Crimson Echo (44 page)

“That’s what I said. She also informed me that I traveled back in time to visit you… often.”

“No, Tristan. Don’t believe what she said. If it were true I would remember you, don’t you think?”

“I said that too.” I nodded.” But, she said she erased every part of me from your mind. She wanted you to forget about me so that she could have you all to herself.”

“Do you believe her?” He rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know what to believe. Is it possible to erase someone’s memory?”

“Yes, it can be done.” He bit his bottom lip. “No one does it anymore though. It’s too risky. You don’t know what all could be erased in the process— names, dates, birthdays, appointments… everything. I’ve heard stories from people that used it too often and eventually the person is left in a vegetative state. They turn into zombies.”

“How would you know if someone did that to you?”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Is there a way to reverse it?” I asked hopeful.

“Yes, but I’ve heard it can be a painful process.”

“I think it would be worth looking into, don’t you?” I suggested.

“Why? I’m perfectly content right now. If Illyria’s plan was for me to forget you, it didn’t work. We still found each other.”

“That’s n
ot the point Kane. The point is she messed with your memory. I would think you would want to know what was erased.”

He shook his head without saying anything.

“What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid that once all of the memories are returned, I might feel different. It could change everything.” He yelled as he stood and walked to the barn doors.

“You think you’ll feel different, how?” I pushed my plate away and joined him in the doorway.

“What if I’m not th
e same?” He hung his head. “You don’t know what else she could’ve removed.”

“We don’t have to talk about this anymore tonight. I just wanted you to know what she said.” I frowned, knowing I had put a damper on the rest of the evening.

“Thank you for telling me, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m happy with the way things are.”

“I’m happy too. I just thought you might want to know what she took away from you.”

“Why is this so important to you?” He stared me in the eyes. “You want to know if you’re really the time traveler, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I sighed.

“I can guarantee that it’s not you. You’re a human and humans can’t jump through time. It’s an impossibility.”

“Maybe you’re right.” I said as I stood beside Kane and stared up at the stars. “I guess I just thought that if I was a witch too than all of this would be easier for the both of us.”

“Tristan, I like you just the way you are.” He smiled.

             I knew what Kane was saying was true. There was absolutely no way that I could have been the girl that visited him in the past. He was right, I didn’t have any powers and I had no recollection of the events that took place, but I was still curious about this mysterious woman that looked like me and had stolen Kane’s heart so quickly.

            The more I thought about it, the more I became jealous of this woman. Obviously, it was stupid to be jealous of someone that Kane couldn’t even remember, but it didn’t help knowing that Illyria was so threatened by this woman that she would remove her from Kane’s memory altogether. I put my feelings on the back-burner and tried to enjoy what was left of my night with Kane.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I wrapped my arms around his middle and laid my head against his chest.

“I’m not upset.” He said. “Have you ever heard that saying, ‘why mess with a good thing’?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it before.”

“Well, what we have is a good thing here and I’d like to keep it that way.” He murmured. “I think I should get you home now, it’s been a rough couple of days. I think it’ll do us all some good to get some rest.”

“Yeah,” I huffed and walked back toward the house. “Let’s just take the crazy girl home.”

“You know I would never call you crazy, never!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me so that I was facing him. “I only want to keep you safe. I’m trying to prolong
your life. Don’t you understand that I love you?”

“You what?”
My eyes opened wide and I stopped dead in my tracks.

           It took me a minute to process
what Kane said and then another minute to let it really soak in. I had been secretly hoping that he would utter those three words to me for so long now that I didn’t even know how to react. I staggered back feeling completely caught off guard as those three words echoed in my head.

“I love you Tristan. I’ve loved you since the first day I met you.”
He smiled cautiously.

“I…I…love you too.” I gasped as the words flew out.

“I know. Now let’s get the crazy girl home.” He laughed, pulling me into him and kissing my forehead.

This time I agreed. 

            He hummed quietly to his self as we made our way back up to the manor. I tagged along beside him, blissfully unaware of anything else except for the warmth of his body next to me. We walked through the empty house and then out in to the garage where he helped me into his Range Rover.

           
The big arch of trees that led to from Kane’s house to the street was lit up by large spotlights and it was like I was literally leaving a magical world.  I shivered as I thought about spending the rest of my life with Kane. He noticed my twitch and turned on the heater thinking I was cold. He held my hand on the car ride home and I tried to rip my eyes away from his beautiful face.

“You’re different from other girls.” He smiled, peeking at me from the corner of his eye.

“How so? I blushed.

“You just are.”
He shrugged. And that’s all I needed to know, because I understood completely. He wasn’t exactly like other boys either. He squeezed my hand tighter and stared into the darkness.

I laid my head back against the seat and closed my eyes
feeling as content as I ever had.

