Page 121 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

“No, no, no,” my mom said. “You’re fine. You’re awake. Everyone was worried that you might not wake up.” She paused. “But the baby…” her voice trailed off and tears started to well in her eyes.

“Was I babysitting or something?” Why couldn’t I remember?

My mom glanced at my dad and then back at me. “Sweetie, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was studying for my sociology final. I must have fallen asleep in bed.”

She stared at me. “Sociology? Didn’t you take that freshman year?”

“Um…yeah.” I laughed awkwardly. “Just a few more exams and I’ll officially be done my first year. Oh no…do you think I missed any of my finals while I’ve been here? What day is it?”

My mom looked back at my dad. “Peter, get the doctor.” Her voice sounded so serious.

My dad practically flew out of his chair. I had never seen him move so fast.

“Why?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

She squeezed my hand. “You’re not in college anymore. Don’t you remember?”

“Of course I’m still in college. It’s not like I dropped out. I’d never do that. I love sch

ool.”

She stared at me. “Penny, you’re 26 years old.”

I laughed. “Mom, I’m 19.”

She dropped my hand and covered her mouth before her sob escaped.

“I’m 19,” I said again. Right?

A Whirlwind of Color - Chapter 2

Tuesday

A different doctor than the first one came into the room. He looked much more professional with a white coat, hair graying at the temples, and a stethoscope dangling from his neck. I instantly trusted him more than the other man. And he didn’t hover unnecessarily close or make me feel uncomfortable in any way. Except for his onslaught of questions.

“And what’s your name?” he asked. The way he was staring at me made me think this was some sort of trick question. But I had only ever had one name.

“Penny Taylor.” Maybe I didn’t like him that much after all. He was treating me like a child. I knew my own name. “Do you want me to spell that for you?”

He chuckled. “No, that won’t be necessary.” He looked down at his notebook. “And the very last thing you remember is studying?” he asked.

I nodded, my mind stuck on what my mom had said. Penny, you’re 26 years old. I shook my head. I’d think I’d remember if seven years of my life had flown by. “So can I get out of here? I really do feel fine and I have exams to study for.”

The doctor jotted something down in his notebook. He looked up from his pages and smiled. “We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can, Penny. You have my word.”

“You can’t release her like this,” my mom said. “What’s wrong with her?”

Her words stung. There was nothing wrong with me. She was the one that had lost her mind. I glanced at my dad for reassurance, but he was staring at me with just as much worry etched on his face.

Penny, you’re 26 years old. The words swirled around in my head, refusing to settle. I’m 19.

“I’m going to go talk to your family in the hall,” the doctor said. “We’ll be back in a minute. Sit tight, alright?” He tapped my blanket covered foot and walked out the door with my parents.

This was just some sort of bad dream. I hadn’t been sleeping that well. Austin had blown me off the past few nights, claiming he was studying for finals. But he never studied, his GPA was proof of that. I knew what he was doing behind my back. Who he was doing. And he was slowly driving me insane.

I was fed up with his shit. I was so sick of being his second choice. We needed to have a serious conversation about what we were. Again. How many times had we talked about the same issues over and over again? But I refused to go home for the summer without knowing where we stood. That would definitely drive me mad.

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