Chapter 52: Chapter 52
JONEA
Owen’s expression was cold. “I’ll send her back to wherever she was before she came here! I will also erase her memories.”
“What?”
This is not the first time I have heard and seen how Daran and Owen erase the memory of someone who accidentally sees their presence or appearance. But hey, it’s Marilyn! Not other people. How can I accept all this?
When I turned around to look at Marilyn, she had disappeared without a trace. I was flabbergasted. I looked back at Owen angrily and asked for an explanation.
“You didn’t even ask for my opinion before sending Marilyn away. What if she has an accident because she was suddenly turned back onto the road while driving?”
“Nothing like that will happen,” Owen replied casually. He got up from the sofa and was about to leave me.
I can’t accept all this. I grabbed Owen’s arm and stopped him.
“Maybe this isn’t a big deal to you. In fact, I’m sure you often do the same thing. Like you did before. At first, I didn’t really care either. But... This is Marilyn. How much of her memory did you erase?”
I chuckled in annoyance. Why hadn’t I considered all the impacts of this memory erase? What if Marilyn lost all her memories of me? About our friendship so far?
Owen just stared at his arm that I was pulling. I didn’t even want to let go of his hand before he explained.
“Why are you so scared? I think that girl just found out about us today. So, I just erased her memory for this one day. But, if you’re still careless and she--”
“You said all that as if you were wiping up an annoying coffee spill on your desk. What if you also accidentally erase her precious memories? Don’t you know how important memory is? It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad memory!”
I feel like I’m talking about myself right now. No matter how bad and painful my past memories are, I still don’t want to lose even a second part. I’m sure Marilyn did, too.
How could I... Forget Aland? Just imagine I can’t do it. Right now, I only have memories of him.
“Why are you crying?” Owen asked in a slightly soft voice.
I wiped my tears with my sleeve. I don’t know why I suddenly cried.
“I did it because you seemed surprised that she was suddenly in front of the house. Do you think there is another way? Are you really going to tell her the truth that you are currently living here with two man-eating strangers? What do you think she will do when she finds out all that?”
Owen folded his arms across his chest and stood before me with an intimidating look.
“Of course, I won’t tell her all that. But we can make up stories to cover the facts, right?” I still insist and don’t accept Owen erasing Marilyn’s memory.
“What if more people knew? How far will you go to make up stories and lie to her? If that happens, I’ll have to erase even more people’s memories. I don’t want to waste my time doing annoying things like that.”
“Annoying thing?” I laughed in disgust.
Owen patted my shoulder. “Maybe while you’re busy making up stories to cover up the facts, who knows if the enemy is already thousands of steps towards here to destroy us? Focus on your goal, Jonea!”
After saying that, Owen left me alone, who was still stunned by his words. I’m flooded with facts.
Without realizing it, I clenched my fists tightly and shouted, “I know there’s no other way, and I think you’re right. But I’m still annoyed. There must be someone you love, too, right? If that someone had to lose their memory because of you, wouldn’t that upset you?”
Owen stopped in the middle of the steps. Turning over his shoulder, he said, “Not how I think. I don’t think like a human!”
Hah! I’m so fed up. I was short of breath because I held my anger in my chest. Looks like I’m the stupid one. What do I expect from devils like them? They are clearly not human!
I just left the house without bringing anything. I ran forward and hailed the first taxi I saw. I asked the taxi driver to take me to Marilyn’s house. I’m sure she still lives in her old house.
The taxi stopped in front of a vegetable and fruit shop. The building is still the same as before. I saw Marilyn’s parents’ mini truck parked in front of the shop. We have many memories of that mini truck.
Exiting the taxi, I rushed straight to the back through the shop door. A staircase at the back of the shop connects to their house on the second floor.
“Jofa?” reprimanded Marilyn’s mother, who was busy packing fruit to be sent then.
“Mrs Monroe... Nice to meet you. Is Marilyn upstairs?”
The dark-skinned woman stared at me as if she had just seen a ghost. I could understand her surprise, but I didn’t have time to make small talk with her.
She nodded and dropped the fruit knife in her hand. I kissed her cheek quickly before going to the second floor of their house. Like crazy, I ran and, without knocking on the door, immediately barged into Marilyn’s unlocked room.
“Marilyn!” I shouted in panic.
I didn’t realize I had made a mistake. I opened my eyes in shock when I saw what happened there.
“Hey, what the hell? Why didn’t you lock the door?” shouted a man who hurriedly picked up and put back on his clothes, which were scattered on the floor.
Meanwhile, Marilyn’s eyes widened in surprise and then laughed in amusement, just curled under the blanket without clothes.
Good grief! What had I done? I turned to face them and closed my eyes tightly like an idiot.
“I’m sorry, I did not mean it. I’ll go and continue with your business,” I said nervously.
I heard the man cursing while putting on his pants. Meanwhile, Marilyn just laughed. Then, the man walked past me and angrily slammed the door to Marilyn’s room.
“I’ll call you later, Tedd!” shouted Marilyn, waving her hands.
I looked at Marilyn awkwardly. “Is he angry? Should I go?”
“No, Joe. Just let Teddy go. I forbade him from coming here, but he came in secretly when my mother wasn’t there. Just let him go.”
Marilyn changed clothes and immediately hugged me.
“I’m glad you came,” she smiled sincerely at me. “I Told you. You could come to me whenever you wanted. Don’t feel guilty, okay?”
I burst into tears in Marilyn’s arms. She let go of me and looked at me, confused.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”