Stuck

"Forgive me, Katie, but I have to do this. I'm sorry."

I gasp, jerking myself from the nightmare.

That voice. 

I couldn't have mistaken it for someone else. I was one hundred percent certain.

It was Kyle's.

I blinked several times, trying to figure out why his words seemed to have shaken me and how he said my name.

There was something endearing to it which made no sense. I closed my eyes, reaching for the memories that I had lost. 

If only I could recall a significant detail of that night, it would make this less confusing.

I shivered slightly and pulled the blanket close. The soft touch of the linen on my skin reminded me of where I was.

A tired sigh escaped my lips. I was far from home, but Aunt Hilda ensured I was comfortable.

How can I be selfish and not appreciate her effort? But she couldn't take it from me to keep yearning to go back.

A huge mystery still needed to be solved, leaving me restless. Had my family been open to discussing the events of the incident, I might have accepted this move with gratitude. 

But they closed all doors, barred me from seeing my friends and limited my access to any device.

It was ridiculous, considering I almost lost my mind thinking about what I could do with my free time. School was out of the question. 

With my current condition, I actually wanted to keep going, but my parents insisted I needed time off. 

Again, that was part of their plan to conceal the truth I badly wanted to know about.

Was it so hard to accept? Is that why they took extreme measures to keep it from my grasp?

I reopened my eyes. No matter how much I tried to understand their decision, it was impossible. 

I might lose my sanity at this point, but I could do nothing about it. At least for the time being.

If I give this place a chance, the answers might come to me. Besides, Aunt Hilda made an effort to help me adjust. I should be appreciative of her and make use of this time to recuperate.

My body has barely recovered. In fact, I only hid some of the bruises and wound marks with my sister's concealer. 

Aunt Hilda and Allen, my cousin, have yet to see the rest of the damage the accident has left.

I let my gaze linger around the room. Aunt Hilda said it was supposed to be her second child's, but she lost the baby, so it was locked up until my mother called her a few days ago about me staying here for a little while.

I tried my hardest to play stubbornly and fight my parents regarding this decision, but it was to no avail. They booked my ticket and arranged everything speedily. It made me realize how desperate they were to ship me off.

I knew this was their attempt at what they call a safety precaution.

But against what, I had no idea.

I tried to reason, and practically the puppy dog eyes, but their decision was final.

Kelsea tried to convince them, too, but it was no use. She cried the whole time I was packing. However, she ended up helping me pack. 

She even offered to lend me some of her clothes, saying it would make me miss her less, which I think was more for her sake than mine.

My heart twinged and ached. I missed them already, but I promised myself not to get in touch. It was my way of punishing them for making this decision without asking how I felt about it.

I want to play stubborn and rebel a little to show them they can't just ship me off and pretend it was nothing grave.

It was everything because now I had no other choice. I was stuck.

I threw the blanket off me and got out of the single bed, leaning against the wall with a small window draped with a soft pink curtain.

The walls of the room were painted white with pink floral decorations. At the foot of the bed, a few inches away from it, was a chair and a mirror which was facing the left side and beside it was a brown door and on the opposite of the bed was a big cabinet where I took the time to place my clothes neatly and farther away from it was a table and a chair with a desk lamp on one side, a study table.

The floor was not carpeted, but I was okay with the tiles. It complemented the pink of everything in here.

My eyes hurt looking at how pink everything was. I don't particularly hate the color, but I'm not into pink. 

It was too girly. 

Kelsea and I had agreed that pink was a color associated with too cheerful and mean girls, and we didn't like it that much.

I got on my feet and padded barefoot towards the door, running a hand through my hair.

I lazily slipped out of it and found myself face-to-face with my cousin.

"So that's how you look like when you just woke up, tsk," 

I slapped his stomach with the back of my hand while he chuckled, sliding his arms around my neck.

"Aw, come on. Dinner's ready, and keeping the food waiting won't be nice."

Dinner.

I didn't realize I had slept throughout the afternoon. I arrived at around 1 pm and slept right after I had fixed my things in the cabinet, then woke up to Kyle's voice.

I felt my chest tighten just thinking about him. All this mystery stuff and my family's shut mouth will be the death of me.

My curiosity was rising with every glimpse of things I did not understand.

Who was Kyle Jason Meridez in my life, and what was the deal talking about him in my house and what on earth happened to my memories of the night I met an accident?

Where did they all go?

Had they gotten flushed in a toilet or something?

Ugh.

I thought of Kyle's words in my dream, and they haunted me.

Forgive me, Katie, but I have to do this. I'm sorry.

But why?