How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 40 - How to Know When to REALLY Quit

She opened her bag and pulled out a small leather-bound notebook. Before I could ask what it was, she took my hand and placed it on my palm.

“I want my best friend to be happy,” she said. “Even if she, herself refuses to.”

I stared at the notebook for five seconds. Mechanically, my fingers flipped the pages. Right then, I knew what it was. “This is…”

“Sarah’s diary. Don’t ask me how I got a hold of it,” Becky cut me off, rubbing the side of her head.

I shook my head. “What’s the point?”

“Read it.” She got out of the car. “Read it, and you’ll see the point… in all this.”

Then, she took off.

Ten minutes ago, I’d already made up my mind. I wanted to leave. To forget. But Becky just had to come and mess me up all over again. What was there to know except that Sarah wanted nothing to do with me anymore? Or that she had pretended to stay in touch with me with those premade letters.

My head felt like it was about to explode. In the end, my weakness got the best of me. I needed to know what she had to say for herself.

So I read the first page I set my eyes on.

Then, I was out of the car.

“Leon?” Ricky startled me with a tap on my shoulder. “You… alright?”

“Yes. Yes.” But I was shaking. Because I didn’t know then what I knew just now. And it all made sense. “I just have to…”

Ricky followed me as I went back into the hotel lobby. “Dude?”

“Where’s Moira?” I suddenly stopped and turned to Ricky. “Never mind. I’ll just look for her.”

“What is up with you?”

“Nothing.” I sat on the armrest of the nearest chair and thought for a moment. Next thing I knew, Chuck and Reed were already standing in front of me. “I have to go to Milford Regional.”

“Moment of clarity,” Chuck guessed, grinning.

Reed nodded and slapped me on the back. “Remember to thank me someday for this.”

Milford Regional hadn’t changed much since I went here to have my cast removed three years ago.

I walked the hallways, looking for familiar faces. Instead, memories came to me. And they weren’t good ones.

In no time, I found the help desk. The woman behind the computer glanced momentarily at me before typing again. “Yes, what can I do for you?”

I fixed my glasses on the bridge of my nose and pulled my beanie down to my face. “Uhm… I want to access a patient’s record. She’d been confined here three years ago.”

“What’s the patient’s name?”

“Sarah Johannes Littman.”

The woman nodded without looking at me and kept on typing. “Yes. We do have a record of that patient. How are you related to her?”

I stopped to think. “I’m her… uhh… brother.”

The woman lifted her gaze from the computer screen and gave me a long hard look. “Do you have any document to prove that?”

Pocketing my hands, I smiled. “Not at the moment, I don’t. But—“

She raised a hand and smiled back. “Unless you have the necessary identification or a legal authorization stating that you are indeed a family member of said patient, I’m afraid we cannot disclose any information. Please come back when you have complied.”

“Okay.” I stepped back.

It seemed like I won’t get anything through legal means. So I headed out of the hospital.

Maybe I should just talk to Freddy.

I was on my way to the parking lot when I heard someone call my name.

“Leonard? Is that you?”

I turned around and saw a stout, dark-haired woman in her forties. She was wearing a light blue scrub suit like the nurses inside the hospital. She had a smile on as she waved at me. And then I remembered her as the nurse who took care of me and Sarah when we were hospitalized here three years ago.

“Hi…” I just couldn’t remember her name. “Uhh…”

“It’s Myrna,” she said. “It’s okay. People don’t usually remember my name. But you, I remember. You and Sarah. Cases like hers kind are hard to forget.”

I nodded half-heartedly. “S’not every day someone you know gets amnesia.”

“It’s not because she had amnesia,” Myrna laughed, fondness evident in her eyes as they lingered on me for a little while. “It’s because it isn’t every day you get to see two people who are truly meant for each other.”

“Pshh…” I snickered humourlessly. “Hate to break it to you. But… a lot happened these past few years.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking her head. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”

My brows knitted.

“The whole universe conspires to set you apart, hurl fireballs at you, and you still feel the same”—she pointed a finger on my chest—“in here. Doesn’t that mean you are meant for each other?”

“You don’t know that for sure.” I looked away. “Sarah… She”—I quoted with my fingers—“conspired with the universe. How can I top that? Besides, she… doesn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore.”

Myrna raised both her brows. “But you do.”

It took me several seconds to realize she was right. But I just shrugged.

“When Sarah was confined here during her surgery, she was always writing. She was always taking pictures. She kept saying she didn’t want to forget things… and you,” Myrna said wistfully. Then, she glanced at her watch. “I have to get going. My shift’s going to start in a few. It’s nice seeing you though.”

“Yeah. You too.”

Myrna was already heading to the entrance when she stopped and said, “Oh. And by the way. If you see Sarah, please tell her I didn’t find the necklace she was looking for. I’ll keep looking though.”

“What necklace?”

“She said it’s a silver necklace with some kind of blue crystal pendant.”

“Sapphire,” I corrected thoughtlessly.

“Yes. Sapphire. Shaped like a teardrop, if I remember it right. How did you know?”

My mind was racing so fast, I didn’t bother to answer her question. “And she was looking for it?”

“A few months ago, yes. She said it’s really important to her.”

“She said that?”

Myrna nodded, backing away. “I’m going to be late.”

Next thing I knew I was running to my car. Before I opened the door, I shouted, “Myrna!”

She sighed and stopped again.

“I think you should be a therapist! Where do you get all these things?”

She let out a quiet laugh. “This is what happens when your life gets stuck in the last paperback you’ve read.”

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Hi guys!

Remember me? No? Can't blame you. Been gone for a long while. (Dodges rotten tomatoes) But I'm back for more and hopefully, here to stay. Expect two or more chapters for HTDAN, then I'll be focusing on Reapers and 31 Days. Hope you enjoyed reading. 

Now you see me,

Shim :)