Madness [ Claire Sequel ]

Chapter 20

Kira's POV

I watched as Dad continued to write that down, then stopped. He blinked at the words in the notebook a couple of times, then looked up at me. "What?" He asked.

With the cup to my lips, I sighed and took a large gulp. Was caffeine even good for the baby? I shook my head and set the cup back down on the table. If it was, dad wouldn't have given it to me.

I nodded at him. "Before you ask, yes, I'm sure. Soul wants nothing to do with me or our baby, so I'd much rather forget him." I beamed. "You know what'd be fantastic? If you could switch the memories of Soul and Death the Kid." I kissed my teeth. "No, that's far too advanced." I blinked, realized that I was now looking at the ground, and looked back at dad. "No, forgetting Soul would do just fine."

Dad set the notebook down, sitting down in the chair he always sat in. "Kira," He started, "You're still young. You don't have a damned clue as to what you're doing, and you're pregnant. Grief and regret can do a lot, but this isn't a good idea. Soul was one of the first people to meet you at this Academy, and you two have gone through and done a lot together. I don't think it's the right thing to get rid of every memory." He paused. "Then again, I have no place to tell you what I think is right and what's wrong. So do you think this is the right thing to do?"

I hesitated, suddenly doubting myself. My father, who had never, ever tried to find the difference and boundaries of right and wrong was sitting here telling me he thought this was wrong! There must be something wrong with my plan, or maybe there's something wrong with me all together!

"Make a reverse potion." I said, looking at my dad's shocked face. "Just in case things get out of hand."

***

It easily took half an hour for dad to make both the original and the reverse potion. I sat and watched, listened, patiently as he mumbled to himself. I didn't catch any of what he was saying, but I didn't doubt that it was about how crazy and stupid I was being. I couldn't really blame him.

When he finally did turn around and hand me the potion, he told me that it wouldn't affect the baby in any way, since the baby had no memories of Soul anyhow. He told me that it would slightly affect Soul, but not in any major way, and that, when I finished drinking it, I wouldn't even remember why I'd come to his place. Soul would merely feel sick for a couple of minutes as the potion did its erasing, and I would have no memory of asking for dad to do it.

The potion was in a skinny, cylindrical vial that sloshed around freely when I shook it, as if it were water. The liquid was a foggy white color, which gave me suspicions, but when I saw dad store away the reverse potion, I held my breath and chugged it down.

My throat chilled dangerously, almost as if I were breathing in a winter's night air. I gasped, setting the vial down harshly on the table before me, and sighed as my eyes shut. Images flashed behind my eyelids, then dissipated. I felt as if I were asleep but, for whatever reason, I knew I wasn't.

****

Soul's POV

I woke up early in the morning, my stomach churning. I felt horrible! I lay there, very still, for a long time, but the feeling just didn't go away.

Was this guilt? Regret? Sorrow? No, I'd felt all of those things when Kira left us so long ago.

Kira.

I'd been such a total dickhead to her. That's so not cool! Damnit, she was carrying my baby for God's sake! What the hell was I thinking!

Maybe I could go see her? Nah. Too early in the morning for that. She'd probably slam the door in my face anyway.

Maybe I could get Kid to go with me? Hell no! I didn't wanna hear "I told you so" this early in the morning!

Maybe Black Star would go with me? No; I knew how he felt about Kira. He'd just knock me unconcious or race me there and tell her that I was a douschebag and needed to go with him instead.

I should just get both of them to go with me. With Black Star there, Kid would be too annoyed to tell me "I told you so". And with Kid there, Black Star would try to weigh out the odds of Kira falling into Kid's arms instead of his or mine, and, with his tiny brain, it would take him the entire walk over there just to figure it out.

Quickly, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand table beside me and dialed Black Star's number. He answered with a few groans and curses, and complained about how he couldn't roll over on his stomach, before I actually got to have the conversation with him.

Like I thought, Black Star didn't hesitate to tell me he'd meet me there. Which wasn't how I wanted this to go, but it wasn't as if it would ruin the plan. If Black Star did it, Kid probably would, too. 

So I dialed Kid's number and got the same reply, "I'll meet you there." 

I got up and pulled on my jacket, jeans, and headband. I felt a bit too lazy to fix my hair up in any certain way, and it was just Kira. She could be pissed at me all she wanted, but when I told her that I would be there for her and for our baby, I knew she'd come around.

By the time I got to her house, Black Star and Kid were leaning on the porch, and my sick feeling was gone. I sighed, completely disregarding the guys, and walked up the porch.

I was hesitant to even knock on the door, but the pressure from the guys' stares forced me to do it. I knocked three times, heard footsteps, and then, "I'm coming!" With a glance through the window, I saw it was Kira, and held my breath.

Kid and Black Star were right beside me when Kira opened the door. She looked at me with confusion, then looked at Black Star and Kid with happiness. "Oh, hey guys. Who's this you brought here?" She asked, scanning me over curiously.

I frowned. "Um, cute joke, Kira. It's not working. Let us in, come on." I said.

Kira, however, glared at me. "Excuse me? When I say I don't know who the hell you are, you don't ask to come in! What kind of guy are you? And how in the hell do you know my name?" She spat, sending to me into even more confusion.

"It's Soul, Kira. What, do you not recognize him?" Kid asked. Kira squinted at him. "What do you mean 'recognize him'? I've never seen him a day in my life!" She paused, leaning against the door like the Kira I always knew she was. "Seriously guys, what kind of joke is this? It's too early in the morning for this!"

Without thinking, I grabbed Kira by her arm and squeezed tight. "Who the hell are you and what have you done to Kira!" I shouted. She punched me in the jaw, sobering me. "I don't know who you are, but I really don't like you!" 

I blinked up at her, ignoring the immense pain in my jaw. "But I... I'm the father of your baby. How... how could you forget me?" I stuttered.

Kira scoffed. "Believe it or not, I have no idea who the father of my child is. But I don't need a random stranger coming up to me saying that he is! Especially since you didn't act anything like he did!" She sighed. "Look, I just got back from my dad's, have no idea why I was over there in the first place, and I'm exhausted. Now, to add onto that, I've got a headache. So, if you guys wouldn't mind leaving so I can get some sleep, that would be nice." She turned an icy glare on me.

"Especially you." She spat, slamming the door.

I slouched onto my knees, weak and numb with shock. I'd been rejected many times over, but this... This had to be the worst rejection I'd ever faced.