Nox leaned forward and reached for his glass of juice. He took a sip and swallowed. Voices in his head screamed that he shouldn’t have done this. That he should have kept it to himself.
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“But they’re sitting here, for you.”
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“Because they want to laugh at you and judge you…”
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“No…Because they’re worried and want to help you.”
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Nox wiped the remnants of the juice from his mouth and took a deep breath. He knew that this one memory could be the beginning of what he feared most: opening old wounds and discovering what truly caused him to die that night.
“I remembered the night I died…” he whispered finally, looking down at his feet. He saw Kieran and Vienna looking at each other through his lashes.
“Wait, you mean you know who did this to you?” Kieran was writing something in his notebook, but Nox nodded. “Not really… I only remember the cold of the rain and the pain that shot through my body…” Nox watched as Vienna covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Kieran paused in his writing, looking at him. The silence in the living room grew heavy. Nox stood up and walked to the window, opening it. All the while, feeling his friends’ gazes slapping him on the back.
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“See? They’re judging you…”
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The silence was broken by the sounds of trams and cars on the street. Somewhere in the distance, they heard a baby crying. Nox leaned his elbows on the windowsill, letting his face rest in his hands. He closed his eyes as the wind ruffled his hair.
Behind him, he heard Kieran stand and walk over to him, gently touching his shoulder.
“Is that… All you remember? What came back to you from that night?” Kieran smiled, but there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. Nox only smiled sadly. As he turned back to them,
“There’s something else,” he whispered, avoiding their gaze.
“There was another voice… Distant and unclear… Yet so familiar… He said I shouldn’t have gotten involved… But I don’t know what I saw.”
Nox felt his hands tremble, felt his breathing quicken, and tears welled up in his eyes. Vienna walked up to him and took his hands.
“Nox, calm down, we’re here with you. Remember, you don’t have to remember anything if you don’t want to.”
Nox pulled his hands away and looked at Vienna.
“You don’t understand… No matter what happens, these memories will haunt me someday. I prefer to remember… to know the truth, even if it hurts.”
“But why now?” Kieran watched the boy sitting on the windowsill. He could see him struggling with himself, not knowing if he should tell them. Finally, he whispered.
“Because I have a feeling that whatever happened…what I saw, it has something to do with Watson.”
“Wait, this new chemist?”
Nox just nodded.
“I know him, he taught at my old school…I don’t understand why he’s here…But I’m sure he’s hiding something.”
Kieran began writing frantically in his notebook.
“Do you remember anything from your old school?”
“No…Kieran, I don’t remember anything else, but I want to remember, even if the truth turns out to be cruel…I have to know.”
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“I want to remember…And end all the lies, secrets, and my nightmares…”
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Later that evening in Kieran’s room
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Kieran lay on his bed. He twirled his pen between his fingers, listening to the quiet ticking of the clock on his desk.
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“I have to know.”
Nox’s words had been on his mind since he got home. He sighed and raised his notebook to his face.
“So…Nox dies, his father brings him back to life, then they move here.”
The boy began to chew on the back of his pen, lost in thought.
“Next, a few days later, the chemistry guy shows up. Nox knows him, and he knows Nox. But what would he be looking for here…Unless he’s here for Nox. If that’s the case…is he here of his own free will, or was he sent here by someone else?”
Kieran growled quietly in frustration, sitting up and throwing his notebook on the floor next to his bed.
“Nox, this whole thing is driving me crazy…and it’s not even about me.”
The boy stood up and began to pace thoughtfully around his room, only to sit down at his desk and turn on his laptop.
“Okay, Watson, let’s see what they write about you or that old school you worked at.”
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and then Add to home screen.