Chapter 9

"He's your..."

The phone is ringing.

"Wait, there's a phone call."

I observed that he was being called by an unregistered phone number.

"Hello! My name is Steve, and who is this?"

I noticed how surprised he was.

"What?! Where is she?"

"Hey! What's wrong?"

I was concerned by his tone. He, on the other hand, did not respond.

"All right, thank you."

"Would you mind answering my question?"

"Let's go; Mom needs our help right now."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Rather than responding, he opened the door and welcomed me inside. He got in his car and drove away.

He continues to mumble words. "That jerk!" is all I can here of.

Why am I always in the dark about everything? It appears that I am equally worthless in this situation. Having amnesia is a pain.

We arrived after a few minutes... Are we at the hospital?

"What are we doing here? Is Mom all right?" I asked, bombarding him with questions.

"You'll see, Shiloa, so don't throw tantrums."

"Look, I'm constantly in the dark about stuff, so speak up or else..."

"Or else what? Do you want to know what's going on?"

"YES! I can sense how useless I am!"

"That jerk is causing Mom pain."

"What are you talking about? Who's the jerk?"

"Can I ask where Mrs. Smith's room is?" he inquired of the nurse in charge at the front desk.

He didn't waste any time, so as soon as we got the answer, we went straight to our mother's room.

When my brother opened the door, I saw our mother, who was wearing a bandage on her forehead and was bruised.

"Mom! What happened?" I questioned, my voice anxious.

"It was just a misunderstanding."

"Who was it that did that?"

I noticed her staring into my brother's eyes.

"It's your father."

"What makes you think he'd do that?"

"It's just a misunderstanding, like I said."

"Where is he?" My brother interjected.

Dad enters through the open doors.

"You jerk!" my brother exclaims as he punches him.

My head is throbbing. My brother continued to attack my father.

"Argh! S-stop!" I yell, catching their attention.

I can see visuals that are a little hazy.

"She isn't mine; she came from that guy!"

What exactly is it? Is it a recollection? In front of me, I observed a man abusing a woman.

"Shiloa?"

"IT HURTS!" I scream, I hold my head to ease the pain but it makes no difference.

"SHILOA!" was the last thing they spoke to me.

——

I'm seeing white things once more. Hospital.

"At long last, you're awake!" It was my brother.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"You passed out; does your head hurt any longer?"

"It's still there, but not as much as it used to be a while back."

"Was it a while back or yesterday?" I was taken aback.

"Yesterday?"

"It was yesterday."

"However, I am alright now; may we return home?"

"No, you won't be able to."

"Why?"

"The doctor advised that you rest here."

"I'm sick of the hospital."

"But you need it. I'm sorry for what happened.."

"It's not your fault."

"However, it still causes your amnesia."

"I'm hungry; can you get me a McDonald's crispy chicken sandwich and mushroom pepper steak?" I asks, shifting the conversation away from his guilt.

"I never said you could use me as a slave."

"All right, then, let me out of here."

"Fine, but don't go or I'll lock you up in the condo."

"You're awful, but hurry on, I'm hungry."

To kill my boredom, I just unlocked my phone. Someone sent me a text message.

From: ******

I learned from your brother that you are currently in the hospital. Don't worry, I've informed your teachers.

When I first opened my data, I noticed three chatheads from my messenger. Madison, Micah, and Kanela, as usual. They wanted to know if I was okay. Micah was the only one to whom I responded.

My room's door slid open. It had to be Dad.

"Are you okay now, Sweetie?"

"Yes, Dad."

I lack the confidence to confront him about what he did to my mother.

"I apologise for what happened."

"Can I ask, what was the source of your misunderstanding?" I couldn't help myself.

"Please accept my apologies."

"Dad, you haven't responded to my question."

"Don't worry, I won't repeat it."

He fails to respond immediately. So I'm going to shut up.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Yes, but Steve goes out to buy some foods."

"That's great; I was concerned when you passed out."

"Dad, do you know what, in my mind's eye, I saw someone striking a woman; what's my relationship to that?"

"I-I don't know." He's anxious.

"My head won't hurt if it is not connected with me."

"Perhaps you witnessed someone you don't know abusing his wife."

How did he figure out it was a married couple? I didn't even give them a name or a description.

"I believe so," I lied.

"Shiloa, here's your food" Steve is holding two plastic bags.

"Is there going to be a feast?"

"What is he doing here?" he wondered, pointing to Dad.

"He just came to apologize to me."

"Tell him to get out."

"But—-"

"Will I leave or will he leave?"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's okay; I need to visit your mother."

Steve is still furious with him because of what happened to our mother.

"It's too soon to be angry."

"Eat now, ravenous monster".

"You're so annoying."

"Well, sis, the truth hurts."

"Whatever."

He's holding two plastic bags because one is for him and the other is for me.

"I'd want to ask a question."

"What precisely is it?"

"I saw a man hurting a woman before I passed out, and I asked Dad about it, but he said it's possible I saw someone I don't know hitting his wife."

"What does it have to do with it?"

"Do you have any knowledge of that?"

"I'm not sure."

"I also overheard the man say, 'No, she's not mine; she came from that scoundrel.'"

"I can tell now that it's the same, you saw it in someplace."

"Another strange thing is that, despite the fact that I gave no description of the guy and lady, he informed me that they are married couples."

"Don't worry about it; you usually don't tell others what you see or experience; you're secretive, so I have no idea."

"Argg, that's fine."

"I apologize; please eat your food before it becomes cold."

I just keep eating and enjoying myself.

"I'm still not full, can you bring me Filipino Street Foods again?" With puffy eyes.

"You have the appearance of a dog."

"Pleaseeeee." Pleading with him.

"Stop talking like that; I'll buy you afterwards."

"I need it right now, bro."

"All right, wait up here."

I'm just watching Mukbang, and it's making my mouth water. After a few minutes, I heard the doors open.

"You're moving too fast," I said without looking.

"Who's going too fast?"