"I miss you."

-Maddie-

𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙮

"It's okay, I won't force you." He mutters, as he inches closer to my face. I stopped breathing for a moment, taken aback from the close distance between us. "Are you sure you are okay with this?" He asks, his eyes locking with mine. I nod, squeezing my eyes shut.

His warm breath fans my face as he draws closer.

"There." He smiles, pressing the ice pack on my bruising forehead. I wince slightly at the contact of the cold against my skin, causing me to shiver. The bruise was starting to feel numb. We heard amused chuckles coming from the other side of the room. "You guys are pretty extra for people who are simply trying to treat a bruise." Ren's brother leans on the doorframe, crossing his hands. "Its like I am watching a romantic movie."

I choked on air.

Ren's face immediately morphs into a look of utter embarrassment. His eyes frantically scanned his brother as he tries to fumble for the right words. "It isn't what you think it is." He says in a rushed tone. Ren's brother sends him a knowing look, slightly raising his eyebrows in disbelief. He looks at me then to his brother. "Uhuh." He hums, obviously not believing Ren, slightly wiggling his eyebrows at the flustered male.

"Wait—" "Whatever, I'm just gonna head out for work. See you soon." The man sends me a teasing grin then leaves. My eyes travelled to the flustered boy who was letting out a sigh, looking away from me as he presses on the ice pack.

"I wanna apologize on my brother's behalf. He could be like that sometimes." He mutters, still flustered as his bangs covering his eyes, seemingly preventing him from anymore embarrassment. I could see his ears going red and his cheeks were now tinted with a hint of pink.

He clears his throat as he stands up. Walking over to the desk next to his bed, he awkwardly checks the list of instructions that his brother made. He ticks the first three boxes and scans over the rest. When he catches me staring, he rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm not really good at these stuff. I'm just lucky I have a brother how knows how to deal with these." He mutters sheepishly. "I'll get some water. You must be thirsty."

I felt my smile drop as I look down, ashamed. I got so pissy at him for no valid reason yet he treats me so well. Despite knowing that he has been in an accident, the reason why he lost some memories, I still so foolishly blamed him. I blamed him for forgetting about me.

Pathetic, aren't I?

As these despondent thoughts raced through my head, only one question lingers longer than the rest. Why?

"Why are you doing this?" I ask out loud, digging my fingers into the palm of my hand. He stops walking, turning around to face me. His cheeks were still tinted a bit of pink, brown eyes locking into my own. "What do you mean?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I lower my gaze as I felt guilt rise in my chest. A heavy feeling rests itself upon my shoulders. "Why are you helping me even though I've done you wrong?" I ask, my tone a tad bit softer.

"Do I have a reason not to?" He asks, plopping down next to me. He sends me a genuine smile. He averts his gaze, chuckling lightly. "Besides..." He mutters quietly. "I still need to win you back, don't I?" My heart skips a beat at his sentence. I look over to Ren, who was now hunched over covering his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry Madilyn. If only I could rewind time and go back to when I was supposed to leave...."

At that moment, I felt my heart sink to my stomach. It made me realize that he was truly genuine. Whenever he'd send me flowers, there would always be a small card buried in there containing small messages and at times, cheesy pick up lines. There were some times wherein he'd make me a lunch set of my favorite food. My eyes lands on his hands which had some scars littered here and there. It was probably from cutting the veggies or fruits that were in the lunch set.

I stand up and crouched in front of him, moving his hands away from his face. He stares at me in surprise. "What are you doing?" He continues to stare at me. "I'm sorry..." I murmur softly, averting my gaze to the ground. "I blamed you for no apparent reason."

"I know I acted quite foolish. Immature, if I may say. I know that I've been acting on such absurd reasons lately mostly all are unreasonable and dumb so it...it'll be fine if you place the blame on me. Just please don't blame yourself. You have done nothing wrong."

I look up and was met with Ren's eyes baring into my own. "So Ren, please—" My words get cut off as he pulls me in for a hug. His grip gets tighter as he lets out a small laugh, his chest sending vibrating against my own as he laughs. I sat still, not moving. "Thank goodness it was just that. I thought you hated me." I can feel his smile as he said these words.

I felt the weight on my shoulders lighten. Knowing that we both will be okay, knowing that we both showed and let out what we've held in for so long, I felt at ease. It seemed like half my problems somehow vanished at that moment.

Suddenly, his body turns stiff, as if it has just dawned on him that he actually hugged me. He lets go and coughs awkwardly. "Sorry if I invaded your personal space." He mutters, running his hand through his hair. He looks at me, expecting me to get angry. Instead, I let out a small laugh, my cheeks gradually turning warmer. I look away in embarrassment.

Unconsciously, my lips crack into a smile.

"It's alright."

We talked for some time, catching up with one another. It's been so long since we've last talked about what was happening in each of our lives. We'd share some memories that we recall when we were still in high school. Everything mostly happy. It felt like I was taking a trip down memory lane. It only seemed like yesterday that we were young students working hard to study well and aim to get into good colleges.

It felt like it was only yesterday when we were running under the rain and not caring about a thing in the world. It felt like yesterday when we'd bicker about who'd pay for both our ice creams. It felt like yesterday when we were both young and free.

"It all just felt like yesterday." He mutters, resting his hands on the bed. I hum in agreement.

"Hey do you still remember the time when I sang for you during club period?" He asks, standing up. I smile as the scene replays itself. "Yeah, I do." I say. It was only the two of us in the room for the others went out to watch the senior's basketball match. We had some snacks since we were going to practice for a bit longer than usual. I snap back to the present when Ren sits next to me once more.

He sends me a smile as he held unto the guitar. "This time, you sing and I'll play." He says, his eyes twinkling. "No, I can't sing." I murmur, tracing lines on the sheets, drawing small shapes and patterns. "At least once?" He asks. Our eyes lock for a moment, just me plainly staring at him and him doing the same thing. I clear my throat, cheeks burning up because if how long the stare was. "Fine, just once okay?" I gave in. He smiles widely before he looks at the guitar. After adjusting it, he starts to play.

Wise men say

Only fools rush in

But I can't help

Falling in love with you

At the corner of my eye, I could see Ren looking at me. His lips were curved up into a smile as he heard me sing. To be honest, I feel scared because I wasn't really used to singing but Ren being here somehow calms me. I didn't feel afraid. I turn to face him, starting to smile as well.

Shall I stay?

Would it be a sin?

If I can't help

Falling in love with

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