„Nice house." Neil said when he and Julie stepped into the living room. They had come to Julie's house right after their talk to the park.
"Thanks." Julie said hesitantly. "Uhm, can I get you something to drink?"
"I already made you enough trouble. I'm fine thanks." Neil smiled at her gratefully.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'm glad I can help you." When she saw a pained expression flash through Neil's face, she remembered his still injured leg. "Does it hurt?" She asked, pointing at his leg.
"Only a little bit." Neil admitted.
"Why don't you lie down on the couch. I make us something to eat and in the meantime you can rest your leg."
"I can help you." Neil suggested. He didn't feel comfortable just lying around while she made them lunch.
"Yes, but than you wouldn't be able to rest your leg." Julie laughed. "Just lie down and relax. You deserve it."
Still uncomfortable Neil sat down on the couch. When Julie was sure that he would really rest his leg, she went into the kitchen.
Waiting for Julie to return, Neil looked around the room. There were family pictures all over the wall. When he couldn't identify Julie on any of them, he got up to take a closer look. And really – there was not a single picture from her in the room.
"Hey, I told you to rest, not to run around the room." Julie called when she stepped back into the living room.
"Why aren't there any pictures of you?" Neil asked her.
"What? Oh, uhm ..." She laughed nervously. "That's stupid, really. I ... I don't like pictures of me. As soon as I see a camera near me, I ran."
"I'm sure you would look nice on a photo. I mean, you look nice in person, so ..." He blushed and didn't know how he was supposed to continue.
"Thanks." Julie said, giving him a warm smile. "I made us pizza, it should be done in about 20 minutes. Here's some iced tea if you like."
"Thanks." Neil took the offered glass and took a big sip. He suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty he was.
"Feeling better?" Julie asked, smiling.
"Yeah ..." Neil replied yawning. He suddenly didn't only feel hungry and thirsty, but also very, very tired. He noticed how his eyelids fell close every once in a while and he struggled hard to stay awake. "I'm sorry. I'm just so tired ..." His voice trailed off and his hand holding the glass suddenly felt very heavy. Julie quickly took the glass out of his hand before it fell to the floor.
"It's okay. Just sleep. This day must have been pretty exhausting for you." Smiling Julie watched how Neil fell into a deep sleep within seconds.
XXXXXXX
When Neil woke again, it was already late at night. Disoriented he tried to recognize his surroundings. At first he had no idea where he was, but when his eyes had accustomed to the darkness around him, he noticed that he was lying on a couch. Then he remembered where he was – Julie's home. He must have fallen asleep.
"Shit!" He mumbled. How embarrassing was that. Julie had been so nice to invite him to her home and even prepare something to eat and he fell asleep right away. What a great way to say thanks.
"Good, you're awake." Julie smiled.
Her voice startled him as he hadn't known she was still in the room. "Oh hey, uh, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened ..." His voice trailed off. He really didn't know what had happened. He didn't even remember being tired when he came to her house. He must have been more exhausted than he thought.
"Don't worry. Do you feel any better now?"
"Yeah, I do." He lied. He didn't feel any better at all. He still didn't know what he should do. He couldn't stay here forever; Julie's parents would eventually return. And he couldn't go back home as long as he didn't know for sure if those memories about his father and Kurt were real our just his vivid imagination. Sighing he looked at Julie. He could hardly see her in the dark. "Why didn't you turn the lights on?"
"I like sitting in the dark. And I didn't want to disturb you. I figured you needed your sleep. I can turn the lights on if you like."
Neil was just about to decline that offer. If she felt better in the dark ... but when he looked around himself and could hardly see anything, he suddenly didn't feel very comfortable. "Yeah, that would be nice." He mumbled. He felt like a little child who couldn't sleep with the lights off.
He could hear Julie getting up and walk a few feet. She didn't seem to have any trouble finding her way in the dark. When the lights flashed on, his eyes hurt at first at the sudden brightness, but he got accustomed to it soon.
"Better?" She asked.
"Yeah, thanks." He smiled at her gratefully. "Why didn't you go to bed? I mean, you didn't have to wait here."
"I just didn't want to leave you alone. In case you got nightmares ... or something. Are you hungry?"
"What? Uh, no. Thanks."
"But you haven't eaten anything all day. You must be hungry."
"Well, I guess it's because I slept all day. I'm never very hungry right after I wake up." He smiled uncomfortably. Somehow Julie's behavior seemed strange to him.
"Okay."
There was an awkward silence between them and Neil thought desperately of something to say. "Aren't you tired? I'm fine here, you really can go to bed."
