If only life was this good.

When all a girl does is sleep, wake up, receive some love, eat, eat and sleep some more. Wouldn't that be great? Only it isn't. Shame.

But even still, Scarlet can't help wondering what that doctor drugged her with that makes her fall asleep every other second. It's infuriating, to say the least.

On glancing around, Theo's absence is evident in the widely open window.

Where the hell is he? He did promise to stay with her. Scarlet groans, wondering why on earth she's thinking about Theo like she's his responsibility. He literally gave up on his life for the past three days just to take care of her.
Maybe he hit her with his bike but so what? He could have run off. It wouldn't have been the first hit and run in the history of road accidents. Or the last. But he chose to stay.

She should be thankful. The least she can do is think about him gratefully.

There is a phone on the bedside table. It looks as good as new. Maybe it is new. Is it Theo's?
Her curiosity gets the best of her when Scarlet finds herself reaching out to grab the phone.

She really needs to call her mother. Using a little bit of someone else's credit isn't theft, right? Right.

She takes the phone.

"Oh?" Scarlet wonders out loud.

There's a picture of Celine in the background of the phone screen. She's lying on the grass compound in their backyard at home, clutching Mr. King tightly against her stomach. Scarlet does remember that day, the day when the picture was taken. Celine was doubling over with laughter because Mr. King was tickling her with his paws. In his defense, it was time for his meal but Celine wouldn't let him go. One of her little anterior teeth was plucked, her dark hair is all over the place and there's tears in her green eyes from laughing too much. She looks adorable.

A tear runs down Scarlet's cheek and she quickly wipes it off. She wonders whether this is how all mother's feel.

Is this how her own mother feels about her? But if someone loves you that much, you'd sure feel it. There has to be a sign, a tug at the heart or some shit like that, right?

More importantly though, whose phone is this?

Is it Theo's? It can't be. Maybe it's hers.

It is not password protected so she unlocks it, going through any detail that could possibly provide her with proof that it's hers or not.  There are only a few contacts; about ten. She recognises each of them and pauses to wonder how she could only know ten people in her life. And all of them seem to be business relationships. Sad. None of them is her mother's though but
Scarlet doesn't mind, after all, she knows her mother's number by heart. She enters and dials it.

"Hello?" Her mother picks up on the first ring. The indifference in her voice registers with Scarlet immediately, it's as if...she sounds like she doesn't know who's calling her...

"Steph?" Scarlet calls softly. There's a weird stranger aura even if the conversation is just beginning, which is weird in itself, considering it's her mother she's talking to.

"L-letty?!" Her mother chokes out.
"Scarlet? Oh my god it's you! My baby?" She asks, her voice laced with uncertainty and incredulity.

What the hell?

"I don't know mom." Scarlet replies. "Last I checked you were my mother?" Her mother sobs.

"Steph what's wrong? Why are you crying? Wow! News travels fast around here. Don't worry, I'm fine." Scarlet sucks in a breath. "I guess, I mean I'm not dead or anything," she mumbles. "Um...I was actually wondering whether you could pick us up when I'm discharged?"

There's an unmistakable hitch of breath, and a silence follows.

"Mom?"

Scarlet glances at her screen, the call is still ongoing but there's no response. But she can hear her breathing now.

"Mom you there?" she asks, rolling her eyes. Her mother really has a drama career ahead of her.

"What happened baby?" Her mother is full on sobbing now.
"Which hospital are you in, I'm coming right now." There is shuffling on her end of the line.

"Mom don't worry!" Scarlet reassures her. "I'm okay really. Take your time, they haven't discharged me yet."

"I'm sorry honey. It's...It's just... you've not talked to me in so long." She cries.

What?

"Hearing your voice-" Her voice cracks and Scarlet can't help her confusion. "Hearing your voice is the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time Letty!" Her mother continues, putting more emphasis on 'long'.

How long has it been? And "why on earth would I do that?"

"You don't remember." Her mother whispers, it's not a question but a statement.

Well duh!

"It doesn't matter honey, what matters is that you've come back to me. I just want to come over there and find out what happened to you, I want to take care of you Letty! Please let me, I lo-"

"Steph!" Scarlet cuts off her mother's rambling, raising her voice. "It does matter! And it'd better be a more than good reason because that's completely unfair to you! Hell, Celine would never hear the end of it if she ever decided to cut communication with me! Why did I stop talking to you? And how long has it been? Tell me right now!" She shouts.

How could she have done anything like that to her mother? Her Steph! The woman who has done nothing but love her her whole life.

She raised her on her own. A single mother. Scarlet grew up watching her mother suffer every single day and night to make ends meet. To make sure she had the life of a princess.

Well if you ignore the part where the princess had to sit at every meal alone since she was six. But that isn't the point.
They were the definition of poor.
Steph had three jobs, one as a cashier at a mall, where she worked everyday from seven in the morning to midday. Unlike the other two, Scarlet liked this job because when she was younger, she would skate all around the mall after school with her friends.

