Page 145 of To Ashes and Dust
I’d yet to see the remains of The Complex, save what I barely remembered of the news footage. My stomach dipped, and my feet refusing to take another step.
There was truly nothing left but ashes; even the brick had burned to nothing. It had actually been good in the end that it had all burned. There was no evidence, nothing left to endanger our secret. The police had ruled it an arson and never figured out the building had been inhabited.
I pulled my eyes from the remains of what was, forcing my mind elsewhere. I’d passed Kat’s road a few blocks back, with the intention of stopping in at the little corner store to get us some drinks and snacks. To everyone else, it was Ciscato’s market, but to us, it was Al’s. It was a place of memories; my parents took me there to buy penny candy and other treats as a child.
The bell over the door chimed as I approached, my eyes dragging along the sidewalk before me as I tucked my chin in, holding onto what little warmth remained in my jacket.
“Yins drive safe! I’ll miss seein’ you around here!” the shop owner’s voice stretched from deep within the store as someone left.
“Thanks! We’ll miss you too!”
I stiffened at the voice that echoed through every treasured memory I held onto, every memory that no longer existed outside of my own mind. I lifted my eyes to find myself standing before my parents, my father holding the door open for my mother.
“Watch your step, babe,” Dad said.
“Thanks,” she said, a warm smile lacing her voice.
I should move, should get out of sight, but I couldn’t bring myself to take another step. My heart hammered as she lifted her gaze... the hazel eyes she’d given me found mine.
Air froze in my lungs, my knees threatening to come out from under me.Shit. What should I do? Would this mess up what I’d done to erase their memories? Would she not know who I was? Neither possibility felt better than the other.
“Oh, so sorry. Let me get out of your way,” she said, hurrying out of the doorway and to the side as my father headed for the car.
My heart twisted, pain contorting my stomach, as if I’d been stabbed. She didn’t know me. We were strangers. My eyes burned, and I blinked, trying to force my composure, trying to look as if I knew them as little as they now knew me.
“It’s okay. Thank you.” I averted my gaze, heading for the door.
“Wait.”
I froze, my hand hovering over the handle, my pulse pounding in my ears as I turned to look back at her.
Her dirty blonde brows scrunched as she took in my face. “I’m sorry. Have we... have we met before?”
My throat tightened, and I forced a friendly smile, tilting my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Sorry, you... just look so familiar,” she said, and I could almost see the gears turning in her mind. I needed to get away from her. I didn’t know if it was possible for memories to resurface once they’d been erased.
“We’ve gotta get on the road, babe,” my father called from the car.
She perked up, glancing back at him. “Coming!” She turned to me again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound weird. You have a good day.”
“You too,” I said, watching her turn and leave.
Something chipped away inside me as she climbed into the passenger side. They looked so happy, unweighted by struggles... By me. Their car pulled away, and I watched them disappear down the road.
It was better this way.
“Come in!”
I opened Kat’s door, what little energy I’d had this morning sapped from me. Would I be any help to her in this state? Either way, I needed to talk to her. I still hadn’t told her about my heart attack.
Her head popped out of the kitchen doorway, her coppery hair tied up in a loose bun. “Oooo! What did you bring me?”
I chuckled at her enthusiasm at the sight of the bag in my hand. I kicked my boots off, shrugging out of my jacket before heading down the hallway toward her. “I figured if I’m helping you study, I might as well bring snacks.”
She wandered over, fern-green eyes glittering as she watched me unbag her favorite drink among the assortment of other snacks. The moment I pulled out the plastic case containing her favorite treat, she beamed.
“You got Gobs?” she nearly shrieked. “You know me too well!”
