What If

34. The Call

Location: Unknown

The throbbing pain in my head made it extremely difficult to wake up. I tried to open my eyes and get a view of my surroundings, but there was a bright light in the room that nearly blinded me. When I tried to shield my eyes, I realized that my hands were tied behind me. I tried to stand, but my feet we're in the same predicament.

The last thing I remembered, was meeting my mother...

I saw a brunette woman standing at the nursing station. She was wearing a doctor's coat, she had a pen in her hair, and was typing away quickly on a computer. She seemed to know what she was doing, so I walked up to her with the intention of asking her if she knew where I could find my mother.

"Excuse me," I started to say, and she turned towards me.

I froze in place when I felt like I was looking into a mirror. I didn't need to ask this woman where to find my mother. I also didn't need to look down at her badge to see that she was Dr. Maria Sinclair.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked with a smile.

I couldn't move and I couldn't speak. I just stared like an idiot.

She seems to study my face for a moment before her eyes widened. "Are you...What's your name?"

"I'm, uh, sorry. I have to go." I cursed myself as I turned to run away. I thought I was ready for this. For answers.

"Wait!" She yelled as she followed behind me.

I kept walking until I got to the elevator underneath a sign that said NORTH SIDE. Just as I went to push the button, I heard,

"Lydia?"

I hesitated before I turned around slowly to face her.

"I knew it. It is you."

"Yes." What else could I say? Trying to form thoughts in that particular moment, proved to be difficult. She seemed both surprised and happy to see me, but I wasn't completely sure.

"Can we sit and talk?" She gestured to bench down the hall.

"Okay," I said pathetically as I turned and walked to the bench. I didn't even know if she followed me until she sat down beside me.

"You probably have so many questions," she said with a small smile. "I have so many questions."

I was fidgeting with my hands when I finally asked, "Um, what exactly happened when I was born? I mean...you didn't, you know..."

"Keep you?" She finished. A shameful expression covered her face. "Yes. I was seventeen at the time. I'm not trying to use that as an excuse, it's just a fact. I was taken advantage of in some ways by your father. My mother...My mother is the one who pushed for me to give you up. I regretted that day ever since."

She looked away from me. I could tell she was being sincere, and it made me feel a little less freaked out. "Did you try to find me? Or to reach out to my dad?"

"I did. The phone number I had for him got disconnected. I didn't find out until later that he had lied to me about his name. So, when I tried to find him, find you, there was no Jason Matthews. I even tried to hire a private investigator, but your records were sealed."

She let out a long breath. "It seemed impossible. I was hoping that once you turned eighteen, you would try to find me."

Now, that surprised me. "But I didn't find out about you until yesterday."