He Took the Memory Potion Instead of Me Chapter 10

He Took the Memory Potion Instead of Me Chapter 10

I tossed my phone into a trash can on the sidewalk.

I climbed to the top floor and shoved open the rusted door.

The wind hit me like it was trying to fill every hollow part of me at once.

I walked to the railing and looked down.

Silverbrook’s lights stretched out below, a long bright line-like a track disappearing into

nowhere.

I pulled the bottle from my pocket.

Tiny print on the label: Do not ingest.

I unscrewed the cap.

Wind poured into the neck of the bottle and screamed.

The chemical stench flooded the air.

I brought it to my lips.

By the time Callum got there, the sky was black.

The rooftop door slammed open.

“MAREN!”

Callum stood in the doorway.

He saw everything.

An empty bottle on the ground beside the figure lying there.

A half-open paper bag lay beside it, boxy enough in the darkness to look like a cremation box- enough to stop his heart cold.

All the color drained from his face.

He stumbled toward me.

His knees slammed into the concrete. He grabbed my shoulders.

“Mar…!”

But my eyes were open.

He shook me. I blinked.

“Hi.”

Callum froze.

His hands were still locked on my shoulders, his whole body hovering over me.

His eyes were red. His lashes were wet.

Neither of us moved.

Midnight struck.

Callum drew a long, shaky breath. When his voice finally came, it was barely there.

“…Happy twenty-four birthday.”

“Thank you.”

Callum stayed on his knees beside me, the wind whipping his hair in every

direction.

He didn’t move. As if I’d vanish the moment he let go.

“So you… didn’t drink it?” His eyes moved to the empty bottle beside me.

“It tipped over.’

“I set it down, and the wind knocked it over. It all spilled out.”

“Then I started hearing things again. My brother’s voice-,in the wind.”

“He said he never loved me as much as I thought he did. Told me to stop obsessing over him. Said

he didn’t want to see me again either.”

“He told me to take his stuff and get lost.”

I nodded toward the paper bag next to me.

Inside was a plastic train set. Tracks and all.

“Mom and Dad gave it to him for his birthday when we were kids. I wanted it so badly, but he said it was a limited edition. Said I’d break it. He always put it somewhere I couldn’t reach.”

“Every day I’d tilt my head back and stare up at it. After a while, it turned into something else.”

“At first, all I wanted was the train.”

“Then, somewhere along the way, I got greedy.”

“I wanted everyone’s love.”

Callum’s head dropped. He pressed his forehead against my collarbone as if every bone in his body

had given out.

His full weight fell against me. I could feel his heart slamming so hard his whole body shook.