This is a SEQUEL to My Love, Never Forget Me

The clock was ticking leisurely on the flawless white walls. The sun was shining softly through the pale blue curtains in an eerie glow that seemed to make his face look even more probing and malevolent than it was when I first met him.

His fine tipped pen was scratching against the thin sheet of paper as I tapped my fingers against the small marble table beside the armchair.

Tick, tick, tick

I sighed and he looked up. The sun was hitting his young face at such an angle that his eyes had a red quality to them. His black hair was shinning in the light, and his foot taping to some unknown music in his head.

"Do you see that degree Miley?" He asked me with annoyance reverberating in every word and syllable he spoke. His slender finger was pointing at the perfect wall behind his neatly organized desk. I looked over at it and rolled my eyes.

"I graduated top of my class, which is why you are here." He said coldly.

Actually, I was here because everyone "cared" about me and my "well-being" and waking up screaming hysterically in the night is "not good" for a "young woman" to be doing. Apparently it is "not normal" and should be "evaluated" by a "professional". In my Dad's words, of course.

Tick, tick, tick

"Now are you ready to tell me how you feel?" he asked me as he balanced his scratchy pen in his hands and perched at the end of his seat.

I continued to tap my fingernails against the table, "There are no feelings I am going to openly share with a stranger."

He sighed and rolled his 25 year old eyes in annoyance, "And why is that?"

"Because, you could be a bad person for all I know. I don't know you! That would be like walking up to a stranger and telling them my feelings." I replied.

"I am your therapist—

"No! You are not MY therapist. I don't need a therapist." I exclaimed.

He sighed and said, "Miley, let us try something else. What is your son's name?"

I knew what he was trying to do, and I wasn't going to let him. He thought he could win me over by getting me so excited talking about Cole that I would let things slip.

"Caden Cole. But we call him Cole."

"Ah, any certain reason you call him Cole?" He asked.

"No, I just liked the name." I replied stiffly.

Tick, tick, tick

"You do not trust me, do you?" He asked.

"Of course I don't trust you! I don't know you! Do you want to know what happens to people trust strangers?"

"Yes, I do." He said calmly. As the clock stuck noon (my time to leave this hell hole) I said coldly,

"You die."

"Well Miley, I hope I see you next Wednesday. I am very interested in you."

"Great. But, don't count on it." I replied before slamming the door.

I ran down the marble stairs and outside. Jake and Oliver where in the car talking about something. I yanked open the door and slid in before slamming it shut. They looked at me.

"What?!" I demanded.

"How did it go in there?" Jake asked. I rolled my eyes,

"Horrible. I hate that man. He is so nosy." I replied.

"Well you know Miles," Jake said as handed Oliver the keys to start the car; "He is a therapist."

"I know," I said as I looked in the car seat where Cole was sleeping, "I just really don't want to talk about it."

I kissed Cole's head and his eyes twitched as if they were going to open. He was wrapped up in a blue Pooh Bear blanket and looked like the most gorgeous week and a half old baby in the world.

"I see Alana had seen him today?" I asked in amusement as I saw the large bag of toys on the floor of the car.

"Of course, she's crazy about him." Jake replied.

"Well, I mean, who wouldn't be? Look at that face!" I exclaimed.

"I'm not," Oliver said, "Although I don't think I could say that to his face."

I laughed. I loved these people; they already had me in a better mood.

"Ok, ok…how about this? Who was the father of modern rocketry?" Lilly asked as she chewed on her pencil.

"Um…Robert Goddard." I answered as I continued with my sit-ups. Every time I came up I pushed the swing Cole was in, took a bite of yogurt, answered a question, and slapped Oliver over the head.

Why was I slapping him over the head?

"Your Momma!" He exclaimed in answer to Lilly's question.

SMACK. That's why.

"Would you stop with the multi-tasking? You are making me dizzy!" Lilly exclaimed as she turned a page in her book.

"You see Lilly, if I stop multi-tasking I will have to leave this little study group to take care of Cole. My system is working." I said stubbornly as I gently pushed Cole's swing again.

She had been cramming in everything we missed last year faster than I've ever seen a teacher do. And she was wasting her summer to do it. I think she was really lonely in school by herself.

"Where did Jake get too? Did he run away again? JAKE COME BACK WE ARE NOT DOING MATH ANYMORE!" Lilly exclaimed.

A few minutes and a crash later Jake came out of the kitchen, "I didn't run away, I'm making dinner."

I dropped the yogurt in my hand and it fell to the ground and splattered all over Oliver.

"Wait, did you just say dinner? Lilly, did he say that?" I asked in disbelief.

She looked at me and said, "I think he did!"

"No way, I have to see this!" I exclaimed.

"I've made dinner before!" He said stubbornly.

"Jake, when Lana came over to spend time with you I asked you to feed her, and did you? No!"

"I did too!" He exclaimed.

"You stuck a bag of popcorn in the microwave, burnt it, and asked her if she wanted salt." I said.

