NEVER CAN I EVER

CHAPTER FIVE

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Drip.

Drop.

Drip.

Drop.

Dri--

SPLASH!

     Quickly stepping to the left, I avoid the splash the vehicle causes when it drives through a puddle of rain water. I'm walking along the familiar path to the prison, this time in solitude.

Finally able to connect most of the dots, I need to hear Oceana's point of view.

I need to know what happened.

'     I take a seat on her soft, plush sofa as Courtney goes to the kitchen for refreshments.

"Wine?" she asks.

"I'm fine," I state blankly.

I'm not risking getting poisoned again.

Not again.

"Okay," she nods. "I thought Chris would meet me in person, not send someone," she sighs dejectedly. "How is he? Last I heard, he was in Australia."

"I'm here for business," I say emotionlesssly, "not idle chatter."

"You're boring," she groans fustratively. "That girl...Mae, was much more fun."

I sigh as I force myself to hold back my anger. She's just like all of Christopher's other playthings,

Wanting the same thing: medicine for AIDS.

Wishing the same wish: that Christopher would marry them and father their child.

Regretting the same action: sleeping with the Infamous Christopher Love.

"You're stupid."

"What!?" she screams, offended.

"Everyone knows about the Infamous Christopher Love, handsome, dashing and the biggest player that ever lived. He sleeps around with any woman, gives them AIDS, gets them pregnant and dumps them," I recite. 

"So? It's worth it," she smiles. "He's great."

Ew.     '

The officer smiles politely as he asks me my order of business.

     "I'm here to see Oceana Falls," I tell him, leaving out the fact that I had just visited the previous day.

     "Right this way," he leads me to the familiar door of the Visitor's Centre.

When he leaves, I take a deep breath before opening the dull, metal doors.

     "Oceana Falls," I nod, gazing into her dead, light brown eyes.

     "Grayson Black," she nods back.

I tentatively take a seat in front her, seeing the muscular guard stiffen in my peripheral vision.

     "How are you?" I start off slowly.

     "What do you think?" she snorts, crossing her arms across her chest.

     "Right, that was a stupid question," I mumble, looking across at the steel walls.

     "You think?"

Mentally shaking my head, I attempt to block out my developing crush and focus on the task at hand.

I'm here for answers.

Taking a few calming breaths, I inform Oceana that I'm here to help get back my memories and that I would like to ask her a few questions.

We sit in the centre of this steel cage, as I call it, with our wooden chairs facing each other. We're so close that I feel my body shiver slightly when her knees brush against mine.

      "Okay, " I begin, resting my hands on my knees with my palms faced upwards, "I'm just going to hold your hands and you'll watch me in the eye when you speak, so I'll know if you're telling the truth or not, " I say gently.

She sighs softly, obviously offended, as she puts her palms in mine.

They're alot softer than I expected them to be, visualizing all the fights she must've been in
-especially with an enemy such as Christopher Love.

I continue to look at our intertwined hands, my heartbeat picking up speed as I gently rub the back of her hands with my thumbs.

I sense her stiff composure relaxed as she sends me a soft smile.

       "Thanks for hearing me out, Grayson, " she says softly, instantly warming my heart as she holds my hands tighter.

       "You're welcome, Cea. "

Her face glows as she looks up at me with a wide smile.

       "You know, that was the nickname you called me when I told you my real name the first time around, " she grins.

       "Really? " I smile.

       "Yeah, you were always this annoying guy with beautiful grey eyes who never knew the definition of ' go away '. "

I chuckle softly as I sit forward in the chair. That really sounds like me.

Very persistent.

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