Chapter 17

After Bo had finally calmed down, Tamsin spent hours walking through everything with her - everything that had happened between the first time they had met and the day Tamsin had left Crimson Rock.

As their conversation went on, Tamsin was stunned that Bo actually remembered everything correctly, everything but things between the night at Bo's aunt's house and the day Tamsin had left. In fact, even for that time period, Bo remembered nearly every detail, but just like how she had remembered Tamsin leaving, the order and the causality of things were scrambled. It was as if her memories between that time period had been purposely rearranged. Those false memories made her believe that Tamsin had broken her heart on purpose and that Dylan was the one who comforted her and healed her heart.

Scared, defeated and consumed, Bo eventually fell asleep in Tamsin's arms, leaving Tamsin wild awake and deeply concerned.

Tamsin wondered what might have caused this. Clearly, it wouldn't have been Karen Wilson's hypnosis, since she didn't meet Bo until only a couple of years ago. Whatever that might have caused Bo's memory issue would be something dated way, way back in their lives, when they were all still in highschool. But, what could it be? Tamsin couldn't recall anything even remotely abnormal during that time, and she found it hard to believe that no one had noticed Bo's memory problem for all these years.

Or...maybe someone had noticed it, she thought. Like for example, how could Dylan not have noticed that Bo remembered things wrong? Had he not found it weird that after having dumped him, Bo decided to get engaged with him the next day? Had he just been too overjoyed to notice it? Or, had he feared that he'd lose Bo again once he voiced any concerns? Or maybe...just maybe, his memories had been scrambled as well?

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tamsin stroked Bo's hair gently. She inhaled Bo's soft scent as she closed her sore eyes. For years, she felt betrayed, heartbroken and cheated on. Now, she had finally found out that it wasn't Bo's intention. Something had twisted Bo's memories and led them to remember things differently. What could have happened and what they could have had together were robbed from them. It felt like a sick joke now, a sick joke that had left them in pain for over a decade.

Tamsin was livid, but to what, or whom, exactly should she direct her rage? Should she be angry with Bo, who had bizarrely remembered things wrong? She probably had suffered the same amount of pain for the past 15 years, if not more, feeling humiliated, abandoned and hopeless.

Should she be angry with Dylan, who might not even have noticed that Bo had remembered things wrong? To him, Bo breaking up with him might have just been a little bump on their epic love trail.

She thought she could really be angry with herself, for having believed that Bo would break her heart like that. How could she be that convinced that Bo would intentionally hurt her, after all those sincere whispers of love that night at Bo's aunt's house? How could she have not noticed that something was not right with Bo? Maybe if she hadn't been so busy wielding her pathetic pride like a thorny shield all the time, she'd have noticed Bo's memory problem back then. Maybe if she had not refused to look at Bo whenever they had been in the same room, she'd have noticed Bo's eyes brimming with pain. Would things have been different if she hadn't been so dumb and ignorant?

She could have done a lot of things, but she fled like a coward. She just wanted that pain to go away so bad, that it had never occurred to her that Bo might be going through the exact same pain.

"I'm sorry..." Tamsin whispered as she held Bo's hand to her lips and laid a kiss on those cold fingers. "I'm so sorry..."

She whispered over and over, trembling in tears, apologizing to Bo, apologizing to herself.

It was 4 in the morning and Tamsin had finally given up the hope of getting any sleep tonight. She got up and got herself a drink in her father's den. As she sat there quietly, things started to pop into her mind, one after another...Dylan's postcard, Dylan's death, those mysterious messages, Dylan's message to her, Bo's memory loss, the evil Karen Wilson possibly being a serial killer, that drawing, the pills Karen Wilson gave Bo, Agent Alex, the military lab project, the unforeseen return and sudden death of Jennifer Lawson...

Tamsin took out the thumb drive that Alex had given her. She eventually decided to take a look, just so she wouldn't be sitting there killing herself by wondering why Bo wouldn't remember certain things right.

