Overflow (Part Five)

"Charlotte! Charlotte!"
Someone was tugging at my shoulder, and my head bounced up and down as my eyes cracked open. The deep voice quieted and was tinged with relief as my vision cleared and Braden's face materialized in front of me. I quickly glanced around and realized that I was slumped on the ground, clutching my stomach. My hands fell to my side and my eyes widened at Braden, whose face held a panicked expression. "Charlotte," he breathed, grabbing my hands. "Charlotte, what happened?"
"Braden..." I mumbled, shifting onto my feet and slowly standing up. "Something...I remembered..."
His chocolate eyes flashed with interest and he squeezed my hands, which he hadn't let go. "You remember?"
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Not everything." Braden blew out his breath. "But I do remember...we need to talk."
"Sure," he agreed, glancing over his shoulder to where my parents and Ms. Travis were talking, oblivious of my sudden collapse. "To the beach?"
"Right."
I scooped up my light blue beach bag and we casually headed towards the lake. Suddenly the theme song from the TV show "The Office" rang from the bag and I quickly ransacked it, searching for my phone. My hand closed around it and I peered at the caller ID flashing on the screen. "Madi," I breathed, then flipped the phone open.
"Madi?"
"Charlotte! Hey, you called! I've been waiting to hear from you forever! You haven't called back in two weeks since you left for Pennsylvania. What's up?" her voice replied from the speaker, her words coming out so fast that I could barely tell one from the next.
"Hey, slow down," I answered, smiling. "I've been better lately. You know, since...that day." A short silence followed and I tried to gather my thoughts before blurting, "That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. I...well, I'm starting to remember."
"Really? Hey, that's great!" Madi cautiously responded.
"Yeah. Well, all I remember is up to the point where we ran over to lifeguard chair by the pool, and the boy that was on the ground looked a lot like my brother...but he wasn't. Do you remember that?" I breathlessly asked, clenching my hands into fists.
"Yes...,"
"What happened after that?"
My stomach twisted as a long moment of silence from my friend prolonged my tension.
"Char," Madi protested. "You know I'm not supposed to tell you anything. You're the only one who witnessed Jeff's...death...and I'm not supposed to interfere with your memory. I might make you think you remember something that you actually don't, and-,"
"I know," I cut in. "But can't you just tell me something? Something to spark my memory? You don't have to tell me specific details, just something that happened after I realized the guy wasn't Jeff. Please, Madi, for me."
She hesitated. "Okay. But only one thing."
"Thank you!"
Madi drew in a breath. "You walked away. I don't know where you went, but as soon as you realized he wasn't Jeff, you ran out...you just ran away."
"I ran away," I slowly repeated, disappointment flooding me. "Well, okay. You can't tell me which direction I ran? Or if I was still in the pool area?"
"No," she firmly replied. "Okay, Char, I'll talk to you later. Call me when you have everything sorted out."
"I will," I promised.

The waves crashed one by one upon the sandy shore, soothing my tense nerves. I leaned back into my towel and stared up into the endless, clear blue sky. Something about this day was disconcerting. Maybe it was the perfect weather, or the water that resembled the pool's...or the fact that I was here with a person who made my stomach jump every time I glanced at him.
"Hey," Braden softly said as he dropped onto his towel placed beside mine. I quickly transferred my weight onto my elbows and grinned up at him. He handed me my chocolate ice cream cone and then arranged himself comfortably before biting into his own strawberry cone.
I licked the sweet ice cream, savoring the treat in the longest way possible, since I knew as soon as my cone disappeared Braden would want to know everything. Regretfully, the ice cream only lasted about five minutes and soon I heard, "So, Lot, what do you remember up to now?"
Sighing, I shifted to face him and then quickly explained what I could exactly remember, and then carefully watched his reaction. He nodded and said, "Okay. So you're a lot better off than when you came here. Why do you think that is?"
I shrugged. "I really don't know. I've tried to figure it out. All I can come up with..." I blushed and glanced away towards the shimmering lake.
"What?"
"Well, ever since I saw you...something about you makes me remember. I'm not sure what."
Silence.
"Okay, well, that might be it," he acknowledged. "Or something else..."
"Yeah," I admitted. "It was just a guess."
We stared out over the shimmering lake, absorbed with our thoughts. Braden sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "It could be..." he started, then shook his head.
"What?"
He glanced over at me. "Well, it could be partly your idea. But it could also be that this place, our campsite, is full of memories of Jeff, you know? I mean, that overlook? Jeff was the one that showed it to me." His voice quieted and he shifted his focus to the ground, his fingers slowly sifting through the sand beside his towel. "I laughed at him for being so into it, for being so amazed at a stupid sunset...but when I went back there with you, I found he was right. It is amazing." He laughed under his breath, embarrassed. "I don't know...maybe I'm wrong."
My eyes traveled over his downturned face, mulling over his words. "No," I whispered. "You're right."

