To: mozzigirl. I love skillet too! Skillet, Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin are my favorite bands! The title came from that song, I was hoping someone would point that out! Sorry, I got this chapter mixed up with my other story earlier.
Ken drove him home, handing him the key to his apartment. Mal was surprised it was still his, and Ken said the owners of the building let him keep his belongings in there unless someone else came along, as he wasn't using any water or electricity. He was surprised to find it was in a well-kept condition when he entered, it was just as if he had just left it. Not a single layer of dust had touched anything. "One of us came in every once in a while and kept after the place" she explained.
Mal was grateful for this, for this meant in one way they still thought-or maybe hoped he would recover. He scanned the room. How could it have really been three years since he had been here? If the years gone by had not taken their toll on those around him, he would think it was an elaborate joke. Amy and Ken silently left, leaving Mal to his own devices. He looked around the room, trying to find anything that would spark the memory of the day of the accident. He found himself unable to, but was surprised when his phone rang. It startled him, a sharp noise so real and distinct. He hadn't realized how dull sounds had been before, how many of them didn't connect to things he knew. He picked it up, finding it was a text from Ken that he had forgotten to tell him that he was not to come to work for a while. Mal wished he could say he hadn't read it, because he was very ready to go back and instill some normality back into his life. He looked and saw he had another text, and wondered how his phone could still be active. Someone must have deactivated it while he was gone, then put it right when he came back. Obviously he had the same number, or Ken wouldn't have been able to text him. He checked the inbox and gulped. It was from Natara, and said she would be there by tomorrow.