"I much rather stay with you." Julie replied.
Neil cleared his throat while he thought about what he should reply to that. He liked having Julie around, but right now he'd rather be alone to get a clear mind. But he couldn't tell her that. This was her house. If she wanted to stay here, he couldn't say anything against that.
Hesitantly he sat on the couch. Then he had an idea. "Why don't we switch places. You could lie down on the couch and get some sleep. I'm not tired anymore, so I'm fine with the chair."
"I'm not tired either. And you still have to rest your leg. So you keep the couch."
"Come on, you have to be tired. You've been up all night watching over me. And my leg had enough rest."
A look of uncertainty flashed over Julie's face. "Okay ... I'll try to get some sleep. But wake me if you need anything." She finally said hesitantly. Then she walked over to the couch and Neil got up to make space for her to lie down.
"Sweet dreams." He smiled at her.
"I never dream." She replied earnest.
"You just don't remember. Everyone is dreaming. You want me to turn the lights off again?"
"No, it's alright. Leave them on, I don't mind." Julie replied. Then she closed her eyes.
Neil hated to admit it, but he was glad the lights stayed on. He really was acting like a child if a little darkness was already scaring him like this. But the dark brought unpleasant memories back – he began to wonder if he had any good memories at all, as he had only remembered the bad things so far.
He was lying on the ground, hurting all over. He tried to open his eyes, but it was too much effort. He had no idea for how long he had been lying here or how he had ended up being here. He could hear someone calling for him. The voice sounded familiar but he didn't know who it belonged to. He wanted to call back, call for help, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. He could feel how he slipped back into the darkness, but only seconds before he was succumbed by it all, he got the strange feeling that he was being watched from people standing close to him.
The memory made him shudder. He remembered the feeling when he was lying in the cave, hardly conscious. His whole body had been hurting. And he remembered the feeling of being watched. Not by Kurt, who at his own account had never let him out of sight until the rescue team had arrived. But by someone – or something – else. He remembered whispered voiced around him ... What if he hadn't been alone in the cave?
He closed his eyes to shut out the memories. He couldn't think about something like this now. Not when he was still worrying about his own father trying to kill him – or not.
He looked over to Julie, watching her regular breathing. Despite her words, she must have been very tired as she seemed already to be asleep. He wished he hadn't told her to get some sleep. He really could have used someone to distract him from his returning memories. Desperate for any kind of distraction, he reached into his pocket to get his mobile. Maybe his father or Kurt had left him some messages. He had turned off the phone as he didn't want to speak with them but he could at least listened to what they had to say – if they had left a message.
When he couldn't find the mobile in his pocket, he searched all his other pockets, but he couldn't find it in any of them. He thought about where he had used it the last time. It had been in the cab where he had turned it off. Had he left it there? He was fairly certain that he had put it back in his jacket, but it wasn't there. He decided to use the Kensington's phone to at least check his mailbox. He didn't think Julie would mind. But when he picked up the receiver, he didn't get a ringing tone – the phone was dead.
XXXXXXX
In the meantime, Chuck sat frustrated in his car in front of his house. They had searched all day for Neil, but they hadn't found him. He had driven to his son's school to talk to Holly. She hadn't heard from him either and had already worried why he hadn't come to school. Chuck hadn't told her anything specific and had only asked for the twins. She had given him their number, but when he had called them, they hadn't heard anything either.
When he had ran out of places to look for his son, he had returned home, hoping that Neil might have returned. But all lights were out and the house looked empty even from the outside. Chuck let his head sink down on the wheel. Why hadn't he told Neil the truth about their past? Why couldn't he have just been honest with him? For weeks he had thought that it would be better to tell him everything, but he had always postponed it. He had waited too long. Now Neil had all those memories that he couldn't understand. He was confused and somewhere out there, still hurt by his accident. Chuck didn't even want to think about all the things that could have happened to his son. Once again he wished that Paige was still here. She would have known what to do. She would have done the right thing. She would have never scared Neil out of the house. But Paige wasn't here and Neil was now the only family he had left. He didn't know what he was supposed to do should anything happen to him. He had thought that losing Paige was the worst that could happen. Now he knew he had been wrong.
He was just about to lose all hope, when his mobile rang. Without looking at the number, he picked up. "Neil?" He called hopefully.
"No, Mr. Taggert, this is Kelsey. Uh, this might sound a bit weird, but ... Well, after you told me Neil had disappeared, I ... Well, I checked some things out and .. don't ask me why, I'm not even sure myself, but ..."
"Just spit it out, Kelsey." Chuck impatiently interrupted him.