Darkness immersed the overlook, leaving the faintly glimmering stars to illuminate the scenery around Braden and me. I closed my eyes, leaning back into the hard, uncomfortable bench, and pictured every aspect of the local pool. A vivid image popped into my mind, and slowly I recounted for what seemed the millionth time scene after scene that had occurred that day, the pictures flashing before me almost like a movie. Right when the boy flipped over and revealed his face, the image once again dissolved into black. Groaning in frustration, I rubbed my temples, twisting my forehead in concentration...but the image once again vanished after the boy's face appeared.
"I give up," I sighed, slumping against the wooden frame. "I just can't do it. I can't remember anything."
"It'll come back. I'm positive." Braden's hand landed reassuringly on my shoulder and my eyes popped open, fleetingly glancing over to him. A shiver ran up my spine and I awkwardly shifted, ignoring my rapidly thumping heart. The movement caused him to automatically drop his hand back to his side and he suddenly coughed, slightly shaking the bench.
"I just wish I knew exactly what triggered it. It's all so random. The last time it was my towel and all the times before it was just being here with all the memories of Jeff," I slowly mused aloud, filtering my thoughts.
"Would a picture of Jeff help?" he asked.
I shook my head, rolling my eyes. "The police won't let me see any pictures of Jeff, people at the scene that day, and definitely not any of the suspects. They said in order to make a legal accusation in court, my memory has to be untainted."
"Right."
As a light breeze streamed past us, I automatically shivered and crossed my arms, wishing for a warm blanket. Instead, Braden's arm draped around my shoulders and he comfortingly squeezed me towards him, laughing under his breath. A corner of my mouth turned upwards and I leaned into him, absorbing his strength.
He pulled out his iPod from his pocket, glanced at the screen, and lowly mumbled under his breath. "It's almost midnight. We should probably head back."
I mumbled a faint protest, burrowing my head deeper into his shoulder. He snickered and rearranged himself on the bench, inclining himself towards me. Faintly I observed the regular chirping of the crickets fading and the landscape around me faded as my heavy eyelids drooped and eventually closed.

Squinting my eyes, I peered into the distance and tried to eliminate the darkness swarming ahead of me. Cautiously I ventured forward, one step at a time, with each stride revealing a little more of the area around me. A rock skittered past my feet, and I fearfully halted, chills running up and down my spine. Breathing in deeply, I resumed tiptoeing ahead and tried convincing myself to ignore every feeling except movement. The darkness loomed in front of me, and suddenly my ears caught faint whispers coming from some distance away. Quickening my pace, the whispers grew into a murmur, which soon divided into comprehensive words and phrases.
Idiot...supposed to know...kid...no way in hell...identify...
The jumbled words made absolutely no sense, and as I grew closer, my confusion mounted. Trepidation welled in my chest, and suddenly I froze.
All at once, a hand grabbed my shoulder, a gunshot rang out, and I woke up with a loud scream.

My eyes flew open only to stare into a world of shadows. The complete darkness caused my heart to nearly explode and my stomach jumped, disconcerting me. My breath came out in short, sharp pants, and slowly the darkness lightened. The fear roaring in my ears dimmed and a voice slowly replaced it.
Charlotte!...Charlotte!!...Charlotte, wake up...It's me.
For the second time that day (or as I suspected, the past two days), Braden's face appeared in front of mine, his features twisted into an expression of intense concern. I realized that nearly my entire body was pressing into his side, and as my pants decelerated to a steady breathing, I extracted myself from him and, embarrassed, turned away.
"Charlotte, what happened?"
"Nothing," I mumbled, tears welling up in my eyes. Furious with myself, I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my face into my hands.
"Why'd you scream?"
I didn't answer, rocking back and forth on the bench. For the first time, I realized that it was steadily drizzling, and as the cold rains slithered down my arms, I shuddered and huddled in a ball on the bench, angling myself away from Braden. "It was just a dream," I muttered under my breath. "A stupid, stupid dream."
"Char," Braden gently said. "Char, you have to tell me what's going on."
Hastily I wiped away the last of my tears and shakily laughed, filled with an inexplicable feeling. "It was just a dream."
"What was it about?"
In a low voice I disclosed the vivid scene, hoping that when after he explained it to me it would all make sense. Without him, I felt as if the world wouldn't make sense, and wondered at how I had survived in his absence. His reason and assurance melted away my confusion and frustration time and time again, and this time, I was positive he would succeed again.
Silence followed my short remembrance, and after a long moment Braden cleared his throat. My eyes hopefully searched his for a remote sign of hope.
He opened his mouth. "Maybe the dream is where you went."