Switched [On Hold - Editing] (E)

Switched - 07 (STOP! NOT YET EDITED FROM HERE ON)

"Make of our hands one hand. Make of our hearts one heart. Make of our vows one last vow. Only death will part us now."

-- (West Side Story)

Chapter VII

My eyes were closed but the smell of the room refreshed my mind. It felt so familiar and at the same time so natural for me to be lying on the soft bed......

Wait. My hands fell on my sides and felt the bed cover and the soft matress. My eyes opened and studied the room.

The bed-end table, the stuffed toys, the closet.....

It made me jump off the bed. How the hell did I get back in my room? Was I just dreaming when I left the house? But when I checked my clothes, they were the ones I wore when I walked out. I tried to remember what happened and it made my head ache even more.

All I remebered was there was someone following me.

I heard two knocks before the door opened. Mom peeped her head first before completely entering the room, "Glad you're awake. How are you feeling honey?" Worry was on her eyes. What exactly happened?

I nodded, "I'm fine mom. How did I get back here?"

She brushed my hair with her fingers while she looked me in the eye, "You fainted......"

I rolled my eyes, "Uhhh. Yeah? I can see that mom, but what was the cause. I just remembered someone following me then when I saw him..............."

Oh my God!

My body immediately moved and found its way downstairs. "Where's Louis? Where is he dad?"

Dad gave me a confused look. "I don't know honey. He hasn't come back when he left earlier. Any problem?"

My forehead wrinkled. Hasn't come back? "But.... H-how did I get back here? I swear he was the one I saw."

I felt my mom's hands on my shoulders. "Rest first honey. I've called your school and told that you won't be able to attend today."

"But mom...."

"No buts. Head up." She said. When she speaks like that, it can't ever be broken.

WIthout any other choice, I bolted up to my room. I slammed the door shut, my back against the wall. "Why won't they tell me? They're just gonna say, Louis brought you back. Was that even hard?"

My feet felt so heavy when I walked towards my bed. Something really didn’t seem right. I looked around my room once more as if I something would change if I did, and yeah, nothing had changed. There was my old comfy bed covered in flowery purple sheet, my goody study table with my very reliable study light and exaggeratedly thick academic books on top, mom’s antique closet that she had given me and the used-to-be-tv-stand turned bed-end table.

Not a single thing was missing but still it didn’t feel right. My eyes caught the wooden shelf which hung at wall just above my bed-end table. It is where I put the picture frames which I holds the memories I cherish the most.

Though I always see it, it never failed to make me smile.

I lied on my bed still staring at the pictures on the shelf. One by one, my eyes glanced on each of it. My most cherished was my 10th birthday. I never had a party for it, but dad surprised me when he came home without a notice. It was the dad's first come back from his business trips. And now, he is just everywhere.

Smile won't leave my face then. It was glued on my lips but in a second, it turned into a frown.

I stood up on my bed and checked the shelf.