Bear Heart (Book 2)

Chapter 3

“So what, you’re just going to let him lose his memories without even trying?! I thought you wanted to help! Why aren’t you doing anything?! Are you just going to let him forget everything we ever worked for?! Everything that we did together?! I took a bullet for him, damn it! Literally! So don’t just turn your back on him, on us!” My body began to tremble with rage. Not towards Amorak, but just towards the situation. Throughout my rant, Amorak stayed quiet. However, somewhere in the middle of it, he had widened his eyes quite a bit.

“Clair, please, you have to calm down. Just take a deep breath, and relax, alright? I’m not turning my back on anyone.” I sucked in a deep breath. “You have to come up with something . . .” I growled. “Please, just . . . anything. I’ll cut my arm off if I have to. Just . . . get his memories back . . .” My voice had faded into a hush. I squeezed my eyes shut as I let my head fall into my hands, a huge sigh escaping me. “Clair . . .” Sonia said sadly, gently rubbing my back with her hand. “What am I going to do?” I whispered.

Amorak walked over to me, crouched down on the floor, and took my hands away from my face. “I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do, but we’re going to bring him back somehow, alright? I promise you.” I nodded, forcing a smile. He gave my hands a squeeze and let go. “I think I’m going to head home. It’s been a long day.” I murmured, getting up from the couch and walking over to the door. “We’ll give you a ride.” Sonia offered. I shook my head as I picked up my backpack. “No, I want to take the forest route. I need to clear my head. Besides, I feel like visiting Kenai.” I explained, opening the door.

Amorak raised an eyebrow. “But I thought he lived right next door to you?” My grip tightened around the doorknob, keeping my eyes on the floor. “That’s not Kenai.” I said in a low voice. “He won’t ever be Kenai, not until he gets his memories back.” I took a step out the door, stopping as I turned my head back slightly. “Thank you for everything.” I shut the floor behind me with a bit of a slam and practically dashed into the forest. I bit my lip, biting back the tears that threatened to fall. I couldn’t cry. Crying was weak, and it wasn’t going to fix anything. Yes, the situation was emotional and stressing, but that didn’t mean I had to cry. I gave my face a hard slap to knock myself out of it and began to run towards the waterfall, making my calves burn. As I ran, my backpack banged against my back, the textbooks causing a dull pain.

I broke through the trees, the gushing waterfall pouring down in all it’s glory. I walked over to the sapling and let my backpack fall to the ground. Getting on my knees, I stroked the pine needles on the tree. “You’re not growing too fast are you?” I murmured to the tree. I gave a sigh. Even after all this time, I still talked to trees. “It’s not the same, you know.” I said, meaning it for the Kenai that was buried. “He’s supposed to be you, but it just doesn’t feel the same. I miss being able to run my fingers through your fur.” I gave a small laugh. “I also miss being able to talk to you face to face instead of talking to you through a tree.” I shook my head, a small smile on my face. “I’ve gone crazy, haven’t I? But then again, talking to bears wasn’t exactly normal.” I looked up towards the falls, and then out at the river. Memories flashed through my mind.

Coming here with Kenai, just to hang out. The idiot had pushed me into the water. I smiled as I remembered our laughter as he chased me. And then there was the time that I was falling off the waterfall, filling the forest with my silly screams. I had nearly drowned, but he had somehow saved me. The smile disappeared. Kenai had saved me countless of times. How was it that I couldn’t save him once, just once?

I got up and looked into the water. Who would be around to save me now? All I had to do was walk into the water, and it would all be over. I wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore, and I could be with Kenai. The real Kenai. No one would know . . . I clenched my hands into fists. No, this wasn’t the answer. It wouldn’t make anything better. This is weakness. I couldn’t be weak. Kenai needed me, he needed me to get his memories back. I couldn’t just leave him like this. But . . . why the hell was this so damn complicated?!