A/N: Chapter 9! Woo!
Chapter 9: Far From The Truth
The sound of the roaring engines echoed in the clear blue sky. Moto bikes could be heard from the track and sure enough, Dustin, Hunter and Blake were racing around. It had been a week since the brunette had left the hospital. Still without memory of his past, he began to piece everything together and slowly. He was having a time of his life for the first time since well.. He literally can't remember. He stood next to his No. 27 Dirt Bike, watching Hunter and Blake speeding around with speed and skill. Tori, Shane and Cam were sitting on the picnic tables and cheering with delight.
"Go Hunter!" Tori shouted at the top of her lungs. She laughed, smiling happily. She looked over to Cam who had finally took a week off from work to see his friends again. "So is Amber still over in the East?"
"Yeah." Cam responded, "I decided that it was best if she stayed there for a while. Ricky went off to visit her also."
"Are we sure we want to keep Dustin away from family?" Shane butted in, "I mean don't you think he is going to sooner or later wonder what happened to them all?"
"Yes. You're right." Tori just nodded, "But I know that if Dustin asks what happened to father that the two would slip the truth."
Cam just shook his head, "I don't condone with what we are doing." He sighed, "But I guess I don't have a choice but to go along with it."
Dustin let go of his bike and made his way over. He took off his gloves and jumped on the picnic table and squeezed between Tori and Shane. They made room for him, chuckling a bit.
"Having fun Dustin?" Tori asked.
He nodded furiously, "Motocross rocks." He exclaimed, "Dude, it is awesome."
"There's a line I haven't heard for a long time." Shane was just amazed. It was true. When was the last time he heard the word dude? He patted his best friend on the back, "Hunter and Blake are almost finished. You should get ready to race."
"Totally." He rocketed off the bench and towards his bike. Tori just sighed. She laid her head on Shane's shoulder and continued to watch. It hurt to still have these feelings for him when he knew little about her. It's like falling in love all over again and being too scared to admit the feelings. Hunter and Blake crossed the finish line and hit the brakes. Spraying dirt into the air, they came to a halt and removed their helmets. Dustin made his way over with his helmet.
"So who am I racing now?" He exclaimed.
"You want to race again?" Hunter went wide-eyed. Dustin had raced 3-4 times already. He just laughed. Blake placed his helmet back on.
"I'll race you." Blake snickered, "I need to warm up anyway."
Hunter shook his head, "Good luck you two." He climbed off and guided his bike off the track. Dustin hopped onto his bike and started up. Blake got his going again and the two were off racing. The crimson blonde parked his bike to the side and made his way over. Unstrapping his Moto gear, he stopped in front of the others.
"I'm wiped." He yawned a bit, "I forgot how wired Dustin was. He never quits."
Tori hopped off from the table, "I have to go and check on Van." She cleared her bangs, "I don't think I can keep affording babysitters."
"Can I come?" Hunter dumped his stuff in his bag, "I haven't seen Van for a while."
"Sure." She waved to Shane and Cam, "Give us a call later."
"Later.' Shane waved before turning his attention back to the race.
Tori entered her house where she saw the babysitter sitting and reading a magazine. Hunter walked in a few seconds after and closed the door.
"I'm home." She called to the babysitter. The young middle aged women stood up and made her way over. "Did Van give any trouble?"
"Not at all." She smiled, "He's very cute. I have to go to my next appointment."
Tori nodded and pay her the respected amount before she left. Placing her purse on the couch, she rushed up the stairs and to Van's room. Little Van was crawling around the floor and playing with a bunch of color blocks. She walked over and sat down next to him and waved.
"Hey sweetie." She picked him up, "How's my little Van doing?" Van laughed as he looked over Tori's shoulder. He had noticed Hunter appearing and began to mumble.
"Oh my god is he saying something?" Tori pulled him away to get a look at his face, "Come on. You can do it. Say something."
Hunter walked over and sat down next to Tori, staying silently. Van kept his eyes on Hunter, looking at him weird. Van then reached his hand out, "Da-Da!" Van laughed.
Hunter's jaw dropped as Tori gave Hunter a confused look. She just simply hugged Van and began to laugh. "He just called you dad!"
"I know." Hunter was almost too speechless, "I don't even know what to say."
