THE NEW COACH CHAPTER 25 (Scott's PoV)

Author's note: There's a time skip between chapter 24 and chapter 25 especially for Scott's PoV. Chapter 25 mark a new arc; the Caleb arc. The next few chapters will fill the gap of what happened during the time gap between chapter 24 and chapter 25 from others character's PoVs.

--------------------------

Scott's PoV:

“How’s your head, Scott?” asked the nurse as she checked my condition.

My head? right… I touched my forehead and felt the bandage wrap. A subtle pain rose and spread as I caressed my temple.

“At least it’s better than yesterday,” I answered weakly.

Yesterday, I’m not even able to stay conscious for long because of the sharp, painful, stinging feeling that hit my brain.

What happened and why did I end up in the hospital with a wound in the head? Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember all the details clearly.

“From the examination, you have a minor brain damage, thankfully, we could treat you on time. But the pain will be still there for a while. The doctor said that you will also experience some sort of amnesia, and be unable to recall the recent event, but as you recover, you will naturally have a greater chance to recall the event you forget.” The nurse explained.

“Thanks for the head up, Aunt Gail.”

Yes, the nurse was my aunt. Our relationship was a bit more complicated and distant though. You see, aunt Gail was the sister of my pathetic father who left my mom. While my grandparents from my father’s side were supporting my mom for a while because they felt about what their son did. Aunt Gail’s position took a more ‘neutral’ stance. Blaming both her idiotic brother and my mom altogether, and didn’t want to do anything about them. Though, unlike how she treated my parents coldly, she was quite friendly and caring with me. She believed that the sin of the parents should not extend to their child. How she treated mom and me quite differently was the reason that made our relationship complicated. I was of course on my mom’s side. Seeing how Aunt Gail treated mom so coldly made me choose to distance myself from her even if she was friendly to me.

Being short and petite seemed to run on my father’s side of the family. Aunt Gail is quite a petite woman, she could pass as some high school freshman while she was actually someone in her early 30s. She was even shorter than me, with her being just 5’2 feet tall. She barely had any curve on her body with her chest just 32B cup. Her face was youthful and pretty so it would be quite convincing if she claimed to be a high school freshman.

“I think it’s fine now for others to visit you. Someone had been dying to meet you. Let me call them.” Aunt Gail said.

The blonde nurse walked out of the room. A few moments later. My mom and agent Hannah entered the room.

“Oh baby, glad, you are okay, I thought I would lose you, and it makes me worried sick.” My mom then let out a breath of relief.

Instead of being happy, I felt confused, shocked, and fearful about my mom’s presence in this room. It took me a few moments to shrug out my shock and ask the question. “Mom, Why are you here? Didn't you go missing with Darel?”

“Scott, you have been **** for a week, don’t you remember anything before you fall ****?” Hannah interjected.

I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no. The doctor said I have some sort of partial amnesia. I couldn’t remember what happened during the day I fell ****, but I could still remember a few days before it. I remember talking with you in school about Darel’s case.”

“Short version, I uphold part of our deal and have de-brainwash Darel’s victim when you are ****. Unfortunately, some are more deeply brainwashed than others, like your mom’s here. I underestimated the extent of what Darel’s capable. Though thanks to the counter-brainwashing device I borrowed from HQ, I managed to recover her state of mind and broke Darel’s influence over her. There might still be lingering influence leftovers. She still needs to undergo a few sessions of counter-brainwashing to fully erase Darel’s influence. Do you want to hear the long version?”

I interrupted her, “—Stop, just tell me how do you find my mom? Did you successfully catch Darel too?”

“Sadly, not yet. It seems you really didn’t remember those few days. It was Darel that attacked you and why you are here. He ambushed you in your house.” The agent answered.

“Darel did it to me?”

My head rang. I clenched my head as a sudden pain arose. A memory flashed in my mind. A man. His face was blurry and I couldn’t recall it. But it was probably Darel if I believe what the agent said. And two women. One was clearly my mom, but the other was as blurry as the man. I couldn’t tell who she was.

“Well, technically, it was he and your mom that ambushed you, but your mom is under his control. Luckily, you managed to call me before you passed out. I chased Darel, but he sent those women under his control to obstruct me.” Hannah answered further.

“So, I was ambushed by not only Darel and mom, right?”

Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I’m not sure what actually happened during the ambush, I only got testimony from your mom. Ask her.”

“It’s only me and Darel that came into the house. Of course, he brought a few others but they hid on the perimeter and didn’t come inside the house.” My mom answered without me needing to ask a question again.

_Was it really just her and Darel? _But those memories, I believed that there was someone else coming with her inside. Was she still under Darel’s influence and not telling Hannah the whole truth? Hannah said that she was one who was deeply brainwashed, so it was understandable if Darel’s influence over her made her unconsciously want to protect Darel by giving a false testimony. I clenched my fist and hated Darel more. Unfortunately, I’m in no position to confront my mom about the truth. My memories weren't stable and reliable yet. They would only dismiss it as I remembered the event wrongly. Hopefully, after Hannah gave her some more de-brainwashing session she would be telling us the truth.

“The part that Darel had few other women in your house’s perimeter was true. Before I can get to your house, I need to deal with those pesky brainwashed women. When I got inside, Darel had escaped, and the rest was like I told you before. He commanded those women to obstruct me from chasing him.” Hannah confirmed Mom’s testimony.

The greatest lie was a truth mixed with lies. It made it hard to clarify. So, later than lingered on that matter for now, I moved to the next thing that I had a concern about.

