Davidsons

She held the bag to her shoulder and walked up to the porch. The keys were hidden under a pot near the door. She took them out and jammed the keys into the lock. After a few jiggles, it opened.

She settled the bag onto the floor inside as her eyes drifted towards the mini kitchen.

The smell of beans arose as it roamed around the lounge. She frowned deeply; it was the saddest meal this house had ever seen.

She took a step towards the kitchen, a million little things rising in her mind.

Her heart beating normally with every growing step, yet her feet stumbled eyes lingered too much towards the kitchen, breathing in a ray of hope she was longing for a smile on that face.

"Hey, mom," She said with a little smile and a little wave. Isobel turned back around the spatula in her one hand.

"Oh, hey, honey. When did you come? I didn't hear you." She said as she stole glances at the pot on the stove making beans.

Her eyes looked tired with all the dark circles under them. With pale lips and lifeless cheeks, Anna could tell that the night had been rough on her. Those starry eyes held an ocean inside them, drowning her the cold seeping in, leaning for a breath to be taken.

"Just came in," Anna said as she eyed the stove. "Beans?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, we ran out of groceries, and beans was all that we had." She said as she kept on stirring the beans in the pot. Anna nodded and walked towards the counter. She laid out the dishes on the table and filled the jug with water from the cooler. The plastic had been lifted off the glass counter, and the corner side of it had stains of water on it. Her eyes moved towards her mother, and a sigh escaped her lips.

"When is your appointment with him today?" She peered at Anna.

"Around 4, mom," She said, still eyeing the stove, not sure whether it's a rough day as well or are they really out of the grocery. The stains on the table told a different story, though.

"Can you ask Vic to take you?" She asked as she took out the dish from the cabinet.

"Sure," Anna said, dragging the word with a frown on her face.

"I have to go to the store. They need extra hands." She explained.

The beans were ready to be fished out from the pot into the dish. The aroma had lifted and landed more strongly; it sure wasn't her favourite dish.

The dishes were set on the counter, and the stove was still burning; the flames diminished to too little. The sound of the air cooler drifted around; the air howled in the silent room as the calendar with marked dates sat quietly still with the bottles of pills lying in front of it. They dragged the stools and took their seats. The hot steam rose from the dish; the plate remained empty with her hands on the counter. It sure was not just the grocery that had ended but her mom's blissful days as well. The way air had shifted around them, Anna knew beans would be served for a whole week.

"How was your day at the cafe?" She asked, pouring the beans into her plate.

"It was okay. Ava had taken maternity leave, so it was just Madi and me. Jay must have come by now." Anna said, her eyes glancing towards the clock. Her mom nodded and poured some beans onto Anna's plate too.

Her eyes diverted towards her mother, her mind running in circles, a million little questions lying on her lips, a tiny hope breathing slowly. She grabbed the spoon tightly around her fingers and prayed for that paper heart to not belong to her mother. The paper heart she carried she couldn't let it crumble though the hope, breathing inside was caving in slowly, a few cracks appearing marking the betrayal on the heart of hers.

"Ben & larry's has a whole wall dedicated to stories," Anna said, striking a conversation in the sickly silent room with just the sound of air cooler running.

"Yes, honey, I have been there with you before," She said.

Anna felt the need to know the answer to her one question, so she continued, "They have all the old stories too. Some feel like living those happy moments of others while some just feel tragic so sad that the soul mourns for the tragedy of other people that happened years ago." With her eyes down, she looked at her mom through her lashes to catch her react a certain way.

Her mom gave a loose-lipped smile to her daughter, sat her spoon down, and said: "It's sad yet beautiful that you can feel other's emotions so heartily." With a weak smile, she turned her head towards the door, her eyes lingering there for a few seconds before she took the spoon in her hand and dug it into the beans.

