Faded Memories

I’ll be honest. Ever since the day I met the guys, I’ve been spending a lot of time with them rather than with Daniel. Don’t get me wrong, I love them both but the guys were more…fun. I guess you could say Daniel and I were slowly growing apart. So the day he called me to ask me about our date tomorrow, well…you guessed it. I forgot.

“So are you excited about tomorrow?” I heard him ask me through the phone.

I flipped over from my back to my stomach on my bed and hesitated. What was so exciting about tomorrow? “Tomorrow?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice that I forgot.

“Remember, our date?” He said. I thought for a moment. I got up and looked at my calendar. The day was circled several times and in big, capital letters it read “CAMERON’S BIRTHDAY!” and just below it in small letters it read “date w/ Daniel”. Shit. How did I not realize this?

“Right…our date.” I said in a soft voice. “Do–do you think we could possibly move it?” I asked. There was no way I was going to blow off Cameron's birthday. Birthdays are obviously more important than dates. But, of course, Daniel didn’t think of it that way.

“But I made reservations last month. Do you know how hard it is to get reservations?” His voice slightly began to rise. I paced back and forth, hoping he’d change his mind.

“I know, but it’s also Cameron’s birthday and I really don’t want to blow him off.” I tried to tell him in calm, soothing voice.

“Listen, I know Cameron’s one of your good friends and all but I’m your boyfriend. Can’t you just celebrate the day after?” Did he really just pull that card? My blood was bubbling.

“Daniel, are you serious? I can’t blow Cameron off just for our date. Plus, the guys have a photoshoot and interview that day so there’s no way they’ll have time to celebrate.” I could tell that things weren’t going to turn out so well.

“Yes, I’m being serious.” His voice was rising and so was his anger. “You’re seriously choosing to spend a day with your friend over me? You know what? Fine. I’ll just cancel our reservations. Have fun with your friends.” And just like that, he hung up. I sat down against my bedroom wall and pressed the end call button on my phone. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. It was the first time Daniel and I had ever fought, let alone hear him get angry at me. I hated fighting with people. I just don’t like raising my voice or having people raise their voice at me.

I went downstairs and entered the kitchen where my sister, Autumn, was cooking. Without even looking up, my sister immediately knew something was wrong.

“What’s on your mind?” She said, her eyes glued to the cutting board.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “Daniel and I got into a fight.” I sat down in front of her by the island.

She lifted her head up and looked at me, her eyes showed that she was worried. “About what?” She placed the knife on the island and leaned on the island with her hands.

“Our date for tomorrow. We were supposed to go out, but I told him I couldn’t because it was Cameron’s birthday.” I looked at her as she bit her bottom lip. “He got mad at me saying that I’d rather choose Cameron over him.” I placed my hands over my face and then raised them in the air yelling, “Why? Why did this have to happen?”

Autumn looked at me looked me, unable to answer my question. I sighed, blowing my bangs off my face. I gripped onto my necklace my mom had given me. I ran my fingers over the smooth edges and pressed my fingers against the hole in the middle. It was a small silver heart and in the middle of the heart was a key hole. Originally, it had belonged to my parents. My mom had the heart and my dad had the key. As cheesy as it may sound, he was the key to her heart. When my mom gave it to me, she told me that once I do find the one, I should give him the key. Where exactly is the key now? I have no idea. I just knew that I didn’t give it to Daniel.

I could feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. When I took it out, a picture of Nathan and I popped up on the screen with his name below it. I pressed the answer button, “Hey Nate.” I supported my head with the palm of my hand.

“Hey Abby!” His voice was filled with happiness. “Michael, Zach and I wanted to know if you wanted to go out for some burritos. Cameron’s out spending time with his family so he can’t make it.”

“I’m in. I’m on my way.” And just like that, I ended the call and went to my car. As I pulled out of the driveway, my phone vibrated once more. It was a text message:

I’m sorry for getting mad at you.

He made me choose between him and Cameron and he’s sorry? The text was then followed by a phone call which I ignored. Sorry my ass.

When I got there, the guys weren’t even here. I removed my seatbelt and sunk into my seat. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes, wishing everything would just melt away. I was startled when I heard a knock on my window. I opened my eyes and saw Zach waving and smiling. Finally, I thought. My cure had come to the rescue. I got out of my car and greeted each of them followed by a hug. We went inside and ordered. Once we got our orders, we sat down and talked up a storm. Michael was the first to notice that there was something wrong.

He took a sip of his soda and gave me a worried look. “Are you okay, Abby?” He asked me in a sincere voice. Suddenly, Nathan and Zach were looking at me with the same look. All eyes were on me. Great.

“Daniel and I got into a fight.” I simply said, not exactly answering his question. They continued to ask me questions like “what was the fight about?” and “did he hurt you in any way?” I told them what happened and they all got up and gave me a hug.

“Did you tell Cam?” Zach asked me, taking a bite from his burrito.

I shook my head no and answered, “I don’t want him to think that this whole thing was his fault.”

“I think you should tell him. He’s bound to find out sooner or later. The guy can read you like a book.” Nathan told me.

“You’re right. Cam’s the only person I know who can easily figure out what upsets me and yet I haven’t even known him that long.” I looked at them as they nodded their heads and didn’t say a single word.



I sat down by the pool and dipped my feet into the water. Today had been on hell of an eventful and tiring day. I still had to add the final touches to Cameron’s present, but that was the least of my worries. I still hadn’t told Cameron about today. Speaking of Cameron…

“Hey.” I heard him say. I saw his reflection on the pool and looked up to see him standing right beside me. He rolled up his jeans, took off his shoes and dipped his feet into the pool.

“Hey.” I replied back. I swished my feet back and forth, not saying another word.

“So, Zach told me what happened to you today.” He broke the silence.

“It’s not your fault, you know. That’s the last thing I want you to think.”

“I know.” We both looked up at each other and stared for a while. “Need a hug?” He asked.

I spread my arms open and held on to him tightly. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach and my heart was beating so fast that he could probably feel it. Was I really falling for him? Nah, I can’t be. I could partially feel something that was on his chest. Could it be? No, it can’t be. As we pulled away, I shook my head of all the thoughts. It just didn’t seem possible.