I stood frozen as Mystery Girl approached me, her eyes wide and looking like she just saw a cow give birth to a goat, which is highly unlikely. She didn't take her eyes off me, as her long legs brought her closer to me until she was standing right in front of me.
She looked up at me with parted lips, her hands rising up as if to hug me, but suddenly going limp to her sides when she saw that I hadn't made a move.
"Max?," she questioned again, her voice now a few octaves lower as she was closer to me and didn't need to shout for me to be able to hear her, though I could hear her perfectly even if she whispered, what with my powers and all, but it wasn't like she knew that.
Which brings us back to the matter at hand. How does she know me? Is she someone from my past? Or did she mistake me for someone else?
Hope bubbled up in my chest, as I thought about how she could tell me who I was and how I died and put me out of my misery. I looked at her again, she looked vaguely familiar. This cafe felt familiar. Something inside me twisted as I looked into the same electric blue eyes that kept me awake for days just a year ago.
I shook out of my trance when Callie snapped her fingers in front of my face. Swatting her hand away, I looked at Mystery Girl once again, trying to remember if I know her. My mind came up blank, as it always does when I try to remember my past.
"Um....Do I know you?," I questioned uncertainly, confusion lacing my voice.
Her eyes widened again, if possible, her jaw dropping to the ground. Hurt was clearly visible on her face as she took a step back.
"You don't remember me?" Her voice quivered a little, her nose turning a light red and she looked like she was ready to cry. Panic rose in me making me want to run away. I can beat up ten persons with my right hand tied back and a blindfold on my eyes, but I wasn't really an expert in dealing with a crying girl .
I looked at John for help, not knowing what to do. John nodded his head a litlle, warning me with his eyes. I took a step forward, my left hand shooting up to run itself through my hair.
"Look, please don't cry. I am so, so sorry that I don't remember you. I was......", thinking of something that may seem reasonable, I continued,"..... in an accident which made me lose my memory. I don't remember anything except the last year, if it makes you feel any better. I am so sorry, just don't cry," I begged, the plead in my voice sounding pathetic even to my own ears.
Her head snapped up, her face going pale; the opposite it had been just minutes ago.
"You lost your memory?"
"Yes."
"You were in an accident?"
"Yes."
"Everyone thought you were dead", she stated, her lips still quivering.
I stilled. I wasn't really sure how I felt about everyone from my past thinking that I was dead when I was alive and breathing. My friends and parents were grieving my death while I was out fighting people they didn't even know existed.
"Can we sit and talk, please?", her sweet voice brought me back to reality. I nodded absentmindedly. She turned her eyes to someone behind me. I looked back to see John, Callie, Stella and Ashton standing there.
I had totally forgotten about them with all the thoughts running through my head.
"Hey, these are my friends. John, Callie, Stella and Ashton.", I pointed to each of them before turning back around. She gave them a shaky smile and a weak wave, starting towards the table she was sitting at earlier.
We stood where we were, not making a move. Ashton let out a breath, his cheeks puffing out.
"Well, what do we do now?"
"Go talk to her", John answered Ash's question, his eyes still trained on the blue-eyed beauty.
"What? We can't do that. She could be lying for all we know," Stella objected.
"We won't know unless we talk to her. She could be telling the truth for all we know", Callie countered back.
"Yeah, it woldn't hurt to get to know the Hottie" Ash agreed.
"I am giving her a chance", I said firmly, already walking to reach the blue-eyed beauty. I wasn't going to pass up the oppurtunity to know who I once was just beacuse of some doubts. John silently trailed after me, Ash and Callie not far behind. Stella, muttering under her breath, followed suit, not having much of a choice.
I pulled two chairs back for Callie and Stella, taking a seat across the blue-eyed beauty. John sat to my right and Stella to my left. Callie sat between Stella and the blue-eyed beauty. Ash pulled a chair from the near table and placed it near John's making himself comfortable between John and the blue-eyed beauty as only five chairs were kept around the round table.
