A Way

My mood was gloomy. Despite all the words of comfort Deric had told me, I still couldn't help feeling like I had lost everything. And in a way, I had. Ever since the day I went to the beach house, my world hadn't quite been the same. It's like I left a perfect life behind and then came back to meet a nightmare. My mom was no longer with me, the man I loved told me to my face that he had no reason to love me—maybe he had only thought of me as a hookup the whole time—and my best friend...well, he was with someone else now. I was left all alone. The only person I could count on was Deric. The same person I had hated before was now the only person who stood by me. Very ironic.

"Don't worry. We will find a way to fix this. Don't give up hope just yet."

"Honestly, I don't even think there is a way to fix this. What are we even trying to fix here? We don't even know what the problem is."

"The problem, Kerry, is that the memories of everyone you know have been wiped. Just because they don't remember you doesn't mean that they don't love you or have never loved you."

"Then why is it that Bill can remember Mom, and Carter also remembers Emily?"

"How do you know they remember them? Just because you saw them being affectionate towards each other? Have you considered the fact that maybe they just fell in love or something? Maybe they saw each other and suddenly had a strong attraction to each other. It might just be one big coincidence, you know."

"So you are trying to tell me that they don't remember each other? Just love at first sight?"

"Perhaps."

"That doesn't make things better."

"You are just so damn dramatic," Deric scowled. I could see that he was starting to get pissed, with the way he was holding the steering wheel so tightly there was going to be a dent left behind. "You hold on to something so tightly and can't let go."

"Are you asking me to just give up? To continue living in a world where my mother doesn't even know who I am?! It might be easy for you to say because obviously, this has nothing to do with you!"

"Nothing to do with me? I'm fucking here trying to make you feel better. I came back the moment you called me, even though you were the one who wanted to leave with him in the first place. I've protected you as much as I can, made you feel comfortable in my home even though we don't even fucking know each other that well. And you're saying this has nothing to do with me?"

"Aren't you only doing this because Silas asked you to?"

"So every good deed I do, it's always going to be because he asked me to? I am starting to think that Silas wasn't the one obsessed with you. Maybe it was the exact opposite. It's always about him, isn't it? You can't think for yourself for even one second. And he doesn't even know who you are now."

"What is wrong with you?"

I didn't understand why Deric was being so cold all of a sudden. He had been the one comforting me and telling me that we would find a way to change things. Now it seemed like he wanted me to make peace with everything. And the animosity he had with Silas was evident, but until now I had always thought that their beef had been going on for a while and it had nothing to do with me. After all, the only reason why I had even met Deric in the first place was because I had gone to look for Silas. If it wasn't for my stepbrother, then the both of us would have never met. And so far, Deric would always say that the only reason he was helping me was because of Silas. Why was he angry now when I said it?

"If things don't change—"

"But you said we could fix—"

"IF things don't change," Deric glared at me, daring me to interrupt him again. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then leaned back in my seat. He continued, "Won't you get over him? If we don't manage to fix things, if he still can't remember you, will you still go after him and try to get him to fall in love with you, or will you move on?"

"I don't know. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to think about that option. We have to fix this."

"Kerina."

"It's Kerry."

"Kerry, Silas did ask me to protect you, but I don't owe him shit. If I didn't want to, then I wouldn't have saved you. I wouldn't have brought you back with me."

"But...you said you owed him."

"I don't."

"You lied?"

"Yeah."

I stared at him in silence. My mind was struggling to grasp the meaning of his words. Why was he saying this now? All this time, I had thought that he was helping me only because he owed Silas. But now he said he doesn't owe him anything. So why was he helping me then? We barely interacted in the past. Apart from the time we met in the club, there were only a few words we exchanged in the forest.

"Then why?"

"Doesn't matter. Just know that if this doesn't work out, if you don't get to go back to him, then you can still stay with me. I haven't known you for years like he has, but I will still treat you as best as I can. So no matter what, you are not alone. Understood?"

My eyes were burning with tears. I don't know whether I was crying at the possibility that I might never get my old life back, or that someone I barely knew had sacrificed so much for me and was willing to stay by my side despite everything. Yet I barely acknowledged him all this time. I was always thinking about my mom and Silas all the time. I never once appreciated Deric for his help. I leaned forward and placed my head on his shoulder. "I understand. Thank you."

