FORGET ME NOT

Chapter Forty-three

A/N

I am very sorry if there are a lot of wrong grammars and typo errors. I decided to finish the entire book before I edit every chapter. I'm trying my best to write and publish all the chapters soon. Hope you understand :( -G

AIDEN

Walking back to my dorm room, I over heard students chatting about Trish. I felt a little peeved because I don't want people talking about her even though I don't know the reason why they are. People who spread gossips should get a life and stop talking about other people because it is not their business to deal with. Despite of the negative thoughts and opinions filling up my mind, I am not astonished that students would spend time chatting about a girl like Trish. She is very famous around the campus and the reason is very obvious. She's smart, talented, beautiful, kind and all the things you can ask for. A lot of guys dream of Trish that is why girls envy her.

Arriving at the fourth floor of the building, I searched for my room keys inside my jean pockets. I stood in front of the door, trying to open it without letting my books fall out of my arms. When I finally got the right key, I turned the nob and opened the door with a bang. I lay my books down the kitchen counter as I closed the door with my left foot, acting so slothful. Raising my head to glance around, I immediately saw Tyler, Misha and Alexia settled in the living room. They're all staring at me as if I came from planet Mars and I am here to abduct them.

Seriously? Did my skin color transformed to green? Maybe my ears grew bigger like barbeque sticks.

Going back to the real world, I noticed that the television is off and they all look sedate. I slowly walked towards them but they still didn't budge. Studying their movements, I sat on the vacant couch across Misha and asked, "What's up?" but no one answered then I straightaway realized that something is really wrong. I glared at Tyler, without saying a word. Our eyes met and he finally spoke up, "The campus is buzzing about Trish right now" then I got more curious so I asked, "What did she do?"

Waiting for Tyler's reply, Misha suddenly interjected, "Did you know that Trish is the daughter of the former Senator Campbell? The one whose family died in a fire?" making me feel like I got shot straight in the middle of my heart. The fact that Trish's secret finally blew up like a bomb terrified me. Trish's life is in danger and it is eating me alive. Albeit her family died years ago, her life is still not normal specially when the time comes that the whole country will know the fact that Campbell's oldest daughter did not die during the fire. I can't let her suffer through this alone. I can't leave her wondering through the streets all by herself. I can't let her go out there when she could be killed anytime of the day.

"Why didn't she tell us?" Alexia asked sounding really down but I couldn't just stay here so I said, "Where is she?" then they all shrugged telling me that they don't have a single clue. I didn't say another word and immediately surged up like it's the end of the world. I got my phone out of my pocket and started calling Trish but she couldn't be reached. I went to her room first to check if she is there but when I knocked on the door as I called out her name, nobody answered.

Where the hell did she go?

Feeling antsy, I went out of the building and ran towards the coffee shop across our dorm. I glanced around, looking for any sign of Trish. I asked all the people I passed by but they just shrugged and told me that they have no idea where Trish is. Breathless, I sank down on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop and raise my head up to see the sky.

Please be safe. I repeated again and again trying to hush myself down.

While I was gazing around, I suddenly saw a girl sitting on the edge of the rooftop. I squeezed my eyes and stared again. I noticed that the girl who is on the rooftop is no other than Trish. I immediately pushed myself up again and ran back inside. I got inside the elevator and when it finally reached the last floor, I climbed the stairs leading to the rooftop like a dog gasping for his breath. I look like I am chasing a cat who ate my food because of the panic I am feeling. I slowly opened the door, trying to fix myself up, seeing Trish gazing at the tall buildings of Seattle. I approached her and when I sat down beside her, she glanced up at me. Flashing me a warm smile, Trish diverted her gaze back to the ravishing view.

We both stayed silent because I know we're both unsure of the proper words to say. I decided not to ask her since it will only make her sad even more. Instead of getting mad at her for putting her life into danger, I moved closer and scooped her in my arms. Pinning her into a hug, she rested her head on my chest and I kissed the top of her head. While we gazed at the sun falling down, I could hear her crying silently.

Sometimes, crying is the only way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is. It isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign of having tried too hard to be strong for too long.

I understand why she did it despite of the many challenges she is going to face. For years, she lived a life full of lies.mI know she is tired hiding away from the monsters and I know she doesn't want to be a coward.

I let her cry for a few minutes because I want her to let everything out. "I'll tell you a story, okay?" I mumbled because every time she cries, that is the first thing I do aside from hugging her. She gave me a small nod while she wiped her tears.

"When we were six, we went to this play house at the mall one night because our parents decided to have a movie night at the theatre. They left us there for hours and we did nothing but to slide at the mini house located at the middle. I never left your side because kids who were together with us, acted like monkeys and it was a chaos. Watching you laugh like you were in heaven, I noticed that a boy kept on following you. His eyes were glued to you and I couldn't take it anymore so I confronted him. It was so funny because I acted really brave though I wasn't even tall and scary. I told him that he's ugly albeit I know that he's cuter than me" I said smirking a little as I reminisced the memory.

Still locked inside my arms, I heard her laugh a little and said, "I remember that!" feeling so proud that she finally remembered a little from her past. "I told what you did to our parents because I was so mad at you. I thought I was finally making friends and you shoo them away, ruining everything else. I didn't even talk to you for weeks because of what you did but you explained it all to me. You told me that you wanted to protect me and you don't want to get me hurt"

Playing with her hair, I grinned widely because she stopped sobbing. I hugged her tighter and retorted, "I'm glad you remember because that is what I'm trying to do now" making her look up at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked then I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking what I am here for. Afterwards, I opened it again then I planted a soft kiss on her forehead as I said, "I'm here to protect you because I don't want to you to get hurt" making a small smile appear on her face.

"I don't know if I'm afraid" she said though her eyes tell a different story.

I slowly traced her lower lip with my thumb saying, "It's okay, Superman is here. I will always find you and I will always protect you. I won't let you down, Trish"

Flashing her a grin, I added, "Promise" then she crashed her lips hard against mine.

Sometimes you can't explain what you see in a person. It's just the way they take you to a place where no one else can and right now, I'm in heaven.

Hearing the door open, Trish and I immediately broke our flying miment. We averted our gaze away from each other and looked at the door. Seeing Liam awkwardly standing in front of us, he pursed his lips trying not to laugh because of what he saw. Trish rolled her eyes and after a minutes, he said, "Sorry to disturb your intimate moment but why are there a lot of paparazzi downstairs?"

"Crap" I blurted out. I held Trish's hand, squeezing it gently as I told her, "Just stay here and don't let anyone see you. I'll just grab some stuff and come back here soon"

She nodded and I pulled myself up, following Liam down the stairs. Reaching the floor, I asked him, "Is there a lot of them?" then he shrugged and retorted, "Just a couple of them. But I think it's safe not to go back to her room now. News reporters are trying to go inside the building but I heard that the school is trying to fix everything"

"We can't stay in the rooftop forever"