Memory After Memory

Chapter 6

It was Julian's turn to wash the dishes tonight so Viney and I went out to the back porch and conversated a little bit. It was interesting how awkward it seemed to her even though I was still her best friend. At least, I hope I am...right?

Viney sighed as she stared out into the sky, seeming to get lost in her mind. "Do you ever just wish you could go back in time?"

That was a rather random question. "Uh...sometimes."

Viney looked at me. "What do you wish you could change?"

I had to think about that for a moment myself. It took a minute to sort through the memories I still had and sighed at the last one. "The way I acted toward my mom the night I got home from that stupid party." I looked out into the distance. The memory seemed to appear right in front of me, a very clear animated picture of the last night I remember. "When she brought me inside, she started to scold me about how high or drunk I was and all I did was call her a liar and denied everything. I remember telling her that I wish I was never around and slamming the door." Tears stung my eyes as I told Viney the story. "That was the last thing I remember ever saying to her before-..." I broke and cried.

Viney pulled me into a hug and rocked me a little bit, rubbing my back. I felt bad that I was soaking her shirt, but I felt 100 times worse about how I treated my mother before my birthday.

After a few minutes, I wiped my face with a tissue Viney gave me from the table beside us and looked back out again at the horizon. All I could think of in that moment was that whole scenario playing over and over in my head, antagonizing me about the last thing I remember. When I came back to my senses, I looked back over at Viney. "What about you? What would you change?"

Viney stayed silent for a solid 5 minutes. After the silence, she only muttered one word: "Everything."

I paused at that word. Everything. Did that include our friendship? What about ever meeting Julian if she's so jealous about him and I? "Why everything?"

Viney, again, remained silent. She then went inside, leaving me out here by myself to my own thoughts.

I started to find her behavior strange. I mean, I've had suspicions before of her behavior, but this was getting a little weird. By everything, did she me literally everything? Even our friendship? I just sat there and thought about everything that's happened since my arrival home.

~***~

I sat in my room and watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Netflix. Well, more like I was listening to it. I was more focused on looking at old photos I had from when I was 16 and even after, the photos I don't even remember taking. I smiled at the warm memories, the welcoming smiles of Viney, Julian, and a girl that she barely remembered. There were more pictures with that girl after she was 16, so maybe they grew closer later on?

As I was scrolling through my gallery, someone knocked on my door.

"Come in."

Julian came into the room with a warming smile. "Morning princess."

I smiled. "Hey Julian. Something you're looking for?"

He closed my door and sat on my bed. "Nothing much. Just seeing what you're up to. And figured you needed a little company."

I looked back on my phone, at the hundreds of photos I have yet to go through. "Just looking back."

Julian came up beside me and started looking with me. He pointed at a photo and chuckled. "Hey look, the day Viney got her first piercing."

I laughed at the memory. "She was such a baby."

Julian nodded. "Very interesting moment."

We continued scrolling through my phone and laughing at all the memories we had made. Julian had even explained some of the photos I didn't remember taking. There were even moments where he's take out his phone and we laughed at some moments from his point of view. There were so many warm memories that made me want to cuddle with something. Or someone.

I looked at photos of me and Julian and smiled. We had been so close at one point. I remembered going to the café with him and just having coffee with him and talk about everything that happened in school or wherever the drama was. I remembered, at one point, being so upset about something that he would hold me close until I damn near fell asleep on him.

I looked up and my eyes met his. His eyes were such a beautiful green, shining in the daylight flowing through the window. I couldn't look away. His eyes were mesmerizing, capturing me, drawing me to him. I felt his hand gently caress my face as he drew me closer to him. Maybe the connection wasn't gone...