Take only memories,
Leave only footprints 👣
Finding out that you lost your memory in a short period of time makes you more terrified than shocked. She had already seen it come but when things get confirmed, you can't get out of your considerations anymore. Amnesia was definitely not her last guess but definitely not her first either. And no one told her? How could she miss out on something like that? She did feel empty once but it still shocks her how something that took such a big place in her heart, didn't trails of question marks.
Joyful camp? No what was it's name again, Camp of joy? Whatever it was called, the part her doctor told her about didn't shock her as much as who she was with. The doctor told her about how she fell and where she was but didn't mention the guy who brought her to the hospital. That she read for herself. The screen told her everything she needed to know. Or not everything.
Getting home was the easy part. She didn't even feel the time pass by with all of her thought interrupting her mind. She couldn't even cry right now. She didn't know how she felt. What she felt.
Okay Lydia, get yourself together. Think. Think!
What was the last thing she could remember from when she was 16.
Awful mother. Sister dying.
Try again Lydia, again!
Mother being awful and sisters funeral.
Before that!
Normal family. She remembers the smallest details of her childhood, even before her father left them. She remembers playing on the roof with her sister and how her mother always scolded them for doing that. She remembers when she was 14 years old and got her first scar from bumping into a sharp corner from their counter. Or when she was 15 and planned that she was going to be a doctor because she got a few A's in her biology class. Or her temporary best friends, Cecelia and Melanie.
When she was 16 she got her license and she remembered her sister dying and how her mother blamed it on her because she was the one driving the car. The years after that, he spend on traveling and exploring her talent. The money she had on her card was enough. She still doesn't know where they came from. Not from her mother, That's for sure. Nor was it her sister. So it was probably her father. She guessed that he probably left them for her before he left them. Maybe her father wasn't bad after all. She didn't really know him. She keeps telling herself that he had to leave them. Something probably happened, Or else he wouldn't leave her that money.
After her singing career, she came back. That's now. There wasn't any joy of camp Or whatever in between. Is doesn't fit in. When would she even have time for that? But it apparently happened. And she knew what she had to do next. The only answers were with this one guy. She just didn't know how to bring up the subject. She was nervous and scared to even think about it.
"Michael?"
Lydia closed the door and put her purse on the chair as she entered the foyer. When she didn't receive an answer, she sighed and threw herself on the couch. She burried her face in her hands, exhausted from all of her thinking. It was just too much. She started pretending that she never got those news from her doctor, That she never hit her head. You would think that it would be easier to forget the experience when you don't remember them. But it was harder than that.
Why did she always have to go through such situations?
"Lydia? You're back." Michael walked through the living room with water dripping from his hands.
Lydia quickly lifted her face and stood up. "Where were you?" She asked.
"In the bathroom." He made his way back to the kitchen and dried his hands with the kitchen towel. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"Your face is pale," he came back with a smile on his face and sat down.
"Yeah. I- actually..." She sighed and slowly sat down. "Do you know anything about me, hm... getting hurt when I was younger?" Uncomfortably, She wiggled her ass on the couch but it was to no use. Michael didn't show any change in his facial expression.
His glare got shot to the ground as he rubbed his palms together, preparing for what to answer. "Why are you asking?"
"My doctor just told me all these stuff about me having amnesia of some sort. Is that true? It's not true, is it?" She hoped to God that all of this somehow was the world's biggest prank. That their front door would bang open with a host pointing his big microphone at her and saying loudly, "Lydia Martin! You just got pranked and you're on tv, how do you feel about it!?"
But nothing happened. It was just silent. Michael had a pitiful look on his face. Please, don't be true. Please, say she was dreaming. That once she wakes up, she's at home and her sister is laying next to her as they are fangirling over the previous episode of gossip girl.
Nothing again.
After several times of Michael opening and closing his mouth, something actually came out this time. "Lydia, I really want to tell you But I'm afraid that it'll just freak you out."
She didn't realise how she was staring at him with an open mouth and how the drool almost reached the floor. She sat back up and rested her back against the couch to hide any panicking signs, that would make him NOT tell her what she needed to know.
"Michael, you don't understand. I am already freaking out. Every single day. I have headaches, visions and none of it makes sense, none of it. I just need answers. Please, I'm begging you. I need to know what's wrong with me."
Unknowingly, she realized how suddenly her vision was unclear from her tears. Michael stood up and moved to the same couch she was sitting in.
"Okay. What do you want to know?"
Lydia lifted her back as stiff as a board as she put her hair away from her face, ready to listen.
"Everything you know."
Michael sighed. "Okay then."
~♡~
"So this "camp" you are telling me about, was something I went to every summer until I was 16?"
