Fandom 22
Title: Trying to Forget
Fandom: Jurassic Park (book)
Rating: PG
Summary: Lex tries to forget what happened.
“You mustn’t tell anyone. Ever.”
“Tell us what you did in the summer, Alexis.”
She locked her hands beneath her back and lifted her chin. Timmy had practised it with her. She knew the things to say now.
“My grandpa died. We went to his funeral. It was sad.”
It was the best answer, Timmy had told her. Everyone would look sorry for her and leave her alone and they wouldn’t ask any more questions about the summer then because they’d all be too worried about upsetting her. He was right too. The teacher looked upset and apologised and later on, everyone asked her if she was okay and if she wanted to talk about it. She said that she was and that she didn’t and people left her alone.
“It must be an absolute secret. Even from your parents.”
Mummy seemed to be too busy with her new boyfriend to ask about the summer very much. Lex supposed she must know something cause she and Timmy had been away for so long. But she guessed she’d never know. She kind of hoped that Daddy would say something but he didn’t. He was funny around her now, her as well as Timmy. Like he didn’t get something about her. Like there was something kind of wrong. Since the divorce, he’d got more like that anyway but now it was different and they hardly ever saw him. After a while, Lex realised that she didn’t miss him as much as she thought. Everyone thought she did though. When she got scared or cried about nothing, people looked at each other and said “Her parents are divorced. She was always close to her father.” like that explained everything. Lex never tried to correct them.
“You mustn’t even discuss it with your brother. Even though he was there. Never.”
Timmy sometimes tried to talk about the park with her when no one else was around. She’d put her fingers in her ears and chant, or hide under the bedclothes or stare at the wall until he went away. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to think about it ever again. She tried to blot it all out of her mind. Eventually, Timmy stopped trying to talk about it and that helped. It didn’t make it go away. But it helped.
It helped too when he got rid of all his dinosaur things. She never knew where they’d gone. One day, they just weren’t there any more. Timmy never mentioned them.
“If you tell anyone, we’ll find out. And we’ll come and we’ll take you away and you’ll never see your family ever again.”
Although things were different with her parents, she was much closer to Timmy these days. She told herself that she didn’t really know why, told herself that it was just because they were grown up now and not because she knew she owed her life to him and because they’d been through more than most siblings together. They still fought and he often accused her of being a baby. But he was nice to her and looked after her when she needed him to. And he had nightmares sometimes too. She knew he did because she heard him crying.
“Think about the nice things. We’ve given you lots of money to make up for the nasty time you had. That will pay for your college fund someday.”
She was able to go to the best schools with the money she was paid. The best collage she could get the grades for. Timmy did too and he vanished off to some amazing university. He sent her E-mails every week and she always answered them regularly. Lots of her friends commented on how close they were and Lex just shrugged.
“My parents divorce brought us closer,” was all she said.
“Best to put it all out of your mind, Alexis. Forget any of it ever happened.”
For almost a year afterwards, she didn’t have one uninterrupted night’s rest. She woke screaming and crying, her head aching from the rake of phantom claws, her mind dizzy from dreams of falling from the torn up car, the horrible scream of the velociraptors ringing in her ears. Even once her nights became more peaceful, nightmares still plagued her. When people asked her what she screamed about, she simply shrugged her shoulders and said that she’d always been a sensitive sleeper. Never remembered her dreams. Sorry if they were scared.
Lex tried to forget everything about Jurassic Park. But she knew that even if she lived forever, she never, ever would.
Fandom: Jurassic Park (book)
Rating: PG
Summary: Lex tries to forget what happened.
“You mustn’t tell anyone. Ever.”
“Tell us what you did in the summer, Alexis.”
She locked her hands beneath her back and lifted her chin. Timmy had practised it with her. She knew the things to say now.
“My grandpa died. We went to his funeral. It was sad.”
It was the best answer, Timmy had told her. Everyone would look sorry for her and leave her alone and they wouldn’t ask any more questions about the summer then because they’d all be too worried about upsetting her. He was right too. The teacher looked upset and apologised and later on, everyone asked her if she was okay and if she wanted to talk about it. She said that she was and that she didn’t and people left her alone.
“It must be an absolute secret. Even from your parents.”
Mummy seemed to be too busy with her new boyfriend to ask about the summer very much. Lex supposed she must know something cause she and Timmy had been away for so long. But she guessed she’d never know. She kind of hoped that Daddy would say something but he didn’t. He was funny around her now, her as well as Timmy. Like he didn’t get something about her. Like there was something kind of wrong. Since the divorce, he’d got more like that anyway but now it was different and they hardly ever saw him. After a while, Lex realised that she didn’t miss him as much as she thought. Everyone thought she did though. When she got scared or cried about nothing, people looked at each other and said “Her parents are divorced. She was always close to her father.” like that explained everything. Lex never tried to correct them.
“You mustn’t even discuss it with your brother. Even though he was there. Never.”
Timmy sometimes tried to talk about the park with her when no one else was around. She’d put her fingers in her ears and chant, or hide under the bedclothes or stare at the wall until he went away. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to think about it ever again. She tried to blot it all out of her mind. Eventually, Timmy stopped trying to talk about it and that helped. It didn’t make it go away. But it helped.
It helped too when he got rid of all his dinosaur things. She never knew where they’d gone. One day, they just weren’t there any more. Timmy never mentioned them.
“If you tell anyone, we’ll find out. And we’ll come and we’ll take you away and you’ll never see your family ever again.”
Although things were different with her parents, she was much closer to Timmy these days. She told herself that she didn’t really know why, told herself that it was just because they were grown up now and not because she knew she owed her life to him and because they’d been through more than most siblings together. They still fought and he often accused her of being a baby. But he was nice to her and looked after her when she needed him to. And he had nightmares sometimes too. She knew he did because she heard him crying.
“Think about the nice things. We’ve given you lots of money to make up for the nasty time you had. That will pay for your college fund someday.”
She was able to go to the best schools with the money she was paid. The best collage she could get the grades for. Timmy did too and he vanished off to some amazing university. He sent her E-mails every week and she always answered them regularly. Lots of her friends commented on how close they were and Lex just shrugged.
“My parents divorce brought us closer,” was all she said.
“Best to put it all out of your mind, Alexis. Forget any of it ever happened.”
For almost a year afterwards, she didn’t have one uninterrupted night’s rest. She woke screaming and crying, her head aching from the rake of phantom claws, her mind dizzy from dreams of falling from the torn up car, the horrible scream of the velociraptors ringing in her ears. Even once her nights became more peaceful, nightmares still plagued her. When people asked her what she screamed about, she simply shrugged her shoulders and said that she’d always been a sensitive sleeper. Never remembered her dreams. Sorry if they were scared.
Lex tried to forget everything about Jurassic Park. But she knew that even if she lived forever, she never, ever would.