"I can't believe he said his first word." She kept hugging him tightly, "I'm so happy I was here for this."
Dustin was packing away the rest of his gear. Blake and Shane were talking in the corner. Every so often, they would glance over at him and Dustin would notice. He tried not to think much about it as zipped up his bag. Shane broke away from the conversation and walked right over. Blake wondered off to meet Cam in the parking lot.
"Hey man. We were going to get something to eat. Then maybe show you around." Shane explained the game plan, "So we should go."
Dustin paused and picked up his bag. He handed it over to Shane and dropped it into his hand. "I'm going to sit this one out. I kind of want to head back to the apartment."
"Do you want a lift then?" Shane was a tad puzzled, "It's a long walk you know."
"I'm good." Dustin patted him on the back and began walking off. Shane just starred at him in till he was gone from the view. Dustin had enjoyed their company but he was getting a bit irritated by all the secrecy. Feeling that he can learn a few things about himself would be easier because he can just find the answers to his question himself. He wondered into the city where he was closed to Storm Chargers. Noticing bikes there, he had figured that he must have been there a dozen times. He entered the new and strange, yet old and familiar place where he saw Kelly moving some bikes around.
"Hello." He spoke up, titling his head a bit. "Are you the owner?"
Kelly turned, she beamed with happiness, "Dustin!" She ran over, "I heard you got out of the Hospital. I'm so thankful you came back to us." She pulled him into a hug. Dustin assumed he had known her and most likely had a history with her. He pulled away and she just laughed. "Oh right. You don't remember me." She paused her a sec, "My name is Kelly. I use to sponsor you in Free Styling Motocross and you used to work for me."
"Really?" Dustin started to make sense of everything, "Was I any good?"
"Yeah. You were a bit of a flake at times but you were one of my best employees." She smiled and playfully punched him in the shoulder, "So how have you been? I barely talk to any of you guys. Tori only informed me that you got out of the Hospital. She didn't go into too much detail on anything else."
"Oh you know. Trying to figure everything out. I didn't think it would be this hard."
She just nodded. "So where are you staying? Your not hanging around your old beat up apartment are you?"
"Apartment?" Dustin gave a quizzed look. He just went along with it and slowly nodded yes, "Uh no. I'm staying with Hunter and Blake. I was supposed to pick up some things from the apartment though, Hunter wrote down the address but I have seamed to have lost it."
"Oh don't worry. I'll write it down for you." She walked over to the counter and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. Jotting down the address, she made her way back over and handed it to him, "Do you need a lift?"
"No thanks." He turned, "I'll just take a Taxi."
Kelly reached in her pocket and handed him 20 bucks, "Here then. You shouldn't have pay."
Dustin just smiled and took the money. He gave Kelly another hug and broke away, "I'm so glad I'm friends with you." He scurried off. Kelly laughed and waved as he bolted out of the door.
Shane arrived back at Bradley's apartment. Blake unlocked the door and walked in with Shane following behind. The two searched around and noticed Dustin no where to be found.
"Dustin? You in here?" Blake shouted, as he placed the keys on a table, "Hello?"
Hunter came out of the bathroom and looked around. "Dustin isn't here." He informed them. Shane ran his hands through his hair and groaned.
"He might have gotten lost." He stated, "I think we should go out and find him."
"I'm sure he will find his way back." Hunter walked to the fridge to get something to eat. He turned and looked at Blake after pulling some leftovers. "How was the last race?"
"Good." Blake fell on the couch.
Shane crossed his arms, "Is Tori still busy? Were supposed to head back to D's apartment to grab his things and bring over here."
"She's still Van." Hunter replied, "Do you want me to go with you instead?"
"Nah." He headed for the door, "If you see Dustin, give me a call. I'm just going to grab his clothes."
"Later." Blake waved.
The taxi pulled up to the old part of Blue Bay. He payed the driver and climbed out and looked around. Everything was so different then the parts Hunter and the others lived in. The roads were full of potholes and many of the buildings were about ready to collapse. He made his way to the building where people stopped and looked at him.
