Just Take a Second to Set Things Straight

ALLIE'S POV

I took in a shaking breath as I stood on that street. That familiar street.

It looked the same as the day I had left it.

I hadn't wanted to come back, I really hadn't. But the people who told me they were my family had made me. The woman who was my mother, she encouraged me the most I guess. I only listened to her because behind the laugh lines and slightly grey hair, part of her remained in my memory, the parts with my dad.

I was still unstable. But then, I always would be. Apparently in my case I would have periods of remembering things, maybe even up to a good half a year, and I would think I was getting better. But it would always be a lie. Because I would always forget. At least I knew I had this...this thing. I hated saying it. I mean come on! Who was twenty three and had a rare case of Alzheimer's? That's why I never went on any dates any more. Because for one, I would forget who they were the next day, and secondly, even if I did remember them the next day, would they really want to stick around as a long term carer?

They had suggested I have a long term carer. But I was still uneasy around the people who were supposedly my family. Even that girl...what was her name? Erica? Even she slipped my mind sometimes. But she had been elected. Apparently if I refused care, she would have to come by every so often. I hadn't liked it, but I had agreed. I had to come back here. Part of me knew it. But I was so scared.

I was terrified when I found out. But Erica had explained things to me, and that made it a little easier. And after five months I knew I had to stop putting off the inevitable.

Someone touched my elbow. I turned and saw a smiling face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I'm sorry, I forgot your name again," I confessed, a little upset with myself.

The woman gave me the same smiling face I'd become so accustomed to over the past five months. A smile full of sympathy and sadness.

"It's Erica sweetie, remember?"

"Oh...right..." I said quietly, and let Erica guide me away from my childhood house, back to the car. "Erica...where are we going?"

"The airport, remember? We're heading over to LA."

Huh? What? "But we only just got here."

She shook her head as she got into the back seat with me. "No sweetie, we've been here for two weeks now. We need to go with him back to his house in LA for his work, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah! Sorry Zack," I apologised to the muscly guy who was driving us.

He looked at me in the rear view mirror and smiled. "It's fine, don't you worry about a thing."

I sighed and leaned back against the car seat. These were going to be a long few months.