MIRR/OR/ED

|Chapter 8|

Chapter 8. Blurred Memories

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"You wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?" Devin asks as he sets me down on my cot, wrinkling the blanket beneath me. The faint smell of him fades as he steps back and as he does I'm wishing there wasn't this distance between us. But I kick myself for feeling something so outlandish.

He looks down at me with concern glossed over his eyes. The silhouette of his shadow casts itself on the floor below from the mid-morning sun that shines through the window above.

The pressure in my head builds as I lean myself against the wall, nausea still at the pit of my stomach. Devin moves to his cot to sit and wraps his arms around his knees, turning to face me. I avoid his gaze, not wanting to recognize the new memories of this boy circling in my head.

I sigh. "I'm not sure...I don't know where to start." My words trail off, tucking my hands together between my legs. Allowing the heat they give to seep into my palms.

How do I explain these new profound feelings? Memories of things I've never lived... the hole in my heart burrows deeper into my chest as each one of them plays over in my head.

"Why don't you start from where you left off at the shop, you were saying you remembered me?" He asks expectantly. His forearms are curled around his knees, pressing the blood out of his elbows and shining a light white spot on each of them. His cot shifts against the wire it sits on from his weight and the sound of metal-on-metal stabs into my cranium. Through my un comfort I meet his stare. And a longful twinge tugs at my heart as his icy blue eyes pull me into an endless tide.

"I'm not sure what's real." I turn away from his exposing gaze and look back down at my lap, my gray-cut jeans are pressed tight to my thighs. "My gift is being able to control perception and sense auras. This type of thing has happened before, but not since I was a child. The confusion of it all has left me lost before." I suck in another drawn breath.

"But this... this is very new. It's not as crumpled together, I distinctly remember events," I let my thoughts fall like strands. Trying my best to reassure myself I am not crazy. "Where do I start?" I press my palms to my cheeks, the newfound chill to them pushes into the heat of my face. Though the concussion has created a chilled sensation I notice it is only a facade by how hot my cheeks feel on my palms.

"Okay... I am still confused at how this correlates.." He motions with his hands, confused. I move my eyes away from his, focusing on the door behind him. The familiar shoulder peaks out from the frame.

"Hey, you don't gotta stand there; there's no need for a watch guard." I raise my voice to get the attention of the shoulder. It moves around to face us, and Blake's frame holds itself in the entrance.

"This is my post, for now, I'll move once another is assigned to me." His head tips a bit in response as he answers gruffly. His light blond hair highlights the smirk on his lips, only making him seem that much cockier.

Condescending much?

"You can let Tom know it's all good from here, I can stay guard." I give him a knowing eye and he doesn't test it, hoping he catches on. He's known me for quite some time, you would think he could recognize when I am uncomfortable...

He mumbles something under his breath—although I don't press to hear and turns to make his way down the stairwell. I shake my head slowly, and a watery weighted sensation follows the motion.

Devin's eyes are wide as he turns his head back to me, his eyebrows are raised with his expression. My lips curl into a small smile.

 "Anyways," His response is drawn out for dramatic effect. "The correlation?" He waves his hand in a circle to motion for me to continue.