None of the things he said made sense to her. She doesn't remember her summer's so clearly but it was still mind blowing to think that memories so big could be erased. And what was funny, was that nothing else from her memory was gone. Only her summer at the camp. Nothing in between, just the summer.
"The doctors never had any clear reasons as to why you remembered anything else than the summer but your mother didn't want to put much effort into it." Michaels face was pale the whole time he was telling her the story. Probably more than hers.
"But how do you know What happened? You and mom broke it off a long time ago."
Silence hit the room. She didn't think that he could get more pale than that, but she was wrong. He looked like the white wall.
"What is it, Michael?"
He groaned and looked down as he kept telling. "Your sister called me the day you were hospitalized."
Lydia gulped and looked down as well. They were both looking at the candle on the living room table as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.
"Keep going," she mad herself say.
Without hesitation, Michael talked. "She thought that I deserved to know, now that you girls always were my family. She told me everything that the doctors said and she also sold me that... to hmm. That your mother didn't want to let you know that you had amnesia. To go back to normal. Your sister ensured me that you probably would find out eventually and that you someday would feel empty and figure it out on your own, but your mother was right. It kind of worked. Everything went back to normal and you didn't forget anything else than the summer's."
Lydia felt as if she had tuned out on everything he said, but still heard every single word. She wasn't sad. Yet. The situation hadn't sunk in yet.
"Mom always blamed me for her death," was all that came out. "She hated me. That's why I ran away."
Michael moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. Her fragile body melted into his. "Lydia. I know you know that it wasn't your fault. And I'm so sorry that your mother acted the way she did. No child deserves to be treated like the least loved one. But you sister did what she had to do to be the older sibling. It was her choice and if it was the other way around, she wouldn't have forgiven herself. Let me tell you a thing about older siblings. They have one job. One thing that they want to do. And that is to be your protecter. They want to project their younger siblings cause that's their job. It's kind of what they live for. It's not fair, I know. But it's the biggest gift they could ever have. You are the greatest gift your sister could have. Since the day you were born. It was like your mother made you just for her. Her new best friend. And she wanted to keep that gift safe. For ever. And she did."
Lydia hadn't realised how her tears had drenched Michaels shirt. He didn't mind. They sat like that for a few minutes, letting every single thing sink in.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Michael. You're like the father I never had."
Michael kissed her head and stroked her hair while she cried in his arms.
Until she fell asleep.
It felt as if 5 minutes passed by when she woke up but it was in fact 3 hours. Michael wasn't on the couch, but was now sitting at the kitchen table.
"Oh, you're awake. Come eat with me," he took a bite of his bread.
Lydia yawned and wrapped the blanket - Michael probably gave her while she was asleep - around herself before sitting in front of Michael. She ate her soup in silence and left the last piece of bread to Michael. She normally doesn't speak immediately when she wakes up but that wasn't the reason as to why she wasn't communicating with Michael. She was just stressed. About the competition and school and everything in general. The music competition was soon and they weren't even close to having an idea. Lydia wasn't going to preform, she was just trying to be a good friend and help Allison and Kira to win over the bitch. But they didn't even have a song. They could always search but then again, writing a song would give extra points. But writing a new song? That's too much pressure, they'd have to make a cover or remix of a known song. But What's the fun in that?
"Earth to Lydia?"
Lydia switched on her seat and concentrated on Michael again. "What?"
"I was asking how school was but you tuned out. What's on your mind?"
"It's just, we have this singing competition, me and some girls, And we haven't chosen a song yet."
"A singing competition you say? Can you compete in those? Cause you're not an amateur, remember? You're almost famous, don't you think people will notice you if you get on stage again?"
Lydia sighed. "I'm not performing. I'm just helping the girls, you know, to be a good friend and make an impression."
Michael calmed a bit down and looked into the air as if he was thinking. "A song you say?"
"Yes. We don't know if we're going to take a song or write one. Writing one would take too long."
Michael looked at Lydia again. "Explain the competition again."
Lydia sat up straight and started explaining. "Okay there are three songs we have to find. Each group will choose three songs to each category. The first song has to be something hype and loud. The second song is more about dancing AND singing, so it's important to split the song lyrics out equally so everyone can breathe while dancing. And the third one is unknown. Each group takes one person from the group and that person has to perform alone. The category gets chosen at the competition. It could be about cheating, roasting, a sad song or whatever."
Michael looked confused for a second as he tried to sink all of the information in.
"And which one of your friends will be singing for the last performance?"
"Allison. She's great."
When they finished their soup and cleared the dinner table, Michael spoke again. "I may have, hmm, a girl group in mind that you can-" cough "take songs from, if-if you don't know which songs to take," he looked down, embarrassed.
Lydia snorted. "How do you know anything about girl groups Michael?"
Michael hid his hands behind his back. "I may listen to them sometimes."