“Tristan, you’re home.” He whispered, waking me from my slumber.

            I hadn’t even realized I had fallen asleep. I looked out the windshield into the dim light of the moon to see that my mom and dad’s cars were parked in the driveway. The light from the television flickered in the window of the living room. I unbuckled my seatbelt and paused as I reached for the handle.

“Will you come up for a little while?” I stalled.

“Umm…I really shouldn’t.”

“Please?” I begged.
“Just till I fall asleep?”

“I suppose, but only until you go to sleep.” He sighed.

            I smiled at the small victory, but I didn’t expect too many of them to come my way. He followed me up the old, wooden steps that led to my balcony. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Kane hesitated for a split second before joining me. I rushed to a pile of dirty clothes and casually kicked them under my bed without him noticing.

           He sat down on my bed and
his face lacked the usual confidence that annoyed me. Was he nervous? For once he squirmed, fidgeting with his hands and looking around uneasily. He straightened out his jeans and crossed his feet as I grabbed my pajamas. He watched me carefully out of the corner of his eye and sat back on his elbow, trying to look comfortable.

“I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere.” I held up my pajamas.

He nodded as he looked down at his watch. “Don’t be gone too long.”

           
I hurried to the bathroom and changed into my night clothes and brushed my teeth faster than I ever had, making sure to remove all traces of our romantic dinner. I rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash and padded down the stairs. My parents were still up. The television flickered up the staircase and I could hear them faintly talking in the living room. I tripped down the last two steps and made quite the entrance as my parents both jumped and turned to see what the commotion was about.

“Hey sweetie, are you okay?” Dad asked with a worried expression.

“Are you feeling any better?” Mom eyed me.

“I just came down to get a glass of water.”

“You’ve been pretty out of it for the last few days.” Mom’s voice was full of concern.

“Oh yeah,” I remembered Kane telling me about the spell he cast over my parents, I was supposedly sick with the flu. “I’m feeling a little better, still kind of weak.” I cringed at the lie, but they could never know about any of this. I doubt they would ever believe it even if I told them.

Mom stood and headed to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and two Advil.

“Here take these, they should help.” She handed me the pills.

“Thanks mom.” I said around a mouthful of water.

“Honey, you don’t have to stay down her with us. Go get some rest.” Dad smiled in his usual loving way.

“Okay, I love you guys.” I hugged them both and thanked my lucky stars that I was able to tell them how much I loved them. Near death experiences sure have a way of putting things into perspective.

“Love you too.” They echoed together.

            I trudged back up the stairs making sure to go as slow as possible to keep up with the charade of being ill. I would at least pretend to be sick until the morning. I would make a miraculous recovery and go to school like nothing had ever happened. I shuddered at the thought of my parent’s ever finding out what had actually happened to me in the last two days— they would never recover.

           
Hiding a yawn with the sleeve of my shirt, I rounded the corner to my room. I closed the door behind me and leaned up against it as I cleared my head. I heard a small laugh and remembered Kane was still in my room. I fumbled with the light on my bedside table and there he was on my bed, lying flat on his back with his arms folded behind his head and his legs crossed out in front of him.

“Make
yourself at home, why don’t you.”

“You’re a terrible liar, but that was quite the show you put on down there.” He laughed, patting the bed beside him.

“I’m glad I amuse you.” I rolled my eyes as I took a seat next to him. I maneuvered myself awkwardly into his arms and his touch sent shivers up my spine.

“Just relax.
I’m not going to bite. Would you feel better if I sat at the desk?”

“No, stay!
It’s just that… I’ve never had a boy in my room before.” I blushed.

“This was all your
idea, remember?” He chuckled quietly.

“Yes, I remember.” I casually traced the muscles
on his stomach with my fingertips.

“Are you sleepy?” He whispered.

“Not yet. Do you have somewhere you need to be?”

“Yes, right here with you.” He reached over
me and switched the lamp off and the room went dark.

            I thought back to the first time Kane had been in my room. It seemed like years had passed since then. I remembered him helping me shove toiletries into an overnight bag and the
look of panic that was plastered all over his face at the time. It almost felt like we had come full circle as I lay in his arms.

“What are we going to do about the Seekers?”

“We’ll worry about them tomorrow.” He said as he lifted the quilt and I got under it.

           
I tucked the quilt under my elbows and rested my head on his chest as he lay on top of the covers. The steady thrum of his heart soothed me as it slowly beat in thick rhythmic baritone. His cool breath blew across my neck and my eyes became heavy with sleep.

“Will you stay here with me forever?” I asked groggily.

“Forever is a very long time.” He sighed.

“It’s not long enough.” I whispered back, half awake.

“Tristan, you’re my sun and if you weren’t in my universe the planets in my solar system would implode.”

“I love you too.” I yawned
and sleep carried me away.