“How about Caleb? Did Darel come to him?”

The two middle-aged women paused for a moment, and then agent Hannah let out a sigh and broke the silence.

“Scott, I think you are more caring to Caleb than his real brother. Darel is on the run. He won’t have time to visit his brother in the cell. He had a warrant on his head. Visiting a prison when there is a warrant for him means that he wanted to turn himself in. It will be better if that is the case, but we all know he is not a good person with conscience. So, don’t worry. Caleb will still be happily in jail until two months later. Darel has tried to pull some string before to let Caleb be freed by the end of this month. But I have pulled some favor with the agency higher up to block the decision and undo what Darel did.”

I felt relieved after hearing the agent answer. I was scared that Caleb would be freed. Unlike his brother, Caleb had a direct grudge against me. And unlike Darel who was meticulous in planning, Caleb would do anything without even considering the risk. If he got more power and authority… My body shuddered and what Caleb would do to me. I recalled all the bullying he had done to me.The trauma had yet to be healed. Thank god Caleb was still in jail for the next two months. Two months later, I would have graduated from the school and we would no longer have something to do with each other.

“Feeling relieved now that you don’t need to worry about Darel and Caleb?” Mom asked with a playful smirk on her face..

I nodded to her question. Of course I was. If we compiled the string of events until now in term of gaming or story books. This was the end. The hero of the story would then live in peace and happily ever after.

“Well, we will not bother you any longer. You should take a rest. When you recover mommy will give you a present. So, get well soon, Cutiepie.” My mom blew a goodbye kiss and walked outside the room with Agent Hannah in tow.

It’s just the lingering effect. I tried to convince myself that the reason my mom still called me Cutiepie, the name she called me when she was under Darel’s influence, was just the lingering effect that had not yet wiped from her mind.

After the two went out. Aunt Gail returned to the room.

“How is the talk going? I heard that your mother's companion that came with her this time is coming from the police ****. “ Aunt Gail asked.

I shook my head slightly. “She wasn’t a police officer. She is a federal secret agent, a CIA agent.”

The nurse’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh my god, what the hell happened that made you entangle with a CIA agent? Are you a criminal, Scott?”

“No! I am not a criminal” I quickly denied her to avoid misunderstanding. “I was involved with a crime but not as the criminal, but the victim.”

“Why didn't the bitch tell me about what happened to you?” Aunt Gail sounded annoyed.

I knew well who she referred to as ‘the bitch’. It was my mom.

“Please cut some slack for her, Aunt Gail. My mom had her circumstance too. In this case she was also a victim like me. Why are you always so hostile to her?”

I then proceed to tell her about Caleb, Darel, and how Darel brainwashed us until agent Hannah came to help us.

“I’m sorry. Your family has gone through a lot. Honestly, all that stuff about brainwashing is still hard for me to believe. But I do believe you, after looking at your mom.” Aunt Gail responded apologetically.

“Is there something wrong with my mom? The agent said she had been de-brainwashed even though there might be still little lingering influence because Darel brainwashed her too deeply.” I was puzzled by Aunt Gail’s response.

“The perk of hating someone is you will always scrutinize the behavior and appearance of those you hate. You sometimes know your enemy better and closer than you know your friend. In this case, I noticed something different about your mom when I met her outside.”

“Different? What kind of difference?”

“First, she was happy to meet me. That’s the first weird thing. Like how I felt annoyed around her presence, she would try to avoid me. You know why I always give your mom the cold-shoulder? Because I sensed hostility from her first. I just take initiative to act first. I am weaker, and less athletic than her. You know, I had my lesson from being bullied by girls with amazonian body figures like your mom in high school. For a weaker wildcat to win in a fight, they need to strike the stronger wildcat before the strong one is even ready —Sorry, I’m derailing the topic here. Let’s back to discussing your mom. She was happy to meet me, and I could tell at a glance it’s fake. She probably didn’t know that I’m a master of reading micro expressions, so though she was trying her best to give me a friendly response, I could tell that her response felt artificial, ****. The second one is her perfume. This might stretch things a bit, but the perfume she used smelled too strong as if she wanted to mask some other smell. I know your mom’s favorite perfume that she often uses, and the scent isn’t this one. Maybe I was wrong, maybe it was the perfume worn by the agent, not your mom.” Aunt Gail explained.

I finally know why Aunt Gail disliked my mom. Like me, she was a bullying victim and she projected her bully to my mom. I could relate with her trauma, and knew that I couldn’t **** Aunt Gail to be friendly to my mom.

Now, about the proof that she said. I noticed my mom’s perfume was stronger than she used to wear. But I didn’t notice that it was a different scent than usual. And about how she acted friendly to Aunt Gail and felt like it was a **** one. Well, it could also be explained. As Aunt Gail said they were never friendly with each other. But Aunt Gail as a nurse was the one who took care of me when I’m hospitalized. You didn’t express gratitude by being scornful and cold.

So, the question was: Should I believe in Aunt Gail hunch that there was something wrong with my mom despite Agent Hannah saying that she had been de-brainwashed?

Continued in the next part >>>

Like my work and want to find more?

Please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deepediamcs

Every penny of your financial help counts to help me survive and have more time to write.

You can read all my stories earlier than others as a perk of becoming my patron.

You can also find my other work and captions on:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deepedia.bsky.social

DA: https://www.deviantart.com/deepediamcs

If you want to request a commission, you can DM me directly here or in my Patreon. We will talk about the details and rates.