The thumb drive contained everything related to the fire at Lawson's mansion. There were investigation reports, news articles and witness statements.

According to the reports, the fire started around 1am, October 13th last year, and the source of the fire was believed to be a short circuited wall light on the first floor. Jennifer Lawson and her husband, who had slept in their bedroom on the second floor, were awakened by the fume. Instead of evacuating immediately, they went to the bedroom on the other side of the second floor to wake up her parents. The four of them spent time gathering their valuable belongings. By the time all of them were ready to leave, it was too late. Fire engulfed the part of the mansion that they were in, and none of them were found alive.

The investigators had initially suspected arson when they found that none of the smoke detectors inside the house had been working that night. Further examination revealed that every single smoke detector in that house had been sprayed with something that would block and disable the sensors. Later, the maid testified that it was Jennifer's husband who had sprayed those smoke detectors. He had purchased some sensor blocking spray online and disabled all the smoke detectors some time before the fire, because he wouldn't stop smoking inside the house and was tired of triggering the detectors. With no further evidence, the investigators eventually ruled that the fire was nothing but a tragic accident.

What a dumbass. Tamsin thought. So he disabled those smoke detectors himself and because of that he killed himself and the other three...

It seemed to be a weird series of events, so weird that Tamsin thought there might be more to it. However, the investigators had done a great job wrapping up everything and Tamsin couldn't find anything worth investigating further.

She also found several recordings of conversations between Alex and Jennifer's fiance, Jake. Those conversations had taken place after Jennifer had gone back to Crimson Rock. In those recordings, Jake was devastated and beyond confused. He couldn't stop talking about how they were so close to their wedding and how it was impossible for Jennifer to abandon him like that. She just wouldn't do that to me. She said she'd never go back there. He repeated over and over.

He talked about how busy they had been planning their wedding. The night before Jennifer's disappearance seemed completely normal. They had dinner outside and then went back to their apartment to watch a movie. Before they went to bed, Jennifer even picked out the clothes that she was going to wear the next day because they had an appointment with a florist that she really liked. The next morning, he woke up to the screaming alarm clock and she was gone. She took her wallet, her cellphone and her car keys with her, and nothing else. She did leave him a note, claiming that she would return to Crimson Rock and that she would never come back.

Shocked, he tried to contact her but she didn't pick up at first. He called the police afterwards, worrying that she might be in trouble. Before the police got really involved, she contacted him. She was calm on the phone, and her tone was nonchalant at best. She told him that she had a sudden revelation of her life and she had found her true love. She had returned to Crimson Rock and reunited with her family. She was also going to marry her true love - her cousin.

I feel like there was something heavy in my stomach and I just wanted to puke. Jake described the phone call. This doesn't make any sense! She has always told me that her family was dead to her. How could she have suddenly gone back to them. And her cousin? She has never even mentioned him once! How could he be her true love? I am the love of her life. She told me that! She told me that! How could she do this to me?

In sobs and screams, he muttered along, describing how he had tried to remind her of all those great memories they had shared during the phone call. She wasn't moved. She started to accuse him of not caring about her enough. She claimed that he had broken her heart by not remembering their anniversary. You don't care about me. You only bought me something the next day after I complained.

That is not true! Jake argued. I didn't give that gift to her on our anniversary because I had it custom made and the delivery was late. I have explained and apologized to her, and she was completely understanding then. I just don't know why she'd suddenly think that I didn't care enough.

Tamsin took heed of everything Jake had to say. A strange familiarity emerged from his words and his voice. It was as if she had heard them before, but she couldn't figure out where or when, not until she listened to it for the second time.

She did hear those words before. They were from herself. She uttered those exact same things while she was in her own bed biting back her tears. She had screamed silently as she stared into the darkness, demanding an answer to why Bo would hurt her like that. How could she do this to me? Why would she break my heart like this? Why? Why?

