Silence » a.i

2.7

"Dead? How? Why? When? Who did it? Was it suicide? Was it murder? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't he tell me?" questions were spewing out of my mouth. Every question could've gone for both Ashton and Jeremy.

"Yes, we can't say, we can't say, not too long ago, he did, yes, yes, because we couldn't, that's his own problem." Michael listed off answers. I assumed they were answers for Jeremy.

"What about Ashton?" I asked.

"He's been dead for a while, actually," Luke admitted, setting me down on the couch. He sat next to me and put his hand on my leg. "He was killed."

"How?" I pressed. I wanted to know everything.

Michael stopped looking me in the eyes. "His dad."

"So what does that have to do with what happened back there?" I wondered.

Luke looked at Michael with a pained expression, "We have to tell her. We can't explain everything without telling her."

Michael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the couch, "I can't."

"If she knows, she might be able to help." Luke shrugged.

Michael looked at him, "I'm not telling."

Luke huffed, "Then I am."

"Hem-"

"Shut up, she deserves to know!" he stated before turning toward me. "Before Ashton...died, he was engaged to Mali-Koa, Calum's sister. When he was killed, Mali was the one who revived him. Someone had to pay so Ashton's memory of her was taken away."

"Ashton was her fiance?" I breathed, wide-eyed. "He was the boyfriend that forgot her? Wait, you lied to me about what happened!"

Luke nodded, ignoring the last part. "Sometime after that, he started having these episodes. They turn him into a different person; a terrible person. He started convincing people to stay with him and be his friend. After he met you, his episodes started going away. We think it was because you were the love he was missing, you know? And after he forgot...they came back. They're worse this time, though. We think Ashton told Jeremy to be his friend forever, like he told you. We think maybe Jeremy killed himself to fill Ashton's request."

"No matter how many people he gets, he won't stop," Michael broke in, his hands over his face. "Unless he has someone who loves him like Mali did or like you do, he'll keep having that empty feeling that can't be filled."

"Jeremy killed himself because of Ashton?" I breathed.

"You know how his power works, Cooper, don't act surprised." Michael snapped.

"Ashton hardly remembers that you live here and no one told him," Luke continued, "so he keeps going to the house he knows your family lives in. That's why you can't go in there. He's going to get you to kill yourself too. He almost did."

"That's what he was doing?"

"And just fucking with my head," Michael shrugged, "no big deal or anything."

Luke read my mind, "We never found out how Michael died in that accident. Ashton hinted at the fact that he did it himself."

"Did he?" I gasped.

"How the hell should we know?!" Michael yelled. "None of us know! I can't remember!"

I paused before speaking again, "What do we do?"

"What do you do," Luke corrected. "You're the only person that can help Ashton at this point."

I shook my head slowly, "I don't know if I can. He's a killer."

"He might not be." Luke responded quickly.

"Who are we kidding?" Michael snorted. "Our best friend is a psychopath. I've been friends with that kid for two years!"

Michael obviously didn't like admitting his best friend had a problem. I didn't even want to accept it because I was in love with him. He couldn't convince my brother to kill himself. He was just too sweet. Ashton was a sweet person. There was no way this was true.

"We don't know if it is," Luke replied to my thoughts, "these are just educated guesses."

"Either way, he needs his memory back, and I don't think jealousy is the way to go," Michael stated. "It just makes him more angry."

"Then what do you propose?" Luke asked skeptically.

He eyed me curiously, "Are you opposed to making out with Irwin liked old times?"