The blue-eyed beauty took a deep breath muttering a 'where do I start'. I wasn't sure if it was meant for us or not but before I could answer Stella bet me to it.
"From the start," Stella sneered, quite rudely might I add. John gave her a blank stare, silently telling her to shut up.
Everyone were quiet for a moment, the harshness in Stella's voice making all of us a little nervous. It was clear Stella didn't like Mystery Girl and I think she knew it too.
"How about your name?" Callie offered, obvious of the awkward air that was present around us. I leaned in, curious. I was tired of mentioning her as the blue-eyed beauty in my head even though it was true.
"Right, I am Kimberly," Mystery Girl or should I say Kimberly said in a timid voice.
"Full name, babe?," Ash enquired in his flirty voice.
"Kimberly Rochelle," Kimberly answered, looking up from her hands to face us.
John spoke for the first time since we sat down,"Rochelle? As in the daughter of Stacy Rochelle?"
Kimberly nodded her head making her hair move a little.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Stacy Rochelle was one of the richest women in the world, top 10 to be exact. She owned the Rochelle Companies which made and sold out electronics, mainly famous for its Computers and Laptops. It acquired the first place in the charts for almost ten tears in a row before the Tall Buildings took its place.
"Who were you to Max?," Stella questioned, her voice thick with distaste. Kimberly frowned a little seemingly confused with Stella's behavior. I too was confused. Stella has a temper, sure, but she never acts like this.
"I was Max's......," Kimberly trailed of, as if thinking of an excuse.
"Bestfriend", she finished.
This time my eyebrows furrowed. Why does it look like she was lying?
"And we should believe you because.......?" Caliie left the question hanging, instead of asking for proof straight on.
Kimberly catching the hidden meaning, pulled a necklace which was hiding beneath her tanktop. "He has a necklace which looks exactly the same as this one."
Suddenly, the necklace hanging around my neck felt heavy, its coldness piercing through my skin. I indeed have a necklace like that with me. It was a necklace with a platinum ring for a dollar, which read 'Together Forever'.
Everyone turned to me expectantly, their faces holding different expressions. John - who already knew about my necklace - glanced at me with surprise, Ash curiously, Callie hopefully but Stella, it was as if she didn't want me to have the necklace, as if she wanted me to prove Mys- Kimberly wrong. Unfortunate for her, I have the necklace.
I showed them my necklace, which looked like the copy of Kimberly's. Her face split to a smile as her electric eyes eyed the necklace dangling from my hand.
"Well, everyone can have this. You just have to order it," Stella piped in.
Kimberly looked at Stella, who was glaring at her. She fumbled with the things on the surface of the table until she found what she was looking for.
Her phone.
She unlocked it and pressed some buttons before turning it to us. John took it from her. His eyes roamed it for a second. Without a delay, he handed Ash the phone. Ash's eyes lit up with surprise, his lips parting. He looked up at me and shook his head and turned the phone towards Callie, who took the phone from his grip.
Curiousity burned my insides, my brain thinking of all the possibilities that could be showed on the screen of the phone. But before my brain could fry itself with all the thinking, Stella snatched the phone and I peered at it, making me move my chair a little near Stella's to be able to see it.
It was a photo. Kimberly was beside me with our cheeks pressed together and goofy smiles on our faces. Only our front half was visible on the photo and we were in front of what looked like a beach. My chest was bare, the water glistening from the sun. Kimberly was wearing a blue bikini which revealed her toned stomach and made her electric-blue eyes stand out. A drop of water was rolling down her cheek which wasn't pressed against mine, her smile making her whole face glow brighter than the sun. The waves on the beach were rising up and looked like they were trying to cover us with their cold blanket to protect us from the heat. My nose was crinkled a little, my dimples on full view.
"It can be pho-", Stella started only to be cut off by John.
"Stella. Enough," John commanded, his voice stern.
Stella threw Kimberly's phone on the table, which Kimberly took without a word.
