Remember me.

part ten.

"You know, the doctor says that being in familiar places might be helpful."

There they were, sitting under a shade at the beach where they first met- not that she knew that fact yet. The calming sound of the waves ever so gently brushing up against the rocks along with the leaves rustling in the cool breeze and the chirping of the birds filled the air. It brought back many memories, all the wonderful ones, at least for Nathan it did. Naturally, he a smile graced his lips as he turned to sneak a look at Amelia for just a little bit. He wished that he could say the same for her, that she too was reminiscing the good old times they had on this beach, but he knew that would be way too idealistic.

"So..." She drawled. "What happened here?" She finally asked as she whipped her head around a tad bit too late, missing just by a mere few seconds when he was still looking at her fondly with the memories replaying in his head.

"Right there," he gestured to the ocean right ahead of them, glistening under the sunlight. "Was how it all started." She let her eyes wander around, taking in the beautiful sight that surrounded them both. She looked ahead into nothing but the sea that seemed to stretch endlessly beyond what she could even imagine. Her mind was like a blank canvas as she waited patiently for his reply, to let his words paint a picture in her head- specifically, an image of how they met.

It might be Amelia's first time listening to the story of how they met, but for Nathan, he had repeated this very story many times- to his friends, the new people he would meet whenever he moves across the United States, and even his mother. Of course, he had never expected that one day he would be sitting at the place they met years ago and telling the same story to Amelia, the girl he shared this memory with. It was harder than he thought, to recite the story to her without wanting to break down all over again. Nevertheless, he had put up a strong facade that was convincing enough as he told her just how they met on this very beach, despite how heart-wrenching it must have felt for the poor boy.

Over a year, he was just sitting on the couch, telling his new pal just how he met this wonderful girl- 'Lia'. He remembered smiling, his heart bursting with so much warmth and bliss as he recalled every little detail from that very night. He wouldn't admit it but he secretly thought that it was one hell of a coincidence that they met or rather they were indeed meant to be, just like how Amelia loved to coin it. But this time, it was drastically different in every way possible. Every single second of it felt like pure torture as if his insides were twisting and turning altogether. The minute the last word rolled off his tongue, a huge sigh of relief left his lips and his heart finally didn't feel as heavy as he remembered.

"Wow...It almost felt like-"

"It was meant to be?" He finished her sentence for her eagerly, thinking that those few words must have been sitting at the tip of her tongue. But that wasn't what she had in mind.

"No, like I must have been crazy desperate to talk to a stranger." The brightness in his eyes quickly fell away together with the smile that was once on his face. Those words cut right through his heart, tearing it open, leaving a huge scar behind. That was not the Amelia he knew, the Amelia would say 'meant to be' in a beat of a heart, just like she always had. That was the kind of person she was- cheerful, bright and idealistic when it comes to love. She was the kind that never grew out of fairy tales or sappy romance movies that portrayed love in a dramatically unrealistic manner. And no one bear to tell her the truth- that dancing in the rain was not as romantic as it appeared on a big television screen or that your first kiss might just be painfully awkward.

The thought that it might have been a mistake to help Amelia flashed past his mind like lightning- it came quick and was gone even quicker. Guilt coursed through his veins as he chided himself mentally for even having the audacity to second guess something like this. He reminded himself that this wasn't about him, it was about her and for her only. But he still can't get rid of the heavy feeling in his heart, weighing him down.

Granted, she didn't know that those were the thoughts that were running through the mind of the 20-year-old at that point in time because at last, she was free at the moment. She managed to get rid of the weight on her shoulders and all the stress that was eating her up whenever the thought of her lost memories crossed her mind. This time, she didn't break down like she thought she would, instead she laughed, chuckling at her own response. She thought that it was funny how 16-year-old Amelia would even dare to walk up to a stranger in the middle of the night and how embarrassing it was to break down in front of a complete stranger. But he missed all of that as all of her words were muffled and drowned out by his own thoughts consuming him.

This time, she noticed that look on his face, the one that looked miserable. He had his head hung down low and a frown etched onto his face as he stared at nothing but the sand beneath them. "Hey, you okay?" She asked, her hand reaching out to place it on his arm as she watched him with a concerned look on her face. "I'm here to listen if you need me."

He didn't break down like Amelia did when they first met, but they did have one of those talks again on the very same beach, very much like the one they had more than 3 years ago. Except this time, it wasn't just her sharing her woes with him, this time she was the one listening. And without a doubt, this would be one of those talks that they would both remember for as long as they shall live.

A/N:

Hey everyone! Happy Phase 2 to my Singapore friends! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did hehe

Don't forget to vote, comment and share if you like my work so far <3

Much love,

Rachel xx