Page 16 of Lost Prince
But I hold on to the anger. “You’re mocking my pain.”
“No. But you have a family who is worried.”
I shrug that away, not wanting to think about my family right now. They expect me to be someone I’m not. Or maybe I am that person and I just can't remember. The thought sends a chill down my spine.
"They lived without me for three years.” I turn back to the car, unable to look her in the face, another thing that pisses me off. "What difference do a few hours make?"
She’s quiet and I hope she’ll leave. “Why did you come home, then? You made a new life for yourself. You don’t remember your family, and yet you packed up and returned home. Why?”
I grit my teeth, irritated by her perceptive question. She's hit a nerve, and I don't like how easily she seems to read me.
"Maybe I thought it'd bring back my memories," I mutter. “But it’s only been one frustration after another.”
“You’ve stuck around. Even with all the frustrations family brings, you haven’t left.” Diana moves closer, her presence both comforting and unsettling.
"Where else would I go? They're… they're supposed to be my family."
"Exactly," Diana says softly. "You want to belong, even if you can't remember why."
“I’m not who they think I am.” God, I sound like I’m whining.
“It’s early days. They need to get to know you again. That doesn’t change that you belong to them. Lana spent years looking for you. How do you think she feels right now with you missing again? She’s not at home thinking, ‘Well, he’s not the same so let him go.’ She’s frantic.”
Fuck. Now she’s indicating that I’m a selfish bastard. I glare at her, hating how she makes me feel.
"Why do you care, anyway?" I snap, but there's no real heat behind my words.
Diana shrugs, unfazed by my outburst. "I think it would be nice to have a family who cared about me enough to worry about me.”
I frown. “You don’t have a family?”
“Foster kid, remember?”
Jesus fucking Christ… I’m the worst. How did I forget? Probably because it seems so unlikely a woman like her didn’t have people in her life who cared about her. She radiates joy. She’s kind and nurturing. How is it no one has made her a part of their family?
“Anyway, I know what it's like to want a family, to belong somewhere. Maybe that's why you came back, even if you can't remember them. Deep down, you want that connection."
I turn away, unable to argue with her logic. “Yeah, well, maybe I’m going to change my mind.” It doesn’t escape me that I’m acting like a petulant child.
“You think that will stop Lana from finding you?”
I grunt a non-response.
“I’d be happy if someone worried enough to come looking for me.”
"No one's ever come looking for you?" I ask, my voice gruff but softer than before.
"Not really. I've always been on my own. People come and go, but… yeah, no one's ever cared enough to chase after me."
The casual way she says it, like it's just a fact of life, bothers me more than I care to admit. I think about how my family's out there right now, searching for me, worried sick. And here's Diana, who's never had anyone give a damn whether she disappeared. It’s too crazy to believe.
"That's… that's not right.”
She smiles. “It won’t always be like that. Someday, I’ll have a family. I’ll find my place, I just know it.” She says it with such sureness. I look at her, really seeing her for the first time. Despite everything, there's no bitterness in her eyes, no resentment. Just a quiet acceptance that makes my chest ache in a way I don't understand.
"I'd notice," I blurt out before I can stop myself. "If you left, I mean. I'd notice."
Her eyes widen in surprise. Hell, I'm just as shocked by my own words. I barely know her, yet the thought of her disappearing without a trace doesn't sit right with me. It's unsettling, this realization that in such a short time, she's become someone I'd miss.