"N-N-ick?" I stuttered in a very light voice. I doubt if anyone heard- it came out more like a soft whisper.
I know Patricia had an older brother but I never knew him, I didn't think it could be the boy who was probably crushing on my sister and thinks I am her.
"You are crying" He said as he walked over to me, suddenly conscious of myself, I hurriedly wiped away my tears and tightened my hold on my dress.
"What's wrong?" He placed his hands on my shoulders and I flinched at his touch, looking into his eyes I could see 'concern'.
"What happened Tri?" He looked up to his sister for answers since I wasn't giving.
I shook my head bitterly and wondered if he knew the real me and that I was friends with his sister, Is this the end to my charade? Will I now be exposed?
I didn't wait on my brain to tell the answer to that as I grabbed my clutch that laid on the table.
"I'll be leaving now" I abruptly rose up from the bed and hurried out the door not taking another breath until I was out of the house.
Arriving at the intersection that linked both our house lane, I halted and took a deep breath. It. Is. Over.
I bent my back by placing my arms on my knees, steadying my breath.
I know Patricia was definitely going to tell him everything now, and even if she did not.....he probably would have figured it out by now.
"Riley" the voice i heard made me stop all of my thinking. I slowly raised my head and straightened my back as our eyes met, he was already looking at me.
He smiled briefly before saying "come with me, to the park?" I was lost for words, If Patricia already told him about me, I see no reason why he would want to hang out with me.
I nodded either way, and I followed his lead.
The walk to the park was very silent, as expected....we were never friends, maybe he was friends with Ry.....but not with me and now that he probably knew my secret, I better wait on him to talk.
But then, he called me Riley earlier, is he just playing along or he still doesn't know anything?. I was mentally fighting myself right now!
"Riley, relax..." he said as soon as we got an empty spot and sat down. I took a deep breath and played with my fingers, readying myself for whatever was to come.
He smiled again, "I'm sorry, i should have told you I knew your twin sister, Miley and I should have told you that my sister was in the accident as well but she survived". He started.
Wait, What?! What is he saying right now?
He looked up to the sky and looked back at me, "you see, ever since I knew you, it was due to your twin sister, Miley, we met in high-school at a party and she was drunk, so definitely she never remembered that we ever met, but when we met that night, we clicked instantly and maybe I fell in love with her" He chuckled and my eyes widened.
Did this guy just tell me he loved me?
"I told Patricia about it and all but she was dead on her answer that it would never be, and that she was bad news, something along that line...."
Yeah she was right! I was bad news....I still am.
"I guess I would never know what she was like" it's for the best.
He gave a deep sigh and looked towards me, "but then I met you at the library and I was so shocked at your striking resemblance and then I found out you were twin and so I thought I could could close to her through you".
My eyes widened in shock.
"Hey, I'm sorry....I- I know that was very wrong of me but then, i just couldn't help it, I was so desperate to reconnect with her, you know?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"But, I still never got the chance". He ended the last part in something that sounded more like a bitter whisper before turning to face me and smiling.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry you lost your sister an today, I'm sorry Patricia stirred all of your memories of her, I'm sorry for that".
That was what he thought? That i was crying because Patricia reminded me of me?.
I smiled bitterly and just went with the flow, "that's okay".
"You know, I'm not gonna lie.....you do look different from the Riley i used to know" He laughed "it's almost like I'm speaking with the girl from that night of July 4th".
That's because I am her and though I do not remember him from that night at all, I wouldn't lie that I felt comfortable around him - too comfortable.
"I hope your memories juggle soon, I'm sure your sister wouldn't want you forgetting her, you used to talk a lot about her, fuelling the desire in me to meet her even more".
She did? "I did?" I asked.
"Look at you! You believed she was your soulmate and back then in my mind I would always say 'no! She is mine'!"
He laughed and I joined in too.
Maybe if I wasn't who I was right now, we could have been what he hoped for.
○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●
The rest of the day at that park was spent playing and talking and gisting. He was a really fun young man to be with.
"So you couldn't endure the cold in Canada anymore?" I asked amidst hiccups that came from the laughter that was from his experience in Canada.
"I mean, have you ever been there?, they have a really sick weather there"
"No, I've never being there, but I've heard of it" I responded.
"Of course" he responded and I couldn't help but stare at him as he smiled blankly into the space.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, breaking me from my trance. "It's my mum" I informed him silently as I picked the call.
"Hi Mum!"
– "Riley honey, when will you be home?, did you go out with friends?"
"I'll be home soon mum, you know i don't have any friends....I'm just at the park" I informed.
–"Oh, okay....come home before dinner, love you."
"Love you too mum". I hung up and I looked over to Nick.
"You hurt me, I don't count as a friend, we used to be, you just don't remember. No fair!" He fake whined as he held his chest.
"Okay, friends" I extended my hand for a hand shake and our hands met, lingering a bit before I cleared my throat and we separated our hands.
"So, can I have your number?" He asked and he asked cautiously.
I smiled at him "of course" he grinned and handed me his phone as I punched my numbers in.
"Oh....I beginning to like this Riley with a memory loss, you never said yes to all the times I asked for your digits".
I chuckled at his statement and tucked a flying hair behind my left ear.
"Here" I handed his phone back to him and stood up, adjusting my dress.
"It was a fun day with you Nick, but I need to leave now". He got up immediately too and straightened his pants.
"My pleasure ma'am" He said copying a Canadian accent which made me fluster.
I used my hair to cover my cheeks so he doesn't see I'm all red.
"Bye". I said lightly and turned my back on him.
"I'll text you tonight." He called after me and I nod, walking away
There's one thing I realised on the path of becoming like someone else, you never know when or if you'll lose yourself, right now.....I wasn't Miles, I was Ry".
And that scared me because of the day when I would get tired of all of these, I might be too late to turn back.
Immediately I got home, delicious cooking filled my nostrils, and on the table there was vegetable stir fry, pasta and corn on the cob.
"I'm home!"
"In the kitchen honey" I heard mum's voice and I followed it to the kitchen.
"Welcome" she looked over to me with a smile on her face.
"I made your favourites honey" she said Ry's favourite actually.
I smiled back and helped with the remaining dishes to the table.
Few minutes later, Dad joined and we had a delicious simple meal as a family.
As i was doing the dishes with mum in the kitchen my phone bussed signifying a text. I looked awkwardly as that never happened and mum gave me a weird look with a smirk on her face.
I hurriedly grabbed my phone, wondering what or who it could be.
It was a text from an unknown number, "Today was a great day, I'd like to walk you to work tomorrow?" A gasp escaped my mouth as I read the text over and over. Nick!
I caught sight of mum trying to peep into my phone and I hurriedly kept it in my pocket. I continued the dishes when my phone buzzed again.
I removed my hands from the water and wiped it dry on a towel.
"I'm sorry mum, you'll have to do the rest on your own" I hurried up the stairs to my room to text, but not before I could hear my mum say
"I want to hear all of it!"
"No, mum!" I yelled back and slammed my door shut.