Too Good To Be True?

Chapter 16 Ⅲ

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

I cringed as the love of my life yelled down at me, preparing my heart for the emotional bashing it was about to endure.

"How did you get in my house?" she demanded, not having dared cross the threshold into the room.

"Your parents let me come," I murmured, still staring down at the object in my lap. I was knelt in front of her closet, a now-empty cardboard box sitting in front of me.

"Like hell they did," she spat. "I told them I wanted nothing to do with you. How did you get in here?"

I kept my head bowed, not wanting to assert dominance in any way. I wanted her to know she was in charge, that I was not a threat. "They told me where the spare key was," I said softly, risking a glance up at her.

Her gorgeous blue eyes were shooting lasers into my skull, her delicate arms shaking with rage. I had never seen her mad at anyone before and it broke my heart to know I was the cause of it, but I had also never seen her so confident. She seemed scared, yes, but the way she carried herself... her chin lifted, her shoulders back, the certainty in her stare... maybe me being gone had actually helped her. I was proud of her for finding strength in this frightening time, but the thought of her being better off without me shook my certainty of how I wanted to carry on the conversation.

"You'd better get out of my house this instant before I call the police," she stated through gritted teeth.

"Please, Angel..." She flinched as I used her real name, the word apparently having more than an emotional impact on her. The last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable but this was my last resort. If she didn't remember me after this, she never would. No matter how much it pained me, I had to push her. "Please, just hear me out."

She crossed her arms, shielding her heart in whatever way she could. "Why on earth would I ever listen to you?"

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, trying anything to calm my cheetah heart. I slowly stood up, still facing the closet, holding the book I'd found by my side where she could see it. This book could change everything, I just had to get her to look at it.

"Because I know you, Angel," I said, carefully ramping up my confidence. "I know you better than anyone and I know that I can help you remember."

"Really?" she drawled, her lips dripping with venom. "You 'know me'?"

My head nodded lightly, my lips playing with a melancholic smile as I allowed memories to trickle in one by one. "I know that you love making videos and are always worried that you'll let your subscribers down."

"You could say that about any YouTuber."

I tuned her out and pressed on, knowing I couldn't let her stop me. "I know that you hate how your voice sounds even though it's so beautifully unique and that everyone who hears you sing praises your talent."

"Shut up," she growled, fury burning red around her.

I turned towards her, head still lowered but my confidence growing at each new thought. "I know that you're an expert at pretending your friends aren't funny and that you twirl your hair when you get nervous. I know that you have three main laughs and one that only I have heard..."

"What?!" she spat, finally taking a step into the room but immediately stopping again when she realized that meant getting closer to me.

My gaze slowly scanned up from her feet as I continued, lost in my thoughts now. "I know things that I wish I never needed to know," I murmured, tears beginning to pool in the corners of my eyes. "Like how you shut people out when you feel like you've disappointed them..."