Drown 'Em Memories

Chapter 3: "Overloaded"

Vermont readied himself to open the discussion with words he was so uncertain to say. He held his hands and tried to refrain from shaking but felt every inch of his palm and fingers, which were ice-cold, making him even more reluctant to start.

Cole noticed his demeanor and said, "Buddy, breathe." Vermont nodded slowly, inhaled a big chunk of air, closed his eyes, and lowered the elevation of pressure within him. Then he exhaled, letting go of all the worries from his thoughts.

Vermont was a really timid guy, so everything he did that needed courage was way too difficult. But not in this situation, he figured. He really had to do this for Cole, for the betterment of his best friend, and he started to speak up.

"Cole, I'll tell you everything that I know," Vermont told Cole without making eye contact and just looked down at the blank and polished table surface. Cole was anticipating everything from Vermont for he really wanted to know why Vermont was acting in an unexpected manner earlier.

"Let's hear it," Cole stated. Before cutting to the chase, Vermont opened a background of Cole's memories that remained, which was before their senior high graduation. "So, you really don't remember anything since before the graduation, right?" he asked.

"Mary told you that?" Cole asked before answering the question. Vermont responded, "Yes, on the night she told me about you." Cole paused and replied, "Nothing, honestly." Vermont's sight drifted away from the table and looked at Cole, straight in the eye. "Well, we had a big fight, three months after graduation," he said.

"What?" Cole was confused. He shook his head and wore a face of disbelief. "I, I don't follow. What was it about?

"Vermont released a big sigh and gulped. "I don't know if I should say this but..." Vermont pulled back his words and remembered Mary telling him not to make Cole feel stressed. "Come on, buddy. Whatever it is, I'll try not to overreact, okay?" Cole wanted to get it out from Vermont as he was seeking answers to his cluelessness.

"You broke our promise, Cole," Vermont spoke it out softly and clearly for Cole. It was like a big shadow that clustered upon Cole's face the moment he heard this. He was stunned and too frightened to say a word. His words of not overreacting were not followed by his current state.

"We were going to be doctors together. Until you changed your mind." Vermont explained. Cole was shaken to his nerves hearing this. "What did I do? Being a doctor is my dream in this entire life!"

"No..." Vermont cut him off from saying another word. "You told me that you didn't even want to become a doctor in the first place!" Vermont yelled with his sad and rough voice and stood up from the chair. "Buddy, what are you talking about?" Cole asked in a sincere and calm attitude while being confused at the same time. He didn't know anything Vermont was yelling about. Vermont was still in the wild, running flood of his sadness and didn't mind Cole's question.

"You told me that you just forced yourself to say that you wanted to be one because of me! And you went on to be a schoolteacher instead! I mean, what kind of friend does not tell his friend, his 'best friend,' the truth? It would've been better if you just told me before we made that promise!" Vermont didn't hold back his emotions and kept pouring on his torrential tears.

"Schoolteacher? I never wanted to be a teacher. I hated it!" Cole couldn't believe that he found out his current job was a teacher, which he loathed very much.

"You didn't tell me that. It was the complete opposite that you wanted." Vermont sniffled. "And it hurts so bad because--" Vermont couldn't continue to say another word as he cried harder, his face turning red and his tears flowing non-stop like a big waterfall.

"Oh, buddy." Cole wanted to comfort Vermont from crying. "Listen," Cole looked him in the eyes. "Whatever I did back then, I'm sorry. There's got to be something that made me change my mind. Because back then, when we made the promise? I was telling you the truth. There's no way I would lie to you."

Vermont started to calm down a little, wiping his brow and asked, "You were?"

"Yeah! That's what friends are for, right?" Cole showed him a big, warm, comfortable smile and added, "I may not know why I changed my mind and made you feel that way, but one thing I know for sure is that I would never, ever want to betray you. I love you, you were like a brother to me." Vermont calmed down from crying after a final sniffle and wiped his tears, not leaving a single drop of it.

"I'm sorry too... I didn't really understand your reason why you said that. I guess it was because I'm too weak for that, and that's why I really left you and went ahead to Vancouver to study." Vermont apologized and entailed more about their conflict.

"Until I find out the reason, I owe you a drink, buddy," Cole said. They both started to smile enthusiastically. "There's my friend, Cole," Vermont replied and made the space around them blissful and forgiving. Both of them brought their big hug to each other and laughed feebly.

"Brings me back," Cole said and pulled away. "Like the good old days," Vermont replied and they both sat back down with fresh air to breathe and light shoulders.

"So, tell me how you got here?" Cole opened a new topic to talk about and was still wearing that big smile.