Ghosted

Chapter 12: Flash of Memory

Nick chapter!

Nick woke up in his own home, a furious headache and a blacked-out memory. The last thing he remembered was seeing Julie perform on the Orpheum stage, excited she was living her dream and thinking about how lucky he is to have her as a friend. That she didn't stop being friends with him because of everything that happened with Carrie.

He feels very fuzzy, and quit dizzy. He rubs his head, trying to stop the ringing in his ears.

He picked up his phone, and saw about a bunch of texts from his little sister going back to even a few months ago. How could he lose track of so much time?

Tatum: why haven't you been at home?
Tatum: where are you
Tatum: nickkkkk
Tatum: Nick why are you ignoring me
Tatum:I'm getting worried. Why aren't you coming home?
Tatum: mom says she need you home. She has a business trip and can't leave me home alone. If you don't come back she's gonna make me stay with dad
Tatum: Nick please come home
Tatum: I miss you

He also had a text from Julie from this morning, thanking him for landing her band a gig at his uncle's club last night. Nick doesn't remember any of that, more importantly, his uncle doesn't have a club. He ignores the issue for now, his sister being his first priority.

"Tatum!" He calls heading downstairs. "You still here?!" He says looking around. "Mom?" He says.

He calls Tatum, hoping he wasn't too late. Neither of them liked staying with their dad, and now that Nick was old enough to stay home by himself for long periods of time and take care of Tatum, they didn't have to.

Ever since the divorce, their mom became a workaholic and their dad became an alcoholic. Staying with their workaholic mom was the lesser of two evils. She tried to care for them, but work was just her escape and being their with her kids made her think too much of her ex husband.

"Nick! Why haven't you answered any of my texts? Where have you been? Did you run away? Is it something I did? I'm sorry, I am. I'm really-"

"Tae, no of course it's not anything you did. I'm so sorry, it's gonna sound like a lame excuse but I don't remember anything. I'm really sorry. Where are you now?" Nick says.

"The park. I didn't want to go to dad's so I ran away. Mom didn't even notice. She already left for her business trip." Tatum says.

"Okay, I'm on my way to come get you." Nick says. He hangs up the phone and goes out to his car to go get Tatum, trying to think back about what's happened the last few days. Why can't he remember? It's like he came home after Julie's band played the Orpheum and he slept for several days.

He pulls up to the park and sees Tatum sitting at the top of the slide with a boy with raven colored hair, a boy about her age. They were smiling and laughing and it warmed Nick's heart to see his eleven year old sister smiling like that.

"Who's you're new friend?" Nick asks as he goes up to them.

"Nick!" She says, going down the slide and giving him a hug. "This is James, we're pals now."

"Nice to meet you James." Nick says. "You two wanna stay here and hang out for a little bit? We don't have to go home right away." He asks Tatum.

"Actually I should go, my dad gets worried when I'm gone for too long." James says. "Besides it's almost lunch and we're having pizza!"

"Oh, do you need a ride?" Nick says.

"Yeah, sure thanks!"

Tatum and James get in the back of Nick's car. "Do you know your address?"

"No, but I can give you directions. Two lefts and a right, it's the brick house with the red door and sign says "Grayson's pizzeria." One of my dads had a brother who loved pizza and always joked about wanting to live in a pizzeria, so it's like for him in a way. It's an actual real pizzeria too. We live in the top, and the pizzeria is on the bottom." James chats away.

"James has two dads, isn't that so cool!" Tatum says. "And he lives in a pizzeria!!"

"That's very cool." Nick smiles, going the way James said to. He drops him off and James hops out of the car, thanks Nick and says goodbye to Tatum before heading inside.

"Well he seemed nice, is he in your class?" Nick asks as he heads for their house.

"No, he's home schooled." Tatum says.

"How...how long was I gone for?" Nicks asks Tatum.

"Months." Tatum says. "You never came home after going to Julie's to bring her flowers. Mom and I thought you ran way for good."

A small flash, just a glimpse of a memory, comes up in Nick's brain. He was walking up Julie drive way with a bouquet of pink flowers.

"I brought Julie flowers?" He says.

"Yeah, after she played the Orpheum." Tatum says.

"And I never came back?" Nick says. If he disappeared after giving Julie flowers, than maybe the place to start with figuring out what happened is Julie's house.

"That's what I said. Don't you listen?" Tatum says. "Anyways, you deserve better than her. She rejected you like you were nothing."

"What are you talking about?" Nick says.

"Your feelings for Julie, duh!"

"I...I don't have feelings for her anymore. She's just a friend."

"If you say so." Tatum says, unconvinced.

Nick pulls into the driveway and Tatum gets out of the car, but Nick stay, staring at something, staring at nothing really.

"You coming inside?"

"I'm sorry, I know I just got back, but can you hold down the fort for a few hours?" Nick asks. "I have to figure out what happened to me after I went to Julie's. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay, but only because I want answers too." Tatum says.

"Okay, I'll see you later." Nick says. Tatum goes inside and Nick drives over to Julie's house. On the way, he got another memory. It flashed like a bright light in front of him, like your mom trying on your bedroom light first thing in the morning to wake you up for school.

He was in a club, a crowd jumping around and cheering, but the cheers sounded like it was coming from underwater. Julie and her band were performing on stage and next to him was a middle aged man. He didn't recognize the man, and he couldn't make out what he was talking about with him. But he knew deep down, this wasn't his memory. It couldn't be. It didn't feel like his body was his own. He felt trapped. Like a prisoner in his own body.

Suddenly the memory faded and he sees a tree coming right at him. His car slams into the tree, his head banging against the steering wheel before the air bag could even deploy. Blood dripped from his forehead as he lay there, out cold.

There was a loud cracking noise, and the tree tipped over and crashed through the windshield. Everything was then still, not a person was around, and the only sound to be heard was the alarm of the car going off.