Another Life, JenniferNewman [short story to read .TXT] 📗

the bed were I flopped down. Well here I was again just five minutes later in the same place I had been before. Only difference was now I was dressed with makeup and all just really could not be bothered to more.
“The dreams getting in your nerves yet?” I heard the muffled voice before flinging myself off the bed and straight onto the carpeted floor. Oh crap! I pulled myself to my knees just in time to hear the faint laughter coming from all around the room. Well that narrows it down.
I stood up and looked around my room. There was a strange mist seeping its way across my room from my now open window. Why does an open window always signify Cody? I mean he was a ghost and all why on earth did he have to open my window? Was there a point to this?
“Well you know you can answer me anytime now.” Yeah right like I was going to start talking to thin air. I was going crazy but not that crazy. Yet.
“Fine suit yourself.” I could feel myself getting tired. The room was slowly getting darker and darker as Cody made me fall asleep into yet another one of his way to real dreams.
I heard the doorbell down stairs just before I fell to the ground in blackness.

“Rose! Come on open the door. I heard the alarm go off! Parker’s here for you! Get out of bed!” I opened my eyes to find myself on the floor of my room with my hands on my head blocking pout my Mums bellowing. I groaned and looked around my room hoping that the window would be closed and the mist would have vanished. I was in luck.
I realized then what my Mum was saying and jumped up and over to my door yanking it open to find my Mum flustered and just about to hammer on my door again.
“Sorry, fell back asleep.” I said before I looked over her shoulder and down the stairs to where Parker was standing at the bottom of the second set of stairs. I felt something cold running down my arm. “One second!” I yelped before pushing the door closed and running into the bathroom where I flung the door closed in there to. You know sometime I wish people would not surprise me like that. The cut along my arm was only now starting to hurt. What! I almost screamed when I saw it in the mirror. So Cody was really going to started hurting me now. Not just mentally but physically now. Well crap.
I quickly wiped away the blood from my arm and fumbled around in my cupboard for a bandage that I could cover it with.
I finally found one and wound it round and round until I had a smooth rap. I had become an expert on how to rap a bandage over my seventeen years of clumsiness. The cut itself didn’t hurt that much or freak me out but the thought of how I got it really did. I speed walked out of the bathroom and back into my room were my clothes were thrown all over the floor in no real pattern. I picked up a cream cardi and opened my door again pulling it on. My Mum was no longer standing at my door but was walking back down the corridor muttering something g about how weird I was acting.
Parker was still standing at the same place he had been before I had freaked out. Well acting normal might help me with my plan of not having to explain. From the look on Parker’s face I was not I luck……
Parker stepped aside so that my Mum could get back down the stairs away from us. He turned round to make sure that my Mum had finished descending the stairs. I heard the door to the kitchen down stairs open and then slam closed before Parker turned back to face me. I smiled slightly while he just raised his eyebrow. Oh yeah I had explaining to do. I leaned back against the wall and waited for him to make his way up to me.
“Do we really have to have this convocation every time I see you?” Well he sounded exasperated.
“Not true I saw you on Monday. We didn’t have this convocation then. Anyway what convocation are we supposedly having?”
“Funny.” He said just before leaning into kiss me. I reached up so that my arms were around his neck and continued to lean against the wall behind me.
When Parker finally came up for air he fixed me with his dreaded puppy dog eyes. Oh my god they were still as adorable as ever! I groaned and closed my eyes trying to make myself not look at his and his gorgeous puppy eyes.
It was working out until he decided to kiss me again. This time when we both came up for air it felt like the world was spinning and I leaned heavily against the wall to keep from falling. Parker was still giving me the puppy dog eyes.
“I can do this all day you know.” He closed in again pulling me closer. “Or you could just agree to tell me what happened and MEAN it this time.” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips that really could not be called a kiss but I agreed to tell him and he pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I lay my head against his chest and closed my eyes. He started humming and I looked up raising my eye brow.
Parker simple shrugged and pulled my tighter.

