Forget Me Not

Chapter Ten

It took a few days to convince Liz to take me to see him. "Megan, you're not ready." She'd say. Or, "Megan, focus on yourself."

The drive from Michigan to Tennessee isn't so bad. It's just long - too long for my taste. The Northwest is completely different from the South - in every aspect. Michigan stays pretty rainy and cold through out this time of year. There's farmlands, lakes, big cities and industrial parts. There's Detroit and then we have the Great Lakes. It really is such a beautiful state inside and out. Tennessee is a whole new story. It's sunny and warm, welcoming. There's a invigorating scent in the air that reeks of rednecks, farms and cows. We drove through to Nashville which seems to be buzzing with excitement on every corner. There's people playing their guitars in front of other people, who are throwing coins into the case as a generous offer. There are giant billboards everywhere - some with Dolly Parton's face on it, others advertising a new CD from a popular band, an upcoming concert, restaurants such as Red Lobster or Olive Garden. My stomach growls at the thought of food. I glance over towards Liz who's on the phone - talking calmly yet with annoyance in her voice.

"Okay," She groans inwardly. "Look.. I know, I know. What do you mean there's nothing you can do? Do something!"

She continues to speak but I turn my attention back to the billboards and the giant buildings in the background. Cameron was asleep in the backseat, he and Liz have been switching periodically back and fourth throughout the trip. His snores are loud enough to drown an amplifier out. On the radio plays Taylor Swift's "I Almost Do". Liz had put RED on 259 miles back as we went through Kentucky. Which, by the way, if you've never been, it's a big state full of nothing but woods and country folk. We stopped to get gas at a gas station and restore on food, right? A guy walks in and literally screams, "HEY GUYS. I got an Uzi!" and his friends and everyone cheered around the psycho. One can successfully say, I am not returning to Kentucky any time soon.

Once we pass the city and get into a quite large neighbor hood along the large river that splits Nashville in half. I notice some rocks and tilt my head to the side. There's something familiar about this place - something warm, something.. Welcoming. It's like I've been here before. Maybe in my dreams.

My attention then is brought to a giant house - a mansion in a way. It's guarded by a coded fence and hidden behind a long dirt road and trees. The tires come to a screeching stop as they crunch the rocks below us. I glance towards Liz who is looking up at the house with almost eyes filled with sadness. She glances over to me then reaches into the back and shakes Cameron awake. He grunts in response.

With hesitation, I feel my legs getting out of the car and it isn't until I'm moving that I realize I'm about to meet Ryan. The real one, not the one who tried to kill me. Or at least I hope he isn't the same guy who tried to kill me. I shuffle up the steps behind Liz, who lifts a hand up and knocks on the door. There is a loud thud followed by silence. And more silence. And more until finally the lock clicked and the door swings open. Out steps a beautiful women in her mid to late 60s. Her hair is brown, down to her shoulders. On her face is a warm smile complemented by beautiful light hazel eyes.

She greets Liz first, saying it's great to see her and the usual language of a greeting. I just smile, my feet shuffling a bit before she turns her attention to me. She looks as if she sees a ghost, but still, the smile remains on her face. I glance back behind me to make sure no one is there then glance back to her. If I bite my lip any harder, I'll have a hole available for a lip ring.

"Megan," she finally says. Her voice is like honey - smooth and sweet. She walks over to me and places her hands on my cheeks, slightly squishing them together. I crease my eyebrows. Her touch sends an electric shock throughout my body. It feels so familiar, so known. She's touched me before. She's spoken to me before. Instead of speaking, I turn to showing my teeth off. "You look," she starts, but her head shakes. She takes my hand and leads me inside with Liz in toe.

"Your house is so beautiful, as usual," Liz says with a small laugh. "I hate to cut the greeting short, but uhm, is Jamie here?"

The older lady shakes her head again. With a nod of her head to the front door, she inhales. "He left ten minutes before you showed up. Said something about needing to go get Nash. He'll be home soon, however." She leads us under an arch that leads to a giant living room. Liz goes upstairs after she whispers something I can't hear. I take a seat on the couch and look around. On the mantle, Christmas wreaths flow down and up in a memorizing pattern. Pictures lie everywhere on the walls - some of the guy in photo 314. It looks to me like they have a small family; mom, dad, brothers and a sister judging by the looks of everyone. I turn as the cushion beside me collapses.

"Beautiful," The lady states, nodding as she sips from the cup that was on the table. "That's what I wanted to say earlier." I look at the pile of mail on the table and try to find a name. Keith, Jamie, Anna. I shift my eyes from the mail to look back at her again.

"Me?" I ask, my brow creasing. I'm anything but beautiful. She laughs, nodding her head.

"Yes you! Is there anyone else sitting in the living room?" She shakes her head and smiles softly. I inhale and run my hands through my hair, looking back at the photographs.

"Thanks, Anna." I say, saying the name quietly. It would be more awkward if her name is Keith or Jamie - Anna seems like the best option.

"Adrienne," She places her hand on my knee gently and with a soft giggle, she pats it gently. "My name is Adrienne. Do you remember anything?" I know she doesn't mean it to be as harsh as it sounds, but something just stabbed my gut. I look at her then look down. Embarrassment has now taken over the warm and cuddly feeling.

"I don't remember a lot," I say just above a whisper. I clear my throat and speak louder, gaining a little courage. "I remember Liz hating my guts, Lucy screaming at me about something. After I got on the plane, I woke up in a hospital. The doctor said I'm missing a lot - two to three years at best." I've never really spoken about this. No ones asked what I do and don't remember. "I remember everything up until getting on a plane. I remember what I was feeling and what I was thinking, but nothing after that. I woke up in the hospital room with Liz by my side. I guess that's why I felt so cold towards her at first. Adrienne, I feel so indifferent towards her and towards Cameron."

"You've got nothing to worry of shoe Cameron. He's a good kid with good intention. But he gets a little lost. I do remember when I first met you, though."

"We've met?" I sit up a bit and hug a pillow onto my lap.

"The plane ride you got on? You sat beside my husband and he, wanting you to be safe, brought you here. You were really scared. You didn't quite trust us or anyone. You had cuts up and down your arm. You helped me in the kitchen and met my daughter. Despite being shy, you and Julianna took to each other easily. You spent the night and the next day, you got shot with a nerf guy by Ryan." She nods to the stairs with a hint of a smile. She inhales as she looks back to me. "That was almost two years ago. You look the same as you did when I met you - beautiful, scared and lost."

I couldn't help but to smile like an idiot. I could feel my face flushing as I listen to her speak of when we met. I hug the pillow tightly. "That's romantic," I say, laughing.

"It started a flame, didn't it?" Adrienne smiles as she claps hands together. She looks out the window as the sound of crunching rocks fill the air.

"And that's when the boys come home," she mumbles, looking at me as her eyes roll playfully. "Be prepared for the absolute loudness that's about to come."

Within a matter of three seconds, three tall men burst through the door. Their voices overlapped each other which made it hard to follow what any of them were saying. I heard one say "boob". Another said "new songs". And the last one said something I couldn't understand. Must be a song about boobs. They turn into the living room and as if on cue, they stop talking and the world falls silent.

They have officially seen the ghost and that ghost is me.