Sustainable

Chapter Nine

"So, just so we're clear, you want me to remove all evidence of your life from everyone?" Elliot sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. I nodded weakly, scrunching up his otherwise neat lime green bedding in my hands. He groaned, and lay back, defeated.

"You do realise that will take me months. Just, months. I mean, everyone you've ever known-"

"In all fairness, I only moved here a few months back. No one really knows me here."

"School?" Ro piped up, and I grinned. "Homeschooled."

"Relatives from back home?"

"No chance. My grandparents passed away, my dad's only brother never met me and my mom was an only child. I'm pretty much anonymous. Except for my family and about two people in Washington. I wasn't exactly popular."

Or memorable. For once, that sad little fact was working in my favour.

"You do realize that you can never contact them again, right? If I wiped their memories of you, there's still that absolutely minute chance they'll remember you. Like, have you ever felt like you knew someone or been somewhere, but you have no memory of it?"

"Like deja vu?"

"Exactly. It's just too risky. So if I do this, that's it. No going back." Elliot whispered, his usually friendly eyes glinting with an unfamiliar edge. He sighed and gingerly placed a hand on my shoulder. "You sure this is what you want?"

I nodded, a large lump creating what felt like a blockade in my throat. Gripping my tea, I raised the cup to my lips and took a deep drink. I inhaled and placed the mug on my lap, and Rowan copied my action quietly.

"I need them to be okay. I can't handle being another missing teen in New York City, and I know what the press is like. I'll be made into a victim, and eventually my family will be blamed in some way. They don't deserve that. At least this way, they'll never know." My hands shook visibly as I lifted my cup for another drink, and the ceramic clinked on my teeth.

Elliot frowned, and rubbed his forehead. "Okay. But I'll be a while, at least a fortnight. I'll need help."

He stood and grabbed his rucksack and Ro stood slowly with him. I followed suit, and Ro placed her hand on his shoulder affectionately. "Be careful. We need you back here." She whispered and turned to walk out the door. "Come on, Amy, he needs to go."

I smiled sadly at him, and he returned one of his own. He punched me softly in the shoulder and chuckled, and patted me on the back. "I won't be gone long. Just keep yourself busy and get to know everyone. I'll be back before you know it. And I'll try to snag a few of your things to bring back to you here. Deal?"

He held out his hand for a handshake, and to his surprise - and my own - I threw my arms around him and hugged him. He wrapped his own arms around me and squeezed, and I found myself crying softly.

"Hurry home." I choked, and he stepped away from me and smiled his hundred watt grin. "I'll be back soon. I promise. Look after Ro for me? She's a nightmare on her own."

I smiled through a thin veil of tears and nodded, and he gave me one last smile before leaving.

I stood in his room alone, sobbing and shivering. Ro walked in silently, tears in her own eyes, and wirelessly placed her arms around me and leading me back to my room.

After a long silence and another cup of tea, Ro broke the quietness that hung in the room. "He won't be long. He's just on a collection mission. They go every month. He'll be back before the week is out." She smiled half-heartedly, and I attempted to match her smile, to no avail.

Taking a sip of coffee, she placed the mug in her lap, tapping the ceramic with her long fingers, repeating her words like a mantra.

"He'll be home soon."