Amneisa

Amnesia XXXVIII

Addison walked back to Caiden's dorm with a smile on her face. Maya knew everything now. The thought of someone knowing her secret used to scare Addison, but knowing that it was Maya, her best friend, it didn't scare her at all. In fact, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The burden that came along with the secret was no longer too heavy to carry. Addison opened the door to the dorm and saw Caiden pacing the length of it. Instantly Addison's happiness was washed away with dread. The dread of the conversation she needed to have with her roommate.

Caiden stopped pacing and looked at Addison. Since she had left, he must have walked up and down the room over eighty times. He cleared his throat. "I think we need to talk."

Addison sighed. There was no escaping the inevitable conversation. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the sofa before taking a seat. Caiden sat beside her and they both stared at the floor. The silence spoke volumes for both of them. Eventually, Addison spoke. "You said you knew me as Serena Ross. I was twelve at the time, why don't I remember you?"

"I wondered that too" Caiden said while he continued to stare at the floor. The wooden finish was very fascinating. "That was until I found your tablets in the bathroom cabinet."

"What?" Addison asked in confusion. Internally she was relieved. She had thought she had lost her medication, at least she knew where they were now.

"Maybe I should start from the beginning."

"That would be helpful."

"It was the summer of 2011" Caiden started. "I saw you one day on my street. You were outgoing and crazy back then - in a good way" Caiden added as he received an annoyed look from Addison. "You were always in a haze. You would stay in your house for long periods of time and sneak out every now and then. Every time you did, you would always stay out for exactly three hours before going back."

Addison was startled. "I don't know what to be more scared by. The fact that you stalked me, the other fact that I can't remember any of this or that you've known I was the heir for just over six years."

"One, I didn't stalk you. We hung out. Two, I'm getting to the reason why you can't remember, if you stop interrupting me then maybe I could get to it faster. Lastly three, I already told you that I only found out you were a Myer the day you came to my house. I didn't think you were a Myer back then, even though you would sneak out of their house. I only saw you that one summer, it didn't make sense that you didn't live there. Plus, your name was Serena Ross, not Myer."

"Wait a minute, we hung out?" Addison interrupted.

Caiden put his hand on his forehead and sighed. "Will you just shush and listen to the flipping story. We bumped into each other one day. You were all hazy, there but not there. We sat on the pavement and talked for a good hour and a half before you said you had to go. I asked about your relationship with the Myers. You said you were a distant cousin visiting from Italy. I believed you, there was nothing to make me not. You even had a slight Italian accent and you spoke some Italian too. We kept meeting after that, we even had a thing."

"A thing?" Addison asked.

Caiden gave her a look. Addison couldn't make out whether it was because she had interrupted him again or because she had asked a stupid question. "As in we sort of liked each other. Nothing serious but we kissed once. That's about it. Anyway, the point is that you left without any notice and I never saw you again until you came to Eaton. After you left everything in my life started to go wrong, you started the chain reaction."

A million things could have gone through Addison's mind, but the first thing that she thought about was that Thomas had not been her first kiss. Caiden was. Surprisingly, Addison didn't mind it. "Why don't I remember any of this?"