Come Back to Me

Tom and and Mel are still upstairs. I can hear them laughing.

"So, what are they like?" I ask, curious about my parents.

"Diane and Henry are the nicest couple you'd ever meet. They've been pretty good to me. Tom was right, you get your looks from your mom. Tom just fell off the ugly tree."

I laugh at Alex's remark about tom. "That's terrible." I mumble, but still laughing. "What's Henry like?"

"Great guy. But, he can be pretty quiet."

"Tom said they speak about me a lot?"

"Yeah.. Don't get me wrong, great couple but they're sad, something's missing." Alex stares at me with his deep brown eyes, and I know he means me. I swallow hard, not sure whether to cry or go bright red because of his stare.

"How do you think they will react when Tom tells them?"

"I think they'll be happy."

"But, they don't know me." I add. "They don't know what I look like, or what I was like as a kid. What if they think it's too late? I'm trying to feel a connection but I can't, too much time has passed."

Alex sits forward and sits his beer down on the table, stands up and holds out his hand.

"Come here, I've got something to show you." I take his hand and let him lead me to the hall, into a spare room that holds a few boxes and books. He let's go of my hand and finds a box that says 'Tom's things'. As he rummages through the box I take a quick glance around the room. There are books piled up, books such as chiropractors, law books, novels, magazines. Alex stands holding a bunch of what looks like birthday and christmas cards. He hands me one.

"Read it." The front of the card says 'Happy birthday my dear son', and on the inside it reads 'Another year older, how time flies. I hope your sister is out there, celebrating just like you are. Love you. From mom and dad x'

He hands me another that reads 'Merry christmas Tom. Make a wish for Ciara and hope that she has a wonderful Christmas.'

The next card was his birthday last year. 'Happy birthday! I wish you could celebrate it with your twin sister, make a wish for her.' I can feel tears welling up. I can't take anymore. I stumble back, hitting a box and holding on to a bookshelf to keep myself steady.

"Amy.." Alex whispers concerned and steps forward, but I quickly hand him back the cards and run off into the hall.

"Amy!" I ignore him, and find the bathroom, slamming the door behind me and locking the door. I wipe my tears away as I stare into the mirror. I don't know who I am anymore, or who I belong to. I've never felt so alone.

"Amy..I'm sorry. I thought you needed to see it." Alex says from the other side of the door, gently knocking it.

"Can you open the door, please?" I take a minute to calm myself down, dry my face and fix my hair. When I open the door Alex is standing with his left arm raised, leaning of the wall. His head is down, he slowly looks up at me and gives me an apologetic smile. He straightens up and steps towards me, suddenly wrapping his arms round my waist and pulling me in towards him. My face is buried in his chest as he holds me, leaning his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. "Take as much time as you need. It's too much for you. I'll have a word with Tom, tell him to back off a little." I nod, enjoying being so close to him that I don't want the hug to end. I feel his hand moving up my back and to the back of my head, gently stroking my hair.

"Everything ok?" Tom asks, distracting me and making us break apart from our cuddle. Mel is standing with her arms folded, glaring at me.

"Yeah, Amy was just upset. Tom, can I have a word?" Alex asks, and takes tom in the kitchen. Seeing those cards has suddenly make me think. I have parents who care about me, who still care about me after all this time, even though they don't know me.

"Alex." I hold his arm before they make it into the kitchen. "It's ok, I don't need you to. I've made up mind." He confusingly looks at me, not know what I'm going to say.

"Why don't you tell mom and dad? In the next couple of days while I'm in New York?" I see Alex forming a smile in the corner if his lips.

"Really? You're coming back,right?" Tom asks.

"Yeah, I just have a few things I need to sort out."

I want to go home, back to normality for a few days, and I want to confront them, and maybe grab a few old photos of me, to show Diane and Henry.