By the time Kylie reached her apartment, the afternoon had already begun to fade.
She parked her car beneath the apartment building and remained behind the wheel for a few seconds.
The engine was still running.
Her hands rested loosely against the steering wheel. She stared through the windshield.
Nothing was wrong.
That was what she had been telling herself since she walked out of the rehabilitation center.
Her mother had simply had a bad day, and that was all. People had bad days. Tomorrow could be different.
She could come back next week, and her mother could remember her.
Maybe she would smile.cMaybe she’d remember everything.
Kylie swallowed. She turned off the engine. "Tomorrow," she whispered.
Then she grabbed her handbag and stepped out of the car.
She walked into the building with her usual quick steps, greeted the security guard with a smile, and took the elevator upstairs.
By the time the doors opened, she had already fixed her expression.
She would shower, eat something, and would probably complain to Emilia about how terrible her week had been.
Then she’d sleep. Simple, and normal.
She unlocked her apartment door.
"Kylie?"
She froze when she heard her name.
Her handbag was still in her hand. She slowly pushed the door open.
Emilia was sitting on the couch.
Kylie’s eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
Emilia looked up from her phone. "I’ve been waiting for you."
Kylie stared at her. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost four. Her brows immediately pulled together.
"It’s Wednesday."
Emilia nodded.
Kylie raised a brow at her. "It’s a lecture day, and you have lectures."
"Lectures are done for the day."
Kylie shut the door behind her. "Why are you here?"
Emilia smiled faintly. "I wanted to see you."
Kylie stared at her. "You really didn’t have to drive all the way here." She said softly.
Emilia put her phone down. She watched her carefully.
Kylie dropped her handbag onto the small table near the door.
"You didn’t have to come all the way here, Em." her eyes softened as she stared at Emilia. "You could have been in class."
"I went to class."
Kylie blinked. "You did?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"I came here."
Kylie stared at her.
Emilia shrugged. "It’s visiting day."
Kylie’s smile disappeared for half a second. She immediately looked away. "That’s not a thing."
"It is today. You visited your mum today."
"Emilia." Kylie called her. Her tone was light, and almost playful. She walked past the couch and headed toward her bedroom. "You didn’t have to come and see me kust because I went to visit my mum."
Emilia stood.
Kylie stopped. Her hand rested against the bedroom door.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay after."
Kylie looked over her shoulder. For a moment, she simply stared at her, then she smiled.
"I’m okay."
Emilia didn’t answer.
Kylie turned away. "See?" She walked into her room. "I’m completely fine."
Emilia followed her. "Kylie."
"I’m fine."
"Kylie."
"Emilia." She turned around with an exaggerated smile. "Look at me."
Emilia did.
Kylie spread her arms. "See?" Her smile widened. "I am alive, standing, hot and graciously beautiful."
Emilia’s eyes softened.
Kylie pointed at herself. "I’m not crying." Her voice was still playful. "I’m not having a breakdown."
She laughed.
Emilia didn’t smile.
Kylie’s smile faltered. "Okay." She dropped her hands. "You don’t have to look at me like that."
Emilia raised a brow at her. "Like what?"
"Like you already know." She turned toward her wardrobe.
She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.
Emilia looked away automatically, giving her space.
Kylie tossed the shirt onto the bed. She opened the wardrobe, and stared at the clothes inside.
For several seconds, she didn’t move.
Emilia stood quietly behind her.
Kylie reached for a loose T-shirt. Her fingers touched the fabric, then she stopped. She suddenly laughed.
It was a tiny, humorless sound. "Do you know what’s funny?"
Emilia looked at her. "What?"
Kylie kept staring into the wardrobe. "I spent the whole drive home convincing myself that she was just having a bad day."
Emilia said nothing.
Kylie swallowed. "I actually believed it." She gave a small laugh. "I thought maybe she’d remember me tomorrow."
Her hand dropped. "Or next week."
Kylie finally turned around.
Her eyes were bright, and moist.
Emilia’s heart sank.
Kylie tried to smile. "She forgot me." She said quietly.
Emilia didn’t move.
Kylie looked down. "My mum forgot me." Her voice cracked slightly.
She immediately cleared her throat. "Like..." She laughed awkwardly. "Completely."
Emilia stepped toward her.
Kylie shook her head. She lifted a hand. "I’m okay."
Enilia nodded.
Kylie smiled, and sat on the edge of the bed. Her hands rested between her knees.
For a few seconds, she stared at the floor.
"She looked at me." Her voice became quieter. "She looked directly at me, Emilia."
Emilia sat beside her.
Kylie continued. "And she asked me who I was."
Emilia’s lips parted.
Her smile trembled. "I wanted to laugh." She shook her head. "I genuinely thought she was joking."
Kylie looked down again. "I said, ’I’m Kylie.’" Her fingers twisted together. "Then I told her I was her daughter."
She paused. "And she said she didn’t know me."
Emilia reached for her hand.
Kylie let her. "I kept thinking she’d remember." Her voice became thinner. "That’s the stupid part."
She laughed softly. "I kept waiting for it." She looked at Emilia. "I thought if I sat there long enough, something would click."
Her eyes slwoly filled itself.
"Maybe she’d look at me and suddenly remember my face."
A tear silently escaped her eye.
Kylie wiped it immediately. "She didn’t."
Emilia’s thumb moved gently across the back of her hand.
Kylie stared at their hands. "She didn’t remember my voice either." She swallowed. "She didn’t remember the chocolate."
A broken laugh escaped her.
"I brought her chocolate."
Emilia smiled sadly.
"Her favorite." Kylie nodded. "I told her it was her favorite." She shook her head. "She said she didn’t eat chocolate."
Emilia’s eyes became wet.
Kylie laughed again. "I almost argued with her." She looked at Emilia. "Can you imagine?"
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"I was sitting there thinking, ’What do you mean you don’t eat chocolate? You used to hide it from me.’"
Her voice broke.
"She used to hide it in the kitchen." She smiled through the tears. "Behind the cereal."
Emilia squeezed her hand.
"And I’d always find it." Kylie laughed softly. "She thought she was so clever."
For a moment, the room became quiet.
Kylie looked at the floor. "I told her she was selfish."
Emilia smiled faintly. Shemoved closer.
Kylie leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
"I kept talking." She stared at the floor. "I talked about school." She sniffed. "I talked about you."
Emilia smiled.
Kylie shook her head.
"I complained about graduating." She laughed. "I complained about everything." Her voice became quieter. "She just sat there, motionless."
Emilia waited.
"Sometimes she’d look at me." Kylie swallowed. "Sometimes she’d smile." Her eyes closed. "But I don’t think she knew why."
Emilia wrapped an arm around her.
Kylie leaned into her slightly.
"I hate this."
Emilia tightened her arm around her.
"I hate it." Kylie’s voice shook. "I hate going there and not knowing which version of her I’m going to get."
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