WinTeam Week 2020 & 2021 - Short stories (WinTeam - HempRope - BetweenUs)

My Whole World Falls Apart (Erased Memories part 4)

THIS WORLD IS ONLY GONNA BREAK YOUR HEART

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you
~ Chris Isaak – Wicked Game ~

During the next week everything returned back to the normal... Well... Except him. For some reason, he had trouble going back to what he used to be. There was this weird restlessness in him, and he refused to admit to himself a real reason for it. A deep melancholy tried to take possession of him but he wasn't going to surrender to its embrace. To do his best to push it out of his mind, he threw himself into daily routines. The days were filled with school activities, swimming exercises, hanging out with Pharm and Manaow. Eventually even his friends noticed that something was off. Even more than usually. Most probably his sad, gloomy countenance and shuffling gait, with hands in pocket gave his mood away.

Of course it was Manaow who cornered him and demanded explanations. Pharm was too gentle on that. One day after school, the girl dragged him to a cafe and refused to listen to his objections. After receiving their portion, they sat down at an isolated table in the back of the café. The girl crossed her arms over her chest and stared hard.

"Okay. Spit it out!"

"What? What do you mean?" Feigning ignorance, he tried to buy more time.

"Don't try that with me, Mister. I can see something is bothering you and I want to know the reason for it now!"

"I'm fine. There is nothing bothering me."

"I'm your friend. Pharm is your friend. Do you think we don't know you by now? You have been this grief-stricken person for some time. We want to know why and what we can do to help you." Manaow put her hand on his hand and squeezed comfortably.

"We are here for you."

Realization struck him hard. Somehow during these months, he had come attached to these two little humans. He didn't know how and when that had happened. Having spent so much time with them had made him enjoy his time at the university much more than he had even thought. The thought of losing them like he had lost Win was too much to bear. However, he could not reveal the truth to them ... Ever. There had to be some other way to reveal this agitation inside of him without revealing too much. Fortunately, he had been watching people for enough years to know how they behaved when their hearts were broken. Maybe the moment as a human wasn't a bad thing at all. Throwing aside all the pretense, he ruffled his hair angrily and grimaced.

"I met someone..."

Manaow's eyes bulked and she drew a little short quick breath.

"What? Someone? Why have you not told us anything about it?"

"It didn't work out with him. There is nothing to tell..."

"Him? You... You mean you met some guy?"

"Umph... Yeah..."

The girl obviously quickly cast aside her shock about the realization that Team was interested in the guys and continued.

"What happened then? He didn't want to be with you?"

"Oh.... "

Taking the time to think more closely about how he could explain the situation to the girl, he picked up a big piece of the piece of cake he had ordered and stuffed that into his mouth. What should he say about Win? Talking about soul mates and vampires were out of the question. Manaow waited for him to swallow the piece, not very patiently though, judging by the rhythm with which the girl tapped the table with her red painted nails. For some reason, their color was reminiscent of the blood he had to consume in order to be able to live.