Part Two:
Aphrodite's Curse
Chapter Seventeen | Forgetting Is Harder Than I Remember
Forgetting is a hard thing to do. One moment you have no memory of your past. The next you're mind is filled with images of other times. After all, to forget, you must first remember. I thought it would be easy. I could never be more wrong.
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I screamed. What else could I do, when such a torturously scolding piece of metal was being placed upon my bare back? That shape...the shape I loved to hate, forever imprinted on my smooth skin. The sound of my pained groans were all I could hear, save the sickening noise of burning flesh as I came into more contact with the burning brand. Then there was those disgusting men. Standing around me, digging the scourging metal deeper onto my back. All I could do was kneel there, panting in a mixture of disgust and anguish, praying that maybe, hopefully, they would find the mercy to stop the torture early.
Of course, there was a reason for my discomfort. I was 16, and was mixed in with the wrong people. A gang's life was a bad life. I had failed to complete a simple robbery for the ringleader, and the consequences were awful.
"That's what you get, runt," the biggest, brawniest man said, chuckling in a scratchy way as the others agreed. Their boisterous laughter was indignantly loud, and seemed to carry on in echoes inside my head. One of them kicked me right under my knee, making me gasp and fall forward.
I caught myself before I could fall face first into the pavement, just barely scraping my nose. The metal was lifted off my back, but the burnt flesh didn't cease, twitching in pain. I made no sound: I uttered no groan or made any indication of the misery washing through me. The brawny man kicked me hard in the side, and I allowed my body to fall with the impact. Collapsing on my side, I felt strange, and, save for my back, the rest of my body felt cold. The men began filing out of the street. The last, who seemed to be in charge of the group, looked back and scowled at me, "Don't fail again, runt. It's gonna be worse next time," he grinned evilly and held up the custom made brand he had put together with spare pieces of iron. That cursed clover shape stood out in the darkness, still orange with embers, "You're the one who wanted to join. Now do your job."
With that, he left me to lay there. Rain began pelting around me, and I flinched as it came into contact with my newest wound. Sitting up, I slid the fabric of my ruined shirt onto my shoulders, where it had previously rested before the back of the shirt was ripped in half.
I shakily stood, and looked up toward the sky, wishing...hoping that someone would come for me. In that moment, the hopeless loneliness that I had always tried so hard to repress resurfaced, sending me into spirals of my own misery. Oh, what I would do for a smile.
I took a step forward, and nearly tripped on the shaky weight I tried so desperately to support. I didn't want this: I needed a change.
I needed...to break away.
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I shifted my weight onto my other leg, grabbing a bottle of shampoo and ringing it up. A few pieces of fruit came next, followed by a magazine that was pulled from the rack beside the register. I scanned them all and placed them in a bag, looking at the customer with a seemingly sincere smile, "Your total comes to 240 yen."
The woman nodded and dug into her wallet, pulling out the money and placing it onto the counter. I proceeded to hand her the change before saying, "Have a nice day."
She smiled at me and murmured, "You too," before walking out of the store and leaving me to my thoughts.
As soon as she was gone, I sighed and rested my chin in my hands, closing my eyes for the first time in days. I hadn't slept or eaten anything in a long time. I felt sick, mentally and physically. Whenever I tried sleeping, nightmares would spring up in my mind and prevent me from having any sort of peaceful slumber. Forgetting really was harder than I thought. Ironically, whenever I tried to forget, memories I thought I had killed randomly began popping into my mind, reminding me of my past, and telling me it was impossible to completely forget anything.
I had tried to restart my life. I had strived to get a job, and to wake up early every day. I smiled and laughed whenever a joke was told. I tried to seem normal. But it was hard, because whenever someone said something about how lucky they were feeling, or whenever I saw someone with white hair, I would remember, and feel that desperately strong desire to be with him again. But I knew it was impossible. He had tossed me aside. He had told me he hadn't needed me anymore. Though we parted on a good note, it just wasn't enough for me, and to think that it was good for him hurt.
I had been back to the former SPK building, but it was just that: former. I had been there: pressed my face against the glass and peered into the entrance room. But there was no one there, and if there was, they were hidden well. After that, I hadn't gone back. My heart had taken quite a toll on that visit.
I sighed and opened my eyes, just in time to see someone grab the door and open it, walking inside and sending me a small smile before disappearing into one of the isles. I made sure not to close my eyes again until they had already checked out and left the store.
I went home that night, and all I could think about was how much I missed everyone. It had only been about two months since I had left Nate. Since then, I made sure to be conspicuous to those around me.
When I got home, I took a shower and went right to bed, trying in vein to be rid of those horrible nightmares.
Fear Not! For I am a quick updater and loves this story far too much to...ah...abandon it~! So The reason this is part of the second part is because it shows a new 'chapter' of the story. XD I hope it's not so confusing (the only reason I didn't put it in with the first part is simply because it had too many chapters and that would look messy) I'll be trying out a bunch of new romance scenes in this part, so beware of slight OOC from Near. I'll try not to...but, well, try to imagine Near in love. Weird.
Haha so last chapter was called The Finale because it was the end of part one. But there's still a LOT more to this story and I promise it won't be finished for a long time. So I hope ya'll enjoy reading my things (seems like you do =D) and thanks for reviewing/reading~!
Ohhhhhh and there WILL be a lemon scene acomin' up. I hope you guys don't mind that...? Well let me know your thoughts on that. Though I doubt they'll change my mind. XD I love lemons farrr too much to leave it out. There'll be a warning before the chapter in case you don't want to see it, but that won't be for a while still. Just wanted to give ya'll a heads up =D Thanks~!