Monday again! Maria stretched and got out of bed.
It was already 8 o'clock in the morning and Frederick was probably at the café by now. She had decided to take a break today and rest at home… partly because Fred had insisted that she stayed at home and not over exert herself.
She found it silly that just sitting down at a café and taking order sometimes would exhaust her but in the end, she had to give in.
It was always boring to stay at home alone and do nothing apart from playing video games or watching romantic movies.
The main reason she agreed to stay at home was because after Ben, Fred's best friend, found out that she would be home all day, he had proposed that go out and have some fun.
Of course she wouldn't let this opportunity pass by, it had been long since they hung out especially because Ben was only free a few times a week.
And even if he was free, Fred would object strongly to them going out together.
This was another thing that bothered her to the heavens. Why does Fred have such an attitude? He always wanted to control her every move and decision and whenever she asked him why, he would simply reply that he was only protecting her.
True, he is the best brother and confidant who loved and cared for her and she loved him too but there was no need for him to be so overprotective.
She often felt suffocated and wanted to push back but always gave into his demands. She didn't know why she reacted like that to him. Maybe because he had been the only person she had come to know and confide in since she lost her memory or because she knew that whatever he did was to protect her.
Whatever the reason was, she didn't bother to complain anymore. Now, instead of asking for his permission before doing anything, she would do anything she wanted or thought was right for her without him knowing then if he finds out and gets angry, she would ask for pardon.
After all, it was easy to ask for forgiveness than permission…
'It feels like I'm a child who is totally dependent on her brother.' She sighed and went off to get ready for the fun outing.
She had had two follow up check-ups with Dr Adama since the other time. The doctor was doing all she could to help her recover her memories but everything seemed to be abortive.
She would remember some fragmented scenes whenever the doctor triggered her in a way but it would fade out quickly.
The last time she had tried to remember who Damon was. All she could see was an isolated light sphere which kept expanding and contracting, then little arms would emerge and a sickly laughter would fill her ears leaving her with an immense headache.
The dreams too didn't stop. She constantly had dreams where she was with so many people each holding white roses. Suddenly, everyone disappeared one after the other till she was left alone.
After waking up, a river of pain would engulf her whole body and she would feel like dying the next second. Apart from this particular dream, she didn't remember the rest. It was like they vanished and she couldn't remember them, the only thing she knew was that she had those dreams.
….
At 10 o'clock sharp Ben arrived and they left together.
They planned on going somewhere far from Rose Street and the perfect place was the Central Park.
Maria brought cakes and Ben also came with a bag filled with drinks and snacks, they planned to turn this day out into a picnic. On the way, they stopped to get some more snacks.
They arrived at the park and found a spot with a lot of grasses, the perfect spot for a picnic.
They spread out the mat and brought out all the food and drinks they had brought and began digging in.
"I take it that your brother doesn't know you're with me?"
"I don't know if he knows, I thought you told him."
"He doesn't want me anywhere near you, telling him is like rushing into the embrace of a volcano." Ben took a bite of the piece of cake; he always craved her home baked cakes, "sometimes I wonder if he wants to marry you."
Maria didn't respond and instead continued to eat as many chocolate bars as she could stuff into her mouth.
She was wearing a light, free dress which kept dancing along with the occasional air that passed by and she had to pull down the free end of the dress just to keep it from rising over her head.
"We're not doing anything wrong, you're just being paranoid." Maria said in her light yet sweet voice.
"I'm not; you should see him staring daggers at me whenever I mention you."
"If he bothers you so much, why not beat him up? If you give him a good punch, I'll give you a kiss."
Ben almost stopped breathing for a while. That was all he ever dreamt of. She was the only woman to capture his heart; when Fred first introduced them, he couldn't take his eyes off her and always found ways to get close to her but every time he was near her, he would say stupid things that he couldn't even understand.
He didn't ask her out directly because he was afraid of being turned down. Her brother was also a pain in the ass and would always do anything possible to keep her away from him.
Another thing that added to his fear was the fact that he knew that Maria only regarded him as a brother or brother's friend so when she said that kissing part, she was ultimately joking…
'Feels so bad to be friend zoned…'
"Punch him and take the risk of not seeing you again?" Ben raised an eyebrow and asked sarcastically.
"You really want to see me that much?" she glanced at him and he rubbed his neck.
After summoning all of his courage he replied, "Of course, you make my day complete…"
He felt like the earth would just swallow him up, he was red as a tomato.
"You're so cute!" she laughed and pinched his nose playfully.
"…and spending time with you is something I look forward to every time."
Maria ate some more chocolates, "If I didn't know you better I'd think you were confessing to me."
Ben felt like a huge rock had just crushed his hopes, 'I was really confessing to you…'