Dream: Recurring Memory

Date: 10/21/2019

It started off with a memory. Not one of mine but a memory of the person I was seeing through. A memory of dating a high school friend of hers… only for him to kill her younger sister. A memory of locking away the ring he gave her in an old jewelry box. A memory crying over the death and the betrayal. A memory… that seemed to be missing too many facts. From there it became present day. I was seeing through a woman named Alyza Derring. I had returned to the city I grew up in. A city where, despite the hard memories, I kept in touch with my friends. A place where, despite the betrayal, I never let go of the ring given by the one who betrayed me. It had been 5 years since I last lived here. I had to fight back the wave of nostalgia as I walked up the steps of my parents old home. They always swore Lizzie's spirit had to be wandering the old home so they never let anyone buy it from them. In exchange for me moving in they told me to take care of it. Over the years they taught me all the maintenance techniques to keeping a house cared for. They wanted to make sure that I was safe in there… and that Lizzie never lost her home if she was still here. "I'm not sure if she's still here but I'm glad this home is." I whispered to myself and headed in. I rallied up my courage and walked through the doors with some of my boxes. The movers helped me get the furniture in. I bought an extra bed for the room my parents used to have, turning it into a guest room, and turned Lizzie's old room into my work space for my paintings and sketches. She used to love watching me work on my art so I thought of it as the perfect way for her to still see my art as I go. I got the art room setup myself. Making sure the movers didn't touch anything there. They set the desk and chair outside the room door for me to slide in when I was ready for them. Once in they helped me finish getting everything in the rooms and then said goodbye. I had paid them prior and they were friends of my parents so they were kind people. It wasn't long till my phone went off and I saw a message from one of my old friends. His name was Jess McCormick. He and I had done our best to keep in touch with his busy work life this past year. "So you moved back in, yet?" Was what his text read. I just shook my head and smiled, "Depends, you offering to help me unpack?" "Will pizza be involved? If so I can bring another unboxer." He teased. "I can get pizza. Who is your unlucky sacrifice?" "You'll see. We're on our way." With that message sent I went ahead and ordered a couple large cheese pizzas. I then double checked the security system and headed to get the boxes in my room unpacked. Quickly putting clothes in the dresser. Didn't need them seeing my delicates. I got my old jewelry box out and unlocked it. I felt a pang of guilt as I saw my old ring. I took it out and it slid onto my finger with ease. It was a strange sensation but I chose to keep wearing it anyway. I locked up the jewelry box and headed back to work. It was about 15 minutes later when Jess arrived. He had brought over another of our friends. Alex Matthews. She had been my confidante during high school and had recently gotten married to Jess. Seems he managed to convince her parents to watch their kid. About five minutes after they showed up, our pizza arrived. Including sodas to have something other than water to drink. We gathered around the kitchen table and ate up. "Alyza… are you really okay coming back to this house?" Alex asked me. I nodded and swallowed my bite of food. "I know Lizzie died here… but what I remember and what the police reports say… they never added up right. They never caught the killer because they swore it was some sort of heart attack… but she was only 13…" Jess listened and then asked, "How do you know she was killed?" I looked down, "It's complicated. There are holes in my memories but I vividly remember seeing a person in her room the night she died. I remember him so clearly… but no one ever believed me because there was no proof of another person… outside myself…" I wasn't going to tell them who he was. Not till I had a chance to talk to him myself. "So you came back to fill in the gaps?" Alex asked before sipping on her soda. She always got hiccups if she drank soda too fast. "Partially. I also missed this home and this town. I have a lot more good memories here than bad ones. I hope to gain more good ones over time." I answered honestly. The two of them laughed at that. We finished eating. Half a pizza now put away in my fridge for later with a single 2 liter as well. They helped me finish unpacking pretty quickly and headed out. I smiled and headed to bed. Memories fell across my mind as I slept. Some good. Some unpleasant. Then I returned to the night of Lizzie's death.  "Help me hold her down! She's gonna die if we don't stop it!" A voice commanded me. His voice. My ex boyfriend, Erik Zanders. I snapped awake to light pouring into my room. The sun was up and bright as hell. It was 7:45 in the morning. "Sheesh. I need to go take pictures anyway. It'll help with inspiration." I told myself as got up, got ready, and headed out to town. I drove out to the main market area. Parking a bit away and walking the rest. I smiled as I walked through the crowd and took pictures of the stands and people as I went. Some of them recognized me, some were surprised I came back. By the end I had gathered quite a few pictures for inspiration as well as some great groceries for my kitchen. I thanked everyone and took my groceries back to the car. Once I piled them all in I leaned back against the car to give myself a momentary rest. "Alyza?" I turned my head in the direction of the voice. A young man with shoulder length black hair was walking over. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost but did his best to collect himself. The more I looked, the more familiar he seemed. His eyes were a green like gems. He was tall but also a bit lanky. My guess was if he were an athlete it was either soccer or basketball. "You are Alyza… right?" He asked as he stopped a couple feet from me. I gulped when I realized who he was. "Jamie…?" It was Erik's cousin. The two were raised as brothers and almost inseparable when we were younger. I just nodded. I felt every fiber of my being want to run but I bit back the feeling.  