And then, it suddenly hit her how weirdly parallel Jennifer and Jake were to Bo and her. One day Jennifer was getting ready to marry Jake, the next she decided to return to Crimson Rock and be with her cousin. It was as if her love for Jake never existed. She had scrambled memories of how Jake had treated her and blamed Jake for it.

One day Bo was confessing her love to her, the next she announced her engagement with Dylan, whom she had just broken up with. It was as if her feelings for her never existed. She had scrambled memories of how things happened and blamed Tamsin for abandoning her first.

That finding chilled Tamsin's spine. For a moment she was struck numb.

When Tamsin exited the den, she found Bo in the living room. The brunette looked fragile and distracted, just like how she had looked when Tamsin had first come back. She had a mug of hot cocoa in her hand, but it had become cold already and she had barely taken a sip.

"You want some breakfast? I'm starving," Tamsin offered.

She had to ask twice to pull Bo out of her train of thoughts. Bo gave her a node and a smile.

Tamsin made two omelettes, one with extra cheese for herself and the other with double mushrooms for Bo. She dumped Bo's cold cocoa and made a fresh one for her. Then, she poured herself a glass of milk and sat down.

"So," Tamsin started as she took out the drawing and placed it in front of Bo. "I found this on my truck the other day. It wasn't from you, was it?"

"No," Bo shook her head. "No I didn't draw this, but it does look like Kira's drawing. She just got a box of color markers last week. Have you asked her about it?"

"Not yet, maybe after she comes home from school."

Bo nodded silently as she cut up her omelette with her fork. When she noticed that Tamsin was watching her intently, she gave Tamsin a smile. "I'm alright, Tamsin," she said softly. "Just...confused and shocked, I guess."

After a long pause, she admitted, "I feel like the past 10, 15 years were like a bad dream. Now I don't even know what was real and what wasn't. I'm really scared."

Tamsin sighed and held Bo's cold hand in hers. She squeezed it gently and promised, "we'll figure this out together, okay?"

Bo nodded, though she was too burdened to be comforted by Tamsin's words.

"Do you remember...Jennifer Lawson?"

Bo paused with a frown. "One of the Lawson kids? Yeah I think I remember her, why?"

"Ummm...just wondering if you two were...close or...you know, like friends or anything."

"No, we weren't friends. I don't think anyone was close to her. No one wanted to deal with her over protective parents. They'd interrogate you if they found out that you spoke to any of their kids in school."

"Have you-I mean, what do you know about her or her family? Anything."

"Well...I know that her parents were creeps. I know that she ran away because of that. I was really shocked when I heard that she had returned to Crimson Rock. Then, Dylan and I got her wedding invitation. Do you know that she married that cousin of hers? I'm not saying that it's illegal or something, but he was an awful person."

"Wait, Dylan and you got her wedding invitation?"

"Half of the town got it," Bo shrugged. "They invited like everyone in highschool. There were so many people at their wedding."

"So the two of you went to her wedding?"

"We did. It was...nice and expensive."

"Did you notice anything at her wedding?"

"Like what?" Bo frowned hard.

"I don't know. I just find it weird that she'd come back and marry someone like that. Maybe her parents forced her to do it?"

"You know, I said the same thing to Dylan on the way there that day, and he agreed that her parents might have forced her to do it. We came with a theory that...they somehow kidnapped her and threatened her to do it, but she seemed really happy at the wedding. I know it sounds weird but she looked like she really was in love with him."

And you looked like you really were in love with Dylan in your wedding photos as well. Tamsin thought to herself. The similarity between Jennifer and Bo had now become creepily obvious and disturbing.

"Why would you suddenly ask about her? Does she have anything to do with...is this about Dr. Wilson?"

"No," Tamsin shook her head. After some hesitation, she explained to Bo what had happened to Jennifer Lawson.

"So...you think...something might have happened to her and made her return to Crimson Rock and marry her cousin just like...what happened to me?"

"It is just a thought. I just want to figure out if there is any connection between you two. I mean, I know the two of you went to the same school but so did half of the kids in town. Can you think of anything else?"

