STILL YOU-(PART 8) THE NIGHT WE FORGOT

Lauretta stared at the message. And I think that's the part your mother never told you. For several seconds, she didn't move. Then she typed. Lauretta: What happened that night? The typing bubble appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. Then: Elias: Come over. She frowned. Lauretta: That's not an answer. Elias: I know. A pause. Elias: But this is something I need to tell you in person. Lauretta looked at the photograph still lying on her bed. The little girl. The lake. The boy beside her. Her fingers tightened around the edge. She typed one word. Lauretta: Fine. Elias arrived twenty-five minutes later. Lauretta opened the door before he could knock. He looked at her. She looked at him. Neither smiled. "Come in." He did. She walked to the living room and placed the photograph on the table. "I want the truth." Elias nodded. "I know." "No more 'I wasn't sure.'" He nodded again. "No more 'I'll tell you soon.'" "I won't." "And if there's something you don't know, say you don't know." "I will." Lauretta folded her arms. "Good." Elias sat down. For a moment, he simply stared at the photograph. "I remember that day differently now." Lauretta sat opposite him. "What changed?" "You." She frowned. "What about me?" "You started remembering." He looked at her. "And when you started remembering, I remembered things I'd forgotten too." She waited. Elias took a breath. "The photograph was taken three days before you left." "I know." "You and I had been spending time together." She smiled faintly. "I was ten." "You were very bossy." Her eyebrows lifted. "Excuse me?" "You wouldn't let me choose what we played." Despite herself, she laughed. "That sounds like me." "It was." For a moment, the tension eased. Then Elias looked down. "On the last day, you were supposed to leave." Lauretta's smile disappeared. "You said that." "Your family was packing." "And I was with you?" "Most of the afternoon." "What happened?" "You wanted to go to the lake." "I thought my mother didn't want us there." "She didn't." "Then why did we go?" Elias looked at her. "You didn't go alone." Lauretta waited. "You went with the other girl." Her heart tightened. "The girl from the photograph?" "No." She frowned. "Then who?" "I don't know." "You don't know her name?" "I was fourteen, Lauretta. I didn't know everyone who visited the property." "Was she with my family?" "I think so." "Think?" "I remember seeing her before." He paused. "But I don't remember anyone introducing us." Lauretta looked at the photograph again. "So she was there." "Yes." "And my mother knew." "I think she did." "Why would she hide that?" Elias leaned back. "That's what I don't understand." Silence. Lauretta looked at him. "Tell me what you remember." He was quiet for a moment. Then: "I remember you arguing with the girl." "About what?" "I don't know." "Try." "I remember you saying something." "What?" He looked at her. "You said, 'You promised.'" Lauretta's expression changed. "I said that?" "Yes." "To her?" "I think so." She closed her eyes. Nothing. Just darkness. Then a faint image. Two girls. One crying. The other holding something. A silver glint. She opened her eyes. "The necklace." Elias nodded. "You were holding it." "Why?" "I don't know." He reached into his jacket. Lauretta looked at him. He pulled out a small envelope. "I found this in the old photograph box." He placed it on the table. Lauretta stared at it. Her name wasn't written on it. Neither was his. Only a date. Twenty years ago. She opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper. Three lines. Don't let her take it. She'll come back for it. And when she does, remember me. Lauretta looked up. "Who wrote this?" "I don't know." "You said you found it in your father's things." "Yes." "Then your father knew." "I think so." She sat back. "So everyone knew something except me." Elias didn't answer. Because there wasn't really anything he could say. Lauretta looked down at the note again. "Who was 'her'?" "I don't know." "Then what do we actually know?" Elias was quiet. "You were at the lake." "Yes." "There was another girl." "Yes." "You were both arguing." "Yes." "You had the necklace." "Yes." "And then?" His expression changed. "Then you fell." Lauretta's