Roxy's lips tasted the best. Sweet like caramel. I continued kissing her. She didn't respond. I felt myself close to my limit. I sighed. I had to say it now or she'll never forgive me.

 

“Roxy. . . sorry for . . . . everything,” I whispered to her ear, then collapsed. Roxy's voice in the background called out to me. I smiled. At least she's worried about me.

 

More voices in the background. JiHoo, Roxy's mom and dad. Shouts, sentences, bits and pieces of conversations. My mind became blank as I fainted.

 

 

 

I opened my eyes. A white ceiling. Not my ceiling, I thought. Pain shot through my head as I tried to sit up. The bright walls and light coming in from the windows made the pain worse. Something landed on my lap as I sat up. A wet towel. What. . . ? Something clicked in my head. Roxy! I had a fever and went to Roxy's house to say sorry. And . . . the kiss! I kissed her! She probably hates me now, I thought sullenly. I looked around. Guessing by the white walls and green bed I'm probably in Roxy's room.

 

I turned my head slowly and saw Roxy's mom doing something. I took off the towel on my forehead and put in on the bedside table. The pain in my head was disappearing. I sat up and called out to her.

 

“Mrs. Park?” I said. She turned around and smiled. I smiled back. She looked exactly like Roxy, or Roxy looks a lot like her.

 

“Do you feel better now, Jason?” she asked me. I nodded slowly.

 

“Do you like Roxy?” Mrs. Park suddenly asked.

 

“I—,” I started but was cut off when we heard screaming from another room. Mrs. Park suddenly stood up.

 

“NO!” she yelled and bolted out of the room. I went after her and recognized the screaming and yelling. It was Roxy.

 

As I got closer to the room where Roxy was, I heard what she was yelling. “I HATE YOU!!!” yelled Roxy. “I HATE YOU!”

 

Roxy's mom reached the room first, with me following behind her. Her dad was already there and Roxy's head was on JiHoo's lap. Suddenly, my heart starting hurting. I clutched my chest. What the heck? I thought. Am I . . . jealous? I shook off the feeling. It's just nothing, I thought to myself.

 

Roxy stopped screaming. She was shivering and sweating and mumbling words. Who was she talking about? Her screams echoed in my mind and made me angry. Who made her like this?

 

Mrs. Park was calming Roxy down and whispering soothing words to her. She seemed calm like this happened before. Mr. Park rushed out of the room and into the bathroom.

 

“Jason!” yelled Mrs. Park, who was trying to hold Roxy up. “Carry Roxy to her room!”

 

I quickly grabbed Roxy and carried her bridal-style to her bedroom. She was really light like a feather. It made me think again who did this to her. I carefully laid her down on her bed, covering her body with a blanket. She was still shivering and trembling. Her dad came rushing into the room with a wet towel and some pills. He quickly put the towel on Roxy's forehead. He sat on a chair and took Roxy's head. Mrs. Park told me to leave first. I nodded and walked out of the room. JiHoo was standing by the door, hands in his pocket.

 

“Hey, man,” I said, surprising him.

 

“Oh. hey Jason,” he said. “Are you still feeling sick?” JiHoo asked.

 

“I'm fine,” I replied. “Do you know what happened to Roxy?”

 

“I don't know, Jason. She ran out the room after you fainted,” JiHoo answered. “I followed her after Mrs. Park told me to. I just heard her screaming when I got there.”

 

I nodded slowly. JiHoo began to grin at me.

 

“So I heard that you kissed Roxy?” JiHoo said, smiling wider. My eyes grew big as he said that.

 

“Who told you that?” I whispered.

 

“Roxy,” he replied, still grinning.

 

“Oh,” was my response.

 

We both stayed quiet, taking in the silence. I could hear hushed voices in the room. I didn't want to eavesdrop but I strained my ears to hear what they were saying. I kept hearing Roxy's name being mentioned. And another name. It started with a J but I couldn't hear well. I gave up listening and just stood there.

 

“What do you think happened that made Roxy like this?” asked JiHoo, breaking the silence.

