Page 50 of Afflicted

Lincoln laughed at me and gave me a nudge. "Why so serious Katy? You used to laugh all the time."

"I did not. You've just got summer memory. You've forgotten all the bad parts."

"Summer memory?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yeah, you know; think back on the summers you had as a kid."

"Okay, what about them?"

"Full of long, hot days playing outside?" I asked.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Do you remember it raining? Being stuck inside or missing out on something because there was a tornado warning?"

"Not particularly."

"But it rained last summer right?"

"You're losing me." Lincoln was looking at me like I'd gone mad and I sighed impatiently.

"Everyone remembers how great summers were when they were kids," I explained. "And when they get older and they notice the weather being rubbish in the summer months they say 'summers used to be so hot - since I've grown up they seem to be worse every year."

"And?"

"And every generation is the same. The truth is there has always been crappy days but kids are just better at focusing on the positive. They remember the long, hot days and forget about being stuck inside. Hence, summer memory," I finished.

"Well I wished that worked on my memories of my dad," he said.

"It won't work if there's nothing good to focus on." I glanced at the house behind us and sighed. "But maybe you can make some good memories here now. Then you might be able to come and visit your mom without dreading it."

"Maybe." Linc looked up at the dark sky and took a deep breath before standing. "I guess we should make some attempt to get some sleep tonight."

"Yeah," I agreed as I stood too. "Feel free to come for a visit to see Mom and Dad; they can't be mad at me while we have guests."

"So you just want to use me then? Like some kind of pawn in your weird family drama?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "So don't let me down." I waved to him as I headed back home.

I pulled the front door open and quickly removed my coat and shoes before hurrying back up to my room. I glanced out of my window before getting into bed and was pleased to see that he had gone inside too.

I climbed into bed and fished around amongst the covers until I located my cellphone. There were a few messages from my friends but I scrolled past them, planning on answering in the morning.

Just as I was about to put it aside, a new message flashed up on the screen from an unknown number. I quickly opened it and felt a smile spreading across my face as I read the simple two word message.

03:11 Unknown - Night Katy

I wrote a reply and deleted it three times before finally settling on keeping it simple too.

03:13 - Night Linc x

I nestled down into the covers and closed my eyes. No matter how crappy things were with my family at the moment, I knew one thing in the world had been fixed.

Chapter Fifteen

Kaitlyn

Soft knocking roused me the next morning. I mumbled something incoherent and the door opened.