Episode 7

I smiled a bit too.

"So how are things going?" Ethan asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Things are alright," I replied. "I'm learning a lot today.

My memory is kind of messed up."

"What do you mean?" Ryan questioned.

"Well...my memories aren't quite right.

I forget stuff sometimes, but my brain is always trying to catch up to what happened the day before."

"Does it help if you try to imagine what happened?" Ethan asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. It helps a little, but it doesn't work very well."

He nodded.

"Okay. Well. What do you usually think about? To clear your mind?"

I paused for a few seconds.

The question was easy enough to answer.

"Everything."

Ethan and Ryan exchanged looks.

"Why is that?" Ethan asked after a minute.

"It calms me down.

Problems, nightmares. If it isn't those, then I think about school and my classes and stuff that I should be paying attention to. Also if I think about anything else, I think about the people I love."

"Ah, okay," Ethan replied, nodding a little.

"And you say you have trouble remembering things?"

I nodded.

"That must be hard.

But you should never let it control you.

Try to be aware of what's going on around you."

"I will."

"You needn't take this personally." Ethan added quickly. "But you don't have to be as strong as you think you are.

Don' t think that if somethin' happens, you have to be all tough."

"No," I shook my head.

"That's not true.

I am all tough, but it's only because I want to be. There is nothing wrong with being strong and I won't let it stop me from doing what I think is best.

Besides, even if I am tough sometimes, I'm pretty sure that I could take care of myself. I mean, I can go places by myself without any problems."

Ethan and Ryan nodded in agreement.

"We believe in you," Ryan told me.

"Thanks," I replied.

The three of us stayed like that for a while longer until we heard Ryan's phone ring.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It must be important."

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "Take your call."

Ryan took his phone out and answered it.

"Hi," he began. "What is it, Dad?"

My heart stopped when I heard him talk. He sounded so familiar. Hadn't I heard his voice just last night?

"Uh huh. Sure. Okay, I'll tell her," he said.

He ended the call and turned to the rest of us.

"Dad just called me.

Apparently Mom has a meeting or something that she can't get away from."

"Oh, that sucks," I said, frowning a bit. "Do you mind if I come along anyway?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Sure. We've got to go anyways, don't we?"

He glanced at the clock and grinned a little.

"Yep, we have a long ride ahead of us."

After breakfast,

The five of us piled back into Ethan's car and headed towards my house. As I stared out the window, I couldn't help but remember the previous afternoon.

Ryan had been so nice to me when I came home yesterday. He didn't ask me any questions, nor did he force me to do anything. Instead, he treated me exactly how he always did whenever I visited. Even when I tried to act like I didn't know him, he never failed to make me smile despite our past.

Not that it mattered though. I knew it was pointless to pretend anymore. He was probably only helping me because of the prophecy I overheard in Ethan's office.

The car pulled over into the driveway and Ryan parked it behind a red convertible. We all climbed out of the car and walked into my house.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the door, I felt immediately calmer.

My parents weren't here yet, and everything seemed normal. Everything was calm, quiet and peaceful. Nothing felt threatening or threatening at all.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I made my way through the hallway and entered the kitchen. Just before I stepped into the room, I noticed Ryan walking into the room right behind me. His face fell slightly when I caught sight of him.

"Hey," he whispered.

I ignored him and continued on to the kitchen. I pulled a bottle of apple juice out of the refrigerator.

As I twisted the cap off and put it next to the glass on the counter, I heard footsteps approaching me.

I turned around and saw Ryan standing in front of me.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

I nodded and followed him into the living room. Once we were seated on the couch, he looked at me expectantly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing bad," he replied. "Just..." He hesitated for a moment and looked down at the floor. "Never mind."

"Go on," I insisted.

He sighed and looked up at me. "Look, I know I haven't been there lately. In fact, it might have taken you a while to realise this, but...that's not the reason why you're staying here."

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

His hands fidgeted in his lap as he spoke again.

"Your mom called me. She told me that you were staying with her, but I think that she lied to me about it."

I gasped lightly.

Why would she lie to Ryan?

Was she still mad at me?

"When do you plan on leaving?" he asked.

I looked down at my hands that were resting in my lap.

"Not sure.

Probably later this week. I don't know.

Mom didn't tell me anything.

She hasn't even left since I arrived. She just stays in her room."

"Have you talked to her at all recently?"

I shook my head.

"She hasn't spoken to me either."

"Is she okay?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"How should I know? You're not her therapist!"

"No, but I'm worried about her."

"She's fine! She's fine. Don't worry about it, Ryan."

"I'm serious," Ryan replied.

"So am I."

Ryan sighed and stood up, beginning to pace around the room.

"Listen, I don't understand why you don' t wanna stay here. I mean, I know that you want to leave, but I don' t understand why you feel the need to run away.

I guess I just don't understand.

If you really wanted to leave, you wouldn' have gone through all of the trouble to find me yesterday morning and bring me here."

"Well, you wouldn' have done the same for me."

He stopped pacing and sat back down on the couch.

"Yeah, I probably would have. But now that I know you actually do feel something for me, I just don' wanna lose you."

I stared blankly at him for a few seconds as he continued to ramble on.

Eventually, I decided to just cut him off before he started making sense.

"Ryan, I appreciate you wanting to help me, but that doesn't mean that you need to give me a reason to leave. And that reason would be my life."

"Are you sure that that's it?" he questioned.

"If that was it,

why are you acting like such a jerk?"

"Because it feels like it."

"Because it's easier?"

"No. Because I just wanna go home."

"But where's home?

I thought you wanted to get away from everyone in New York."

"Yeah," I admitted. "At first, that was it. But after seeing everyone today and everything they've been through..."

"It makes you feel like you don' t belong here."

"Exactly."

"But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you ever feel that way?"

"Because I' m not happy here. Not as happy as I used to be."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"I guess it does. I wish I wasn't feeling this way, but I can't help it."

Ryan frowned.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm sure there must be something you' re missing."

"No. I'm sure."

"Then maybe I can help you fix it."

"What do you mean?" I looked confused.

"Come to my place tomorrow and spend some time with me.

Maybe we can work on this together."

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes, Ryan."

"Thank you," he smiled.

"You're welcome."

Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked it up and glanced at the screen.

It read: 'Mom.'

"Looks like I need to answer it," I said.

"Yeah, go ahead," Ryan told me.

"I need to go talk to someone else anyway."

I went back outside and walked over to the driveway.

After talking to my mother for a minute, I hung up the phone. When I turned back around, Ryan was standing beside the car.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

I nodded and handed him my phone. He took it and looked at the screen.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"My mom."

"Did she say anything?"

"Yeah. She wants me to come over tomorrow."

"That's great!" he exclaimed.

"I'm glad you're coming over.

I'd love to see you again."

"Me too."

"We should hang out sometime," he added.

"Maybe you could bring your friends."

I smirked a little as I replied.

"Sounds good. Well, I better start heading over to my mom's now. See ya tomorrow, Ryan."

"See you tomorrow."

I waved goodbye to Ryan once more and then turned around to head back into the house. Before I could reach the door however, Ryan grabbed my arm.

"Wait."

I turned around and faced him.

"Ya know," he began, "I really like you, Jia Yu.