breathing slowed. "Into the lake." "Yes." "And the other girl?" "I saw her jump in after you." Lauretta looked at him. "She tried to save me?" "I think so." "You said I wasn't alone." "You weren't." "What happened next?" "I ran to the water." "You saved me." "Yes." "And her?" Elias looked down. "I couldn't reach her." Lauretta's heart sank. "You couldn't?" "Someone else pulled her out." "Who?" "I don't know." She stared at him. "How can you not know?" "It was dark. Everyone was shouting." "And then?" "You were unconscious." He paused. "Your mother came running." Lauretta swallowed. "What did she do?" "She took you away." "And the girl?" "She was alive." Lauretta froze. "You're sure?" "I saw her." "Then why didn't she come with us?" "I don't know." "Why didn't anyone tell me?" "I don't know." Lauretta stood. She began pacing. "There's too much I don't know." "I know." "My mother told me to forget you." "Yes." "She knew about the girl." "I think so." "And you?" "I was fourteen." He looked at her. "I didn't understand what was happening." Lauretta stopped. "But you remembered." "Pieces." "For twenty years." "Pieces." She looked at him. "Why didn't you look for me?" His expression softened. "I did." Her face changed. "What?" "I looked for you." "When?" "After I left the lake." She stared. "I asked my father about you." "And?" "He told me your family had moved." "That's all?" "I believed him." "Until?" "Until I saw you at the wedding." Lauretta looked away. "So when you said I'd seen you before..." "I wasn't talking about another adult." She nodded slowly. "I was ten." "Yes." "And you were fourteen." "Yes." She looked at him. "Do you know what's strange?" "What?" "I've spent the last few days trying to figure out why you felt familiar." She smiled sadly. "Now I know." He looked at her. "So do I." The room went quiet. Then Lauretta asked the question she'd been avoiding. "Why did my mother want me to forget you?" Elias didn't answer. "Elias." "I don't know." She stared at him. "You're telling me you know everything except the one thing that matters?" "No." He stood. "I know what I think." "What?" "I think your mother was afraid." "Of you?" "No." He looked at the photograph. "Of what happened that day." Lauretta went to her mother's house alone. She didn't tell Elias. She needed one conversation that belonged only to her. Her mother opened the door. The moment she saw Lauretta's face, she knew. "You remembered something." "Enough." Her mother stepped aside. Lauretta walked in. "Who was the girl?" Her mother went still. "What girl?" "Please don't do that." Her mother's eyes dropped. "You remember." "Not enough." A long silence. Then her mother sat down. "Her name was Lara." Lauretta felt something shift inside her. "Lara." Her mother nodded. "Who was she?" "Someone you knew." "That's not an answer." Her mother looked at her. "She was your father's daughter." Lauretta stared. "My sister?" "Half-sister." She sat down slowly. "Why didn't I know?" "Your father didn't want you to." "Why?" "He thought it would confuse you." Lauretta laughed softly. "I was ten. You think knowing I had a sister would have confused me more than forgetting she existed?" Her mother looked down. "I know." "Did she come to the lake with us?" "Yes." "Was she the girl?" Her mother nodded. Lauretta closed her eyes. A face. A laugh. A silver necklace. A promise. Fragments began fitting together. "Lara gave me the necklace." Her mother looked up. "Yes." "Why?" "Because you were fighting." "About what?" Her mother hesitated. "You had found out she was leaving." "Leaving where?" "She was being sent away." Lauretta's eyes opened. "By who?" "Your father." "Why?" "He didn't want her around anymore." "Why?" Her mother looked away. "I never understood his reasons." "But you let him." "I was afraid of him." Lauretta's anger softened for just a second. "What happened after I fell?" Her mother took a shaky breath. "Lara jumped in after you." "I know." "She saved you." Lauretta stared. "What?" "She got to you before Elias did." Her heart stopped. "She did?" "She pushed you toward the dock." "Then why does Elias remember saving me?" "Because he pulled you out." Her mother wiped her eyes. "Lara was the reason you reached the surface." Lauretta couldn't speak. "And then?" "Your father came." "What did he do?" "He took Lara away." "Where?