Down The Highway

Chapter Fifty-Two

I still couldn't believe everything that I heard from Shawn. That all these times, he has been trying his best to tell me that he is not Travis but I didn't believe him. To be honest, it is not his fault nor mine because of his face, I thought he was the guy who once broke my heart. But to think of it, I can't believe that it is possible. Someone, to undergo several surgeries and be someone else just to fulfill the requests of someone who passed away? Exaggerated but true.

Maybe it's just me who didn't expect a predictable thing like that one. But even if it is unpredictable, I thought of it many times but also thought that it was impossible to happen. Part of my fantasies and imagination perhaps.

The slight strong wind blew my hair away causing it to block my face. Pieces of snowdrops down and meet my skin as I continued walking down the highway. I gulped for the first time today. "Umm, Jade" I heard a low voice in my back which caused me to look back.

Without even thinking, I noticed him. Shawn was hiding under Travis' face. I feel bad for him because he had to lose his real self just to fulfill all the requests that Travis had before. "Oh, hi!" I tried to act normal. Like he is just a normal person and that nothing happened last night.

"I just want to say sorry," his words made me stop and look back again.

"Say sorry for what?" With a frown, I walked towards him, a few steps closer.

"For lying, for not telling you the truth at first, and for being such a punky jerk," I wanted to laugh about his statement though nothing was funny about it.

"You don't need to say that. I am okay now and I understand. I would do the same thing if I had a brother or a sister who has been in Travis' condition. But I just wish that you didn't reach this far that you even had to change your face, your personality, and everything about you. Every single detail."

He looked down on the snowy ground. Up until now, he still does the thing that Travis used to do. Or maybe that's just him since they are brothers. "I know, but all I wanted was to fulfill his wants and I did it in the wrong way. I know that if he is here, he would be disappointed by me,"

Tears began to fall from his eyes. I wonder what he naturally looks like with his real face. Because I have never seen that one. I bit my lips after it got dried by the wind that passed by. "Shawn, is that even your real name?" He nodded, and by that, I realized he wasn't lying to me anymore.

I should be mad at him for lying, but I can't because I know he only did that on behalf of Travis. "Well if that so, Shawn, I want to tell you something," hope appeared in his green eyes as he looked at me. The nerves on his arms got more obvious after a few seconds.

"Maybe we should end this. So the sobs, tears, and sadness would end as well. Let's end this here, down the highway where everything started. I know everything has an end this is the end of us. All the burdens, all the plot twists, all the sadness. This is where it ends, we started this, so we should end this" I don't know what I was talking about. How can we end something that didn't even start?

"Travis loved you and you loved him. Back then, I couldn't believe why he did. But now I know why. You might have never fallen for the real me. The real Shawn. But I have fallen for you already and I can't hide it or deny it anymore. Because I know nothing would work. Now, I guess like what you said, it's time to end the thing that you and Travis started. Not what I and you started,"

He was right, he is different from his brother but one thing is that I have fallen for both of them. So, this is it. This is where it ends. This is where the journey down the highway ends. It ends with sobs, tears, and sadness. At least not with another plot twist.

I know what would happen next. Travis and I started as strangers, then turned to friends, turned to secretly love each other, then turned to strangers again. Until Shawn came along, bringing all the memories we made. No; the memories I and his brother made and now I will leave him, bringing all the memories we made. Something spectacular I wouldn't want to forget about. Though it's a bad memory that other people would just try to forget.

****

I sat down in front of Travis's gravestone and once again, I looked at the picture. It all makes sense now that I know everything and now that the truth is out. I smiled at his gravestone reading the words on it and the picture I once saw. "Hey there, what's up," he is dead already, he is gone and I can't forgive him anymore for what he did to me in the past.

Why does it have to be too late? Why is it just now when I knew what really happened? Not then when I wanted to know. Oh, he told me before but I didn't listen. "Are you doing good in there? I miss you," I heard a familiar voice from my back which caused me to look back.

I immediately wiped my tears and replaced them with a smile when I saw Shawn standing behind me. He looked at me with a gentle smile and placed a bouquet flower on top of Travis' gravestone. I couldn't help but smile as well. Nothing else is left for me to do but to remember, move on, and forget. Now that I know the truth, I should just accept, love, and recover.

•The end•