There Was A Boy I Can Recall

Chapter 4 - Call the Doctor Cos I'm Outta My Head

Kiers P.O.V

I was pretty sure that I’d slept through until the whole night to the next morning. This was unusual for me. Usually I woke up at every noise in the night and get out of bed to investigate. I stretched and yawned before I got out of bed and walked downstairs.

“Morning Kier. Sleep well?” I was greeted in the kitchen by Drew

“Yeah. I think I slept right threw. I’m feeling pretty good today Drew. Where’s Shane?” I asked, surprised by the chirpiness in my voice. However when I mentioned Shane’s name, Drew’s face dropped. Something was wrong.

“He’s in the living room Kier. He needs to talk to you”

I left the kitchen and entered the living room to see Shane sat on the settee. He had his legs crossed and was playing with a strand of his sandy coloured hair, something he only did when he was anxious and nervous. I sat beside him and he turned to face me. His face looked worried, like he was about to tell me something that would ruin my life. I shifted my weight awkwardly.

“Kier. I’m going to tell you something important now. It might upset you, or it might make you feel completely overjoyed. You need to promise me though that you won’t do anything stupid when I tell you” His voice was hushed and calm.

“Shane, what’s wrong?” I asked him, the panic I was feeling started to show in my body language.

“Right. You know we have a new neighbour and they moved in yesterday? Well, you don’t need to worry about meeting them, because you’ve met them before. Can you remember when you were in the hospital a couple of years ago, and that guy saved you? Well, he’s real Kier. You didn’t imagine him. He’s living next door.”

I felt my jaw drop. They’d lied to me. My best friends had lied to me. He was next door! The man I had spent the past two years searching for was next door. Or maybe Shane and Drew were playing around and this was all a joke. He wasn’t real. They told me I’d imagined him. The world around me started to spin and I felt light headed. I felt myself starting to shake. Shane wrapped his arms around me.

“I know it’s a shock Kier, I know. You need to go and see him though. He wants to see you” I pushed Shane away and stood up. Now I knew he was lying. If he wanted to see me, he would have come back to the hospital all those years ago. He wasn’t real. They were playing a joke.

“He’s not real Shane. Stop dicking around. He’s not real! You told me yourself!” I felt tears well up in my eyes and there was a lump in my throat. “He can’t be real Shane. If he was, why didn’t he come back?” I heard my voice crack and I slumped to the floor. “I’m probably imagining all this too. Let’s just face it guys, I’m a nutter.”

“No Kier. You’re not insane. You never were insane.” I heard Drew speaking from behind me and he came and sat on the floor. He put his arm around my shoulder and I rested my head on him. “You just have a lot of questions that need answering with answers we can’t give you. You need to go and see him Kier. It’ll make you feel better I’m sure”

I felt my temper rise. After all this, they were still playing tricks on me. He wasn’t real. I refused to believe Laurence was next door. It was too unbelievable. I stood up and towered myself over Drew. “Why won’t you stop lying to me Drew. And you too Shane. Laurence isn’t real. He never was real. He’s in my imagination! You told me so yourself. Why would he be next door in these shitty flats?”

I walked away and slammed the door behind me. I slumped down with my back against the wall and ran my fingers through my fringe. I heard hushed whispers from outside my bedroom and then I heard the front door slam. When I was sure that there was nobody around to hear me, I let the tears fall.