What If

14. Memory Lane

One second Sean was giving me the kiss of my life. The next, someone was yelling as Sean pushed me behind him, shielding me.

When I peeked around his body, I saw a woman who matched the sketch the police officer showed us. PSYCHO Amy. In the flesh and wielding a knife.

"Put down the knife," an officer ordered her while aiming his gun at her.

She didn't seem to be hearing them. Her eyes never left Sean's face. "What are you doing with her, Sean? You're supposed to be with me!"

Sean kept a leveled tone when he answered her. "Amy, we had something once. But that ended over two years ago. You need to accept that."

"No!" She screamed as she came closer. "You belong with me!"

"Drop the knife!" The cops yelled at her.

Sean ushered me further back towards the railing. I was so close to him, I felt him take a deep breath before he took a step forward with his hands raised slightly.

"Okay, Amy. Okay. You're right. We belong together."

She smiled and lowered the knife. "Really?" She asked in a whisper.

The cops took advantage and tackled her to the ground. They got the knife from her and handcuffed her. As the cops took her away, she yelled, "This isn't over!"

Sean turned towards me with a concerned expression. He reached his hand out and lightly stroked my cheek. "You okay?" He asked.

Damn those fucking butterflies, I thought. "I'm fine," was my response even though my body was shaking from everything that happened. Needing some space, I turned away and walked into the room as I said, "Seems like Operation: Fake Date was a success."

He turned towards me, shrugging off his jacket, he walked inside and threw it on the bed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Your stunt on the balcony sure did the trick," I said with an edge in my voice.

He looked up and met my stare. "It wasn't all fake," he said.

"Sean-"

"No, don't do that," he said as he took a few steps closer to me. "Don't run away. Yes, that kiss was meant to lure her in. But, after I started--I couldn't stop. It was real." He was quiet for a moment before adding, "Just like when I kissed you last night."

I felt my eyes widen. "You-- You remember?"

"Yeah, I do. It came back to me when I kissed you on the balcony. What I don't know, is why you didn't tell me."

I didn't know how to answer that. To be honest, I didn't even know why I kept it from him. "I--I was confused. The doctor said you may do things out of character."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew he wouldn't believe it. After all, we had two almost-kisses already. So, it wouldn't entirely be out of character for him.

"That's not it. You called me out when I lied about PSYCHO Amy. I think I deserve the truth."

He did deserve the truth. I knew deep down what the reason was. "I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. My heart started racing and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Lydia," he said in a low voice, "talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."

The last time he said those words to me was when we got lost in the park. I sat on the end of his bed because I felt like I was going to pass out. I felt the bed dip down as he sat next to me.