"We were best friends. He wanted to go for a drive, which he often did just for fun." Kimberly gulped.
I was surprised that she started speaking. She was clearly shocked to see me there. Her bestfriend, who was thought to be dead, sitting right before her, not even knowing who she is.
Either way, she continued telling my life story to myself.
"That was the last time we saw him. He didn't come back. We informed the cops and the search went on for nearly six moths before they found his shoes covered in blood near a lake, deep inside the woods. It was taken for DNA testing and the result showed that it was Max's blood. We suspected that his father's rivals in business but we were proved wrong. The cops searched for clues and witnesses for another three months before they gave up. So, we all just assumed that Max was dead."
"Wait, his father's rivals? Was his father in a gang or something?" Ash jumped in.
Kimberly blinked at us, slowly shaking her head,"No, his father is the owner of the Tall Buildings."
My heart stopped. My father was the owner of the Tall Buildings? The Tall Buildings? One of the most prestigious and trusted company? A billionaire? Am I the son of the Patrick Forrester?
My head spinned with all the new information given. My heart was beating against my chest almost breaking my ribcage.
"So, you don't know how he died?" Ash asked her.
"Died? But he is alive"Kimberly's voice rang out.
"I-I meant, how he got in the accident?" Ash's voice was alight with nervousness, sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to cover his slip up.
"Sorry, I don't know. We didn't even know he got in an accident. We thought that he was dead"
Silence ensued upon us after the conversation.
I took the time to soak everything in. My parents, friends and relatives thought that I was dead. My father is a billionaire. I have a gorgeous best friend. My shoe was found near a lake, covered in blood. But most important of all, I still don't know how I died.
Which means that I have to wait until something triggered it. I sighed. It was a lot to take in. I got my hopes up and now they fell to the floor shattering like glass pieces. I felt suffocated. It felt like four walls were closing in on me and found it hard to breathe. My hands started to shake. I could feel my powers building up inside me, the pressure clenching my stomach.
I was frustrated. I didn't even know my very own life. My life. What happend to me that caused my death. I felt like pulling ouy my hair one by one. I wanted to punch the wall closest to me. I wanted to kick the table near me. But I did nothing.
I took deep breaths and focused on calming myself.
Kimberly cleared her throat.
"I will be right back", she muttered, standing up and walking to the cash counter.
Ash turned to face me.
"She doesn't know how you died, which means something must trigger it."
"Thank you, genius. I didn't know that. Nice observation," I replied sarcastically.
"She can give us the way to your memory," Callie stated.
John nodded,"Yes,Callie is right. If she knows you, then she can take us to the place you grew up in. That must surely push something to the surface of your mind."
"You mean, you want me to use her?", I asked incredulously.
"No, that is not what we meant," Callie objected.
Before I can argue, Kimbery returned and took her seat.
"So, you want to come meet your parents? They are not here though but you guys can stay in my home until his parents reach here," Kimberly offered, pulling at her sleeves nervously.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. I completely understand that you have a new life with your friends and everything. I was just wondering if you wanted to......, " she blabbered off, her voice cracking a little.
I looked at John, who smiled a little, pleased with the offer. It was like a un-spoken thing that John was the leader of our little group. We were contented with it - John was experienced and took the right decisions and was fair.
"I would love to", I cut Kimberly's blabbering in the middle, with a grin. She let out a breath of relief.
"Great," she chirped. Everyone stood up from their seats with me practically bouncing on my heels. I was excited to say the least. My previous feelings were long forgotten, the joy of meeting the friends I had drowning them. I was finally going to meet my parents, after a year. I was getting a chance to unravel my memories.
Someone caught my wrist. I turnred back to see Kimberly. She gave me a smile. Her next words were coated with honesty as she spoke them, almost as if she was confident and very sure about what she was telling.
"Eventhough you lost your memories, I am just happy you are alive and I am sure your parents also will be elated and very happy."