Chapter 30
I hated going to school ever since Isadora got into the car crash. It was torture not having her remember me, and it was even worse seeing her show so much affection towards Collin. Why couldn't she believe me? Why couldn't she remember that she hated Collin more than anyone?
I sighed as I walked into the school building, not wanting to be here yet again.
But, at least Isadora was acting like we were best friends again. We laughed at jokes we shared, she smiled at me the same way she smiled at Collin, if not the way she always smiled at me. Collin was getting very mad, but he could deal with it.
I walked up to Isadora's locker. She was going through it, trying to find her notebook for her first class. "Hey," I said.
Isadora gave me a smile. "Hi."
I then noticed that she was wearing the necklace I gave her a while ago.
Isadora noticed me looking at it and she smiled even wider. "Isn't it pretty?" she asked. "Collin is such a great guy."
I looked at her, my mood instantly deflating. "Collin?" I asked. "Let me guess, he told you that he's the one who got it for you?"
"Yeah," she said, looking a bit confused.
I was trying to keep my anger in, but it was getting awfully hard. "Why do you keep believing every single word he says?" I asked.
"Um, because he's my boyfriend?"
"No, he isn't!" I said, accidentally raising my voice. "I tried to go along with it, but I just can't anymore. You have to believe me, he isn't your boyfriend and he never will be. You hate him. You hate him more than anything and anyone."
"But why would he lie to me about it?" Isadora asked.
"Because that's who he is," I said. "He likes to take advantage of people's fragile state and he likes being a jerk."
"I'm sorry, but I'm finding it hard to believe you," Isadora said. "My parents told me I have a boyfriend, but no other guy told me that he was my boyfriend so obviously it's Collin."
"Wait, what?" I asked.
"If Collin isn't my boyfriend, then who is?" Isadora asked. "And why hasn't he told me that he's my boyfriend? See? That is why I believe Collin."
"Have you ever thought that maybe your boyfriend didn't want to put too much pressure on you?" I asked. "That maybe, he didn't want to pressure you into being in a relationship you don't even remember? Maybe it's killing your actual boyfriend, but he can't do anything about it because he loves you too much and he wants you to remember, but he can't put too much stress on you."
Isadora stared at me for a bit, and I thought she was really going to believe me, but all she said was, "I have to go," before closing her locker and walking away.
I sighed. I did not mean for that to happen, but honestly? I was so glad that I got that off of my chest, even if she didn't believe me. I just wanted her to remember me more than anything, but Collin was ruining it.
With each passing day, the urge to beat him up was getting stronger and stronger. And if he kept this act up, if Isadora kept believing him, I was going to snap.
And do a lot more damage then I did to that boy in juvie.
My first period went by slowly and I made my way to my English class, my heart hurting when I saw Isadora and Collin walk together.
I shook my head and continued walking there. When I got there, I sat in my normal spot. For the whole class, Mr. Garner went on and on about a topic that I wasn't really paying attention to. I noticed that Isadora wasn't paying attention as well. She was too busy doodling in her notebook with a frustrated look on her face.
Class ended and I was putting my stuff away when Isadora asked, "Want to eat with me and Collin?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. For the past couple days, she had only been eating with Collin, no matter how many times I tried convincing her that she always ate lunch with me.
So why the sudden change?
"Sure," I said, not wanting to pass up to opportunity of sitting with her.
We walked out of the class where Collin was. "Collin, Dax is going to eat lunch with us," Isadora said, in a somewhat quiet voice.
"Why?" Collin asked.
"Because he's my best friend," Isadora said.
"Alright, whatever," Collin muttered.
We walked to the cafeteria with me a few paces being them. We got a small table and Isadora sat between me and Collin.
"Mr. Garner is such a bore," Collin said. "Does that guy ever stop talking?"
I nearly snorted. Little does he know he was talking about Isadora's dad.
"He's my favorite teacher," I said. "Even if he does ramble on, we're still learning something and he tried to keep it interesting."
"Yeah, of course he's your favorite," Collin said with an eye roll. "You're an exception to his rules."
"No," I said. "I'm an exception to everyone's rules."
"And I wonder why," Collin said sarcastically.
"Collin, just leave him alone," Isadora said, still in a quiet voice. What was about with her?
"I'm just stating the obvious," Collin said. "Dax is an exception to everyone's rules just because he's a freak, hearing voices all day long. How can anyone ever want to be friends with a schizo."
"What did you just call him?" Isadora asked.
"Come on, Isadora, you know it's true," Collin said. "Just because he hears voices, he gets treated better than everyone else. It's pathetic."
"I don't believe it," Isadora said.
"Yeah, neither do I," Collin said.
"No, I don't believe that I actually believed you were my boyfriend," Isadora said. "You were lying to me this whole time."
Collin looked confused, his eyebrows furrowed. "What? I am your boyfriend."
