Chapter 26

Stacy was on the verge of pulling her hair out; it had been two days since the incident at Kale's house, and yet, she still does not remember anything. In fact, she is nowhere close in finding out the reason for her loss of memory.

She'd cried a lot these past days too, apart from finding it very hard to focus on her work, she's just been drowned in so much sadness. It took her a lot to decide to take a break from her job today, but she needed it so much.

Despite everything that was going on, Stacy had her stars to thank for Bet and Sophia, as despite her challenges, her two friends stood right by her and made things a lot bearable. They did all they could to make her cheer up and forget about everything. They did all they could but sadly, their best wasn't enough.

What happened with Kale didn't seem to be the only thing that made her sad, as Stacy didn't know why she felt this empty void in her heart, like she'd lost something much more significant that week she couldn't remember.

What bothered her the most was that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't figure out what it was.

A knock on her door startled her then. This knock was a lot profound, and then it occurred to her that whoever was at the door had been knocking for a long time, but she was too distracted by her thoughts to notice.

She sighed and went over to open it, meeting Bet and Sophia on her porch.

"Hi, guys," she greeted. "Come on in."

"Thank goodness you're no longer weeping uncontrollably like a baby," Sophia remarked. "That's quite an improvement!"

Stacy had to force herself to smile as they all entered her living room. All the attention was placed on her, as the last time they'd been here, Stacy had cried her eyes out as she narrated everything that happened with Kale and Emma. They felt so sorry for her.

Bet apologized for not reminding her about Emma, and then talked her into seeing a specialist. After much persuasion, Stacy agreed, doing that just yesterday after closing from work.

The two friends now stopped by her house today to hear of the results.

"So how did it go with the doctor yesterday?" Bet asked her straight away.

Stacy simply shook her head, "We conducted a series of tests; I had no accidents, no fall-outs or sicknesses, nothing. The doctor did find it strange, but according to what he said, it's possible that my amnesia may have been caused by stress and anxiety."

"See girl? I told you that you've been getting yourself so worked up lately! Now look at what's happened," Sophia complained.

"I understand that, but this is no time to be blaming her for anything that happened. She needs all the support she can get from us," Bet explained.

Realizing her mistake, Sophia apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Bet said before turning to Stacy, "Sophia and I had to take an hour off work to come check up on you. Hope you are fine dear?"

Stacy nodded, "yes, I am. I took the doctor's advice and decided to stay back and rest. I don't know why I wasn't even focused on that job anymore. I might be quitting soon."

"Just take it one step at a time, honey, okay?"

"Yes, thank you so much for the encouragement, Bet, and you too, Sophia."

"It's the least we could do, my dear," Sophia replied. "Bet and I were planning on taking you out to the movies after work. But now with what you've just told us, we're not sure that will be possible anymore."

"Exactly," Betty agreed. "We shouldn't be going against what your doctor advised."

"I appreciate you guys so much for your care for me, I wish I would have been able to go out with you tonight. It would have been so much fun. I really missed hanging out with the girls," Stacy admitted.

"It's okay, dear. There'll be plenty of chances to hang out once your health improves, but for now, doctor's orders first."

"Okay."

"We have to head back now, break time will soon be over. We'll still come over to check up on you tomorrow, dear."

"Yes, we will," Sophia added. "And no matter what you are going through now, know that you will get through this, Stacy. You are strong, and you will overcome it all with time."

"Thank you for your words, Sophia. I appreciate them."

"You're welcome, love."

After the three friends embraced, Stacy followed them outside for a small escort. She then noticed from the clouds that it was already evening time. How long had she been inside, drowning in her thoughts, instead of resting as the doctor had prescribed?

As Betty and Sophia drove away, they passed by another car which was parked at a distance, not too far away from Stacy's house. The car's windshield gave a clear view of Stacy's house from where it was parked, and there in the driver's seat, Charlie sat watching her.

After his coronation, he'd been back in the human world for a few days now, debating on whether or not he should see her. He wasn't supposed to, especially after his resolve, but then his desperation and need for her got the better part of him; he found that he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about her. He might have saved her life, but that didn't satisfy the worry he still had about on whether she was okay.

Charlie then decided against his resolve to check up on her at least.

Now, he'd been here for over an hour, arriving at about the same time her friends did. He'd seen her when she'd welcomed them inside, and he remained, using his powers to eavesdrop on their conversation up until the time they left.

He felt bad for all he put Stacy through, and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, no matter how much he tried to protect her, he found it much harder to let her go.