 

I shrugged. I didn't really know. “Death?” I offered. JiHoo thought about it for a moment.

 

“There's a chance,” he said.

 

“I heard a name while listening to their conversation. Maybe he died,” I said, whispering the first part.

 

“Maybe,” JiHoo whispered. The door opened, revealing Mr. and Mrs. Park. We both straightened up, me not wanting to get caught eavesdropping on their conversation. Mrs. Park sighed. Mr. Park's arm was on his wife's shoulder.

 

“Jason, can you stay with Roxy until I call you?” Mrs. Park asked me. “She's still asleep, but. . .”

 

Her voice trailed off. She wanted me to guard Roxy. I nodded. I wanted to tell her things that I couldn't say in front of her. What I heard and seen. I went inside the room and sat down. Someone closed the door for me. I didn't know who it was. I looked at Roxy. She looked like she aged.

 

“What happened, Roxy?” I whispered to her. I knew no answer would be given. Once I saw her, I couldn't say anything. I took her hand, fragile as glass. Her long slender fingers fit in my hand as I held it. I looked at her face more clearly, taking in her features. When we first met, I got a good look at her face. She reminded me of someone. Someone from my past. When I was little, I had a playmate. I always played with her everyday. She was my best friend. But I couldn't remember her name or face. Her parents were friends with mines though. My eyes began to droop from lack of sleep. The memories. I looked at Roxy again as I fell asleep, my head crashing on the bed with a THUD.

 

As soon as I fell asleep, a dream took over my mind. Or a flashback?

 

 

 

-------------------11 years ago-------------------

 

 

“Wait for me!” I screamed as my best friend ran ahead of me. She laughed. It sounded like bells ringing. Her laugh was like a sweet melody to me. It was that part I loved the most about her.

 

“Come and get me, Jason!” she yelled back. I put on a burst of speed and ran faster with my little feet. The wind slapped my face. It felt fun and exhilarating. I almost caught up with her. I ran faster and reached out my hand. I finally caught up to her. I wrapped my hands around her waist and lifted her up.

 

“Ah!” she screamed as I held her up in the air. “Put me down, Jason!”

 

She was really light. I kept carrying her until she smacked me in the arm, hard. It hurt so much. I put her down but didn't let go.

 

“Let's play again tomorrow, okay?” I whispered to her. She nodded eagerly.

 

“Okay!”

 

I let her go and she turned around. The sun blocked my view and I couldn't see her smiling face. All I could see was the outline of her head. I got closer to see her face. I recognized that face. It was like the mini version.

 

“Roxy?”

 

 

-------------------Present Day-------------------

 

 

“Jason?” a voice asked.

 

“Huh?” I replied groggily. I looked around and saw Mr. Park with a worried look on his face.

 

“Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

 

I shook my head. All I remembered was the dream. Roxy? Why did Roxy appeared in the dream? It couldn't be her. She couldn't be the little girl I played with everyday, right? She couldn't be my first . . .?

 

“You fell asleep, Jason,” Mr. Park continued.

 

I rubbed my eyes. “Oh.” Mr. Park nodded. I looked back at Roxy. She looked fine after sleeping. Her sweat was gone. Her breathing was even and calm.

 

“Let's go to the kitchen. We have something to tell you,” said Mr. Park with a serious face.

 

I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. We stayed quiet the whole trip down to the kitchen. Mrs. Park and JiHoo were already there, waiting for us. I sat down by JiHoo, who looked nervous. I shot a glance at Mrs. Park who had a worried look on her face. She kept looking at her husband, giving him weird looks.

 

Mr. Park cleared his throat. “Jason, we decided to tell you Roxy's past,”

 

My head shot up. I stared at him with startled eyes. “Really?”

 

“Yes. I know you suspect things already,” he said. “Death might have been your first guess?” Mr. Park offered.

 

I gaped at him. How did he know? I thought. Mr. Park chuckled at me.

 

“It's not death. It's something more disgusting,” said Mr. Park with a serious tone. “But ask the question first.”

 

I slowly nodded. “What happened to Roxy?”

