Overcomer

I woke up in a hospital. It took me a minute to realize that’s where I was, but looking around and seeing doctors coming in and out gave it away. When a nurse walked in to check on me I asked what happened and she went to get a doctor. “Hello, Miss Smith. How are you today?” Smith? Who’s Smith?

“Smith? Is that my name?” The doctor, Dr. Maxwell, gave the nurse a look, and she walked out of the room. Dr. Maxwell sat down next to me.

“Do you know your name?” I shook my head no and he let out a sigh “Your name is Lilly Smith. You’re sixteen years old and you were in a terrible fire,”

That’s when I noticed them, scars, all over my body. I felt the tears roll down my face as they burned the cuts on my cheek and lip.

“Why don’t I remember anything?” Dr. Maxwell grabbed some x-rays and showed them to me. They were of my brain.

“Do you see this right here?” He pointed at something I didn’t even know the name of, but I nodded. “During the fire, you hit your head on something, plus inhaled a lot of fumes that has damaged your memory. We couldn’t know how bad it was until you woke up, but no one thought it would be this bad.” I knew asking this question would only lead to more bad new, but I had to ask.

“Parents, Where are my parents?” Dr. Maxwell sighed, and I already knew the answer that was coming.

“Your father died when you were three, and your mother didn’t survive the fire. I’m so sorry. “

I asked Dr. Maxwell to leave so I could process things, but in reality, I was freaking out. Where was I going to go? Would I be put in the foster system? What if my new parents are rude? Can I live on my own at sixteen? Those were the questions racing through my head before a woman I hadn’t seen walked in. “Who are you?” Not my smoothest line, but I’m alone in the hospital and a strange woman walked in. She could be a psycho trying to kill me.

“Hello, Lilly. I know it’s been a long time. I haven’t seen you since your dad died,” So, I should to know her.

“Ok, well you still haven’t answered my question.” The woman smiled.

“I’m your Aunt Rose. I live in Paris. That’s why I haven’t seen you in so long,” I thought she had an accent, guess I was right.

“So, why are you here now?” I asked. Rose sat down next to my bed.

“Instead of going into the system, you’re going to come to Paris to live with me,” She told me and waited for a reaction. I wasn’t even sure how to react. I was moving to Paris.

The next day someone from the fire department came by and dropped off a journal that belonged to my mother. Inside, I found a photograph of my mom, dad, and someone older that Rose didn’t know.

I got out of the hospital a week later, and the first thing I wanted to do was go shopping. I didn’t get any clothes back from the fire department, so I assumed there was nothing left. I was wearing one of Rose’s shirts and yoga pants with sneakers. We left for the airport once all the papers were signed. Rose had a bakery back in France that was below the apartment she lived in, correction we lived in.

When we got to the bakery, Rose ushered me upstairs and showed me to the spare bedroom that was mine now. I watched tv for a bit before going back downstairs to see if I could help with anything.

“Hey, Rose? I can test out my skills, see if I’m any good and help out with something.” Rose smiled at me and had a look on her face.

“You remind me of your mom so much. She’s the one who taught me to bake. Anyways, you can ice those cupcakes. There’s already a dozen done so you should get the pattern. Find me or my assistant, Mia, if you need anything.” I nodded and she gave me one more smile before going back to the front to help customers. I started to hum as I iced. This was fun. I wonder if I ever baked with my mom.

“Can I have one?” I screamed and dropped the cupcake that I held in my hand to the floor and turned around. Some kid that looked a bit older than me was standing in the doorway laughing his butt off.

He spoke English when he asked for one but then started speaking French, “Pardon. Je m’appelle Anthony. Comment tu t’appelles?” I was so confused. I have tried to learn some French on the way here. Rose walked in and I was so thankful. When she saw the boy, she gave him a hug and they started talking. I think they were talking about me.

“Lilly, Anthony didn’t mean to scare you. He was looking for me,” Rose said confirming my suspicions. I nodded and got back to icing cupcakes.

About an hour later, Rose came back and looked shocked when she saw me.

“You’re still here? Go upstairs and eat something. Then brush up on your French and go to bed,” I nodded and finished boxing a few cupcakes. Once I was done, I went upstairs and took a shower. I was sweaty and covered in flour from a prank Anthony thought would be hilarious. I felt better as soon as I got out of the shower. Turns out, Anthony helps out at the bakery sometimes. He’s actually a pretty cool guy when he’s not speaking French to tease me or pouring flour on me. What’s that saying? He’s nicer once you get to know him.

After heating up some pasta, I grabbed the book Rose gave me and began studying. Even when I thought I was getting something I would listen to it, and I would be completely wrong. Rose came up from the bakery around ten and went to bed. It was now one in the morning and I was still frustrated and confused as hell. I was never gonna get this right.

