Page 118 of Should the Sky Fall

“Could this actually happen?” he asks when the credits roll.

Dawson takes a moment before replying. “Anterograde amnesia is real, but, realistically, I don’t think they could keep her in the dark that long. Even though it’s a small community.”

That’s what Cal was thinking too.

“And obviously, lots of stuff in there is questionable. The lying, the fact that he’s basically stalking her…”

Dawson is right. It was funny and romantic in the movie, but in reality, it would be creepy.

“I’m surprised how much effort he puts in, knowing she will forget him tomorrow,” Cal says.

Dawson’s lips purse as he thinks. “Sometimes you meet people who are worth fighting for, no matter how hard it is.”

Something about the words hits close to home. Is Dawson talking about him? About them? Or is Cal just projecting what he wants to hear?

“You think so?”

Dawson looks at him, smiling softly. “I do. The world is a shitty place. I'd like to hold onto hope that there are things that will always be worth fighting for.”

Cal likes that. He likes that a lot.

“So…” Dawson clears his throat. “Did you like it?”

“I did. Even more than the first one.” Even though neither of the two had a typical happy ending. Maybe there’s no proper happy ending after a person loses their memory.

“Who do you think had it worse?” Dawson asks. “Him, because she never remembered him and never will, or her because she would have to fight hard every day to be able to adjust to her new life?”

“Him, I think,” Cal says after a moment. “She still remembered him, in a way. Her memories were gone, but not her feelings. I kind of get that.”

“Get how?” Dawson asks, perplexed.

Cal’s not good at this. Explaining stuff. Most of the time, he doesn’t even understand his feelings. But for Dawson, he tries to put it into words.

“I don’t remember you, but… I remember loving you. I’ve felt it since I laid my eyes on you at the hospital. I wanted to hold your hand.” He was so confused back then. All those people, all the things and information they kept shoving down his throat, and none of them made sense to him. And then, he opened his eyes and there Dawson was. And everything became clear.

Dawson’s gone awfully quiet, and when Cal looks at him, he sees unshed tears in his eyes. His stomach clenches with alarm.

“Dawson?”

Dawson’s lips part, a small, barely audible sound escaping. His glistening eyes drop to Cal’s mouth for a split second before he lurches backwards and stumbles to his feet.

“The…the dough is ready,” he presses out, slowly backing away. “We should…uh, finish with the…yeah.”

Shocked by Dawson’s reaction, Cal doesn’t immediately follow him. He knows it would be better to give him some space to process…whatever just happened to him. Cal has an ugly inkling it’s his fault. It’s usually his fault when Dawson goes quiet and distant all of a sudden.

He manages to stay put for several minutes before joining him in the kitchen. Dawson’s already lined up the stuff for the pizza on the counter. And there’s a lot.

“Are we putting all that on top?” Cal asks. Talking about food will hopefully put Dawson at ease.

“Whatever you want,” Dawson says without looking at him. “We made enough dough for about four small pizzas. We can each have one, then freeze the rest.” He takes out some mushrooms and starts chopping them up.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you,” Cal says, regretting it when Dawson stiffens.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” He lets out a sharp hiss and drops the knife. “Ah, shit.” He brings up his left hand, blood trailing down his pointer finger.

“Are you okay?” Cal steps into his space.

“Yeah. It’s just a small cut.”