Lydia laughed out loud and rested her hand on her stomach. "Gosh Michael."
"Shut up, I like their songs, Okay."
Lydia got herself together and shut up.
"Sorry, I apologise. What band?"
"Little mix. They have some awesome songs," he sighed and slowly walked up stairs.
"I'll check them out," She said, still with a laugh between her lips.
When Michael escaped, Lydia went up to her bedroom. Her back fell to the bed as she rested her eyes. She exhaled and spread her arms above her head. She peeked her eye open and looked at what the time was.
9pm.
The supermarket would still be open right? She stood up again and took her jacket on, ready to head out. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw her ridiculous outfit that she had been wearing the entire day. Outfit or costume. She took her jacket off again and threw her clothes off. The only think that she liked about the things she was wearing, was her matching underwear. Her sexy bra and matching lace underwear. Why not wear something cute for the night? It's not like she's going to see anyone from school at this hour. She just wanted to wear something that was more Her and less fake her. Fake her was the girl she had to be in school to not draw attention and expose herself to the entire school. That she was rose.
"Why is life so haarddd!" She groaned jumped up and down. The she stopped and looked into the mirror.
"This bra is cute," she turned around to see how her ass looked on the mirror. "You still got it mrs. Martin." She turned to her closet and sighed. "Let's see what we have."
If she was going to his house, she was going to show up as her old self. She took out a pair of black ripped jeans and paired it with her white and black striped shirt, adding her beige leather jacket. She let her hair down and let the curly ends play off for them selves. For the first time in a very long time, She looked like herself. The reflection she looked at was Lydia Martin. She missed it so freaking much. But this was just a one time thing. She was only using her outfit to confront the guy and that was it. She needed some answers, even if she had to take down his whole house to do so.
Anger was slowly rushing into her as she stared at herself in the mirror, seeing a broken soul. She was pissed. So fucking pissed.
As she parked in front of his house, she saw a dog running towards her. The dog was a small, frightened Bolognese dog which apparently had gotten out of its leash, running away from it's owner.
Lydia loved these types of dogs and it showed that the dog returned the love.
She got on her knees and stroked the dog, before lifting him up in her lap. He was licking her all across her face, including her mouth. Lydia grinned, stoked and patted the dog.
"For the love of god, Tucker, leave the young lady alone," a man said, which she assumed was the owner. He was holding the other end of the leash, which looked like it was ripped of by a small piece of dog teeth.
"It's okay, sir," Lydia stood up, still holding the shaking dog to her chest, rocking him as if he was a child, "here you go," she tried to give the dog back to the owner and realised the sheriff badge on his left chest. The dog whispered and she could feel his uncut claws digging deeper in her jacket.
The sheriff sighed, "I guess he likes you more than me," he chuckled and crossed his arms, disappointed at the dog.
"How do you do that?"
"I actually don't know. I've never had a dog, I didn't really do anything," She blushed. "Why was he running away?"
"He's always like this. We've had him for 4 years now, and he still doesn't like me. I usually don't walk him out, my son does, but he's not really in the mood for anything these days," the sheriff gave her a sad smile.
Lydia was caught up for a moment and shook her head, before giving the owner his dog back; even if it took them a lot. "I'm sure he'll like you. Eventually."
The sheriff smiled. "I hope so."
As they both were about to pass ways, they went the exactly same direction. They stopped their tracks and looked at each other. The sheriff pointed at his house, confused. "Are you..."
"I'm..." She pointed at the house as well. "You live here?"
The sheriff looked at the house, to check if he was walking the wrong direction before answering: "Yeah?"
"Oh, I was just," She gulped, "On my way to see... St-"
"Oh, Stiles! I'm so sorry! I'm Noah, Stiles' father," he struggled with holding Tucker with one hand and offering Lydia the other.
"I'm Lydia," She smiled awkwardly. How could she not have figured that out. Stupid! She should just go home now before it's too late.
"Well, come in," he showed her to the door. Nope, too late. The sheriff took out his keys, and they fell to the floor. Lydia quickly picked them up and tried to give them to him but he was refusing.
"Can you open the door for me please, I'm struggling with this guy," he held tightly on to Tucker who was growling at him the entire time.
"Oh, Yeah of course," She said but the realised that she didn't know which one of the many keys was the key to the house. She was about to ask him, but he was pretty occupied by the dog.
"Hmm, sir?"
The sheriff looked at the keys and widened his eyes. "Oh, How silly of me. It's the one to the left."
"This one?" She pointed
"No, no the big one, but not the biggest."
"This? This?"
The sheriff sighed and chuckled. "Here, why don't you take Tucker and I'll just-" he gave her Tucker, who was at last just barking at the sheriff.
"Arg, Tucker! Where almost there just rela-" the door opened from the inside right before the sheriff put the key in the hole.
