Cold Turkey, Part 8

All characters in this story are purely fictional.  Any resemblence 
of these characters to real life people are conicidence only, and are 
not meant to cause offence to anyone.  All place names and locations 
in this story are intentionally fictional.  

COLD TURKEY
by Blackbladder

Part 8

"See you tommorrow?" Leo asked as Irene stepped out of his Land Rover.  Her
bearings of where she was were blurred due to the alcohol she had flowing in
her system.  The tension had turned Irene to drink heavily.  She felt like
sixteen again - giddly risktaker. 

"M..M..Maybe.  If my daughter hasn't thrown me out before then." Irene stated,
her speech slurred with the level of alcohol.  

"You better go straight to bed.  Goodnight." Leo smiled before leaning out of
the window to kiss Irene.

Once they embraced, Leo waved goodbye before the Land Rover pulled out into
the distance.  Irene turned to look at the cabin - now a fortress of tension
which she dreaded returning to.  Irene tred very slowly towards the front
door, visions of how her daughter might be reacting right now to her betrayal.  

As Irene stumbled through the front door, she saw Denise sit at the cabin
table holding her hands on her head, covering her face.  Denise had been
completely oblivious to her mother entering and made no movements.  

So far so good, Irene thought as she sat beside Denise at the table.  She had
been expecting another lecture from the minute she entered the cabin but this
did not happen.

"Denise, I am sorry if I upset you earlier.  Please don't make us fall out.
This is supposed to be a holiday for the both of us.  Can we put it all behind
us?" Irene pleaded as Denise remained motionless in her chair, her panting was
heavy.  Denise's cheeks were red as she applied pressure to her face, still
not acknowledging her mother's apology.

Irene then put her arm around her daughter and glanced at the table.  She saw
a piece of debris sitting menacingly on the wooden table.  

"My damn head is spinning! It is so sore!" Denise mumbled.

"What happened?" Irene asked as she comforted her daughter.

"I can't remember.....all I know is that I came to on the floor by the
fireplace."

Irene removed one of Denise's hands gently to reveal a small cut and bruising
to her forehead.  Instinctively, Irene helped her daughter to her feet and
lead her to her bedroom.  Denise lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes.

"I will be right back honey." Irene said as she rushed to the first aid box.

As Irene returned to the bedroom and treated her daughter with some cream and
a plaster, her daughter lay restless on the bed.

"We will take you to a proper doctor tommorrow to check you out.  Make sure
that there is nothing else wrong." Irene reassured, now wiping Denise's brow
with a cloth.

As Denise opened her eyes, she began to focus them towards the caring eyes of
her mother.

"Who are you?" Denise asked, tears of frustration running down her face.

Irene was gobsmacked.  Had she lost her memory?

"Honey, don't you remember who I am? I am your mother!  Do you remember
anything?" Irene replied

Denise pondered for a few seconds, slowly raising her hand to massage her head
before closing her eyes momentarily.

"No.  This is so annoying.  I am trying hard, but I cant remember
anything......All I remember is waking up on the floor with that piece of wood
lying beside me..." Denise cried, referring to the debris lying on the table.

As tears continued to flow down Denise's face like a river, Irene stroked her
daughters long blonde hair.  

"Honey, just relax.  Don't get upset.  Get a sleep and we'll start talking
tommorrow.  Hopefully, your memory will start coming back after some sleep."
Irene reassured her confused daughter.

She kissed Denise's forehead and walked quietly out of the bedroom, taking a
final look at her ill daughter before shutting the door slowly.  

Irene sat down at the table in despair.  Will my daughter get better?  What am
I going to tell Paul and his children?  Will they ever forgive me? These
questions rolled through her mind like a runaway train as she instinctively
reached for her handbag.  Without thinking, Irene took out her latest pack of
cigarettes and flipped open the lid.  Irene only realised what she was about
to do as the cigarette filter was placed between her lips, the smoke dangling
unlit.  

Should I do this here?

Flick.

Irene drew in hard as the cigarette came to life, releasing its magic and
filling her body with her deprived nicotine.  This was the jolt of positive
energy she needed after her worse day on holiday so far.  Irene realised that
the nicotine now made the decisions for her - she given up control of her
habit and just now embraced the hunger whenever it reared its ugly head.

She got up to retrieve a saucer from the cupboard, then sat back down, leaning
her elbows on the table, cigarette smoke swirling around her finger tips as
she stared into space.  Irene sat for ten minutes whilst smoking furiously,
hoping the inhales would provide her with answers to the questions she had.  

The clock ticked by slowly, reminding Irene of a speedy solution to the
situation.  Time was against her side before she would have to face all the
questions of neglect from the family.  Irene also went over the thought that
maybe she had lost her daughter forever.  As the saucer became increasingly
full of butts, early morning had set in.  The birds began singing and the
roaring engines of the early city workers were creating its own harmony to
bring in the early hours.

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