"Psh, I did not. I made her a gourmet meal of turkey, peas, mashed potatoes, and freshly baked bread." He said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Okay, we will see."

"We will. And I'll win!" He exclaimed before walking back into the kitchen.

"There is something wrong with him." Lilly said as she watched him. I looked at Oliver, who was trying to lick the yogurt off his eyes and said,

"No, there is something wrong with this one."

Oliver tried to glare at us, but only managed to get the yogurt in his eyes.

"OW!!! OW!!! OW!!! CALL POISON CONTROL!!" He screamed. I looked at him with humor,

"And tell them what? You got yogurt in your eye?"

"AH!! OW!! BURNING!!" He screamed as he flung some yogurt off his face. It landed on Cole's sleeping face.

"Aw! Oliver, you got the yogurt on Coley's face!!" I said in a hurt voice as I picked Cole up out of his swing and cradled him. I wiped the yogurt off his cheek with my sleeve and Cole burst into sobs.

"You see? You hurt his feelings!" I said defensively at Oliver. He held his burning eyes and said with disbelief ringing in every syllable,

"Hurt his feelings?! He is a week and a half old!! He has no feelings! But I on the other hand, have YOUR yogurt burning my eyes out!!!"

"Someone is on their happy week…" Lilly sang. Oliver blushed through the white yogurt and said,

"Excuse me?! I am I guy, I don't have that!"

"You sure act like it." Lilly said with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Really now? Well how would that opinion change if you had yogurt all over your face?" Oliver asked her as he moved closer and held some yogurt out on his hand.

"You get away from me!" Lilly screamed as she made a run for the closet.

"Hey guys," Lilly said from where she was getting yogurt smeared on her face, "Do you smell that? It smells like….burning cotton."

"No," Oliver said from where he had Lilly pinned with yogurt on her face, "It smells like…burning flesh."

We all exchanged looks. I rolled my eyes and answered my cell phone that started ringing while I calmed Cole down and walked into the kitchen to see what was wrong.

"Hey bud! Are you almost here?"

"Um…what?" I asked in confusion as I tried to stop Cole's loud wails.

"You know, we were all getting together for Jackson's birthday? It's today?"

Oops. Oh man, I can't believe I forgot my brother's birthday! "Oh yea! I totally knew about that…yea, we are on our way right now." I lied as I walked into the kitchen.

Jake was standing over the stove and trying to put out a grease fire with water.

"IT WON'T GO OUT!" He screamed, "OW! That fire is HOT!"

"What is that Miley?" Dad asked in the background.

"Oh um, that's Jake. He is trying to get a horse fly out of the car." I answered.

"Okay well I'll see you soon."

"Yep, you too! We are almost there!"

I hung up the phone and said,

"Jake, what did you do?!"

I grabbed the baking soda and poured it over the flames with Cole still in my arms.

This chapter of my life is called multi-tasking.

I set the baking soda down and said as I handed Cole to Jake, "Baking soda. That's what puts out grease fires. BAKING SODA."

"I TOTALLY knew that baby," He said as he got Cole to shut up, "I just wanted you to rescue me."

"I'm sure."

He shifted from foot to foot with embarrassment and said, "Um…you want some popcorn babe? With salt?"

I laughed and kissed him, "Come on, we have to get ready in less than five minutes and make a ten minute drive in three minutes."

"Can you do that?" Jake asked with disbelief in his voice. I smiled as I took Cole and said,

"Me? I can do anything."

"Anything? Sure, that's why you just lied to your Dad." Jake said as he took Cole from me. It was like musical baby!

"No," I said as I took Cole back, "That was not lying. That was a small white lie that I said to save my brother the heartache of him thinking his sister forgot his birthday."

"But," Jake said as he grinned and grabbed Cole, "You made me chase that snake out of the yard yesterday."

"Psh," I stated as I carefully pulled Cole away from him, "I'm the one that has to kill spiders for you."

He tried to think of something to say.

"Well…um…" He never finished. He just took Cole out of my arms.

"Ha," I said as I grinned triumphantly, "I win."

"No you don't, I won! I have the baby!" Jake exclaimed. I carefully took little Cole out of his proud arms and set him in the carrier that was sitting on the counter. Then I shoved Jake against the counter.

"I win," I said as I pressed my nose against his until our lips were barely touching, "I always win."

He wrapped his arms around me before saying, "Mm, baby right now I don't care if you win the rest of our lives."

I smiled and kissed his lips softly before running my hands up his back. He leaned in to deepen the kiss and I pulled away,

"Bye-bye. Go get ready; I'm going to get Cole ready."

I smiled and waved as I took Cole out of the seat.

He looked at me in disbelief,

"Well fine, you tease!"

"Who's a tease?" Lilly asked as she walked in.

"Your momma's a tease!" Oliver exclaimed.

SMACK

"The boy will never learn." Lilly said as I nodded my head in agreement.