"Why are there so much noise out here?" A well-known voice brought Lydia back to life again. Stiles was at the front door, glaring at the sheriff and she regretted that she came at all. Why the hell would she also dress up for this. No, No she was here to get the answers she deserved. And she didn't care if he liked it or not. She was going in.
His eyes travelled from his father, shockingly to her. Her grip around Tucker got unknowingly loose and made him escape inside the house, immediately over to Stiles. Tucker barked and barked for Stiles to pick him up as he kept walking around his legs. That's when Lydia notices Stiles' appearance. He was shitless, had messed-up hair, so intense as if he's been having... oh. That made sense as to why his jeans were hanging so loose, probably because he had to rush down stairs because of the interrupting noise coming from outside. The erection of his was sticking out of his boxers that were clearly showing because of the open zipper. And the worst is that he didn't even look guilty.
"What... what are you doing here?" He shot her an accusing look as if she was the one standing half naked.
She sunk the last slime in her throat, clearing her throat before speaking. Hopefully without fucking up. "I'm here to speak to you," she crossed her arms.
"I don't really think you know me well enough to have something to speak with me about."
"Is that so? Right, I don't know you, but I'm sure you know a lot of things about me, don't you Stiles?"
Silence. Even Tucker stopped barking and looked at them, interested. They glared at each other for a good few seconds before Stiles let's out an evil chuckle.
"If you didn't notice, This isn't a good time," he said, referring to his appearance and some footsteps from up stairs. And that's when he shot all of the confidence out of Lydias body. She just wanted to turn away and go home. But she was stuck.
"It won't take long," she managed to say. The sheriff wasn't happy with his son's behaviour or the fact that he was proudly showing that he had a girl up stairs.
The sheriff walked inside and put a hand on Stiles' shoulder, "Let me talk to you when you're 'available'." He walked into the nearest bedroom and closed the door behind him.
Stiles sighed and walked out to the porch, closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms, realising how cold it was before speaking.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Lydia was already getting angry. "About my memory. I know you know about it and I also know that you saved me and I want to know everything. Tell me," she looked at him coldly in the eyes.
His eyes flinched a few times as he stepped back. He gulped and smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh cut the Crap, Stiles. Just tell me, I'm not asking for much."
Stiles chuckled. "Just go home Lydia, if you want to know anything, then ask your old friends or what do I know. It's none of my business," he turned his bare back on her and opened the door. Before he shut the door behind him, She put her hand on it and followed him inside.
"Stiles, come on, why are you like this?" Anger had reacted her up to her head because it was just stating to get red.
Stiles turned to her again, angry this time. "Maybe you would know if you didn't lose your stupid memory! I don't know anything about you Lydia, Just get out."
"Please, please tell me anything! I don't know who to ask, I don't remember anybody else than you. I don't really remember everything but when I'm with you I keep hearing a voice and I'm pretty sure that it's your voice. Ill, I'll give you anything if you just tell me anything. Anything. Please."
"Lydia, I'm not saying it again. Get out before I get angry."
She dropped her whole body to the floor, her head down, and her arms on Stiles' legs. "Please," she whimpered. "Please Stiles, I can't handle this anymore. You're the only one I remember a little bit of, I don't know anyone else. I don't live with my mother anymore and Michael can't tell me anything because he didn't know anything about the memory I lost, a-and," she sobbed. "Please," She whispered.
"Get up."
She looked up with her teary eyes and saw his angry expression looking down at her.
"What?"
"I said Get up." He said. Lydia stood carefully up, head down, arms down as she dried her tears on her shoulders.
"I'll tell you what I know, which isn't much-"
"Thank you! I really appreciate it."
"I wasn't finished. After I tell you what I know you have to promise me one thing."
Lydia sniffed. "Anything."
Stiles paused for a second and looked at her to confirm that he wasn't joking. "Ignore me, don't speak to me and pretend that I don't exist. Even at school and after school when we are with our friends. Pretend that I'm just one of their many friends and that I'm just a guy." He didn't let her see the gulp he swallowed.
She was still looking down. Good thing her hair was down, because if not, he would have seen the last tear that escaped her eyes. The tear that hurt her more than any of those she was dripping on the floor with.
"Got it?"
She looked up. "Got it."
Before she could move to the couch, they both noticed the creak sound that came from behind them. The sheriff was apparently standing there the whole time. "Hmm, I'm sorry. I was just heading out," the sheriff pointed at the door. Lydia didn't want him to see her so fragile so she looked back down again.
She shouldn't have taken the clothes on today.
~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~
Long time no see, guys. I didn't correct any of the story because I thought that you probably would like to read it as fast possible, so I'm going to correct my mistakes another day.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter <3 See you next time. Vote and comment ♡
- Me.