Amnesia

Chapter 21

WARNING: This chapter contains mention and imagery of suicide and bullying. Please don't read if you are uncomfortable with the topic or easily triggered. At the end of the chapter, I will hold a summary for those who wish to skip

*DANIEL*

I entered the room to find Lana dazed, her eyes wide and fixed on the fire in front of her. Mabel was woken by her trembling hand and crawled away. I sat next to her and gently shook her shoulders, she didn't budge. I called her name softly but again no response. Mabel clawed at my leg and purred.  

"She's okay Mabel." Why was I reassuring a cat? I shook Lana firmly and called her name again. Her head snapped to me and she inhaled sharply as if she had been holding her breath this whole time. 

"Are you okay?" I asked worried but I recognised the look on her face, she had a memory and by her shocked expression, it was bad. 

"Yeah, it's just..." She trailed off as she looked down at Mabel who had curled up into a ball against my foot and had gone to sleep. 

"What is it?" I encouraged. 

She told me in explicit detail what she saw. The body, the young girl's features, the way her long hair fell across her face, the clothes she wore, how pale and drained she looked. The piercing scream that escaped her lips. I already knew it all, well, it was all over the news. A bullied girl who committed suicide. When Lana found her body it set off a chain of events that led to her accident. From that day on all she had was bad luck, it's like someone had cursed her. 

"Did I do that to her?" I knew what she meant. She had bullied Georgina and countless other people but this was not her doing. I shook my head and held her hand in mine, I rubbed circular motions with my thumb to try and comfort her. "What happened?" her voice quivered. I sighed, it was time I told her. 

"Remember, when I told you the police here, were dodgy and couldn't be trusted?" She nodded. "Someone had paid them off. You were a suspect Lana, you were in the newspaper, everyone at school talked about you." She listened carefully, taking in every word. Her facial expression was blank and hid any reaction she may have had. However, her eyes could not deceive me. They were filled with tears, ready to burst any second. 

"Why didn't anyone mention this before? Does Sammy know?"

"Yes, he does," I said sadly as I watched her drop her head back. She sniffled back her tears and blinked a few times to get rid of the tears. I continued, "after your accident people didn't want you to feel overwhelmed especially from something that was painful." She looked back down at me, a tear had escaped the outer corner of her eye and trailed down her cheek. She quickly rubbed it off. 

"Painful? For me?" She scoffed and looked up into my eyes with a sorrowed expression, "imagine how that poor girl felt?" her voice broke and a small sob escaped her lips. I pulled her close and fixated my eyes on the burning fire. I was helpless, I didn't know what to do or how to reassure her. 

"How long after was my accident?" She asked after a moment of silence. 

"It happened a month after." She fell silent once again. 

"...who tipped the police?" Her questions where hard to answer, I didn't have any answers. I knew the same as everyone else. 

"I don't know." She sighed heavily and rubbed her face. 

"This is all getting too much." She forced a small laugh as she looked back at me with a pained expression. I noticed her bottom lip quiver as she held in her cries. 

"We will get to the bottom of this, I promise." I looked at her hopefully and prayed she believed me. I was going to do everything in my power to help her and set her free once and for all. The old Lana was trapped in a maze, struggling to find her way out. I was going to help her find it even if it meant having to go into the maze myself.