"No, I mean, I don't think I have even talked to her. Honestly her parents scares me. I didn't want to get close to her or any of her siblings at all. When she came back, I saw her a couple of times in the mall, but that was it."

"What about Dylan?"

"I don't think so. I feel like if he had any kind of relationship or contact with her he'd tell me. It's the creepy Lawsons, you know."

"So...nothing huh?"

"No, I don't think we had anything in common, other than the fact that we were both born and raised here, like the rest of the Crimson Rock kids."

The name "Crimson Rock" flickered in Tamsin's mind. Crimson Rock, it was the name of the town. It was also that message Dylan had left her. Crimson Rock. Was Dylan trying to tell her that something might be wrong with this town?

Tamsin pondered with a frown as she dragged her fork back and forth in her plate, smearing melted cheese everywhere.

"Tamsin," Bo interrupted. "What is it?"

"Did Dylan...ever mention to you that something might be going on in Crimson Rock?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like something might be wrong with the town, something weird is going on here, things like that?"

"No, why would you ask that? What's wrong with this town?"

Tamsin let out a big sigh. Slowly, she explained everything to Bo, starting with the postcard, then Dylan's death, then Dylan's message to her. She also mentioned those mysterious messages that she had found inside the mansion.

Bo listened intently, with her eyes open wider and wider.

"Dylan...knew that he was going to die?"

"I don't know. The postcard was something we came up with when we were like 11. I never thought he'd actually send me one. But...he and I were the only two people who knew about it, so...the only logical explanation would be that he knew he was in danger and he did it to warn me."

"But...how could he have known? Why didn't he go to the police, or...tell anyone else?"

"I don't know. He might not have known that he'd die. Maybe he just...sensed something, and...well, he was mining the gemstones illegally, so he might have thought that it would be better to stay away from the police. By any chance he might have told anyone else about the postcard?"

"You think someone else sent it to warn you that he might be in danger?"

"Well, someone had to send it. Either it was him, or someone else."

Bo let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I guess I'm probably not the best person to answer. I don't even know what I remembered was or wasn't real." After a short pause she asked, "so...what do you think his message to you means? Crimson Rock?"

"I don't know, and honestly I don't even know where to start. Am I supposed to look through Crimson Rock's history or something?"

She shoved a forkful of omelette into her mouth in frustration.

Bo paused and pondered. "Maybe you should talk to Detective Philsburg," she eventually suggested.

"About what? The postcard?"

"No, about...deaths."

Tamsin frowned hard, waiting for Bo to explain further.

"Being born and raised in Crimson Rock isn't the only thing that Jennifer Lawson and I had in common, Tamsin. There were also deaths. She died with her family. And I...Dylan died, and my parents also died. Of course, that was just an accident."

"The fire was ruled an accident as well..." Tamsin murmured as she recalled the conversation she had had with Alex a while back. The agent pointed out that Crimson Rock had more deaths per capita than those crime ridden neighborhoods in metro cities. Either people in this town just happened to be that unlucky, or there was some sort of connection there...

"You are right, Bo. I'm gonna go talk to Philsburg right now," Tamsin cleaned her plate and stood up. "Do you want to come with me?"

Bo shook her head slowly. "I think I'm gonna just...stay home today and...do some thinking."

Tamsin wanted to say something to comfort her, but she couldn't get a word out when she saw those frightened brown eyes. She eventually gave Bo a firm hug and a gentle kiss on her hair. "Call me if you need me, okay?"

Just as she was about to walk out, Bo called her name.

"I'm sorry that...I didn't...had I...if I..." Bo murmured. "I don't know what really happened to me, Tamsin. Maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe it was something else. I don't know why I remembered everything wrong, but Tamsin, I want you to know that...all these years, my heart is with you. It's always been with you."

Tamsin stood there as years of pain and suffering rushed through her. Then, she walked back to Bo and embraced her. "I've never stopped loving you, Bo," she confessed in haste as she held the brunette tightly to her chest.

It was the first time, in many years, that she felt alive.