Every end of shift, Steph would come home then and prepare her lunch. Then at one fourty five she'd leave Scarlet at their neighbours' house and head off to her second job, the one Scarlet hated more than the last one: at a massage parlour. This one was from two to six in the afternoon. After which she would again come home to do some household chores and prepare her daughter's dinner then head off to the last one; bar waiting. This one carried on from eight until one in the morning.

Scarlet remembers how she would wake up in panic every night, searching for her mother in her room only to find her sprawled out on the couch in their small living room. All the times she had to grab a blanket and cover her up while she slept unconsciously.

Scarlet did not mind all this. She didn't mind waking up to cover her sleeping mother, she didn't mind sitting at the meals; breakfasts, lunch, dinners alone. Because she knew that her mother wasn't having fun. She was sacrificing her own self for her daughter. Her mother was always tired. Exhausted.

And it was all for her.

But not once did the woman give up on sending Scarlet to school. Or was there a day Scarlet had to go on an empty stomach or miss a meal. Even when Scarlet had pleaded with her to let her quit school and get a job so she can help out, when Scarlet was sixteen, her mother refused.

All hell broke loose that day.

And then...What happened then? Something big did happen after? What was it?

Scarlet curses inwardly, there's blank spaces somewhere around from when she was sixteen to now. Some things she doesn't seem to remember.

"Letty?" Her mother whispers, bringing her back from her reverie.

"Yes mom?"

"Who is Celine?"

The door is pushed open just as her call is cut off.

"What the hell?!" Scarlet scowls at her phone as Theo walks in with a blonde female doctor whose focus is still on the folder in her hands.

"Talking to yourself?" Theo asks with a raised accusatory brow, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Scarlet scowls some more. "Everybody does sometimes!" She defends.

"I don't!" Theo argues.

Scarlet narrows her eyes angrily at him. She's really not yet in the moods for playfulness. That call has sucked the life out of her.

"I do!" The female doctor defends. Sending a breathtakingly white-toothed smile to Scarlet. The woman's beautiful. Scarlet likes her. No, not in the gay way. Not that Scarlet has anything against being gay. She just isn't.

Theo raises his eyebrows again at the doctor. His eyebrows will soon reach his hairline if he's not careful. Scarlet muses. The doctor pouts.

"Well, whenever I'm in need of expert advice." The doctor shrugs, Theo chuckles and Scarlet grins at her. Theo clears his throat, shifting from foot to foot. An act of nervousness, Scarlet presumes. Why would Theo be nervous? "Well um, Scarlet Greene, this is Dr. Vivian Benniworth, my girlfriend."

Oh.

Of course he has a girlfriend!

Scarlet gapes at the doctor. Theo's girlfriend. Actually correction, Theo's gorgeous girlfriend.

"Ivy please." The doctor reaches out to shake Scarlet's hand but Scarlet is elsewhere.

Strawberry blonde hair, beautifully striking leaf-green eyes, long eyelashes....Scarlet really likes green eyes. It's a shame hers aren't, and that's one of the many reasons she hates her eyes.

Ivy clears her throat, chuckling mildly.

Scarlet blushes. "I...um..I'm sorry." She whispers. "You're just...you're really beautiful." She takes her hand and smiles.

"You can call me Scar."

She does mean it, Ivy is beautiful.

And Theo is taken. Joy! Scarlet groans internally. She's acting like a jealous dog.

Of course she hadn't thought of Theo in that way. There's no way she could be interested in him. Or him in her for that matter. He does have a girlfriend!

Yes. She did appreciate his undeniable beauty, so what? A girl can't help it sometimes. And there's absolutely no shame in admiring a very fine work of art. But that was about it.

Ivy's face turns a deep scarlet. "Um..thank you!" She says, smiling.

She just had to be nice, didn't she?

It would've been easier if Scarlet could hate her, but no, because she seems like a really nice person. But then again, why would Scarlet want to hate her anyway? It's not like she's interested in Theo, right?
Right? She wants to pluck her haur out.

"I'm really sorry about the accident!" Ivy grimaces, at what? Scarlet isn't sure. There's no sign of any accident on her, except the fact that she's laying on a hospital bed.
"I know it's my boyfriend's fault and I'm glad you decided not to press charges even when it has cost you way too much," she says, empathy clear in her expression.

"It's okay," Scarlet reassures her. "Money can always be made. I'm alive and thankful."

Ivy's face lights up.

"Besides," Scarlet continues. "Theo was nice enough to bring me here."

"Right," Ivy says with finality. "So let's cut to the chase Scar, I'm your new doctor-"

Obviously

"-that has nothing to do with treating tangible wounds," she says.

"Um...okay?" Scarlet says.

"Yes." Ivy answers. "You may or may not have suffered a certain kind of memory loss. I'm here to figure it out. I'm going to ask you a few questions to which you will give me answers cooperatively . And by a few I mean about fifty questions." She smirks.

This reminds Scarlet of how much she hates hospitals. Doctors will ask you about anything and everything; you could go to the hospital after suffering an accident and they would ask you when your last period was. Annoying.
But again, she'd figured the memory loss part out already even if she too is unsure of how big the damage is. She wants to know.

