said.

Rose smiled. "I'm so happy to see you," She reached for Hope's hand and, when she got it, held it in hers. "There wasn't a day I didn't think about you."

Hope looked at Rose, she wondered if her mom really did think about her. She had been told her mom's memory was gone and it got back. But she didn't know exactly how much came back. "Mom," She said softly. "How are you?" She finally asked the one question she had been dying to ask for weeks now.

Cora was a bit worried about this question as she didn't know how Rose would respond.

Rose smiled a bit but couldn't help to think about what Cora had said before. About their future. About the long treatment, she might be facing. She looked at Hope before responding honestly: "I still have to recover."

Cora nodded, agreeing with that.

Hope glanced at Cora before looking back at Rose. "You're so strong, I know you can do it."

Rose couldn't help but smile at that.

"Dara and Naheed said I helped you a lot." Hope suddenly said.

Rose smiled more and nodded. "You were the light that helped me through this darkness," She gently squeezed Hope's hand. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Cora nodded slowly before looking at Rose. "I still don't understand how you remembered Hope and nothing else."

Rose smiled a bit before looking at Hope.

Hope nodded and got up. She walked to Rose and pointed straight at Rose's left wrist.

Cora raised her eyebrows. "The tattoo?"

Rose nodded and smiled. "When I woke up, I didn't know anything," She looked down as it was hard for her to talk about that. "When I was alone for a moment, I saw the tattoo," She went over the tattoo on her arm. "Hope," She read the tattoo before looking at Hope. "And I remembered."

"That's incredible!" Cora exclaimed.

Rose slowly nodded. "I couldn't have done it without Hope," She smiled at Hope before looking at Cora. "And without you."

Cora nodded slowly.

"I know I didn't remember you immediately but it's thanks to your gift that I remembered everything," Rose smiled at Cora. "You and Hope helped me. And I will forever be thankful to the both of you."

Cora leaned closer to Rose before kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Rose smiled at Cora before looking at Hope. "You too, princess."

Hope smiled more. "You're doing amazing, mom," She once again got up to hug her mom. "No matter the battle, we'll be by your side."

Rose wrapped her arms around Hope. "Thank you, princess," She then looked at Cora and could see how she was getting emotional. Deciding she wanted a more upbeat mood, she said: "How about some ice creams?"

Hope immediately pulled back. "Yeah!" She jumped around a bit. "I want oreo flavor!"

Rose smiled and looked at Cora. "You know what I always take."

Cora nodded and got up. "I could never forget that." She then kissed Rose's head before heading off to get ice creams.