Conundrum

Part 16

JessLainsley

"Just remember, stay close!" Chase called as he went down another aisle of the small grocery store.

Robin rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Mom."

She thought she heard Chase snicker from the other aisle, but ignored it. Robin perused down the cereal aisle, this was the first time she had gotten out of that house in the past four days, and it was just down the street at the corner store. She let her fingers slide across the smooth cardboard of the cereal boxes, none of them sounded really appealing. Sugar bomb... sugar bomb... bland taste... sugar bomb... Robin huffed as she read the labels.

"Ew..."

"I know right? How did companies get away with selling these?" a sugary voice said next to Robin. Her voice almost sounded like the sugar content in these cereals.

"I... I'm sorry," Robin stated quickly, trying to get out of the way of the woman who had brown hair and glasses, but ruby lips.

The woman just smiled at Robin as she stepped in front of her, she was almost two inches shorter than Robin.

"No apologies necessary, dear. What's your name?"

"Excuse me," Robin tried to move past the woman, but she moved to keep blocking the path, "Ma'am... please move."

The woman just gave her pleasant smile as she grabbed Robin's arm. Robin gasped but the woman clapped her hand over her mouth.

"I know who you really are, Miss Smith. I have answers," the woman slipped a small piece of paper in Robin's jacket pocket, "Call me when you want answers."

The woman let go of Robin and quickly darted behind a shelf and disappeared, leaving Robin speechless and confused.

"Oi, Love? You alright? You look like you saw a ghost," Chase popped his head around the corner, but frowned at Robin when he noticed her lack of usual snarkiness, "Robin?"

Robin jumped and looked at Chase, "W-What?"

"Are you alright?" he gently set a hand on her shoulder, genuinely concerned.

"Y-Yeah! I am fine... just uhm... random memory relapse... I guess."

"Do you want to go home? You look paler than usual."

Robin stared at Chase, almost as if she didn't recognize him, but after a few seconds, she nodded her head and they left without buying anything, his arm over her shoulder.

.........

Cameera sighed as she sat in her car and watched as Robin and the tall blonde man walked out and down the street. Her lip curled at how close he was to her. That was her creation. Her daughter. Who was that man? He might need to be... taken out of the picture. She sighed again as she pulled out her phone and checked her schedule. Her brow raised as she had a missed call from her father. She quickly clicks on his contact and sets her phone to her ear.

"Hi, Father. Yes... I am fine, and yourself? Ah, good. Good. Sorry I missed your call... I was running errands. Hmm... well yes, but I had some free time between patients so I ran to the market for some necessities. Yes, I am eating, Father. No, I am not starving myself." Cameera rolled her eyes as she listened to her father speak on the other side, "Listen, I have to go. I love you too. Bye bye."

She clicked her phone off, took off her wig and fake glasses, and reapplied her lipstick, her ruby lips accenting her red hair and emerald eyes. Cameera ran a hand through her hair as she turned on her car and headed back to the hospital.

At least she now knew that Robin was safe and in relatively good condition... except her hair. Apparently that had not corrected itself over time which made Cameera think. Maybe there were other tests she could run on Robin if she ever got her back to the lab. Oh, that would be fantastic. She could figure out how the magic is going... how her body is responding... it could be like a mother-daughter bonding time. Cameera smiled at the thought. So many plans, and it was still early in the day. She mentally crossed her fingers as she drove, hoping that Robin would call her at some point. There was much to be discussed. Her mind wandered to the sounds of Vivaldi over the radio as she drove back to work.

Cameera walked with a purpose as she strode down the halls, giving everyone she crossed a sweet smile and sugary tone-but inside she wanted to be rude. She wanted to break the social norms and be mad and angry for once, but no. Cameera Abacus was a renowned doctor who was kind, gentle, and sweet. She did not raise her voice, she did not frown, she could not be snarky... Her thoughts wandered back to Robin and how free she was... that is why she named her after a bird. Robin was free to do what she could not. And despite not seeing her very much in the past few years, Cameera was still proud of her "daughter". Robin, again, was everything she was not. She was younger, had more power, could be snarky, or mean, or emotional and no one could blame her for it. Robin was a bird... fragile... easily captured. Cameera's thoughts turned sour and dark.

Robin could be controlled. She could be kept in a cage and hidden from the sun... what would she be then? She would no longer be a bird, free to fly and do whatever made her happy. Cameera almost sneered, she would get her hands on Robin again.

She opened the door to her office and almost screamed when she saw someone inside.

"Hello, Dr. Abacus. I was wondering if you had some time to talk," Hidsen said, with a patient smile.

.........

Chase frowned at how quiet Robin was. Usually, she made more noise whenever he would crack his jokes, but something was off about her after the store.

"Oi, love. Are you sure you're alright?" he passed her a tea cup and sat down on the couch next to her.

Robin was staring at the floor, but accepted the tea cup anyways, "Yeah... yeah."

"You're scaring me... You're way too quiet."

Robin was beginning to get annoyed by his insistent nagging for the past few hours, "Yes, Chase. I am fine. I just... had a memory flash I guess... I don't really understand it and I am just trying to piece it all together. It's not easy having amnesia."

Chase just nodded as Robin rambled a bit. It was rare for her to speak full sentences to him that wasn't just an insult or something sarcastic. He wondered what could have triggered a memory relapse. The store had seemed normal and quiet, so maybe it was a food or something that triggered her brain to recall something bad.

"Chase..."

"Yeah?"

"What was your family like?"

Chase frowned and looked at her, "My family? In London?" he watched as Robin nodded, not looking at him, just staring ahead, "Well... my pops worked as a police officer. He was always busy and was hardly ever home... and my mum watched us kids... there are six of us."

Robin finally looked at him, "Six?!"

Chase smiled, "Yeah... I have two older brothers, and my younger sisters and baby brother. My brothers worked odd jobs in high school to help out the family. When I moved to the States for this job a few years ago, my baby brother was just getting into highschool and my youngest sister graduated high school. My eldest brother has two kids now and is married... my older brother is a professor at some school... and my younger sister was... I can't remember. I think she was in school."

"What are their names?"

Chase narrowed his eyes, "Why do you want to know?"

"I... I never had... I still don't have a family. I don't know if I had siblings and your family sounds interesting, despite you being in it."

"Ouch, Love. At least you're feeling better; your insults are coming back. Anyway, my eldest brother's name is Jack, then there is Brandon, me, then Alice, Mary, and finally Kyle."

Chase smiled softly as he pulled out his phone and showed Robin a few pictures. Robin looked at them and her heart felt heavy. So many smiles... so many memories... so many things she did not have and that made her feel....sad? Jealous? Angry? She wasn't sure. She wanted a family, but she knew that was something she could never have since she was a magic user. She looked at Chase and set down her tea cup before excusing herself to use the bathroom.