Chapter 2: What's lost will soon be found

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Avery POV

Brylle nudged me forward, a conspiratorial smile playing on his lips, as we entered the bustling Wilson household. My gaze swept across the room, landing on a figure I didn't recognize. A knot of tension tightened in my stomach. My father had brought me along today at Brylle's insistence, mentioning a long-lost brother returning from states.

Over the past three years, our lives had become a monotonous cycle of doctor visits and therapy sessions, punctuated by these trips back to my hometown. Each visit was a desperate attempt to salvage fragments of memories stolen by a cruel twist of fate. While our usual stays were a week at most, Father had mentioned an extended visit this time. Apparently, Kevin's return warranted a longer stay.

The siblings, younger than Brylle and me by a significant margin, launched themselves at the newcomer with squeals of delight. The man, tall and broad-shouldered, received their affection with a warmth that sent another jolt of unease through me. Stacy and Lacy, Brylle's rambunctious twins, practically worshipped him. Even David and Lily, the youngest, seemed drawn to him. Brylle too, despite mentioning strained relations with his brother a year ago, appeared genuinely happy to see him.

The stark contrast between their easy acceptance and my own disquiet was unsettling. My unease intensified when we finally made eye contact. His face held a mixture of emotions I couldn't decipher - longing, perhaps, and a flicker of something else...pain? It was all too confusing, a tangled mess mirroring the fragmented memories swirling within my own head.

The only clear memory I possessed of him was regaining consciousness after the accident. A blurry image of a concerned face. A name echoed in the vast emptiness of my mind, the sole anchor to a past I desperately yearned to reclaim. But the man standing before me, the warmth radiating from his reunion with his family, felt like a stranger. Who was he, this Kevin who stirred such conflicting emotions within me? And what role did he play in the life I couldn't remember?

"Av, Av, how are you? Did it hurt somewhere?" I remembered his concerned expression as he hurried towards my hospital bed, holding me gently, as if I might break at any moment

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"Av, Av, how are you? Did it hurt somewhere?" I remembered his concerned expression as he hurried towards my hospital bed, holding me gently, as if I might break at any moment.

"Who are you?" I pushed him away, feeling everything around me unfamiliar. Earlier, I had seen an elderly man who now claimed to be my father, speaking with a doctor about my condition. Despite my uncertainty, his evident concern and joy upon witnessing me awaken from my ordeal hinted at a familial connection that I couldn't deny.

"What are you talking about, Av? Can't you remember who I am?" His face betrayed a sense of despair, as if he feared I might be playing tricks on him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you. I can't remember what happened. Why am I here? Who am I? Why can't I remember anything? Why? Why? Where am I? Who am I? Why is everything gone? Why can't I remember anything?" I cried hysterically, attempting to grasp at lost memories until I eventually lost consciousness. It was the first episode I could recall of desperately trying to remember.

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