ERASED

Chapter Seven

“You need to get medical attention,” I suggested as she held on to my for support,

“It’s fine, don’t worry. This happens all the time,” she shrugged it off. “Who are you? I want to properly thank you for helping me. If you didn’t, my head would most likely have hit against the edge of the stairs,” I leaned back,

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Am I supposed to?” She asked with raised brows.

“Don’t get me wrong, when you were unconscious, you called my name, you said…”

“I don’t think I did,” she denied.

“You called me Leeam,”

“Lee… am?”

“Where did you get the pronunciation from? Only one person calls me in that manner,” this stranger looked genuinely confused, she began to shift uncomfortably in my arm,

“Sorry mister…”

“Liam,”

“Liam. I don’t remember anything, I don’t remember calling your name either, but thank you Liam for catching me in time,” I wanted to say more, wanted to go into the details of why it means so much to me and why it looks like I’m overreacting when something catches my eye. She turns her neck to look at some people passing by and that’s when it becomes more obvious,

Blood spilled everywhere, her hand over the cut, laying in pains, helplessly crying out for helps, young me rushing towards her side,

“Tiana!! Mommy!!” I screamed louder,

I tilt my head to the side still assessing the scar, notice her mouth moving but all I could hear were the screams she let out that night,

It hurts Liam, it’s really hurting!

I wanted to know so badly who did this to her but she wouldn’t tell. She stuck to the same story,the story of her falling from a flight of stairs but we found her bleeding in the courtyard, there wasn’t any trace of blood leading up to the point where she was laying helplessly.

I couldn’t help but reach out to her, tracing my index finger against the long scar that ran from the back of her ear down to her collarbone,

“Tiana, you need to tell me what happened so I can help you,” my mom said as she put the bandage over the wound, cleaning up the blood that was everywhere on her neck, “this is a serious injury, it’s not a wound that came from falling down the stairs, it looks intentionally stabbed, Tiana,” my mom sat straight looking her in the eyes, “is that man abusing you?” My mom asked and Tiana shook her head,

“no, he isn’t. My parents would be home any time from now, I should hurry back.”

My mom knows that scar, and so do I. We can never go wrong with it.

“Tiana,” the tears filled my eyes, “you’re back,” my voice failed, all that came out was a whisper while my hands cupped her cheeks. “You came back for me, He really answers prayers,” I said hugging her so tightly,

“Tiana?” Who’s Tiana?” She asked but I didn’t care if she was acting anymore, I was just so glad to have Tiana back in my arms. “where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you left without saying goodbye,”

“She’s not Tiana!” Katrina yelled yanking me off her, “you’re invading her space, hugging a woman you barely know. You can get arrested for this if she decides to press charges Liam!” She snapped.

“I’m sorry miss, I thought you were someone else,” I lied, but I wasn’t ready to get into a fight with Katrina, at least, not yet.

“I’d be heading inside,”

“And so will we.” She slips her hand into mine and leads me into the church but I keep turning to have a glimpse of Tiana. Thoughts began to stir up on my inside,

What if she’s not Tiana? You would be chasing another cloud, a voice said and I fought so hard to shake it off. I look across me and there she was, sitting beside Nancy, her smile, her hair, when she turns to me, I feel my body turn cold, and rigid, losing all my ability to remain as I was, stern and serious. It’s taking a lot of strength to keep mysel glued to seat because I would do anything to jump into her arms right now and spin her around. Tell the whole world that she’s back in my arms, right where she belongs.

I could kill to hear her rant about her days again even when I have no clue what’s going on, because that’s what I love to do. Just sit, and listen to her talk,

What if she’s not the same anymore? She denied knowing you Liam, she doesn’t recognize you and you know she’s not faking it, the look in her eyes said it all. My subconscious pointed out.

When she looked at me, she looked at me strangely. That sparkle in her eyes whenever she saw me wasn’t there, rather, it was plain, void of emotion, but filled with curiosity. Who is this man, she may be wondering.

One thing I’m sure of is, she is Tiana.

~~

“I thought to reintroduce you again although you’ve met already,” Nancy says after the service comes to an end. Nancy is the mother to one of my good friends. Whenever I came here, I loved sitting and speaking to her, being vulnerable with her makes whatever burdens I’m carrying lighter. She’s as wise as her age, but her relation to Tiana is what I’d like to know,

“Liam, meet Marilyn, Marilyn, Liam and his fiancée Katrina,” the word fiancée makes my skin crawl. I didn’t care whenever we were introduced together, however, I’ve lost Tiana once before, I don’t plan on losing her again and I know Katrina would be a hinderance to me.

“Nice to meet you,”

“Marilyn is my next door neighbour, she’s new to the neighbourhood so I thought to introduce her to you, make her feel welcome and not alone, join you for dinners and the other things you kids do nowadays.”

“Hi Marilyn, I sincerely apologise on behalf of my fiancé for his behaviour earlier. He lost someone close to him to death,”

“Tiana is not dead!” I snapped but she ignored me completely.

“It’s a sensitive topic for him and he lost his control when he saw you, because he thinks you’re her but don’t let that get in the way of relating with us, okay?”

“We’re leaving.” I began to walk away not saying a word to Tiana.

Maybe I’m in my head a lot, I’m imagining a lot of things that I’m beginning to believe a false reality.

It’s been fifteen years, what makes me think that Tiana would appear out of nowhere now when she didn’t the past years, even if she’s alive, she must have moved on, and here I am, stuck on a childish love.

I have a pile of work coming up, as I resume as CEO to my father’s company here in town, a perfect distraction from all of this. A perfect distraction to keep my mind busy and away from thoughts and memories of her, keeping away from every reminder of the woman I first loved.