"It's fine," Deric's voice was warm, and there was a soft smile on his lips.

* * *

Deric's father was a wealthy businessman who was always away on business trips. So Deric had the mansion and house to himself most of the time. I had overheard some of the maids whispering to themselves about how much the Master's Son had changed. In the past, whenever his father was away—which was very often—he would invite his friends, who would go on to smoke and drink, sometimes even commit extreme acts such as hosting wild parties.

The next day, the servants would spend hours cleaning up the mess, so it was safe to say that they were very happy with the new Deric, who didn't party anymore. Unlike the workers in Silas's home, who ignored me, the humans here were very nice to me. I even made friends with some of them, and they would always make me my favorite food.

All in all, life here wasn't so bad. It was a lot better than when I was staying with Silas. But I still found myself being depressed and miserable. Even though I did my best to hide it from Deric, I was sure he had noticed. It's only been a day, but I wanted to see Silas so badly. I wanted to apologize to him. He had told me he loved me, and I should have accepted his confession, but instead, I made things difficult for him. But I knew better than to go back there. Silas had probably moved on by now, and I would be surprised if he even remembered me at all. Too bad.

That night, I had dinner with Deric. Even though he never ate anything, he still sat beside me, and we talked about stuff that wasn't relevant. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't feeling bad either. Life was...normal. Maybe if things really didn't change, I might decide to remain here. I went to bed late, and it didn't take long before I fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was in my bedroom. The room where I lived when everything was still normal. Nothing had changed. There were no bloody footprints anywhere to be seen, and my window was still intact.

"What the hell is going on?"

I looked around me and found that everything was the way I had left it. Excitement coursed through me. Could it be that whatever had happened was only a nightmare? I got up from my bed and walked toward the door. I wanted to go to my parents' room to see if they were still there, and if Silas was downstairs in the kitchen baking for me. But something cold brushed past me, making me shiver.

I turned around and was startled by the familiar face that was so close to my own.

"Terry? You scared me!"

Terry smiled at me. "You came back."

"What?"

"I was waiting for you. There's something you need to see."

"Terry, what are you talking about?" I asked him. He didn't respond. However, his smile widened.

Terry reached out a hand to touch me, and I felt cold all over. I shivered heavily, and my eyes fell closed. My head hurt so much that I felt like I would pass out. When I opened my eyes next, I was standing in the middle of a forest under the biggest tree I had ever seen in my life. The branches were so large that they stretched out, forming vast canopies that blocked out the moonlight. I was confused and didn't know what the hell was going on. How did I get here?

"You wanted to fix things, right?" Terry's voice echoed in the darkness. I looked around but couldn't spot the transparent figure of my friend. "You just need to get a branch, and your problems are solved."

"What are you talking about? Terry, where are you?"

"One branch. Aim for the heart of the one who cast the spell, and everything will be back to normal."

"Wait, are you telling me that this is the Forbidden Tree? It actually exists?"

"You can see it for yourself."

"But where is this?"

"Look around you. It's familiar, isn't it?"

I looked around me. It was still dark, but my eyes had adjusted, and I could make out the large trees that surrounded me. Trees and more trees. No, this did not look familiar at all. It looked just like any forest. The only thing worth noticing was the small hill. It looked a lot like the place I got my heart broken by Carter. Wait...this was actually Elthon Forest, wasn't it? But I didn't remember this tree being here before.

I reached out to touch the bark, but the moment my fingers grazed over it, I felt like I was falling again. My head hurt even more than before.

I opened my eyes with a start, and my entire body was shaking. I was drenched in sweat. I looked around me and found that I was sleeping in the room Deric had given me, which was right next to his. My mind went back to the dream I had. It felt so real. I felt hope bloom in my chest. Could it be that the answer I was looking for had been in Elthon Forest all along?

I quickly got out of bed and dashed out of the room. Deric was in bed when I entered his room. I climbed onto his bed and went to straddle him. My excitement made me unable to think. Because Deric wasn't actually asleep (vampires don't sleep), his eyes flew open the moment I was on him.

"What's up with you?" His eyes were wide with surprise.

"I know how to fix this!"