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "He said he'd handle it." Lauretta stood. "And you let him?" "I was scared." "You keep saying that." Her mother's voice broke. "Because it's the truth." Lauretta looked at her. "Did Lara survive?" Her mother was silent. "Mother." "Yes." The word barely left her mouth. Lauretta stopped breathing. "She survived?" "I found out years later." "Where is she?" "I don't know." "Then how?" "She sent me a letter." "When?" "Three years ago." Lauretta's eyes widened. "Three years?" Her mother nodded. "She didn't want anything from me." "What did she want?" Her mother looked at her. "You." Lauretta's eyes filled. "What did you do?" "I didn't answer." "Why?" "Because I was afraid that if she came back into your life, everything would fall apart." Lauretta shook her head. "So you decided for me." Her mother cried silently. "Yes." Lauretta looked away. For years, she'd thought her mother had protected her from something terrible. Now she understood. Sometimes protection and control looked exactly the same. She turned toward the door. "Where is the letter?" Her mother looked up. "What?" "The letter Lara sent you." "I threw it away." Lauretta stopped. "Of course." Then her mother spoke. "But I remember what it said." Lauretta turned. "What?" Her mother looked at her. "She said she had forgiven you." Lauretta's eyes filled. "I didn't do anything." "I know." "Then why would she need to forgive me?" Her mother shook her head. "She said she knew you didn't choose to forget her." Silence. Then: "She said she would wait." Lauretta's voice dropped. "For what?" Her mother looked at her. "For you to remember." That night, Lauretta sat alone in her apartment. The photograph was on the table. The necklace was still missing. Her mother's confession kept replaying in her mind. Lara saved her. Lara remembered. Lara waited. And Elias— Elias had spent twenty years carrying pieces of a story that wasn't his to carry alone. Her phone buzzed. Unknown number. She stared at it. Then answered. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" A woman's voice came through. Soft. Careful. Almost familiar. "Hi, Laurie." Lauretta froze. No one called her that. Not anymore. Her eyes filled instantly. "Who is this?" A small laugh. The kind that belonged to a memory she couldn't quite reach. "You really don't remember my voice?" Lauretta couldn't speak. The woman continued. "I've waited a long time to hear you say my name." Lauretta's fingers tightened around the phone. "Lara?" Silence. Then: "Yes." Her breath caught. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Lara said quietly, "I think we have a lot to talk about." Lauretta wiped her eyes. "Where are you?" Another pause. "Somewhere you already know." "What does that mean?" "I'll send you the address." The call ended. Lauretta sat completely still. A few seconds later, a message appeared. An address. She recognized it immediately. The lake. Lake Aster. Her phone buzzed again. One final message. Come alone. Lauretta stared at the words. Then another message appeared. And bring Elias. She looked toward the photograph on the table. For twenty years, three people had carried different versions of the same memory. Tomorrow, they were finally going to sit in the same place. And for the first time, Lauretta wasn't going there to find out what she had forgotten. She was going there to find out what everyone else had remembered. She picked up her phone. Then called Elias. He answered on the first ring. "You're awake." "So are you." A pause. "What happened?" Lauretta looked at the message again. "I found her." Silence. Then, very quietly: "Lara?" "Yes." Elias exhaled. "What did she say?" Lauretta looked out at the dark city. "She wants us at Lake Aster tomorrow." He said nothing. "And Elias?" "Yes?" "She said to bring you." Another silence. This one felt different. Almost like fear. Almost like relief. Lauretta looked at the photograph one last time. "Tomorrow, we find out what really happened." And somewhere, far away from the city, beside the lake where it had all begun— someone was waiting.

Other insights from Jhaymkay🖤

Contributor Points

Points-to-Coupons

Referral Earning