"No, you're not," Isadora said. "Because I would never, even if my life depended on it, would date someone who makes fun of schizophrenia. How could you take advantage of my amnesia?"
"Because I like you, but you wouldn't give me a chance," Collin said. "Instead, you decide to date someone else who can't even compare to me. You really think your actual boyfriend loves you? If he did, he would have told you that he was your boyfriend. But he didn't. And he just let you keep on thinking that I'm your boyfriend. So be grateful that I actually showed that I like you."
As soon as he left, Isadora wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked.
Isadora shook her head. "I'm so sorry for not believing you, Dax," she said. "I can't believe that I thought Collin was telling the truth the whole time."
"It's okay," I said. "You didn't know better."
"It's not okay," she said. "Because he's right. Why hasn't my actual boyfriend done anything about it?"
"I told you," I said. "It's because he doesn't want you to be pressured into a relationship you don't even remember."
Isadora looked at me and wiped another tear from her eye. "Do you know him?" she asked and I nodded. "Can you please tell me who he is? Or at least his name?"
I sighed. "I can't. I want to, but I can't. But believe me when I tell you that he loves you more than anything. He wants you to remember everything, but he doesn't want to put stress on you because it will make things worse."
Isadora nodded and looked down at her necklace. "Was this given to me by him?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said. "He want out with his family one day and saw it and thought you would like it."
"I do," she said in a soft voice. "What's my boyfriend like?"
"Um...." I hesitated, not knowing how to answer. "He's kind, I guess. Caring?"
"You guess?" Isadora said. "Come on, you said you know him."
"I don't know how to describe m-him." I almost slipped up and I hoped Isadora didn't notice.
"Does he go to this school?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Is he in any of my class?"
"Yup."
"What else....Ooh, is he good looking?"
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay," she said, "if you liked guys, would you find him attractive."
Let's see, did I find myself attractive? "Definitely."
Isadora nodded. "So a very attractive guy who is in some of my classes and is kind and....There's only one person I know that's like that. Dax, you're my boyfriend."
"Uh....That is confidential information."
"It all makes sense!" she said as if she just figured out an impossible puzzle. "You were getting so worked up over Collin pretending to be my boyfriend and you tried convincing me otherwise. And when I got hurt in soccer, you were the one who helped me. You're my boyfriend."
"I refuse to talk without my lawyer."
"Dax...." Isadora said. She then pulled out her cell phone. "I should have done this a long time ago."
"Done what?" I asked.
"Go on Facebook," she said as she looked at her phone. "Wow, I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Look, on my status before I got amnesia. Do you want me to read it out to you? I will anyway. A month may seem so short, but it feels like a lifetime with you, and I can't wait to spend even more with you. Happy anniversary. I love you. Oh, and would you look at that. There's a picture attached."
She held out the phone for me to see. It was the picture we took at the football game when she wanted me to get in and I ended up kissing her cheek. "That's photo-shopped," I said.
"Dax, come on," she said. "Why didn't you tell me that you were my boyfriend? I mean, when I was in the hospital, you told me that you were my best friend. Just my best friend."
"I told you," I said. "I didn't want to put pressure on you to be in a relationship you didn't remember. But then Collin came along and ruined everything."
"So....Now what?" she asked.
I sighed. "I don't know. I think it will be best for us to just act like we're best friends. Do nothing that couples normally do until you remember everything, or at least mostly everything."
"But....Wouldn't it be better if we act like a couple?" she asked. "Wouldn't us doing what we normally do help me remember? The doctor said to get into a normal routine. Well, you're my normal routine."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "That sounded wrong."
"Uggh, I know," Isadora said, rubbing her forehead. "What I meant was....What I was trying to say was....Can't we just do what we normally did before I got amnesia? It will help me remember. I know you don't want to put pressure on me, but....Can't we just try to see if I will remember?"
"I don't know...."
"Please?" Isadora asked. "See, I'm asking you out instead of you asking me. Doesn't that mean something?"
"Actually, you were the one who asked me out in the first place."
"Don't change the subject. Look, if it will make you feel better, I will be the one who initiates any hugging or kissing or hand holding so you won't feel like you're pressuring me."
"I guess that's fair."
Isadora smiled at me before leaning over and kissing my cheek. "See? No pressure."
I couldn't help but smile back at her.
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Aww, Daxadora is somewhat back. Not fully, but at least Collin is out of the picture. But just because he's out of the picture, it doesn't mean you still can't harm him. cx
I honestly can't wait for this book to be done. As much as I'll miss Daxy-poo, I can't wait to start writing the crossover for the Protector and the Smythe series. I already mentioned Seb in the fourth book of the Protector series, but I can't mention Grayson in here because the crossover is happening when Seb and Artie are 21 or 22. Still got to decide that.
Did you guys like this chapter? :)