Chapter 76: Here We Go Again
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"So, how's the kiss?"
I just smiled when Summer asked me that. It's awkward if I tell it in full. That's giving too much information if I do that. I just got home after Kellen drove me here to the apartment. I changed my clothes and washed so I could make skin care. Summer came to my room so we could talk.
"What do you wanna talk about, Summer? I asked her.
She sighed and motioned for me to sit next to her on my bed. I immediately stood up and moved to a seat next to her. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it before leaning against the headboard.
"Please don't be mad at me, Liv. I don't want to hide it," he said without looking at me.
"What? What are you talking about?" I asked because I didn't know what she was saying.
"I remember how I got lost. How I ended up losing my memory. I remember it all," she confessed to me which made me furrow my eyebrows.
"Really? When?" I asked.
"A month ago. Remember when I told you that I have a memory that I was running when I was a kid?" she asked and I nodded instantly to agree. "A week after that, my head hurt again when I saw something familiar when Dylan and I were walking at the mall."
"A familiar thing? What is it?" I asked her.
"A doll. A Barbie doll. It came back to me everything like a flood. I was playing with it and that's how everything went back to my head."
When she said that, I remembered what Kellen told me about his sister, Lacey, how she ended up missing. It's the same thing that Summer said. They were playing inside the car.
"And you were inside the car?" I asked as if I still didn't know.
"Yes," she answered while looking at me, getting curious why I know. "I'm with someone, my brother, actually. How do you know about that?"
"Kellen told me how you got missing. And then what happened after that?"
"It was a nightmare. I got kidnapped by men. I remembered running at night and I got hit by a car. That's why I lost my memory," she hardly told me.
"You got kidnapped?" I worriedly asked immediately and she slightly nodded to say yes. "Summer that's—"
"Horrible," she said to finish my sentence. "I know, it is. I didn't wanna remember it but it's a consequence." Summer was near in letting a tear fall from her eye. I went to her and hugged her immediately so it wouldn't happen.
"I'm sorry that it happened to you, Summer. You don't deserve it," I said while trying to pull back my tears. I can't take it in my mind what happened to her. She was just... a kid.
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It was an hour when Summer fell asleep. I couldn't prevent her from crying so it caused her to get tired and fall asleep easily. I still worry about her mental health. even it was just a memory, she might get flashbacks of it every time she sees a thing from the past. It changes everything right now that she already remembered everything. What if she gets panic attacks in school? I hope someone will be there to help her whenever I'm not around. I couldn't bear seeing her suffering emotionally. It kills me.
Now that I feel a bit sleepy, I went near her to hug her as I doze off.
...
I was cooking breakfast when Summer came down. Maybe she woke up early and couldn't sleep so she went downstairs. She was tying her hair as she comes down and walks to the dining area.
"How do you feel?" I asked her before putting the plate with bacon and egg in front of her so she could eat already. I also took her a glass to put the milk she was going to drink.
"I'm good. I hope I'll be fully okay sooner. It sucks being in this kind of situation."
I didn't answer her and I just went to him to hug him. I hope it'll make her feel better
If I could just take the pain he was feeling, I did. But that is not possible. All I can do is to be here and listen to her. It's the least thing I could do to help my sister.
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"You seem distracted again. What's wrong?"
Kellen and I were on our way to New Jersey. He was driving the car so there were only two of us in the car.
"I'm just worried about Summer," I told him.
"What about her?" he asked me, still eyes on the road.
"She remembered everything already."
He looked at me and stopped the car. He parked on the side so we could talk calmly and properly.
"What?" he asked curiously while looking at me.
"The story you told me about how she went missing, it's what she remembers," I told him.
"How is she?" he asked worriedly.
"Not very well. Because she was good at hiding her emotions, I didn't even notice that she was suffering mentally," I told Kellen.
"Does he remember how she suddenly disappeared on my sight that day?"
I nodded. "She was ... kidnapped, Kellen."
He stopped and suddenly the emotion on his face changed. I can see in his eyes how he felt guilty again. He got out of the car to maybe get some air. I also went out because I knew he needed someone.
He leaned on the car while his one hand is on his pocket. He stared at nothingness and thought very deeply. "I do wish what I just heard isn't true."
I approached him and stroked his back. "Don't blame yourself—"
"I'm the only one who's at fault, Liv. You can't tell me not to blame myself because I know I have to," he suddenly answered me. "She could have been killed out there." He shook his head, being disappointed on himself.
"I'm sorry if it will return the guilt again. If only I could take it away, I would," I told him but it didn't change his mood.
"You can't do anything. You just can't," he told me right away. "Let's go back to the hotel. I don't think I can act normal when we get to New Jersey," he said as he got into the car. I didn't get in right away because I was still breathing deeply. Is he mad at me?
...
The day ended and I was exhausted. Plus, Kellen won't talk to me either. I'm worried about him again because the former Deckard might come back and make him angry with small things. I couldn't bear seeing him like that because of the pain he's hiding.
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"Do you want blueberry cheesecake? I could order it right now—"
"I'm not in the mood for that, Liv. I have a lot of work. You go ahead and take your lunch with Alice," he told me while signing some papers.
I just nodded. I wasn't offended by how he acted because I know he didn't do that intentionally. I ordered him foid instead and waited for it to be delivered here in the hotel. When I got the food, I just put it on the coffee table in his office.
"Here's your lunch. Don't let yourself starve," I told him. He looked at me and I just smiled at him before going out of his office and having my lunch with Alice.
...
It has been three days and his mood hasn't changed. I'm getting more worried about him. I always need to be there for him but he won't let me. But that won't stop me from helping him recover.
Kellen didn't come to the hotel today. He took a day off for himself and I think that's a good thing. After I finished my work at the hotel, I went to his house. The helper wasn't there but the gate was open so I came inside right away. It was almost dinner time and I went to his bedroom to check up on him. He was still sleeping so I went to the kitchen to cook dinner.
I made spaghetti with meatballs and I cooked some wedges. I also made fresh lemon juice for our drinks. I was putting the meatballs on the pasta when I heard him go downstairs. He's on his gray sweatpants and he wasn't wearing anything on top!
It got me a little distracted so I faced the other direction when our eyes met. "Hi, I made you something."
"What are you doing here, Liv?" he immediately asked but he wasn't surprised that I'm here.
"I just thought we could have dinner together. If that's fine with you," I said to him.
He didn't respond and went back to his bedroom to get a shirt. After he wear it, we started eating and it was a quiet scenario.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "What would I do without you?"
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