Jamie pulled me into a tight hug. He seemed completely sincere in his action so I hugged him back. "I'm glad you're back. I'm sorry I stopped talking to you after you left. Erik was a mess and I wasn't sure how to help either of you." Jamie told me and let go of me. He was likely a freshman or sophomore in college by now if he'd chosen the college route. "It's ok Jamie. Alex and Jess made sure I knew what all was going on in town when I left." I told him and gave a small smile. He seemed relieved and lifted my right hand. "That's the ring Erik gave you…" I nodded, "It sounds silly since we stopped talking… but I could never get rid of it. That ring was too important… and the memories it held." "Alyza you have to help me!" Erik shouted as he pinned Lizzie's convulsing body to the floor. I blinked away the image and put my left hand to my forehead. It throbbed. I hadn't expected that during daylight hours. "Are you okay?" Jamie asked and I nodded. I fished my phone out and swapped numbers with him. He then added another number. Erik's number. "You two should talk sometime. He… he's kinda shut himself in. He works on computers and their repairs now… but he doesn't talk to anyone other than me…" Jamie told me, "Maybe he'll talk to you…" "I think it would be better if I see him in person before calling him up." I told him honestly. "That's true. Please come visit sometime." He sent me the address of where he lived before giving me another hug and heading off. I drove home and put away the groceries. I heated up the remaining pizza. I just wanted to unwind. That night I slipped back into the memories. "Alyza she's gonna die! We have to help her!" Erik's voice snapped at me as he ran over to Lizzie's side. "Hang in there Lizzie!" I heard Jamie call out in a panic. I tossed in my sleep and soon woke up. I looked around the room groggily. I decided to put on some coffee and grabbed a shower.  "What actually happened that night?" I whispered as I tried to fully wake up. The rest of the day went on in a blur. I painted some scenery based on my pictures of the local market. I sketched out a few portrait beginnings. I cleaned up the kitchen. It just seemed like night fell too fast. The next few days were the same. I even sent texts here and there to my friends and my parents to check in.  Another day came and I gathered up the courage to speak with Erik. I messaged Jamie and he let me know it was good for me to come by. I headed over and sat on the couch. He said Erik would be back soon. We chatted and caught up while we waited for Erik. It didn't take long. Erik walked in carrying a bag of snacks. "Seriously Jamie, you better not be trying to play matchmaker. I saw the other car out there--" he stopped when he saw me. Erik had definitely grown in the last five years. He was tall. There was some noticeable muscle definition to the once scrawny looking boy. His black hair was shaved on the sides and cut down to maybe 4 inches up top. But those blue eyes pierced into me when he saw me. "Alyza…" he seemed to question before looking to Jamie, "What the hell is going on here?" I shifted in my seat a bit before looking up to Erik, "Can we please talk?" Erik chewed his bottom lip and nodded. He set the snack bag down on the table and sat on the opposite side of the couch. "I assume you finally came looking for answers then." Erik started. "That was something I theorized as well." Jamie told me with a somewhat gloomy look. I nodded and looked between them, "You were both there that night, yes?" They both nodded quietly. "Then you erased signs of having been there?"  They both nodded again. "I need to know the truth then… did you… did you two really kill Lizzie?" Jamie shook his head. Erik turned his piercing gaze back on me. "I'm the one who killed her. But not in the way you remember." Erik told me. I pulled out my sketchbook and showed the image I saw in my dreams. Him pinning her arms to the ground as her body arched up in convulsions. Erik grimaced at the sight. "Yeah. You drew it correctly… but I doubt you understand it." "Then help me understand. Explain to me so I can understand why I don't believe she died of heart failure. So I can understand why I have wanted to believe you both innocent despite my dreams showing clear betrayal…" I felt my hands fidget on my lap as I looked away from Erik. "It's because some part of you remembers the truth." Jamie told me. I looked back up and Erik sighed. "That night, you were in charge of watching her while your parents went out for their anniversary. Lizzie wanted to challenge Jamie to a showdown in one of your shooter games. He had me drive him over and I stayed anyway because…" Erik trailed off. "Because we were dating at the time. I remember all of that." I stated calmly. I fidgeted with the ring now. "Yeah. Well we all gamed and snacked on popcorn. We were gonna keep it up till your parents got home but then Lizzie got sick. None of us knew what happened but she began to throw things and ran off to her room." Erik looked at the floor now. Jamie took over, "We naturally chose to follow her. She'd never acted like this before. When we got there she'd opened her window wide and looked about to climb out." He looked between us before continuing, "Erik grabbed her first. He brought her to the floor. She scratched and kicked at him. The lights in the room flickered as the room itself almost seemed to rattle." "Then you helped him keep her held down…" I added. Jamie nodded at that and Erik placed a hand on mine. I felt my nerves tighten as I closed my eyes. "Then we saw her eyes darken… and things got out of hand." I whispered. "Exactly. You had been suspicious of her behavior for a couple weeks. You had a priest even check her a couple times. He was there that night as well. He exorcised your sister… but the thing in her had taken a toll on her heart." Erik told me calmly as possible. "So the convulsions… she really had a heart attack…?" I asked him. "Yeah. At the very end of it we weren't fast enough." Jamie explained and placed a hand on my free one. I let out a long sigh and smiled weakly. What they said sounded real. I remembered some of what they said. Some of it not as much. "That's kind of a relief." I told them. Jamie smiled and stood up. "Now that we're done with all that I think I'm gonna go meet with Tony. We did have dinner plans for tonight." He grabbed his keys and headed to the door. "You two should catch up." Erik and I just watched as Jamie left. He lifted my hand up and kissed the ring.  "I did notice. I couldn't tell if you were being sentimental or cruel at the time." He told me. I gave an awkward smile and pulled back my hand. "I feel like it may have been a bit of both." (I awoke after that.)