Safety is Relative

Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Mystery of the Forgotten Boy

I stand still amongst the bustling crowd, occasionally being battered a few steps sideways by a particularly frazzled-looking student. They keep on pouring out of the school gates and across the concrete playground, an endless wave of humanity. I used to think that this school was small, but I soon realise that when you’re looking for one person in particular, you end up seeing size in a whole new perspective.

I catch sight of Sorrel, his blond hair almost glowing in the sunshine, walking with his best friend, Cassia. Like Lysander, she’s very tall, towering over my little brother. They make me smile, because looking at them; they are as dissimilar as can be. Sorrel is small and fair, with the chunkier frame of my father, whilst Cassia is long and gangling with her thick black hair in tiny little braids. But from what Sorrel has told me, she’s practically a female version of him and they get along extremely well. I guess that sometimes appearances truly are deceiving.

‘Hey lil’ sis,’ says Ash, appearing from behind me.

Typical. I spend ages watching out for him, and then don’t see when he finally arrives. ‘Where have you been? I’ve been standing here for ages.’

‘Well I’m here now,’ he says, giving me a hug.

His mates, Cooper and Harvey, grin at me. They’re used to my presence by now- I’ve been walking home with Ash and his friends for over a week. I think it soothes my parents’ minds if I am surrounded by three other, more adept slayers, although personally I think if a vampire wanted to take me again, it wouldn’t be put off by three teenage boys.

I don’t object though, because I can tell Mum barely wants to let me out of her sight, so if having three bodyguards equals an attempt to get back to reality and school and my friends, then I’m willing to put up with it. I know she is scared for me, but if I had to spend all my time locked inside the house then I think I would probably go mad.

Besides, the more time I spend with other people, with familiar settings, the more of my memory I seem to get back. Or, to put it more truthfully, the more people let slip things that help me put back together, patchwork-style, what has happened in the last few months that I can’t remember.

Like Jessica’s comment about how I can’t remember Nate. I have absolutely no recollection of anyone called Nate, but from what she said I think that he was kidnapped alongside Nina and I. Now that scares me, because how on earth can you forget a whole person?

No-one else will tell me anything- all my friends who are slayers, like Lysander and Harry, will not admit to anything about him. And Jessica told everyone else that I shouldn’t be told anything I don’t know, because it could affect my memory coming back. So I’m stuck with the knowledge that I’ve forgotten somebody called Nate, but I have absolutely no idea who he is, what he looks like, or even how we met.

‘Who’s Nate?’ I ask suddenly to Ash, in the hope that I will catch him out.

He glances at me, his face falling. ‘I’m not allowed to talk to you about him.’

‘But I wouldn’t even know he existed if Jess wasn’t such a big mouth!’ I say exasperatedly. ‘How many other people have I forgotten that I know that you aren’t telling me about?’