Those three days passed in the blink of an eye.
To me returning to college felt like going to war.
"Ethan, you're gonna tell me right now why you've been acting like this for the past few days, when everything seemed to get better!"
Dakota's voice was booming from the dorm at our arrival.
"It's over, Dakota," I heard my best friend sob softly. "And it's all my fault."
"Baby?" I said turning around to look into Ruth's concerned face. "Why don't you go see Lucy for a bit while I see what's wrong with Ethan."
"Are you certain?" she bit her lip in worry. "Is there nothing I could might do?"
"Trust me on this - when Ethan has these phases, less people are better."
"I understand," she replied. "Good luck and call me if you guys need anything."
"Sure," I smiled softly at her.
I opened the door.
Both heads shot up.
"Cory, get him to speak please!" Dakota pleaded desperately. "For the past few days he has stopped eating and sleeping. All he does is talk like a madman."
"No, no, no, I can't talk to him out of all people," Ethan muttered helplessly. It scared me to see him like this.
"I fucked up very badly," he kept on muttering. "This is all my fault. I can't make this right. You guys will hate me forever. And I deserve it - I deserve worse."
"Hey, Ethan, buddy," I said softly, kneeling down in front of him. "Whatever it is, it's fine. If you couldn't finish the serum to make Seth forget, it's completely okay too. We'll find -"
"No! It doesn't matter any more, oh god, it doesn't matter," he sobbed.
"Is something with that therapist -"
"It's the plant!" He exclaimed, bursting out in louder sobs.
I frowned in confusion, looking back at Dakota, who looked as clueless and concerned as me.
It was such a scary experience to see a person you care about acting so weirdly.
"I don't understand," I said.
"I told you that I tested the life serum on a plant. I took it home with me over the break," he whispered gloomily. "And one day, it just died in front of my eyes, before vanishing. Right in front of my eyes."