"May I help you?"
No one knows what the future holds. Even those who have everything planned still made mistakes sometimes; for if everything was just perfect, no one will ever have regrets, no one will ever be hurt. When I got home from the hospital, I counted minutes, hours, days and weeks, just waiting for some good news. I spent sleepless nights, curling up in a ball and crying my heart out. And I still do... I'm not through being miserable. And now seeing this boy in front of me right now, looking at me like I've never existed, like he never knew me at all, I should have known. I should have known this is going to happen. I could have been more cautious, be more prepared.
As tears started to well in my eyes, I still tried to think he's joking. Was this a prank?
"Michael..."
I could see a hint of sadness in his eyes upon hearing me say his name, he pressed his lips into thin line as tears began to brim in his eyes. I had nothing else to say, so I reached for him to hold but he stepped back, moving away from my touch... his face went back into a blank, emotionless look and looked down on the floor.
"Jimmy! Someone's here..." he walked back inside, eyes not tearing away from the tiled floor. "...go talk to her. She might need something." I heard him say as he walked back inside.
Seconds later, Jimmy came out and looked at me confusedly as soft sobs escaped my mouth. His confused features were quickly replaced with worry as he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
He pulled me into a tight hug as tears continued to stream down my cheeks, I never thought seeing Michael right now could be like this. Just when I thought everything happened in the woods have caused me enough pain already, here came another one. A totally devastating one.
"Andria, we've been trying to call you last night to explain everything but we just couldn't reach you."
"I-I can't understand Jimmy..."
"I know Anndria, I'll explain." his hands made its way to my shoulders to keep me in place as he spoke to me. "We'll talk about this Andria, just be calm and listen carefully okay?" I nodded. "Let's get inside and talk." he said and guided me to my room.
I sat nervously into the couch as my knees continued to shake and thoughts occupied my mind about Michael. The way he looked at me when he opened the door played in my mind like a slide show of hurtful images.
"So Andria... Apparently, like one of the kidnappers said...he shot Michael when he ran out of the cabin to escape. But...he thought Michael was dead because he thought the bullet went through his head." I covered my mouth with my hands, trying to muffle the sobs coming out of my mouth. Michael planned to escape on his own, but why?
"Luckily, the bullet went on the side of his neck instead of his head. They didn't bothered to look at him when they heard the police coming. They didn't know Michael was still alive and kept running through the woods. Until he met a hunter that helped him to get out of the woods. But the hunter said, when he saw Michael he was unconscious and his head was bleeding."
My heart beats incredibly fast as he continued to unfold the facts, I was scared to know the truth. That he might be...
"When he woke up in the hospital, he couldn't remember anything. Two years of his life was like...washed out of his memory."
"Including me?" I said, words almost a whisper.
He nodded, and it was like a bomb just exploded inside of me, leaving every parts shattered and broken.
"I'm sorry Andria, we never thought you'd come over. We planned to surprise you last night, we were all happy to see him alive and well but we also planned to talk to you first before everything. Everything is just screwed up, I'm sorry Andria we didn't want you to discover it like this."
"I can't...believe this Jimmy. I swear he's been here last night."
"W-what? That's...that's impossible Andria, he's with us the whole night."
I would love to argue with him right now, I just couldn't be wrong on this one. But I pushed it aside, something was going on with Michael. I know he did it, Michael was the one who placed those shoes under the vanity. Simply because nobody else does that.
"Can I...see him now?" I asked instead of arguing, I just wanted to see him right now.
"Okay, let's go."
****
When I entered, Michael was sitting on the couch with his brother Arun, watching a record of their last performance of Night Changes. Jimmy said he doesn't remember their latest album and their songs. He seemed not so interested but his eyes were fixed on the screen, like he was thinking of something else.
I sat on a chair by his side, watching him watch himself on the video. I really missed him so much. There was a small scar on his right cheekbone, the last time I saw it there was plenty of blood on it, I think he got that when one of them hit him with a baseball bat. I wiped a tear that I didn't noticed until it rolled down my cheek. Those memories... Michael telling me to run, his face as he cried and screamed for me to just run and escape.
"Did I remind you of something horrible?" when I looked back at him, he was staring at me and Arun was not in the couch anymore. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I didn't mean to act like that I just..."
"You just can't remember me?"
He pressed his lips into thin line then nods. "Yeah, I'm sorry." he looked down on his lap, his lower lip a bit puckered.
I sighed, not sure what to think but maybe... just maybe, if I won't give up on this, the truth will come out eventually.
"You know Michael, I don't believe you. But I still want to introduce myself to you. I'm Andria Roberts, 22 years old and I'm your girlfriend." I said, gesturing for a handshake.
He lifted his gaze, his eyes met mine. And slowly, he smiled. "I'm Michael Roy, 23 and I'm glad to be your boyfriend." he said.
We stayed like this for a while, staring at each other with smiles on our faces as our handshake took so much longer than the usual...
*************
I sat on the carpeted floor of my room as I stared at the ceiling. I leaned my back against the bed, hugging my knees up to my chest as thoughts about Michael swirls in my mind. Something about the way he looked at me when we're alone and the way he's being distant to me when someone's around made me want to think this is all a lie.
But why would Michael do that? Why would he pretend that he has amnesia, remembering the boys but not me and the whole kidnapping thing? It didn't make any sense. Was he doing this just to hurt me because I left him in the cabin? But I never wanted to leave him there, he was the one who wanted me to escape and leave him. If this is because of me taking so long that it made him think that I didn't tried to ask for help, that's because I never had the chance to.....
why? why? .....So many questions were surrounding my mind...I had to do something now......