The rest of the lunch went quietly. She didn't ask her one thing, and her mother didn't speak. She had noticed how her eyebrows had creased, lips pressed in a thin line, her eyes holding a million little emotions in them. The heart had hoped for the story to come untrue. And wished for the soul to had never touched that for it to feel the awakening of that piece she had buried deep inside- the betrayal that long-lived on those walls.

--

The noise from the tv blared into the lounge as she picked the remote and landed on the couch. A huge sigh escaped her lips as she flipped through the channels. A few photo frames sat beside it; some had her photos while others had her mom in it with her, and the only one at the back, a small peach rectangle frame, had the whole family in it. Finally, she stopped at a black and white movie and kept the remote aside. Her breaths had calmed her heart no longer hoped.

Her mind had drifted away from the sore conversation with her mom, her eyes laid onto the screen - the lost serenity back in her heart. Black and whites were always her favourites.

"Vic's here, Anna." Her mom called from the door. Vic stood at the entrance with the biggest grin on her face. Her fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of the white bag that had the outlet's name splashed all over it.

"You made it," Anna said, eyeing her bag as she turned down the volume of the movie. Vic's shoulders raised, her grin widening as she brought that bag up close to her face.

Anna raised her eyebrows. " Shall we proceed with this conversation to my room?" Vic's head bopped up and down, her ecstatic smile never fading. Anna switched off the TV and strode towards her room with Vic on the toe. She could tell Vic was in a state of bliss, but why she couldn't place.

The door to her room held closed; the white door had a few photo frames attached to it with her childhood pictures. They even had a photo of her lying in her hospital bed, a tube attached to her hand. She sat there smiling at the camera as the food tray laid there full. Her eyes landed on that photo as her hand settled on the doorknob about to turn it. She smiled, remembering the words scribbled at the back of that photo. With a faint headshake, she turned the knob and stepped inside.

"So, what are you so excited about?" Anna asked as Vic took off her sandals and dived onto the comfy bed she had loved since they were kids.

"You don't remember?" Vic asked as she adjusted the pillow below her elbow. A frown formed on Anna's face as she scratched her head, trying to remember.

"It's the senior year prom Ann," Vic said as the realization dawned on Anna. She had forgotten entirely about the prom, the one dance that people hold close to their hearts.

"You know I'm not going." Anna sighed as she plopped down onto her bed. Head laid back, her hands crossed behind her head. Her eyes roamed around her room and settled onto the picture wall. The glass covered all the photographs they had put up together, the dinners they had had, her dad's business meetings after-party, and the beaches they used to go to. The waves had raised a fear inside her then, and now standing in the deep waves, it had become her solace. She diverted her eyes towards her ceiling; the stars stayed dim.

"Have you told him yet?" Vic asked. Anna shook her head and murmured a small no.

"You should tell him." Vic turned her head towards her as Anna sighed heavily.

"He knows about the cafe anniversary." She argued. It was Ben and Larry's 21st anniversary next week on the same day as their prom, and Anna was needed at the cafe.

"What about your appointment with the doc?" She asked. Anna shrugged and stood up from the bed.

"Will tell him later. Now up, you have to take me to the hospital for my check-up." She said, dragging Vic out of bed.

"A please would have been nice," Vic murmured under her breath. On hearing that, Anna snorted.

``

The glass doors slid open the white tiles smelled of the strong detergent as the bright white lights blazed in the hallways. The empty reception looked untouched as her eyes roamed around, trying to look for Becca.

"Hey!" She called a nurse passing by.

"Hey, Anna!" She said, disposing of her gloves into the trash. She smiled; her way felt like a renowned person in this hospital.

"Have you seen Rebecca?" Anna asked. The nurse nodded.

"She's in room 215. Will be out soon." With a short nod, she walked off in the opposite direction.

Anna walked towards room 215 with Vic by her side as her fingers typed away into her phone. The constant sound of typing made her turn her head towards Vic and glare at her. With a shrug, Vic kept on typing. Anna shook her head and stopped at the entrance of the 215 room. Her head laid on the door frame, hands crossed as her eyes searched for Becca.

