(Jace Norman Fanfic) From P.A To C.A

28

I take off down the hall, tears streaming down my face.  I hear people calling my name, but I don't turn around.  The next thing I know, I'm sitting in a janitors closet.  I don't really know how I got there, so I don't know how to get back to the room.  I readjust myself and a bucket falls on my head.  Well, this is not the way I pictured my mom waking up.

She doesn't even know who I am.  I wipe away the tears and remove the bucket from my head.  Suddenly, I feel like I'm out in the open and everyone can see me.  I think it is better if I keep the bucket on.

I scrunch into a ball and try to disappear.  I mean, what's the point of existing if your parents don't even want or know you.  My life's a wreck.  I know that people will say, there's always someone out there that has it worse than you, but I can't really think straight enough to find a way it could be worse.

I hear footsteps coming down the hall.  Well, it more like stomping because it's very loud.  I take the bucket off my head to try to hear better.

"Let me go in," says a voice I don't recognize.  "One shot and I can make her fall asleep."

"Um, no thanks," I whisper to myself.  "I'm just fine being awake."  Maybe it would be a good thing if they put me to sleep, though.  Then, I would dream about happy things and forget about my mom.  But then again, the dreams could be about my mother.

"No."  Now, this voice I recognize immediately.  "She wouldn't like that.  Let me go in.  I could probably persuade her to come out.  But, please go away and give us some privacy."

The voice gets some yeah's and okay's.  Then, I hear more footsteps going away.  The person who is going to come in waits until we can't hear any footsteps anymore, then comes in.

"Hey."  Jace says when he enters.  His eyes are filled with pity, but the rest of his face shows no sign of it.

I try to push him away.  "I heard what you said.  Your not going to get me out of here any time soon," I say coldly.  

"I only said that to get them to leave you alone."  He sits beside me.  "I, however, am not going anywhere."  He looks into my blue eyes with his brown ones.  All of the sudden, I flash back to the day that we met.  The day when I first met my neighbor, and my best friend.  The day when, I passed out for the first time.  The day when I asked about my father for the first time in months.  That day held a lot of firsts for me.  I was happy.  Slightly confused, but happy.  "If you want to waste away your life in a hospital's janitor closet, then I will, too," he adds.

I don't answer.  I quickly flick my eyes away to the floor.  I repeat his words in my head. If you want to waste away your life in a hospital's janitor closet, then I will, too.  Does Jace have feelings for me or is he just being friendly?

"But, if you don't mind me asking, how about food and water?"

I shrug.  I didn't really think about it, and don't want to think about it, until the time comes.

"Okay," he says. That's it.  We don't talk for a long time.  We just keep to ourselves.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

After what feels like forever, I get up , stretch, help Jace get up, and go out of the closet.  Jace goes to get his mom since I don't want to go back in that room.  Before long, we were on the road again, and going back to Jace's house.  Mrs. Norman talks about it the whole way to their house.

"I kept trying to talk sense in to her, but she just kept asking who you were."  We're in her driveway when she says the part that gives me a little hope.  "When Jace came to get me, she said that you looked familiar!"

I look familiar.  At least that's better than not remembering me at all.  I manage to smile at her to show that I show appreciation to what she told me.  Really, I only appreciate the last part.  

We get out of the car, and go inside.  Mrs. Norman shows me where I will be sleeping.  The walls are all bare.  The room seems very lonely.  I'm not sure I like it.

"This was our only daughter's room.  She's away at collage so you can take it until she comes back.  Dinner will be ready soon.  It's taco night!"  She smiles at me and leaves.  I didn't really bring anything because, you know, I live right next door and can go home whenever I want.  I just sit down on the bed and await taco night.

Xander, Jace's brother, comes in.  "Oh hey.  I forgot you're staying here tonight."

"That's a nice greeting for a girl who's mom doesn't know who she is," I snap.

"What do you mean?" He asks.  Right.  How would he know?

"Never mind.  I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

"I want to know!" He whines.

"If you want to know so bad, ask Jace."

"Fine."  He walks out of the room with his hands on his hips.  He's careful to step with one foot directly in front of the other.

I sit around for a little more.  There's not really much to do.  I consider going to Jace's room, but I figure Xander is over there, being filled in on what happened.  I don't really want to walk into that conversation.

"Kids!  Dinner!" Mrs.Norman shouts up the steps.

I hear Jace yell, "Just a sec."

I go down the steps and into the kitchen.  I'm actually really hungry.  I pick up a plate, a taco shell, and fill it.

Jace and Xander come in, fill their tacos, then we all sit down at the table.  It's pretty quiet.  Usually my mom and I talk the whole dinner.  A sharp pain shoots through my stomach at the thought of her.

When dinner is finished we all go to our rooms.  I lay on the bed, thinking about random things.  After a while, I slowly drift to sleep.