"What kind of doctor are you?" She asks.

"I'm the one asking the questions Greene!" Ivy scoffs just as Theo says; "the part time shrink."

Ivy glares at Theo, Theo stares right back. Their eyes meet, freezing there for a moment. They seem to forget that there's someone else in the room with them; poor Scarlet precisely. The intensity in their gazes grows tenfold as Scarlet looks back and forth; from Theo to Ivy, dumbfounded.

Eww no! Scarlet cries out inwardly. Not the sexual tension! She groans as she tries to fight back her gag reflexes.

Get a room guys!

Ivy's head snaps up so fast it leaves Scarlet wondering whether she said it out loud. But hey, it's the truth isn't it? They can't do those gross things in her presence!

"Kidding!" The couple says, again in unison. Except Ivy directs it at Scarlet while Theo directs it at Ivy.

Scarlet's jaw drops.

They're cute. She thinks. What were they kidding about again?

"Ahem!" Ivy clears her throat awkwardly. "I'm a neurologist Scar," she says. Scarlet nods in understanding.

"Well Mr. Greene," Ivy starts again after taking a deep breath. Putting more emphasis on the name than necessary. Of course she knows about that. Scarlet blushes as Theo winks at her.

She had been wondering why Theo had to say he was her husband but she had figured they wouldn't have let him stay if he wasn't family. Sure enough, he talked about it with his girl.

"If you don't mind excusing us..." Ivy trails off.

Theo shrugs, getting up to leave.

"No!" Scarlet protests abruptly. "Um..I'll feel more comfortable with him arou- shit what?! I mean um, with a third person, you know? It won't feel like I'm being mentally probed. But it's okay, I mean if-"

"It's okay Scar!" Ivy interrupts her rambling, giving her an understanding smile.

"What is your name?" She asks, Scarlet scoffs. Ivy chuckles. "Just answer the question please?"

"Scarlet Renee Greene." She grumbles. Damn doctors and their questions!

"Are your parents alive?"

"Mother."

"What's her name?"

"Estephania Greene."

"Are you Married?"

Scarlet grimaces. "Don't know," she says. If this isn't the definition of embarrassing oneself, she doesn't know what is. Ivy writes something down.

"Do you have any children?"

"Yes," Scarlet says through a sigh.

"How many?"

"One."

"Name?"

"Celine Greene."

"Okay..." Ivy trails off, recording something in her notepad again.

"What is the last thing you remember doing before the accident?"

"I...um" Scarlet tries to remember. "I woke up and did some stuff at home like any day." She says. "I remember calling Someone, Mrs. Jake probably(who I did not know until today by the way) to come around. That was after Celine had been picked up by her school bus..?"

"And after?" Ivy asks.

Scarlet shakes her head.

"You can't just shake your head Scar, try to remember!"

"I'm trying!"

Ivy sighs. "OK. Do you remember the accident? How it happened or where"

"No."

"What's the last thing that ever made you cry?"

Scarlet smiles at the memory. "Celine."

"Why?"

"I was happy about having a baby."
Theo shifts in his seat.

"Okay." Ivy keeps recording in her notepad. "Last thing that hurt you?"

"No." Scarlet concentrates. "I don't remember." She says with a sigh.

"Not a thing?"

Scarlet shakes her head. She doesn't remember anything hurting her, not even tripping on something.

At least thirty questions later and Scarlet feels like her throat will crack up anytime soon. She makes a mental note to make sure she avoids hospitals and anything else that has anything to do with them in future. Theo yawns for the millionth time as he stretches in seat. He's been typing away on his phone all along. Glancing up and friendly smiling at Scarlet occasionally when she'd be forcing herself to remember something.

Ivy looks up from her folder, meeting Scarlet's gaze.

"Scarlet Greene," She says, as if she's a judge about to sentence Scarlet to years in prison. Which in a way it is, because Scarlet may forever be locked up in a prison cell created by her own brain. She may never be able to regain the lost memories, a part of her may always be empty.

"...You've lost a huge part of your memory. You're not going to be able to remember anything that hurt you in the past. Occasionally, you're going to come across good memories that are missing too. It happens. The mind sorts out those depressing memories that you may have wished to forget at some point. The memories that inspire your nightmares. But the activity can't be perfect so you end up losing some of the good ones too..."

Scarlet wants to ask something, but she's unable to find her voice. She doesn't realise she's crying until she tastes salt. Why is she crying?

"Oh come on Scarlet!" Theo exclaims sympathetically. Hurrying to her side, he pulls her into a warm side hug, smoothing her brown hair comfortingly. After a while, Ivy resumes talking but Scarlet has shut her out. Reeling in the warmth of the hug she so needed, Scarlet grips on to Theo's shirt, unstoppable tears flowing from her eyes but she's able to catch Ivy's last words.

"...In simpler terms," Ivy continues. "you're suffering from a repressed memory."

"And I'm starving," Theo adds.