Bad Memories

Chapter 7

—Fri. | November 1, 2019—

This was the first year I spent not going trick or treating with my friends. The past few weeks were difficult for me, what with everyone in the house lecturing me about therapy, school in general, and the fact that Lyla's still in the dark about the incident. On the bright side, I didn't even have a costume to wear, so it was kind of an escape card.

I grab my bag and take my time walking down the stairs. Everyone had to leave early today for their jobs, leaving me alone to wake myself up. As I grabbed the door handle, the phone rings. Not wanting to risk a telemarketer, I wait for voicemail.

Dr. Etal's voice speaks from the other end. "Hello, Julia. I'm calling regarding Kyle's recent string of absences lately. I hope he's doing okay. No one new came in, meaning that his usual 11:00 on Saturday is still open if he ever changes his mind. Thank you." Dial tone follows his voices a second later. Not wanting my grandma to continue lecturing me on this, I delete the message and walk out of the house.

The weather today is in the middle of hot and cold. The atmosphere around me is chilly, yet the sun is warming everything up at the same time. I guess that's where the term "cold sweat" comes from.

I arrive at Tyler's house just as he exits the door. He looks at me in a second of surprise, then returns to his former state. "Right, I forgot that I'm not going to your house to pick you up anymore. Other way around now."

"I completely forgot until I saw your house just now," I say with a weak laugh.

"You excited for Susie's softball game today?"

I gasp suddenly. "Oh, that's right! It's today! I completely forgot."

"Do you have plans or something?"

"Lyla and I were going to hang out today. Maybe she'll be okay with coming to the game with me?"

Tyler shrugs. "Call her and invite her, I guess."

I pull out my phone, call Lyla's contact, and put the phone on speaker just in case Tyler needs to jump in and help me.The other line rings a few times before she answers. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lyla. Umm, remember how we were planning to hang out today?" I reply nervously.

"Yeah..."

"I completely forgot that I promised Susie I'd go to her softball game today? So—if you want—would it be okay if we went to that instead?"

"Ohh, yeah! Of course! I'd love to. Heh, I got worried you were going to reschedule again. We've only really hung out during lunch."

My voice starts shaking more often. "I—oh right—umm, yeah. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm just glad we can hang out again. Just the two of us. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah. Talk to you later." I hang up and look at Tyler, who is clearly taken aback by something. "Yes, Tyler...?"

"Uhh, it's nothing."

"Uhh, it's something. You have that look on your face."

Tyler says with uncertainty, "Usually, you're always hanging out with Lyla. Now I'm hearing that you've only hung out at lunch. Nothing's wrong, is it?"