The Last Night

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Chapter Eighteen

"The last night I was speechless was when I went stargazing with my uncle."

^~^

When we got to our room, Ame went straight to bed without saying a word. I don't blame her, though. After that bomb Kate dropped on us, Ame's reverted to that broken state she was in when we were watching Lilo and Stitch. She's got it rough. She already felt like she was at fault, and now she knows that Cindy is gonna die and that she isn't even gonna be remembered by the people she was close to. She looks so devastated.

I would ask if she's okay, but I already know the answer.

I'd probably be the same way if Ame were the one dying, and I were the one still living with the guilt of being indirectly responsible for her death. Except I'm a no good jerk, and I'm not as nice as she is. I don't see how she's like this for someone who took part in bullying her.

It bothers me so much that I can't do a thing right now. If I even tried something to cheer her up, it'd be futile. It wouldn't help a single bit. It's the kind of situation that there's nothing you can do to change.

I lay down and closed my eyes with my arms behind my head. I sighed.

I hate how useless I am right now.

^~^

I stared at my hands. I got out of bed and looked around. There was no one else in here. Ame's stuff was still here, but she wasn't. I walked out of the room to look for her. I didn't think I closed the door so when I looked back to check, machete guy's body was bleeding out in front of the door. The door number had changed from the original 214 to 317.

I heard music coming from the ballroom downstairs. It was a classical piece. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it before. I looked away from the corpse and walked downstairs. The music started taking form in front of me. I could see the notes, but I have no idea what any of them meant.

When I went into the ballroom, the lights were on. The keys were being pressed, and music was resounding throughout the room, but there was no one at the bench.

"Hello, Erik," a feminine voice said.

I turned around to find Ame sitting at a table by herself. She held a plastic cup that contained some sort of orange tea and black bubble-like things at the bottom with a thick straw in it. Well, when I look closer, this lady looked a little bit different from Ame. She had brown eyes, but other than that, she looked the same.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I won't answer you just yet," she said with a kind smile. "Have a seat."

I sat down across from her. If this were real life, I would think this is kind of suspicious, but then again, it's a dream. It's not like it'll affect me in real life.

"I'm sure you have a few questions. Ask away. I'll answer anything other than the 'who are you' one until I have to depart."

Okay, then. "How do you know who I am?"

"You're close to someone I keep tabs on."

"Who are you keeping tabs on?"

"Ame Hoshina Freeland."

"What's your connection to her?"

"I'm... a relative."

"Do you know her situation? Like at home?"

The lady's face turned grim. "I'm afraid so," she said, sadly. She checked her watch.

"Is there anything I can do to fix that?"