Hell To Pay

Cold Hearted

"I got canned beans, sardines, and spam. What do you wanna eat?" Taylor is messing around his storage since he got nothing in his fridge but some beers. "Geez, nothing we can cook?"
"Umm...Spam?"
"I mean something that....fresh. Eggs or else."
"Sorry, I got nothing. Wanna order something?"
"The road isn't even functional. Remember?"
"Yeah.. right. Beans?"
"I'll take sardines."
"Okay. One enough?"
"Give me two." Taylor get those cans and throw them to her. "Got it."

Sam put those can in a bowl filled with hot water and put it on rest for 5 minutes before open those cans. "So, what you're gonna do after this?" Taylor put a spoon of sardines in his mouth while talking inaudibly. "After what?"
"After Josh. I mean, are you gonna take a break or something?"
"Probably. I mean, maybe I'm gonna spend my times looking for my lost memories. I still don't really know who I am."
"If they don't come back to you?"
"Fresh start. What else? But until I know that I'm not gonna remember anything, I'm open for possibilities."
"Oh, alright."
"What about you?" Sam giggles and put the last spoon of sardines into her mouth and swallow it. "You're gonna trying again on that girl?"
"Who?"
"That one girl that you always told me."
"Oh, that. Nah. I'm not gonna do anything. She's in my past and now in a better life. I can't ruin it."
"Yeah, but how about your life? You didn't date anyone as long as I can remember. Which means you're still into her."
"Trust me, I'm good."
"Well, if you say so... But, are you sure?"
"Oh please." Taylor smirks and then put his can. "Yes I'm sure."
"Okay, just...asking. Haha, you know..." Her words then stumbled while she saw something just behind the sardines box, up the cabinet. She saw a box with possibly her name on it.

"What are you looking at?" Taylor trying to snap her out of her mind but it seems like she won't listen. "There is a box with my name on it."
"What?" He turns his back and realized that he might accidentally put the sardines box besides the other box instead of in front of it. But when he's about to stop her, she's already there with a chair and reach for the box.

"Sam that...."
"Ssst. I'm trying to get something here..." He stand there, afraid of what she could find in the box. He is been placing all of their pictures together along with his unsent letter that supposed to be for her that he keep for years. "Got it! Now can you please move? I need to get down from here." He moves a little bit, giving Sam more space to step on the floor.

"Now... Before I open this box, you want to tell me something? Like why there is my name on it?"
"It's umm .... I mean it was uh...."
"Taylor?"
"It's yours. I mean, it was your memories. It might answer some of your questions."
"What? For all this time Taylor? Unbelievable. I thought I told you that I'm looking for who I was and you kept me from this?"
"I'm sorry...."
"Nevermind. I need to know what possibly inside if this box."

Sam open it and quickly saw some photographs, still with frame on. Clearly pictured both Sam and Taylor, together. And all the pictures indicated that they were more than just friends. "Stay there, I don't want you to say anything right now. I need to... Process this." She gasp, and she definitely doesn't want to hear anything from Taylor at this moment.

"What is this Taylor.... Who....who are we?" She keeps digging into photographs, some woman's clothes and also now those letters with 'For Sam' written on the envelope. Those are Taylor's letter that he wrote on the first year they knew each other, when he tries to tell her his feelings but he didn't send because of their friendship.

"You're angry?"
"No... I mean, kind of. Why on earth you didn't tell me that we were....a thing?"
"Because you dated Josh at that moment... I mean before the incident. I just want you to started on where you left."
"It's not your decision! I need to know everything. About myself!"
"And the truth is.... I hurt you Sam. I don't want you to remember that."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I....I cheated on you, and you were really mad at me, that's why we were over. And I think it would be better for you to not remember that."
"Excuse me....what?? I..... I need..... Can you leave me. Please?" She looks at him, deadly serious and so Taylor leave her. Gives her time to process everything.

He goes to his room, he can understand on how angry Sam is. Not only because he keep all her memories but also the fact that he even cheated on her. There's nothing he can do to change that so he accept whatever Sam is gonna do to him after this.

Meanwhile, Sam is freezing on the kitchen chair, stares into all of the stuff inside the box, feel the anger that's going on in her head. "How.... Why no one told me this? Not even Chad? Josh? No one!" She then get her phone and looking for Chad's number. She needs to hear it directly from her brother.

••••••

It's been more than two hours since she told him to left her, and Taylor can't help himself but going out from his room to see how's she at this moment. "Sam? You're okay? I just...." The moment he step down from the last staircase and head to the kitchen, she's already gone. "Sam?" He looks around but can't spot anyone nearby. "Damn it! Hey Sam?" He runs out from his place and goes anywhere that she could possibly went to.

There is a lot went on to her and he just can't bear if anything bad happened again to her. He tries to call her phone but it doesn't seem like she will pick it up. Suddenly from the corner of his eyes, he can see her on the side road, singing to In My Dreams with a street guitarist. It seems like people are surrounding her and get the feel of her singing. He doesn't know if he's supposed to feel though. It makes him happy to hear such a soulful rendition of that song but sad at the same time, knowing that she's probably upset while singing it.

When she finished on that song, she doesn't say anything and just walk away from the crowd, leaving them all clapping as she goes away. And right as she's crossing the street, she noticed Taylor's presence there all the time. And when she's about to turn away, he mouths 'please' to her, begging for her not to walk away this time.

This time she doesn't, she walk to him, giving him a chance to say something. "Can we at least go back to my place? We need to talk."