"And you will be better soon." Becca's voice came from the inside. A small smile crawled onto Anna's face. She had heard those words since the first time she was brought in. Becca was an optimist when Anna had been a pessimist. She made her see the light even when there wasn't any. The sound of her shoes' heel clicked against the floorboard as she walked towards the door with the medication tray in her hands.

"I will check up on you at 6 now, Mike," She said, turning her head towards the door. Anna stood by the door, Vic behind her Becca stopped in the middle.

"This isn't your room," Becca said.

Anna nodded. "I came to see you," Vic's head popped up with a guilty smile; she mumbled, "I did too."

With a head shake, Becca walked out of the room. "Go to your room" She smiled. "I will call the doctor and see you there."

The hospital wasn't crowded at this hour, the visiting time didn't start in 5 hours, and after a long time, she didn't feel like the white walls were caving in.

She stood outside the room. The numbers in black stuck onto the door at the middle top - 219 written in cursive. Her hands held the knob, and the door flew open. Vic's head was the first to pop in. 219 had been Anna's room since she was a kid. She had been in and out of this room for the past nine years.

She took a deep breath in and stepped inside. The walls were still painted blue the quotations still hung onto them with her fluffed pillows all around the room.

"You are coming after 2 months, right?" Vic asked, picking up the Tom and jerry pillow lying on the bed.

"Yeah," She said, putting her bag down and striding towards the bathroom.

"That's why you need to check in every week?" Vic asked. Anna splashed water onto her face. "Yes, I have missed my appointments. They need to make sure my heart is working properly, if not perfectly." She took the paper towel and wiped the water off her face.

"Anna" Her face turned towards the door. The deep voice hinted happiness in it. She walked to the door, and he stood there with the white coat hugging him and a stethoscope around his neck, the classic doctor look.

"Hello, doc" She smiled.

He smirked. "How's Isobel?" Her hands reached towards her heart- pretending to be hurt.

"I'm good; why thank you, doc" With a playful smile, she sat down onto the bed, "Mom's going through a rough patch." With a shrug, she pursed her lips together; they both knew what that meant.

He nodded at her, "How was your trip?" he asked as he took out the pen from his pocket and laid it down with the clipboard on the table.

"It was okay. Nanna's doing great now," She said, her legs dangling off the bed, moving back and fro. An old habit that never died.

Vic was seated on the couch angrily typing away on her phone. That sound made Anna turn back.

With a raised eyebrow, she finally said," Who are you texting so constantly?"

Without glancing her way, she answered, "Davis."

"He's back into our lives?" Anna asked, confused.

"Yes, and now he is just one second away from getting out of our lives again," She said through gritted teeth. Shaking her head Anna turned her attention back towards her doctor.

"We will monitor your blood pressure first and then move to ECG, okay?" She nodded as he put the cuffs onto her upper arm. She had laid down on the bed starring at the empty ceiling. The air pumped into the cuff, inflating it, tingles ran down her arm. Her eyes watched the empty ceiling still; her heart thumped loudly as his hands rested on top of her head, trying to calm her a little.

The cuff started deflating slowly, "127/80 mmHg." he said as he noted down the reading and took the cuff off her arms. She exhaled the breath she had been holding.

"Relax now. I will set up the ECG machine." With a small smile, he called for Becca. Anna laid still as her phone vibrated on the table beside her. With a sigh, she picked it up. The screen showed his name - the message yet hidden. She swiped right to open the lock.

"Hey girl" Her eyes diverted towards Becca, the phone resting in her hand, the message glaring on the screen. Anna smiled at her as she approached her. Opening up her blouse buttons, she took the electrodes and attached them to her chest with the adhesive tapes.

"It won't hurt, sweety," Becca said, her hand resting on Anna's arm. Anna nodded as she turned her head towards her right, checking up on the message. She winced as the test began.

"Are you coming to my volleyball match? Or like before you are ditching me again?"