Detained

05.

❝Surprise, Surprise❞
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Same night, May 2016
San Antonio, Texas

Impossible. There was no way this could be happening. Moira had to be hallucinating. She had to be. Her parents couldn't have been this dense to invite all these people here knowing this could hinder all her progress, but from the faces staring back at her, Moira knew that this was reality, and she knew she had to get out of there.

The twenty-four-year-old shoved through the crowd of guests and made a run to the kitchen to see a door wide open leading to the backyard. She continued on and stopped outside only to collapse to the ground. There were more people out there.

Why would they do this? Did they even understand? She hadn't experienced something like this since high-school. Even though she wasn't screaming to the top of her lungs, tears still streamed down Moira's cheeks and she rocked to calm herself down. A shadow appeared over her and she winced, sobbing and covering her ears.

"Moira." Looking up at her father, her tears came down worse and his face softened as he reached down to help her to her feet. Wrapping his left arm around her shoulders and pressing her closer into his side, Glenn guided his shaken daughter back into the house, past the somber and quiet guests to a bedroom all the way at the end of the house's hallway.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Moira looked down at her lap while her father stared around the room. "It's nice, ain't it?" He questioned, breaking the ice and making his daughter raise her head to stare at the royal blue decor. Thick white and blue stripes flowed down the walls of the room, bringing an unexpected sense of space. Tan carpet was placed in her bedroom and blended well with the white furniture lined with gold bordering.

"Yes," she answered, her voice hoarse. Suddenly, the door to the room opened, revealing her mother with a peeved expression. Moira stared at her, shaking her head.

"I wasn't ready. It's way too soon—"

She stopped talking when she saw her mother raise her hand. "It's been six years," Janice drawled, forming her lips into a thin line, "soon... isn't the word for it."

Appalled, Moira and her father looked shocked at Janice, and were thrown off by her insensitive words. Glenn smacked his teeth. "Really, Janice?"

Moving her eyes towards Moira and mentally going over her words, Janice quickly apologized and told her that she'll just tell everybody to leave. Moira and her father let a silence settle between them before Moira's eyes lowered as she began to think that she disappointed her parents once again, giving them false hopes of getting their old daughter back. "I'm sorry, Daddy but I couldn't do it."

"It's fine, baby-girl. It's our fault for not getting it."

"I keep messing up even though I'm trying to do better," Janice suddenly said, coming back into the room and sitting on the bed with them. "And I'm upset because I have this image of... who you used to be and how I want that to be you again. I know now that isn't possible, but I should embrace the you I have in the flesh and help wherever I can."

Her mother's words were like music to her ears and Moira's heart felt light knowing her mother somewhat got the gist of her internal battles. Janice accepting her disorders and knowing how to handle them with her wouldn't be overnight, but she was willing to make the effort to and it meant a lot. So much that Moira was willing to make the effort as well.

As if something just dawned on her, Janice stood up from the bed. "Oh!" She exclaimed, making Moira and Glenn jump. "I almost forgot. I think you should get acquainted with at least one person in the neighborhood since we won't be as close."