Page 75 of Don’t Forget Me

“No! No, you didn’t do anything. You were… you are perfect. It’s just my father. I don’t know how much longer I can handle that kind of treatment in my life. I hated the way he belittled you the entire time.”

“You know I don’t mind. He and the rest of Scotland can reject me as long as you don’t.”

“I don’t care if you have money or not.”

“Then why are you so troubled with what they have to say?” she asked.

“I don’t care what they have to say or think about us. I just don’t want my father to ruin what we have.”

She grabbed my hand, snaking her soft hand over mine.

“Nothing will ruin what we have.”

If only she knew what I’d been hiding since January. But I remained quiet, despite having been screaming in my mind the truth that I’d been keeping to myself. I intertwined our fingers before kissing her hand.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. I love spending time with you, but I do have an essay that’s due tomorrow, and I would really like to keep my A in British Lit,” she mentioned.

I nodded, turning the key in the ignition, and the engine settled with a soft rumble.

thirty two

LYSANDRA

5 YEARS AGO

Flickering lamplights encircled my vision as we strolled through Dean’s Village. It was a location in Edinburgh that I had wished to explore since I had found out that I received the scholarship. I never got around to it, but Miriam had let me get a day off, allowing me a chance to venture more through the streets of Edinburgh.

“Thank you for coming with me. Camille was swamped with homework.”

Ezra chuckled, pushing his frames up with his index finger. “My pleasure, you know I’ll always enjoy any moment I can spend with you.”

It surprised me that his desire for a career didn’t involve poetry; he was the most articulate person I knew. He was great with words, which alarmed me at times. I couldn’t understand why a dark voice slurred reminders in my mind that I wouldn’t know if he ever chose to lie to me.

“Thank you. For everything,” I said sincerely.

I hushed that voice in my mind as I heard the flowing river nearby. The afternoon sun gleamed on the water rushing beneath the bridge. Houses built of bricks and pointed roofs were situated on both sides of the Water of Leith; they were chipped at the corners with a fading mahogany hue. Lush green bushes were growing beside the edges of the river. The setting sun glowed its last beaming rays before it left for the night. I leaned against the stone railing that overlooked the rippling water.

I felt as though my own eyes had been lying to me. When you come from a broken home, from nothing, the grandness of the world surprises you.

But my dreams had become my reality.

Ezra’s stare was heavy on me. I turned toward him, raising a brow to challenge his silence.

“You have your thinking face on right now. What is it?”

My lips curled into a beaming smile. It made me happy to know that there was someone who roamed this world that had begun to observe my habits. Although I wasn’t aware that I had a particular face when brainstorming. I shook my head in reply to his question.

“You know you can tell me anything.” Ezra lowered his chin, examining me from behind his glasses.

He was right. After that night at the square, I had become accustomed to uncovering the deepest parts of my essence without shame or guilt. The tenebrosity in my mind was becoming smaller each time that I talked about it.

“Humanity, for many years, has rejected those with a contrite spirit. I’ve been told, countless times, to move on. I’ve been scorned and judged for holding onto the past, but help me understand how I was supposed to forget every ill memory of my stepfather when it was a recurring event.”

Ezra leaned against the railing, taking a deep sigh, before answering, “Those who have never suffered the same grievances as we have are incapable of empathizing with our sorrows.”

A soft breeze pushed the dark coils of my hair past my shoulder. I tilted my head down once in agreement. Perhaps that was why I felt like I could speak freely around him. I loved Cami; she was the sister I never had, but I didn’t think she would comprehend the severity of my emotional illness.

Ezra moved closer, setting a piece of my hair behind my ear. His thumb trailed my face. “Your strength and resilience inspire me.”