Ten or fifteen minutes later we were both sat in the work room with me in Parker’s lap. Not my choice. With my head on his shoulder and him telling me that the dreams would stop. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. He looked more worried and annoyed than me. I mean I was the one who had had next to no sleep the last week or so.
I laid my head back down on his shoulder but soon became conscious that I was sitting on his lap. I shuffled off his lap and pulled a seat over to me and sat down.
“Okay so what is it with you and not liking to sit on my lap?” I looked down but he put his hand under my chin and lifted my face back up to his. He was once again giving me his puppy dog eyes but it wasn’t working so good because he couldn’t help but let his amused face sneak through. I rolled my eyes at him again and leaned back against the chair.
I looked over to the window and noticed it was open just a crack. My heart speed up until I told myself how stupid I was being. Was I really going to be scared of open windows for the rest of my life now? Maybe.
Parker had noticed my change in expression and moved his chair closer to mine and put his arm around my shoulders pulling me close.
“You don’t need to be scared Rose. I mean it nothing’s going to happen.” I smiled up at him and leaned against his chest.
“Promise me something.” I opened my eyes from here I had been close to falling asleep and looked up at Parker’s face to find him looking sincerely back down at me. This has got to be the most serious I had seen him in the short week or so I had known him. Had it really only been a week? Wow!
I nodded and he continued,
“I know you have told me you would before but that hasn’t happened so just please please call me when my brother comes here again. No wait I take that back because you will find a way around that. Just tell me when EVER you see my brother no matter where or what time okay? Just tell me.” I looked at him for a good ten seconds before signing and saying,
“Sure. I’ll call. Just don’t get grumpy when I call at like one am. Just remember you asked for it.” He simple rolled his eyes at me and went back to being normal Parker and not the serious guy he had just been.
We went down stairs after that and into the kitchen which Mum had abandoned looking spotless as always. Parker sat at the table while I attempted to put the kettle on with one hand and keep the cups from falling over with the other. I swear it was something about this kitchen that made me even more clumsy than usual. I remembered the first time Parker had been ion here and it made me cringe. Even without the help of Cody and the flying coffee top I would have found a way to embarrass myself. I heard the TV turn on next door and turned my head just in time to see my Mum coming in the door and looking at me as if I was crazy? What was I doing?
“Rose can I have a word? Now?” I nodded and walked out the room with her. She handed me a leaflet with the words ‘so you thing you have Mnemophobia?’ Mnemophobia? What the hell was that meant to mean?
“Mnemophobia-what?” I asked my Mum.
“The fear of memories. The doctor posted this for me……. He thinks I have it. Though he does not believe I have it bad. Its only the start.” She muttered looking down at the floor to avoid my eyes. Was my Mum really looking embarrassed. Wow.
I stopped thinking and just put my arms around her. I muttered something like ‘it’s okay. It can’t be that bad. I mean it’s a phobia right there are always cures.’ I have no idea if this helped but soon Mum was hugging me back hard and the idea of my Mum having the fear of memories was starting to sink in and it made much more sense.
When she let go of me and muttered something about how it would not affect me in any way I opened the leaflet. It didn’t say much about it just places where she could get help and about people she could talk to if she needed to. There was also a letter from the doc saying she needed to come to the surgery so he could make this a fact not just an opinion. I breathed in before carefully placing the leaflet and letter on the liege near were we had been standing and walked back into the kitchen. Only to find Parker still sitting at the table unaware of any change. I smiled breathily at him before carrying on walking towards the kettle.
I thought about my Mum and how this would cost her if it got any worse. Amaxophobia the fear of riding in a car. That was what Gran had had. Hers was serious and even the mention of cars would freak her out. She would scream and scream until she forgot what she was screaming about. Only for it to start back up again when she remembered. I was only young when this had happened and she had had help after that and was pretty much better now. Apart from the fact that she walked everywhere and I mean everywhere.
I was starting to freak myself out thinking of my stable Mum like that. Screaming at the slightest memory. Could that really happen?
Before I knew it Parker was behind me with his arms going around my waist pulling me to him. I turned round