Rose came out of her room around three, and I wanted to pass out. She laughed at the sight of me sprawled across the couch. “Why don’t you go to bed and work on this in the morning?” Rose suggested. I nodded and went to bed, leaving the books and coffee on the table.

I had just begun to fall asleep when something small with four paws started walking on my bed. I jumped up and screamed. Rose burst into my room to see what was going on.

“What is going on? Are you okay?” She asked and that’s when she saw that demon on my bed and she started to laugh. “Are you scared of Leah?” I nodded and crossed my arms. This was not a laughing matter. Rose explained that Leah was her pet chihuahua. I can’t believe I have to live with that thing. Here’s the thing, I’m terrified of small dogs. Absolutely terrified of them. In my mind, they are small demonic creatures that should be in a zoo, not a house.

I find it strange that I remember small things about me, but not a lot. I know I don’t like small dogs, but love German shepherds. I prefer tea rather than coffee and my favorite color is purple. It’s strange how I remember those things, but not the important things. It still takes me a minute to respond when someone says my name.

After Rose left my room and took Leah with her, I picked up my mom’s journal and read it until I fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, I heard Rose in the kitchen on the phone. I wasn’t sure exactly what she was saying, but I heard her say école and I know that means school. I walked into the kitchen and she said something into the phone and hung up when she saw me. “Morning,” She said handing me a cup of tea. I thanked her and sat down at the island.

“Did I hear you talking about school?” I asked. Rose sighed and set her coffee down.

“Yeah that was the headmaster of a school I wanted to register you with. But she isn’t very open to the idea of homeschooling online,” She said, “Anyway, today you and I are going shopping. You can’t live in my clothes forever”. I laughed and changed into the clothes she gave me when I got out of the hospital. We spent over three hours shopping when Rose decided we could take a lunch break. I had bought so many jeans, shoes, hoodies, and beanies. Rose made me get a couple dresses and skirts, but they weren’t terrible.

When we got to a coffee shop Rose liked to go to, she ordered coffee and a croissant ,and I ordered tea and a sandwich.

“I read some of my mom’s journal last night,” I told Rose. She looked shocked.

“What did you find out?” I wasn’t sure if I should tell her right now, so I came up with a lie.

“She wrote about me a lot.” It was partially true. She nodded and we finished our lunch in silence.

After shopping for another hour, I had a new phone, computer, and tablet. When we got home, I put everything into my closet and changed into some sweatpants and a tank top. Rose went down to the bakery to help Mia, and I started working on my French again.

Rose came up for dinner around six o’clock, and I had already gotten a lot down. basic stuff like tourist language, but It was more progress than I had made last night.

For dinner, Rose made costa con broccoli with bread and she had wine, while I drank water. Rose asked me if I could help out with a wedding order tomorrow. The bride and groom wanted a three tier cake, and 50 dozen cupcakes so Mia, Anthony, and herself wouldn’t be enough. She asked Anthony and me to work on cupcakes. Mia and her work on the cake and help us once they finished since we had more work to do. I figured why not. Rose was still trying to figure out my school stuff, so I wouldn’t have anything to do, but watch TV and practice my French.

The next day, Rose woke me up at 6 am and told me to take a shower and get ready. I put on black sweatpants and a t-shirt. Not a good idea when combined with flour and Anthony but why not.

I walked into the kitchen with my hair down. Rose shook her head not approving of my hair and outfit and pointed to her ponytail, jeans, and white shirt. I changed into an outfit almost identical to hers. Rose approved and handed me the tea she was keeping hostage. She could be cruel when she wanted to be.

Anthony was late and didn’t get there till around nine o’clock, and he was wearing black sweatpants. I was glad to be able to understand the lecture Rose gave him.

“How’s your French?” He asked me in French.

“Améliorant,” I replied in French. It translated to improving. I was having difficulty with speaking full sentences so I kept it short and sweet.

He cracked a smile and grabbed an apron. We spent the rest of the time talking and messing around until Rose dismissed us. Anthony asked if I wanted to get some ice cream and pick up his cousin. I nodded and let Rose know where I was going. In one day, Anthony had helped me with my French a lot and I was grateful. We grabbed ice cream and then we had to pick up his cousin from her work.

Her boss came out to the car and talked to Anthony while we waited.. Something seemed very familiar, especially the small scorpion tattoo next to his eye. That was gonna bother me till I found out where I knew him from.

Anthony’s cousin, Cecilia, came out to the car a few minutes later and we headed to the park to hang out for a bit.

“How are you adjusting to Paris?” she asked me. I was very thankful that she spoke English. It would had been awkward to have Anthony translate for me.

“I love the city, It’s the language that’s giving me problems.” I confessed, not that it was a secret. I’m lost whenever someone started a conversation with me in French.

Cece cracked a smile at that. She was a lot like her cousin. They both liked to joke around and it was easy to have a conversation with both of them as long as it was in English.