"It's Roctiv." Some began to whisper. Dustin just looked at him weird. More people began to whisper as he passed the arena. He quickly picked up his pace, more confused then ever. He stopped at an extremely old building and looked up at it in awe. His breathing beginning to get more heavy and he started to feel more nervous. He walked in and up the old steps and towards his room. Pausing for a second, he placed his hand on the door and closed his eyes. Turning the nob, he noticed it was locked. Sighing, he backed away and looked to double check it if it was his apartment room. After reconfirming it, he kicked the door hard open and bursted in.
A smell started to tingle as he looked around. Old Christmas wrappings were laying around everywhere. Needles were all on the table and the sheets of the bed were half off. Old food was rotting and the Motocross helmet had lost some of it's color. He didn't know what any of these things where due to his lost memory but Tori had mentioned the helmet that was given to him during that Christmas long ago. That must have been it.
"What is this." He whispered to himself. Shocked and scared. He stopped to look at the needles. The bags of heroine and empty bottles of liquor. He moved to the crack mirror and noticed a note laying on it. He picked it up and read it.
"I have looked in the mirror a thousand times, and in those thousand times I can longer see myself. I see sorrow and I see pain. But every time I look at the reflection of what I despise most, I hope that I would see something good from it. That the mirror image would show what I have missed. Maybe I am missing a piece in the puzzle, that I can only find if I look deep down within myself. And everyday I begin to wonder if life was every worth continuing. Maybe some day I will learn. Losing my father. Losing my mother. Losing everyone is just so goddamn hard but this Christmas, I have learned something. That maybe everything will be okay. I don't know anymore. I don't anything anymore. This is my life.. And I've come to terms and have accepted it."
Unaware that this was the speech that Tori had written at his Funeral, he dropped it to the floor and backed away. He knew it was his writing but he didn't understand what it was meant by it. They said his mother was in Europe. There no was no mentioning of his father. He turned and moved to the bed, opening drawers after drawers to find any more clues of his life. He tossed everything out. Clothes and all. He then found another letter tucked away in a corner. He pulled out and unwrapped it, reading it closely.
This is just a reminder. I don't want to forget. This is so I can never forget. This is just a journal of each day of my life so I wont let go of the past.
He lowered the note and noticed a small leather-bound notebook. He pulled it out and flipped through the pages. Everything was filled. Majority of his life starting from the day he got hooked on Heroine. An entry of how he shot Tori. An entry of his father dead. Shooting Hunter. Losing everything. Faking his own death. Everything was there. He dropped the book and began to back away. Shane walked up the steps and inside, seeing Dustin.
"Dustin.." He trailed off.
Dustin closed his eyes. He looked over at him, "What is this?" He whispered.
"Dustin. We were going to tell you."
"You lied to me?" His voice shook from confusion and hurt, "You tried to keep all of this away? Fill me with lies?"
"They weren't lies." He explained, "The things we told you were things you did before all this happened."
"I-I-I killed your parents." He quivered, "It was all my fault."
"It was not your fault." he stammered, walking a bit closer. "You had no control in that jerk that came and shot them. He shot you. Do you remember?"
Dustin ran his hands through his hair. He was beginning to freak out. Too many thoughts were running in his head. He was so confused. So scared. He just looked around at the needles and liquor. At everything.
"I don't know. I don't remember anything." He closed his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. A few unknown memories begin to come back and he snapped out of it. He was breathing heavily, falling to his knees. "I don't know what's real anymore."
Shane walked over and bent down, "Dude. It's okay man. Hang in there."
He pushed Shane away and stood up. Furious. "You told me my parents were alive. How long were you going to keep this away from me?"
"Dustin.."
"How long, Shane? You said you were my best friends. Is that how we treated each other? We lie?"
Dustin picked up the notebook and tried to bolt out. Shane blocked the door way and tried to hold him back. "Let me explain. Don't run off again."
Dustin moved away and noticed the window. At this point, he didn't care. They were high up, he rather kill himself then do anything else. He ran to the window and smashed through it. The glass shattered and Shane screamed at the top of his lungs. He ran to the window, and watched as Dustin fell towards the ground. Out of a quick reflex, Dustin flipped and landed on his feet, looking around. He looked at his hands and trying to figure out how he could that.
"How did I do that?" He whispered.
"Dustin!" Shane shouted.
Dustin looked up before running off.
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