Remember Me

Chapter 3: The Heartbreaking Reunion

Kimberly's P.O.V:

A year later:

"Promise me something, okay? Promise me that when I get back you'll remember me and that you won't ever replace me," he told me.

"I promise but you have to promise to come back."

Before he could answer, we heard the sound of a gun shot. Leo fell to ground.

"LEO! LEO!" I shrieked with terror.

I awoke drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. I have dreams about the day Leo moved and each time the story is different.

I didn't keep any of the promises I made that day. I remember Leo. I remember almost everything about him just not the way he looks or how he talks or even his smile. I wished I could see his smile again and hear him laugh. I know it's silly to think I'll actually see him and he'll run up and hug me like he was never gone. I can only hope. The second promise was also somewhat broken. I became closer with my friend Willow, since I had no one else to talk to.

I crawled out of my bed unwillingly. My heart was still racing. As I got ready, I remembered that our new neighbors were moving in today.

The neighbors that moved in after Leo's family left were completely crazy. They had tons of lawns gnomes everywhere in their yard. The woman of the house didn't approve of real flowers so she planted fake ones in her yard and watered them everyday. The family always wore pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers. I never understood them. They always invited us over for dinner and my parents didn't want to be rude so we always went. The outside of their house is just a warning you that the inside of the house is ten times crazier.

Every wall in their house was painted a different color. Not a thing in the house matched. Their house smelled like burnt toast and you were always tripping over something. They always made some nasty food that I was forced to eat and say how great it was. Then more of the mystery meal was piled on my plate before I could reject it.

I'm so glad we are getting new neighbors. What will they be like? Will they be ten times wackier? No, no one will ever be as crazy as our last neighbors.

After getting ready, I sat outside on the swing in the the front yard. I sat there for about a half hour. A red SUV followed by a moving van pulled into the driveway next door.

I sat on the swing watching with great anticipation. This is it. New neighbors at last. No more crazy's. The driver door to the vehicle opened. A man that looked like my dad's age got out of the car. He looked over and saw me staring. He waved happily like he knew me or something.

"Kimberly!? Is that you?!" the man called.

How does that man know me? I didn't say anything back. I noticed a boy around my age came around the car to stand by the man. The boy said something to the man which made the man make a weird face.

The man turned back to me, "Kim!? Is that you!?" he called again but this time louder.

My neighbor is crazy. I do not know that man. I get up off the swing and walked towards my house. What a weirdo! Why is is screaming at me? He is a psychopath. Stranger danger!

"Wait! Kate! It's me, Owen!" he called.

I stopped walking. Could it be? After all these years? He remembers me? The boy, is that... that Leo?? Owen, Leo's dad? Is this really happening? I wanted to run and jump into Leo's arms and hug him. I didn't. What if he didn't even remember me. I turned around quickly to face the man who's name claimed to be Owen. He started to walk towards me. The boy didn't follow. Owen approached me slowly.

" Kimberly Fynch, is that really you? My, you've grown up so fast, " he said.

" Yes that's me. Who are you?" I said bluntly.

"It's me, Owen, Leo's dad."

My eyes immediately shot glance to the boy by the car. Leo? He kept his promise! But did he remember me? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Owen staring at me with concern.

"Kimberly, I'm afraid Leo doesn't remember you. He got in a car accident a year ago and " Owen explained, hugging me.

What? I felt like had been punched in the stomach. He doesn't know who I am? After all we've been through? Tears begin to form in eyes. He finally comes home and doesn't even remember our past. I blinked back tears.

"Leo, come here, there's someone I want you to meet," Owen called.

Leo walked over slowly. When he got closer, his puzzled look on his face made me remember he used to make that face all the time. Leo stood awkwardly, staring at the ground.

"Leo, this is Kimberly. We used to live next to them before we moved away," he explained.

Leo looked at me with surprise. "Hi," he says smiling at the ground the same way he used to when we were kids.

"Hi!" I say with a bright smile on my face.

After all these years of waiting and waiting for Leo to move back so I could run into his arms, I couldn't. He didn't even know who I was! I wanted to cry, but I held back my pain.

Leo looked up from the ground and his eyes met mine. "I missed you so much!" I blurt out forgetting he couldn't say the same.

He half-smiled and laughed a little. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I regret.

"It's fine, it's not your fault," Leo mumbled, breaking away eye contact.

There was a long awkward silence until Owen piped in,"Leo, why don't we go inside and unpack and you guys can talk later?"

I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk later. He didn't even KNOW me! It hurts so bad that my childhood friend finally came back and doesn't even know me! Deep down inside, I know that before he lost his memory he would have remembered me. Our reunion would have been a million times better. He would have got out of the car and shouted my name and then he would run to me and scoop me up in his arms like it used to be. But no. It wasn't like that at all.

Owen and Leo said goodbye and went inside their house to unpack. Lizzy, Leo's mom, was already walking inside the house carrying a box full of stuff.