FACADE

Chapter 31: The Jog

Breakfast was unusually long, with mom and dad bringing up unnecessary topics that I was not the least interested and even if I was, I had no idea of what. I suddenly missed my days of being alone.

 "Is something wrong Cat? You seem lost?" My mom asked as she must have noticed me spacing out.

 I picked up a slice of bread and smeared butter on it before saying.

 "Nothing mom. I just miss school". 

"Aww. I and your dad have a lot on our plate if not I would have suggested a holiday" she said, and I quickly shook my head in decline. Going on a holiday was the last thing I wanted to do.

   "No problem mom. I probably didn't get enough sleep and the exam stress is starting to take a toll on me. I think I have to rest." I pretended to yawn before picking up another slice of bread and stuffed it in my mouth. "I'll be in my room"

 When I stood up to leave, I was already mentally prepared for my mom's questions, but she failed to comment which I didn't know if I should be happy about or not.

 Locking the door behind me, I opened my safe and brought out my diary then took a seat on my study chair before going through the pictures I snapped earlier.

 The first one wasn't detailed since it only contained the date and some terms concerning the case, so I kept swiping, till a sentence caught my attention and I swiped back.

 It was my medical record, my eyebrows scrunched up as I went through it.

 It stated that the cause of my memory loss was due to excessive intake of antidepressant. Something hit my mind and I opened my diary to compared it with what the unknown had sent.

 'Do you think your memory was related to your accident or not? Do you think your accident was planned or intentional?'

 I shivered when, I came to a realization. No it can't be true. If it is true then that means I am caught up in someone's game.

 If the accident had indeed been planned, and I had been taking antidepressants beforehand then did that mean that the both were related? Why was I taking antidepressants? Was I depressed?

   It was quite clear and confusing at the same time. I rubbed my forehead in frustration, and wished I could pluck my hair out as I kept looking through the pictures. The others were just a bunch of nonsense and even if it wasn't, it was useless to me.

 Nevertheless, I deleted the pictures when I was done but not after writing down some tips. Who exactly is this person? And who exactly is the unknown? Are they the same person? But why does he or she know so much?

...

 I decided to take a jog around the estate, something I had never done before, to cool my head down and get a grasp of my thoughts since I had looked up how to relieve stress online and by the way the article was written, I got convinced to try it out.

 In the middle of my fifth lap, I heard someone call my name from behind and I looked back. Even though I had an earpiece on, the volume of the music was reduced such that I could still hear sounds around the surroundings.

   Clad in a blue sportswear, was a good-looking male jogging towards my direction. When my eyes fell on him, I sized him up but didn't feel any sense of familiarity, so I was amazed at how he got to know my name.

 Home school, school home, and sometimes to Edward's, that has been my regular routine over the months and I wasn't at all familiar with the lads in the neighborhood, so how would I know him?

   "Hey cat!! Long time no see" He greeted with so much enthusiasm that had me wondering whether he was mentally okay or not.

He seemed not to have noticed my gaze as he flashed me a smile that showed off his canine teeth which made him appear friendly and easygoing on the surface but unfortunately, I was not in the mood to care. With his face towel, he wiped the sweat on his forehead slowly, and I couldn't help but think he was making advances at me.

On another note, I changed my mind and pretended to know him.

   "Yeah it's been so long..." I drawled on the last part to give him time to insert his name which he did happily.

 "Matt"

"Matt. Sorry my bad," he smiled magnanimously, and I rolled my eyes again. If this guy really thinks he is some hot dude that I can't help but drool over, then he's made a big mistake.

 "You work out every day? How come I never see you? You've grown taller and more distant, it's even harder to reach you." he whined.

    I couldn't remember who or what he was but judging by his manner of speech, we were probably friends or acquaintances in the past. What I needed the most right now was information and I didn't mind acting cordial to get it out of him.

 "Aah!! Yeah! right! You too, you used to be so childish back then" I said to see how he was going to react and when I saw him blush, I knew I had guessed right, so I tried to dig deeper.

However, I suddenly thought, since Edward was considered my childhood friend, why not use him as a bait?

I don't really remember much. So sorry if I can't contribute much. Ooh, yeah. Do you hear from Edward?"

   His expression changed when he heard his name and I frowned, did I missay?

 "That jerk, Ed am afraid he doesn't remember who I am anymore."

" How about we reminisce over drinks. But I feel all sweaty, so I would probably go home to change first." he proposed and I naturally had no problem with that since I was the one gaining on the long run.

 Why not let him talk about our childhood days and gain a thing or two. I collected the phone he held out from his hand and punched in my number.

 "I'll call you when I am done?"

 "Cool." I replied, faking excitement and I caught a smug look on his face. For the third time today, I rolled my eyes but nevertheless, plastered a fake smile.

 "Like a date?" I heard him ask and the sentence that was at the tip of my tongue was 'In your dreams, but I smiled and nodded bashfully.

.

Third Person P.O.V

 "Hello, so I saw your girl today" The sentence that followed was made to get the other's attention and just like magic it worked.

 "Cather? Where?" Edward asked, half eagerly and half impatiently but the Matt, the called didn't plan to tell him easily.

   "Easy bro, you won't even talk to me if I didn't bring her up right? " the caller teased, trying to annoy his friend.

 "I guess your company has been doing so well lately." the hidden meaning behind his words was immediately understood by his friend, but he didn't flare up and just tssked like he was used to it before divulging it to him.

 One should know that a lovesick guy's words shouldn't be taken lightly and as it seems, Edward was one.

 "OK, OK fine. We are going out on a date this afternoon."

 "Where?"

"Restaurant B" and with that the impatient Edward hung up the phone.