All Which Remains

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Arron

I shoot up in bed. My skin is clammy with sweat. I still feel like I'm being eaten alive. I start to hyperventilate. I can't breathe. No, no, no, no... My skin burns and itches like mad. I put my head in my hands and try to calm my breathing. In, out, in, out, in, out. When I open my eyes and remove my hands from my face, I see that I still have a bite mark on my arm. When did I take off my gloves? There also seems to be an array of other scars all along my arms, almost touching my elbows. I brush the bite lightly with my fingers and feel another burst of fiery pain shoot up my arm and into my brain. It's probably a good idea to hide the bite mark under a long sleeve shirt. I get up out of bed and start toward the closet.

Wait.

This isn't my house. I don't have any other clothes than my school uniform. I pull at the material. When did I get here? I don't remember anything, and It's cold. I shiver and try to tug at the short sleeves that accompany my summer uniform. I look around the bedroom. Peeking under the bed were my gloves. The ones that I've hidden all of my other scars with my whole life. How do I know this? Who am I?

I shake my head and head to the bedroom door. I'll figure everything else out later. For right now, I'm hungry. So, I head down the hallway to where I think the kitchen is. Ipad across the hall and see Ramelan sitting on the couch reading a book. A sense of deja vu sneaks up from behind me and grabs my ankles. I shrug it off and sneak up behind him and shuffle his bed hair.

"Hey!" Ramelan says, trying to grab me.

"Your hair looks better now, anyway," I say, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Kids, no poking fun at each other so early in the morning," Ramelan's mom yells at us a few feet away from the kitchen.

"Yes, Mom," Ramelan calls back at her.

He turns to me and glares before resuming where he left off in his book. "You're no fun, you know?" I whisper under my breath while smacking him on the head. He ignores me and continues to read. I don't know how I'm able to act like we're friends. I don't know him. I only just met him a little more than twelve hours ago. I turn away from him, my mind reeling, and walk into the kitchen. Ramelan's mother is just starting to finish up with the breakfast rice. Her hijab looks a little bit askew. Like she forgot to put it on and then hurriedly did.

"Good morning, kiddo," she says to me, stirring the pot of assorted vegetables that were going to join the rice.

"Morning, ma'am," I say back, shying away from her.

"You don't need to act like we're strangers," she says, "You used to come over all the time when you two were kids. Too bad you had a falling out a few months ago," She sighs and turns away from me. I look at her. Her face is screwed up in concentration and sadness. Why is she sad?

"Yes," I say, "I don't remember if it was bad. Was it enough for Ramelan to stop talking to me?" I ask, curious.

"Oh, yes," she says, "It devastated Ramelan's world. Poor child locked himself in his room for days. Now leave me alone until the rice is finished." She turns to the rice cooker. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that the subject was taboo in their household.

I step away from her. I can't bring myself to walk back into the living room. I don't want to be around Ramelan after hearing such a crucial detail about our past. I can tell that he knows me, but I didn't know that we'd had such an intimate relationship. Enough to destroy him. And yet, he reached his hand out to me to help. I feel like such a jerk. Like I've done something wrong. I sit down at their table and wait for breakfast to be ready.

When the food is done, everyone joins me at their mini-table for breakfast. Ramelan's father scares me. He is a large burly man in his mid-forties. On the flip side, Ramelan's mother is petite and has white hair, like her son. His father is a kind person while his mother is harsher than her husband. Appearances don't matter, do they? Ramelan's father hands me an iPhone.

"What's this for?" I ask, bewildered at the generosity they're all showing me.

"For coming back to us," He says with a smile, "And because I felt like you needed it. You can use our family plan for the time being."

"Oh... Thank you, sir," I say. I feel remorseful about this whole endeavor, I take the phone from Mr. Albar with a quick, polite "thank you".

"No problem," He replies as he starts to eat.

I feel out of place. Like everything is foreign. They're letting me live with them. For free, no rent, fee, or anything, and they just gave me a phone for free too? I'm shocked at all of this, this, kindness. I look over at Ramelan. He's staring at me with a small smile on his face. I flinch. The dream from last night is still fresh in my mind, but I've been trying to push it away. Think of other things, self. The smile on his face drops and he stares at his food.

After breakfast, we all gather in the living room to discuss what we're going to do today. Ramelan says that he wants to stay home and do homework. So, the verdict is that I go shopping with Mr. Albar while Mrs. Kirana stays home with Ramelan. Afterward, Ramelan leaves to go to his room. I try to intercept him and talk to him, but he brushes past me and slams the door in my face. I whisper a few curse words under my breath but leave him alone.