“Now Cecilia, don’t go stealing my best friend just because you two are female and I am a guy. Opposite gender friendships are always better,” Anthony joked. Cece rolled her eyes and said something to him in French that I didn’t understand. He nodded and turned to me.

“I have to get her home before my aunt calls the cops, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” I nodded and gave them both hugs and exchanged numbers with Cecilia.

The first thing I did when I got home was change into shorts and my fuzzy slippers. I started thinking about my mom and who I was before the fire. I grabbed my mom’s journal and started going through it. I flipped to the last entry and read

October 13

Lilly asked to dye her hair purple today. She’s always loved that color. When she was born, Cole and I painted her nursery yellow because we wanted to wait to know the gender. But there was this stuffed elephant that she never let out of her sight. It was purple and that elephant started her obsession with purple. I wish I could go back to when she was a little kid. Things were so much easier. Now she’s growing up, and it’s hard to accept. That man came to my home today and Lilly answered the door.

When I turned the corner and saw who was there I wanted to cry. He could’ve harmed my baby girl and I let it happen. I was glad when he left, but I knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. He would be back. The question was when. I wish Cole was here. He was more ready to be a parent than I was. When he died, I lost it. I dropped Lilly off at my mom’s house and didn’t pick her up for a week. I was so hurt and angry, but I came to my senses. I couldn’t abandon my daughter. It was the best choice of my life. She’s so amazing and I know as a mother I have to say that, but it’s true. She’s talented and wonderful, she reminds me of my sister actually. Rose left home when she was 17 and didn’t look back. I wasn’t mad that she had left, I was mad that she left without me. I love my baby girl and I won’t let him hurt her like he did to Cole.

It ended without any explanation. She didn’t say what the man did. Ugh, I was so frustrated that I couldn’t remember opening that door. Why did she stop? I looked through the journal until I found another entry where she mentioned that man.

February 18

My husband is dead. The man I love and the father of my baby girl is gone. The told me it was an accident. His equipment broke, but I’m not stupid. Someone killed him. I’ll know him when I see him because whoever tampered with his equipment cut themselves on their hand. Bruce came by today. Cole’s CO. He apologized for my loss and handed me a note that Cole had written. That’s when I saw it. The note no longer mattered, but I grabbed the note and pretended I didn’t see anything. I opened the note and began to read

My love, We will be going on a mission today and if I don’t make it, I want you to know that I love you and Lilly. So please forgive me, and never forget what the attention to detail can give you.

He knew. Cole knew that Bruce was going to kill him and he let it happen. Did he have a plan? Was he going to try and stop him and this note was in case he didn’t succeed? No matter what, I now know for sure that Bruce killed my husband. Then he held my daughter while consoling me for the crime he committed. I will never forgive him.

So, Bruce killed my father. Why didn’t my mother ever tell anyone and why did Bruce come back? I had to figure out where he was and if he did kill my father. Why was my mother afraid when he came back? She was angry when he killed my father, but not afraid, so there has to be something not in the journal. As I put the journal under my bed, a thought crossed my mind. October 13 was the day of the fire. What if my father wasn’t the only person Bruce killed? What if he killed my mother? What if he tried to kill me too? I put the journal away and in my dreams I remembered the day of the fire.

Mom and I were in the kitchen making cupcakes. We were laughing about the mess that had engulfed the kitchen. It had been a while since we had a mother and daughter day.

While mom was taking the cupcakes out of the oven, someone knocked on the door. Without even hesitating, I left the kitchen and opened the door. A man was standing there posed to knock again.

“Um, can I help you?” I asked confused who he was. I had never seen him before.

“You must be Lilly, I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl. My name is Bruce, I served-” he stopped talking when my mom turned the corner and saw him. She froze at the sight of him.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but you need to leave.” Bruce’s expression changed. He looked shocked, almost enraged, at my mom’s reaction.

She stepped protectively in front of me and closed the door, locking the top and bottom locks.

“Mom, who was that man?”

“Go clean up the mess!” she snapped. I jumped and rushed to the kitchen. My mom never got angry like that.

I spent the next week helping Rose in the bakery. I was now enrolled in school. Luckily, it was online and I didn’t have to do it all day. All I had to make sure I finished my daily work and reading.

It wasn’t that bad and I was starting to get used to Paris and speaking French.

Now, anything I said was in French. That way I could also help out in front with the customers. Today, I was going to hang out with Cecilia, or Cece for short.

I was walking to her work and then we would go to the park. When I walked inside, her boss was there. He gave me a wave and I waited for Cece to get changed. We hung out at the park for a couple hours and then we got lunch. After that, Cece had to get to her dance class, so I went home and read more of my mom’s journal. I kept having flashbacks to the day of the fire, Bruce coming to the door, and I was even starting to remember him when I was little. As I looked at the photograph I realized why Cece’s boss looked familiar. The tattoo. It was him. Her boss was Bruce.