 

“She had a . . . difficult time two years ago,” Mrs. Park answered. “We had to help her forget her memories of him.”

 

I saw curl in disgust as she said the last word. Her face contorted into a angry form.

 

JiHoo spoke up. “Who's him? A friend?”

 

“Josh.”

 

It was Mr. Park who said the name. I knew he had a difficult time saying that name. He was breathing hard, hands into fists. Why do they look so hurt from just saying his name? I asked myself. He must have been the person they were mentioning in the bedroom. The name that started with a J.

 

“Josh? Who's Josh?” I asked.

 

“One of Roxy's boyfriends. She met him by a blind date when she was a freshman. It was the second time she . . . fell in love,” Mrs. Park explained.

 

It suddenly grew quiet. The second time she fell in love. Blind date. Freshman. Then who was her first love? Will he come back and take her away from me? From me? What the hell? No, wait, I don't even know if I like her yet, I thought hastily. Suddenly, Mr. Park spoke the three words that I never imagine he would say.

 

“He her.”

 

My eyes widened at those words. ? !? Those words kept repeating in my head. My hand were clenched into fists. It felt like the kitchen was suffocating me. Mrs. Park was close to breaking down and crying. JiHoo's jaw dropped to the floor. Anger replaced my shock. It was so big that I could barely control it.

 

“What?” I asked, teeth gritting.

 

“After a few months, Josh changed and became violent. Roxy tried to calm him down but it didn't work,” explained Mr. Park. “Josh let out his anger on Roxy instead.”

 

“Everyday, Josh would abuse her. We didn't know anything until the police came here,” Mrs. Park continued. A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly.

 

As the story went on, my anger increased more and more. I hated Josh. Even if I don't know him, I hated him. I hated his name. How could he do this to Roxy?

 

“Roxy wouldn't say anything. She kept telling us that she could handle it on her own,” Mr. Park said.

 

I could barely control my anger to this point. It was reaching its limit. I burst out, exploding in anger.

 

“Why didn't you do anything?” I finally yelled. “You're rich! You could have arrested him or something!”

 

“We tried. Roxy didn't want to arrest him. I don't know if she still loved him during that time,” said Mr. Park. “After months of convincing her, Roxy came to her senses and arrested him for .”

 

“Is he still in jail?” JiHoo asked. He better be, I thought.

 

“I think so,” Mrs. Park answered.

 

“You think so?” I questioned.

 

“We haven't checked on him because Roxy might remember, though I already suspect she remembers. It takes a lot of energy to lock her memories,” Mr. Park explained.

 

Lock her memories? What the heck? What is he talking about? Is it like amnesia?All these questions kept popping up in my head. I decided not to ask these questions and just listen to the story.

 

“So you don't know?” I said. “If she remembers, then what happens?”

 

“She gets a fever and faints, just like what happened hours ago,” said Mrs. Park. “We can't let her remember all her memories. It's too horrible.”

 

I let all the information sink in my brain. It was hard to process. Roxy being and locking her memories. Suddenly, the atmosphere tensed up. A scream. It sounded like it was close, like right outside the kitchen. Mr. Park looked at his wife, who looked terrified. It kept continuing. I knew that scream.

 

“Roxy!” I shouted. I bolted out of my seat, the others following behind me. We walked out of the door and saw Roxy holding her head and screaming. She was listening to our conversation? I thought. I rushed by her side and cradled her head.

 

“Roxy! Snap out of it!” I yelled at her. She couldn't hear me. I looked at Mr. Park for help but he seemed stunned at this sight.

 

“Mr. Park! Help me!” I shouted at him, desperation in my voice. I'm guessing he noticed it because he immediately carried Roxy and rushed off to her room. We followed behind me, Mrs. Park mumbling words. I could hear everything she was saying.

 

“How could this happen? This never happened before. What did she do?” Mrs. Park whispered, face twisted into confusion and sadness.

 

We reached the bedroom, Roxy on the bed still screaming and yelling. It was the second time I saw her like this, but this was much worse. It teared my heart into two pieces seeing her like this. I held her hand the whole time, praying that this would stop and everything would go back to normal.