Cause a Scene Like You're Supposed To

Katherine Murphy slipped off her shoes in the garage, pushing the wooden door that led into her home—or, they had said it was her home, at least—open. She walked in hesitantly, the soles of her bare feet stepping onto the cold kitchen tile flooring. She looked around, her eyes focusing on the yellow walls and plaid window curtains.

Katherine sighed, shaking her head, for against her and her friends’ hopes, she didn’t recall anything at all.

She couldn’t tell you that the closest bathroom was down the hallway to the left and that her bedroom was the last room down the hall once you went upstairs. She couldn’t tell you when she moved there and why she decided on the area and home that she did. She couldn’t tell you who the people were in each one of the picture frames on the kitchen counter and memories that went along with them. And that was what killed her the most. It was as if she had lost everything. It was as if se was reborn. She didn’t feel nineteen anymore—she felt more like three in how she was so fascinated with every little thing.

In a way, it felt nice.

But the nice feeling didn’t last long.

Soon, it was covered in frustration. Staring at the walls around her, Katherine pictured the faces of the people sitting in the hospital waiting room, filled with hurt. All they wanted was their friend back, she knew, and she was afraid that all she was going to do was let them down.

Katherine sighed as Christine, Kara, and Lucy followed her into her own house. None of them spoke at first as Katherine took in every detail of her living environment. She was sick of getting followed around; all she lost was her memory, not her sense of direction.

But she dealt with it. She dealt with it for complete strangers—complete strangers that just so happened to be some of her best friends.

“Katherine,” Christine said gently, causing Katherine to slowly refocus her attention on the girl standing next to her. “We’re not all here, you know.”

Katherine looked at her inquisitively, waiting for her to continue. Christine took a deep breath, seeming to be deep in thought.

“Well… there’s Jack. Jack’s the brother you never had,” she stated. “Then there’s Rian, who’s Kara’s boyfriend. There’s Zack, who has way too much muscle for his own good. And then…” she sighed, “then there’s Alex. The four of them make up the band All Time Low. They’re one of your favorites. But Alex, Alex is your boyfriend. He’s Lucy’s father.”

Katherine nodded slowly, trying to break down all the information being thrown at her into useable form, and stuff it all into her brain. “Where is he now?”

“On tour.”

“Does he know?” Katherine asked, “I mean… about me?”

Christine shook her head, knowing exactly what she meant. “No, he doesn’t. We thought it could wait; we didn’t want him to worry. He really likes you, you know.”

“If you say so…” Katherine nodded, still unsure if that was even the right thing to do. But who was she to judge? She didn’t even know where she was. She sure as hell was not in the right common sense at that point. Katherine felt a frown appear on her face, thinking of this boy.

“He really likes you, you know.”

He only liked who she was, and everyone knew it.

“What’s he like?” Katherine’s soft voice cut the silence like a knife.

“Well, um,” Christine looked at Kara cautiously, “He’s cute, he’s funny, and he always makes you laugh,” she listed, taking a pause between each adjective. “He’s a real charmer when he wants to be. He makes messes of things often, but he means well. He talks about his dick more than he should. He writes all the lyrics for his band. He’d do anything for his friends, and more importantly, you.”

Katherine felt a smile graze her lips as another question popped in her head. “Can I hear his band sometime?”

Christine nodded. “Warped Tour is coming here next week. You can hear it up close and personal.”

Katherine smiled larger at this, nodding, making her friends sigh in response.

Even without her memory, all she was was another lovesick teenager.