Unaccounted Memories

13

The explosion was loud and deafening. Drywall and beams were all over the floor. 

I sneezed and felt the dust scatter. 

"Levi?" I groaned and tried to move from under the rubble. 

"I'm here Meg," he called from a few feet away. 

"I can't get up," I groaned again as I dusted some dirt off my torso. My legs were under some beams and couldn't move. 

"Meg! I can't breathe!" Noel cried. 

"No body move! This building is going to collapse more and we need to get you out." 

I sat up and saw Clayton's hand out from under some beams. 

"Clayton?" I called out but heard no response. 

"No," I whispered and struggled to go help him. 

Hands grabbed me and pushed me back down. "Richard let go!" 

I punched him and he hit his head hard, and didn't make a sound.

The firefighters excavated everyone and started rushing us to the hospital. I wasn't able to see Clayton yet until I got the cast on my leg. 

"Levi? Where's Levi?" I asked the nurse. 

"He'll be in here in a moment. As will Noel." 

The door opened as my family walked in. 

"Noel," I breathed as she came in unscathed. 

Levi had a bandage on his shoulder but that was it. 

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" 

"Good I guess. What's going on?" 

"Meg," Levi sat down and squeezed my hand. "Your parents, Clayton's parents, Richard's and many others were apart of a secret organization. They were supposed to be protecting the Duchess of York." 

"The Duchess of York? How on earth did we end up with her?" 

"That's another story but our parents were assigned to protect her against assassination plot. The good thing is they succeeded." 

Clayton's dad knocked on the door. "Sorry, I just wanted to see if Megan was awake." 

"How is he?" I asked earnestly. 

"He's stable, his ribs are cracked but nothing else. He'll recover." 

"I'm so sorry." 

"Continue with the story Levi," Robert said quietly. 

"Yes sir. The Duchess was supposed to have been in a hotel one evening because she was to see her granddaughter the next day. However they switched hotels once we heard of the conspiracy. Your parents along with some others went to investigate the room." 

The nightmare came flooding back to me all at once. The horrid scenes of blood. The mangled bodies... How could I have seen that? 

"Levi.. That murder scene was my nightmare. It was from a news report wasn't it?" 

"Yes. You saw it over here at our house. The serial killers were plotting to then kill all of the body guards. Richard's parents were slaughtered which made Richard want to seek revenge." 

As he was telling me, more started making sense. "What about me? The doctor had said they were able to save me but not my parents when I had woken up in the hospital." 

"Within twenty-four hours of your parents being killed, they did not have any identity until after you were brought in. The killer had tried to send someone in after you. You were in a horrific accident at a restaurant. Someone had mined the place and ended up killing almost everyone inside. When the police found you, they rushed you to the hospital and looked at their files realizing what had happened. You were pronounced dead for quite some time. Eventually they were able to bring you back and diagnosed that the part of your brain where your memories are held was unresponsive. There was too much trauma for them to try and see how they could fix it." 

"You mean I will never remember my parents," I choked. 

"Over time you may be able to remember slight images or scenes... but you will never regain your full memory Megan." 

I couldn't hold it in any longer. The sobs racked my body as I tried to take everything in. I would never remember anything except from now. How was that possible! 

I was given a sedative and slowly drifted off as everyone continued to sit and watch me sleep.

The trip to Clay's room was somewhat long. He was in a different ward and up two floors. His dad had wheeled me into the room and left the two of us alone. Although he had an oxygen tube he was sleeping soundly and his heart rate was normal. 

I held his hand in mind and watched his chest move up and down. He looked peaceful while sleeping. 

"I'm so sorry Clayton," I choked out. 

"Megan?" Clay's hand touched my face gingerly. 

"Clayton!" I gasped and leaned over to hug him. 

"Baby what happened to you?" 

"I just broke a leg. Your ribs," 

"I'm okay. I promise." He kissed my forehead. "My dad told me about your past." 

I looked down, ashamed. "Pretty screwed up huh?" 

"Everyone has weird thing happen. I mean, look at me. My parents worked with yours and my best friend tried to kill us." 

I knew he was trying to make me feel better and I was grateful. 

I looked into his eyes and saw something I had never seen before. It's as if we had been friends longer than when I had met him. Which would make sense since our parents worked together. 

"Clayton, did we know each other before? I mean with our parents and all, surely..." 

He kissed me gently and held my hand in his. "I've known you for a long time Megan. I know one day you'll remember all the things we did too." 

The longer I looked at him the more I recognized him. He was the boy I had crushed on for years! Images came flooding back to me of Clay and of my parents. 

"Megan, what's wrong? Levi!" Clayton called once I realized I had tears streaming down my face. 

Everyone came rushing in as Levi touched my shoulder. "Meg what is it?" 

I hugged him tightly and started beaming at everyone. "I remember everything now. My memory is back."