A piece of my mind

Chapter 8

BRANDON

"How did you get my number?" Natalie asks as soon as we're out from the police station.

My mom and dad left before us, they were so disappointed with Thomas. They have all the right to be though Thomas has no reason to be like that evil. Our parents didn't lack in teaching us the good way to live our lives. Thomas is already twenty-one years old, my parents wants to punish him, so they didn't pay the bail. Suits him well, he deserves that.

"My sister. Allison. " I simply answer.

She stops in her tracks. I look back and see Natalie looks at me then to the ground, like she's figuring something out inside her mind. She's just like that for a minute, and I let her. I know she's processing whatever information she have now and I'm just preparing myself.

"You're the brother Allison's been talking about in the café. The brother I thought was Thomas. It was you all along. And maybe that's why your mom is calling you Third because you're the third person bringing your grandfather's name, and you look exactly like him." she pauses for a while and then continues, "You also dream about me? Isn't that right?"

"Can we talk about it elsewhere?" I offer.

I just don't want other people eavesdropping, it's too personal for me and too impossible for other people to believe. And if ever someone knows about this we'll be the center of the tabloid's headlines Reincarnating Couple, it's going to be a pain in the ass to talk about the life that you used to have. I mean these are just memories that doesn't belong to us, we're leaving in a different life now.

We're about to leave when Allison came running towards us.

"Wait!" she yells. Holding an old diary in her hands, she face Natalie and smile. "Remember that time at the café, I told you that you look so familiar to me? It's because of this. I found my grandpa's diary when dad asks for my help in cleaning the attic. It's an old photograph of a couple that looks exactly like you and Brandon."

Allison hand it to Natalie and she gently held it. "Thank you, Allison."

"You're welcome and I'm sorry for not warning you about my brother. I was just as scared as you." I never saw my sister as sincere as this before. "I guess I should get going, see you around."

I take Natalie to the old tree house located near to the shore my grandpa built for my dad to play with, it's old but still strong. The wooden walls had aged as well as the small stickers attached to it. The roof has a lot of holes but the moon is so bright tonight that it looks like a thousand spotlights. There's a lot of vines crawling through the wall and into the roof. It may be broken and dusty from the outside, but I keep it clean inside. This is my sanctuary, my place of peace.

"This place is beautiful." Natalie say, "Can we stay here tonight?"

I'm not planning to sleep here, but surely there are three available camping beds here. I'm hesitant about it but I saw it in Natalie's eyes that she just need this plus the view during daylight is more beautiful that at nighttime.

"Okay."

I guess I need to stay awake the whole night, I mean it's awkward to dream about our past lives together, isn't it?

*****

NATALIE

I woke up in the train station again. I'm wearing the same dress, I've worn when I got shot.

No...

Not this memory again...

I don't wanna feel like I'm dying...

"Anastasia." Brandon calls to me. "I'm so sorry."

Why is he calling me Anastasia?

"I thought you said you'll wait for me?" the voice inside me speaks up, and I can feel the pain in it.

"It took you so long to come back."

"So you marry her? You refuse to fulfill your promise because you assumed that I'm not coming back, is that what it is?"

"I never meant to hurt you Anna."

"Too late Brandon. I'm already hurting."

There was a commotion from a far, the people starts running and screaming... Wait this looks like a continuation.

"I'm sorry, I love you so much but I can't do this anymore. I have to leave for Paris tomorrow and I'll be staying there for good."

"But you said you'd never live me?" I grab him and tightly hold his hand.

"I'm sorry..." he cried and whispers.

"Brandon! Come back please!"

This time I noticed an army truck passing by our direction. There was a soldier aiming his gun towards Brandon, he had his back turn away from us as he continues in walking away from me. Without thinking twice I run towards Brandon and hug him tight as I feel the bullet slowly grazed against my skin and through my chest. Dropping to the ground as the rain pours heavily on us. Brandon gets up and hold me in his arms.

Gathering all the strength that I have left, I reach for his cheek and say, "If I could go back in time, I would never let this happen to us. I'll make sure that we'll fulfill our promise and live together until we take our last breath."

Brandon holds my hand, he's still crying. He's eyes shows pain and fear with the thought that he's losing me in his arms. "We'll live again Anna and this time I'll wait for you. I don't care if you come back or not but I will be here. I'll stay here until you come back to me."

There I knew that my time is coming to an end, the pain on my chest got worse, my breath becomes shorter as my body grows weaker and my eyelids as getting heavier. Before I close my eyes I smile at him and say, "Then if that happens, I'll find you and I'll never stop until I'll do."