Unexplained

🛫》14 - Not There《🛫

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TWO MONTHS LATER...

Mama got out of the hospital and we're staying at Uncle Ben and Aunt Grace's house for a couple of days. I don't really care I don't want to go back to the apartment anytime soon. I'm sitting on the couch on my iPad and mama is doing her PT exercises. I haven't talked since mama got shot and I haven't felt anything since. I feel scared and more anxious, but that is it. I haven't felt happy at all. I want to feel happy, but it's like it isn't there anymore. Even if there has been good news with mama I wasn't happy about it. I wasn't even happy when she got out of the hospital. I want to feel happy I just can't. "Hi," Aunt Grace says as she and Uncle Ben walk in the front door. "Hey," mama says looking up at them from the ground, it's on her face that it hurts. "Yeah she just won't quit," grandpa says helping mama with the exercises. "Will you ease up a bit. The first day out of the hospital should be nothing but bingeing junk food and Netflix," Uncle Ben says laughing a bit. "I tried telling her that myself," grandpa says looking at Uncle Ben. "I don't have a day to waste," mama says while she keeps doing her exercises. "Well, if you don't wanna be stuck in the basement, you could go up to my room. I've kind of wanted to move downstairs anyways," Olive says sitting on the armrest of the couch. "That's really sweet, but it's just a few days. It's fine," mama says shutting her eyes tight because of the pain. "Although, honey, if you are willing to move downstairs, that could help us out," Aunt Grace says, are they finally going to tell everyone about the baby because I have been waiting for a while for them to tell everyone. "And why is that?" Olive asks confused, "because your room would make a perfect nursery," Uncle Ben says. "I knew it! Mom's pregnant," Cal says and everyone looks surprised. Grandpa gets up and hugs them and mama tries to get up but she can't. "You owe me 5 bucks," Cal says to Olive. I take my iPad and I walk down to the basement and I lay in bed. I should be happy, but I'm not. I wish this was all a dream and everything wasn't so scary anymore. I want Zeke back, I know I didn't know him for long, but I trusted him. Something is going to happen with him and mama, something good. The thing just won't tell me what. I like to make the guess that they will get married, but I don't know.

I don't understand why this thing didn't show me mama getting shot. I could've done something about it. We wouldn't be in this mess. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Jared feeling like mama was his. Mama does not belong to him. Sometimes men are stupid. I hold BunBuns close to my chest and I start to cry. This has been everyday for me since mama got shot. It's like the emotions just keep coming and coming and they won't go away. All the time I feel like I need to cry, but I can't do that. I know mama knows that I'm not ok, but I won't talk and I don't use my AAC app at all. Except to annoy with vocal stims that I would do.

I feel the bed dip down and someone strokes the hair from my face. "What's wrong love bug?" Mama asks me, but I just keep myself turned away from her. I sniffle and I wipe the tears from my eyes. "What aren't you telling me? What is going on in that brain of yours? I haven't seen you smile since I got shot. I'm worried about you," mama says and I just sigh a bit and I turn over and hide my face on the side of her leg. She rubs circles on my back and she sighs a bit. "I have to go to the precinct. Do you want to come?" Mama asks me and I nod a bit, I sit up and avoid eye contact with mama. I grab my iPad and I go upstairs and put on my jacket and hat and wait for mama to come up the stairs. She walks up the stairs and grabs her jacket and we go out to the car. I get in my booster seat and I get buckled and mama drives towards the station and I look out the window at everything passing by. We park and I get out of the car and I hold mama's hand as we walk in.

Everyone is staring at mama and  move closer to her as we walk to the captains office. Mama knocks on the door and we walk in. "Detective Stone. You don't start back until next week," the new captain says.  "Captain Bowers. Uh, sorry that I wasn't here when you were formally introduced," mama says holding her side. "You weren't supposed to be. You were supposed to be recuperating. So why aren't you recuperating?" Captain Bower asks mama and then slightly looks over to me. "I'm here to ask you to call off the hunt for Zeke Landon," mama says walking closer to the captains desk. "You're quick to forgive, Detective," the captain says. "It was an accident," mama says. "That's not how Detective Vasquez described it in the IA report," the captain says and once I hear his name I move behind mama a bit more. He scares me. "He was mistaken," mama says. "You told IA you had no recollection of the moments before you were shot, and your daughter hasn't talked yet. Maybe you were mistaken?" The captain says and I hold on to mama's hand tighter. I didn't mean for this to be my fault. I didn't mean for this to happen to Zeke just because I'm not talking. "I know Zeke, and he would've never--" mama says before she is cut off by the captain. "All this, this is why I was brought in. There's been too many loose ends, too much muddy water at this precinct. Bottom line, your new boyfriend and your ex boyfriend were fighting in your apartment, you got shot, and your new boyfriend ran off," the captain says and she surprisingly got things right. "Zeke is not my boyfriend," mama says. "Whatever he is, you're too close to this, Detective. Go home," the captain says and mama sighs and we walk out of the captains office.