Robotic Secrets

Chapter Fifteen: Memories - Part III

I stared at the ceiling, lying on my back like a statue. My breath was caught in my chest, my lungs burning from holding it for such a long period of time. I exhaled loudly and took in deep, loud, and heavy breaths to quench the heat in my lungs. It helped a tiny bit, which I was thankful for. The room was lit by the lamp that was on my nightstand as it was getting dark outside.

It had been a few hours since my mother told me everything. Throughout the rest of the day, my thoughts swam with everything that my mother had revealed to me and I did my best to hide it from Mangle and Roxanne. I noticed how they looked at me during dinner, but they never got around to asking, which I was greatly thankful for. I did not want to get into a discussion with them about what I had found out from my mother.

To think that any of that stuff happened in the past and during the time when my father was alive was a lot to take in. I couldn't believe how blind and stupid I was. I acted like a complete jerk in the past without even bothering to think about what was happening in the background.

I covered my face with my hands, breaking the statue-like state I was in. I felt so pathetic. At the same time, I felt guilty. My dad could've had that place shut down if it wasn't for my memory loss. I knew it wasn't entirely my fault, but the thought that he died because he didn't have that one piece of evidence he needed due to it was too much to bear.

As I thought about it, I thought about the time I met Roxanne 10 years after we first met. My heart became heavy. If my father was able to get it shut down, I probably wouldn't have been able to see her again nor would me and her have become boyfriend and girlfriend later on. Those thoughts were too much to bear and I did my best to push them out of my head.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned my attention to it, waiting to see if whoever was at the bedroom door would knock again. It came again.

"Who is it?" I called out weakly.

"It's me, Mangle," came the familiar voice. "Can I come in? I want to talk to you."

I thought about it for a moment. A part of me still wanted to be alone to collect myself. However, another part wanted someone to talk to and get some of these negative thoughts out of my head. It might do me some good.

I sighed, the decision having been made.

"Come in," I said. Without hesitation, the door swung open and it was indeed Mangle. She stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," I replied back. She walked over to me and stood beside my bed.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked, concern very present in her tone. I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. In truth, I wasn't and I wasn't going to lie to her. "Why? Is everything okay?"

I sighed.

"It's just that I am taking in what my mother has just told me," I said. I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't ask. I really didn't want to talk about it at the moment.

"Oh..." she said, her voice now low but still audible, sounding very apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about, Mangle," I said to her in reassurance. "You've had no way of knowing what is going on in my head unless I tell you. And if you're going to ask, I don't want to talk about it."

"I wasn't going to," she said. "I came here to talk to you about Roxy."

That caught me by surprise. Mangle wanted to talk about Roxy? I couldn't help but wonder what happened in Roxanne's room. I didn't want to disturb them as I wanted to be alone so I was to be held accountable for not knowing anything that happened in that room.