"I checked some of our friends, on the internet. I also checked Julie Kensington. I'm not sure if Neil told you about her ..."
"He mentioned a Julie, but he didn't say much. What about her?"
"Well, she doesn't exist. At least I couldn't find a single document about her in any official files. And the only Julie Kensington that has ever been on our school is already 49 years old."
Chuck needed a moment to comprehend what Kelsey had just told him. "Do you think Neil might have gone to her?" He finally asked quietly.
"It's possible. She's the only one he knows that hasn't known him from before his accident. And if what you say is true and some strange memory has spooked him, than she might be the only one he trusts right now."
"Can you give me the address of this other Julie Kensington?" Chuck asked.
"Sure." Quickly Kelsey told him the address.
"Thanks." Without another word, Chuck hung up. Then he quickly dialed Kurt's number.
"Did you find him?" Was the first thing Kurt asked when he saw Chuck's number on his mobile's display.
"No, but I might have a lead. He met this girl in Highschool, Julie Kensington. Kelsey, one of the twins, ran a background check on her. The only Julie Kensington who ever was on Neil's school is 49 years old. So whoever that girl is, she's not Julie Kensington. And I have a bad feeling that Neil might be with her."
"You got the address?"
"Yes." Chuck gave him the address.
"Okay, I meet you there."
XXXXXXX
Hesitantly Neil looked back and forth between the phone and Julie. Something wasn't right here, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He suddenly wished he had never ran into her.
"Who do you want to call?" Julie asked him, eyes still closed.
Startled Neil looked at her. "Uh, no one. I just wanted to check my mail box. I couldn't find my mobile ... You're phone isn't working."
"I know."
A bad feeling started to spread in Neil's stomach. "I thought you were asleep."
"I told you I don't need sleep."
"You sure looked like you were sleeping."
When Julie suddenly opened her eyes, Neil was startled by the suddenly cold look in them.
"You don't need to check your mailbox. No one important is going to call you."
Neil didn't know what to reply to that. Julie's behavior seemed so strange all of the sudden. What happened to the nice girl from this morning? "Maybe I should go. I troubled you enough already."
"No! No, I don't want you to go." Her voice sounded softer at the end. "Please, I told you I want to help you. And I don't like being alone in this house."
"You don't like being alone in the house, but you don't mind sitting around in the dark?"
"Why do you keep questioning me? I'm only trying to help you." She looked at him angrily.
"I know. I'm sorry. I just ..." He closed his eyes for a moment and took some deep breaths, trying to clear his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Julie standing right in front of him. He hadn't even heard her come closer.
"I don't want you to leave." She said determinedly.
The cold look in her eyes hadn't vanished and Neil suddenly felt afraid by her. He just wanted to get out of this house as fast as he could.
"I have to leave. There are some things I have to do. You were right, I should talk to the police about my memories. Maybe ..."
"No!" Julie grabbed him at both arms and hold him tightly. "You're not leaving!"
Neil tried to get out of her grasp, but she was stronger than she looked. A lot stronger ... A stabbing pain flashed through his head and he saw images of a small woman, walking straight towards him. She didn't look very strong, but when she had reached him, she grabbed him and threw him several feet away. Then he saw her doing the same to his father. She wasn't human...
When the pain faded away, he found himself sitting on the floor, Julie kneeling beside him. "I didn't want to hurt you. Are you okay?"
Without giving her a response, he pushed her against a nearby cupboard, got up quickly and ran out of the room. He found himself in a kitchen with only one other door – leading to the cellar. He knew that Julie was right behind him, so without hesitation he opened the door and closed it quickly behind him. He thanked every god in existence when he found a key to lock the door. He could hear Julie pounding on the door, yelling for him.
"I won't hurt you. Please open the door."
Neil didn't waste any time listening to her and ran down the stairs, ignoring the pain in his leg. It was dark in the cellar, so he looked for a switch to turn on the lights. When he found it and the lights flashed on, he wished he hadn't turned it on. Right before him lay the bodies of man and a woman, probably in their late forties. And there was blood everywhere.
Neil swallowed down the bile that was starting to rise in his throat and stepped over the two dead bodies. There was nothing he could do for them anymore. From the looks of it they had been dead for days. He knew he had to find a way out of here quickly if he didn't want to end like they had.
He frantically searched the room, but there was no other exit to be seen. There was only a small window, but he would never be able to squeeze through that. His heart froze when he heart the door to the cellar burst and steps coming down the stairs.
Tbc
A.N.: Blue Eyed Dragon Girl: I never liked Holly much either ;-) Thanks to everyone for reading and please review :-)