Firefly

25: memories bring back you

Chapter 25: memories bring back you.

Elena

Cece snorts. "It's okay, Elena. I'm your godmother. You don't have to keep things from me. It's about time we bonded."

She gives me a cocky grin which I didn't expect her to be capable of doing. The load on Cece's face has suddenly eased. I'm certain this has relaxed her, at least, the way she's so freely eating the cookie proves it.

I turn in my seat toward her. "Cece, I'm serious. We're not together. He's Dylan's friend, that's it."

The pace of her munching slows down as her eyes zero onto me. "Well, that's a shame. Because that boy right there is head over heels for you." I burst into chuckles as I shake my head. "His eyes are like a covet, commanding protection. If you haven't seen it, this is where you and I should start bonding."

I'm still laughing but Cece just lazily smiles at me. "Cece, Justin, and love are like my mother and cooking." At this, she bursts out laughing too. "His protective instincts are because I'm his best friend's sister. That's it."

Her almost black eyes dwell over me for longer than a second before she settles it with a nod in agreement. "Sure, sweetheart. Whatever you say."

We sit in silence as we stare ahead of us. I slowly drop my head to her shoulders and she grazes my hair with her hand. I let my eyes close, feeling every bit of warmth she was sending my way. I embraced it. I feel her kiss the top of my head before the side of her head hits mine. I don't know how long it's been but when I open my eyes I feel another pair of eyes staring at us.

I turn to him and the guilt on his face is enough to tell me that we need to cut this short. I pull back from Cece's shoulders and give him an understanding nod. I take longer than usual to bid Cece goodbye. I know I'll be seeing her a lot. I even told her to get a shift at the Cadford Hospital again because my father works there too. He'd love having the company of old friends.

The ride back home is silent. I feel Cece's hug throughout the drive, her words floating inside my head. The dark nightfall only reminds me of how absurd today was. I'd never thought I would revisit my past when I was eating sushi on my couch a few hours ago.

I narrow my eyes to the empty road ahead of me. "Can you go faster?" I grip the strap of the seatbelt without taking my eyes off the road. I feel him increase the speed of the car. "Little more," I try to focus on the road. If he hesitated, I felt it. But the car is zooming now.

My heart threatens to explode out of my chest but I force my eyes to be kept open. I want to see the road. I want every memory of that night to come back. I want to remember what happened. I want to know what I saw because that's all the proof left in the world. My memories.

"Faster, Justin," I whisper as tears flow down my eyes.

He increases the speed without questioning. I stare holes into the road before us. The second my eyes catch the sight of milestones, I feel my body trembling. We never hit the milestone on purpose. We hit it because of another car's impact from behind. That was the jerk before the car broke through the stone.

I'm panting. I can't breathe. I can't gulp. I can't even move. "Stop," I say it too faintly. He doesn't hear me. "Stop," I yell and the car abruptly comes to a halt and I shot my eyes. The screeching of the tires brings back the sounds from the dream but it isn't as loud as I'd dreamt of it.

I unclasp my seatbelt and get out of the car, gasping for air and letting out tears. I sit on the edge of the road, both my hands holding my head. Tears rolling down suddenly become sobs. I hear my voice break out through the pain of the tears. I'm crying. I'm loudly crying in the middle of the road.