Memory Risk

Chapter 8

      Vivienne stood up, and walked to her room. Aiden asked her to wait, but she wasn't paying him any more attention. All of the reveal, in such a short amount of time, was too much for her too take. Aiden sat alone in the main room thinking about what Vivienne would do next. He wondered how Trent would react if Vivienne wanted him to stay away from Stacie. Stacie had found security in Trent, and Aiden was curious is she'd stay away from Trent if he tried to break it off. Aiden questioned if this experience was a way for Trent to make up for his wrong. In that way, Aiden wanted to justify the actions of Trent. He wanted to keep the waters calm, so Trent would keep his mouth shut. Vivienne was now the wild card.

      Aiden couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. He sat; he stood; he paced back and forth. Vivienne's conscience was on his mind more than his own. The lights remained on for the rest of the night due to him constantly moving around, and activating the motion sensors. It irritated him that Trent was the person he needed to talk to for feedback.

      Stacie was the first one up, and she went to her room to use the toilet, leaving Trent alone. Aiden hurried over to Trent's room, and stuck his head inside. Trent wasn't fully awake, and was startled at Aiden's presence.

      "Hey," Aiden said in a loud whisper. "We need to talk."

      "What does Vivienne know?"

      "She knows Stacie. She knows what happen. She knows what you did."

      "Allegedly did. I was never convicted. I'm innocent. I can't say the same for both of us."

      "We know good and damn well you aren't innocent. She was Stacie's counselor. She knows all that happened to her. She's not comfortable with what's going on. She wants you to back off. I tried to talk her out of it, but I don't think she's having it."

      "Do you think killing is against the rules," Trent asked Aiden.

      "What? Of course it is. Why wouldn't it?"

      "Because I don't think a lot of this stuff is legal."

      "We volunteered. I remember signing documents. Why are we talking about this? We're not going to hurt Vivienne...Maybe it's best if you back off. What harm is it?"

      "I love her. I'm making up for the pain she's been through. She's getting the love that she always wanted. Vivienne needs to mind her business, and you need to make sure she does, or I'm going to tell Jordan how he knows you."

      "I'm holding up my end of the bargain. Why do you...," Aiden stopped talking when Stacie exited her room. She was about to walk to the kitchen until she noticed Aiden standing at Trent's door. Fearing that they were arguing, she walked over and cut their conversation short. Noticing that Stacie was approaching, Aiden stopped talking and walked toward his room.

     "What was that about," Stacie asked Trent when she got to his room.

     "Nothing," Trent answered. "He was just letting me know that Vivienne was back."

      "How'd she take it?"

      "Not well. She's got a couple screws loose upstairs. We should keep our distance...Come on, let's get something to eat."

      The routine of the day kicked in, and everyone kept Vivienne fresh in their thoughts. Those ignorant to her information were eager to hear what she had to say. Trent and Aiden were happy that she was staying in her room. Stacie cooked breakfast, and everybody except Vivienne took a seat at the table. Jordan was waiting for Vivienne, to talk about his decision, but he was anxious to let Trent know what he was thinking.

      "Hey Trent," said Jordan. "I'm thinking about volunteering tonight."

      "I don't think that's a good idea," Aiden interjected.

      "I don't remember asking you a damn thing," Jordan replied.

      "Settle down," Trent chimed in. "Jordan's right. It's his decision...Are you sure?"

      "No, I wanted to hear from Vivienne, but I've been thinking about it."

      "There hasn't been one person that has returned happy," Trent informed Jordan.

      "I know. I'm not expecting to be happy. Thanks to Aiden, I know that I'm going to be heartbroken. I thought about what he said. He told that I lost someone that I love. If I loved that person, and then I forget them, and I don't have anyone else, then that person fades away to nothing. If I get my memories back, the person I love will exist, in my mind. Right now it's like they never existed. That hurts me."

      "You couldn't function Jordan," Aiden spoke up. "It took away your will to live. I'm sure that person would want you to enjoy your life."

      "Damnit Aiden, that's even the more reason. If they affected me that much, and I just let them go...I can't do that."

      "Vivienne's a wreck Jordan. I'd give it some more thought," said Trent.

      "Yeah," Aiden commented, "she found out she's got schizophrenia. We can't believe a word she says. The people she's been seeing on the roof are probably hallucinations."

      "You see that," said Trent. "Vivienne's crazy. Before she was happy, now she knows she's crazy."

      "But that's who she is," said Jordan. "We can't run away from who we are."

      "You're beautifully correct," Vivienne said from her bedroom doorway. Her words made Trent and Aiden jump. "I vote that Jordan should volunteer." Vivienne raised her hand and walked toward the table. Maddy raised her hand also, leaving Stacie as the only vote that mattered.

      At that moment, Stacie was the only one to challenge Jordan to volunteer to enter the confession room. Trent didn't want Stacie to volunteer, and that took him out of any argument for Jordan not to go. There wasn't any other options. Aiden's plan was defeated, and Jordan was nominated to volunteer.

      Vivienne heard all of what Aiden had said about her, and it made her angry. She didn't have any dirt on Aiden, but she knew that he was hiding something. Her observations led her to believe that Trent was his weakness. She knew that Trent knew something about Aiden, and she had leverage on Trent. Her only problem was getting time alone with Trent. Knowing that Vivienne had it out for him, Aiden didn't let her out of his sight.

      Tension between Aiden and Vivienne filled the main room like a foul odor, and drove everyone outside. Jordan, Maddy, Stacie, and Trent all hung out by the pool which made it difficult for Vivienne to get her alone time. Aiden wanted to try to get to know Jordan, but he wasn't accepted by the crowd, and couldn't get any opportunities to quell the anger Jordan had for him. Vivienne and Aiden's actions just made everyone more distant from them. The rest of the group never did get a good vibe from them, and now it was becoming awkward.

      Nine o'clock came, and Jordan was ready and waiting. He was granted access in the confession room, and didn't hesitate to leave the main area. Aiden watched as his opportunities disappeared behind that door. What was going to happen, was going to happen, and there was nothing that he could do about it anymore. Trent, wanting to keep Stacie away from Vivienne, took her to the bedroom. Maddy, unable to process the tension, closed herself off in her room, away from Vivienne and Aiden. Waiting patiently, Vivienne watched for Aiden to give her an opportunity to work on her plan. Aiden was tense, and couldn't find any way to relax. He eventually went to the bathroom which gave Vivienne the shot she'd been looking for.