60- Along Came a Childish Little Man.

The furious pounding on the door continued.

"Dylan, come on man, open the door!" Caoimhín's voice echoed from the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, Quayleigh unlocked the door and opened it up, quickly stepping aside as a shorter, and slightly bulkier man pushed his way inside.

At first glance the familial relation to Dylan was apparent. Their hair was the same dark, chestnut hue, and their facial structures had the same, distinct, heavy brow, and sharp jawline.

"Dylan, seriously, where the hell have you been?" His voice several octaves deeper, rang out through the quiet space as Quayleigh closed the door.

Standing from the couch Tau crossed his arms and glared at Caoimhín, and to Quayleigh, it was clear that he wasn't impressed by his brothers loud and intrusive behavior.

"It doesn't matter where I've been because I can't remember."

"Dylan, Dyl, I'm Caoimhín. You're slightly older, better-looking brother."

"As I am aware. But that doesn't make you familiar. Please, come, have a seat. I'd offer to get you something, but I'm afraid we've not much to offer."

"I'll get the coffeemaker started. That is, if you're okay with yours being black?"

"I'm sorry, but what are you still doing here?" Caoimhín asked as he pointed towards her, his shoulders pulled up as if he were confused by her presence.

"She is here because she doesn't have to leave yet, and she will stay because I do not wish for her to go," Tau replied, his voice maintaining a smooth, calm tempo, despite the aggressive look in his eyes.

"That? That's what you've chosen over your family?"

"I haven't chosen anything, yet. But if you're any indication of what's to come, I suspect the decision won't be difficult to make."

Caoimhín's words stung like tiny needles as Quayleigh turned and made her way into the kitchen, screaming in her head how she wouldn't let him get to her, and she wouldn't let him see her get upset. 'He's just upset and lashing out,' she told herself as she clenched her fists, and listened to their conversation as she searched through the cupboards.

"What are you even saying? We are your family. It's like you're not even the same person anymore."

"Well yes. Wiping out one's memory does seem to have that effect."

"Don't give me that bullshit again, Dyl. If you lost your memory, then why'd you respond to Kyffin?"

"Quayleigh convinced me that it was the right thing to do. I'm no longer certain."

"It was the right thing to do!" Quayleigh called out as she filled the reservoir on the coffeemaker.

"And yet, here we are," Tau replied as he motioned again to the couch. "Now, we can discuss the situation if you like, but standing here is only going to serve to annoy us both."

"Fine. Let's discuss it," Caoimhín remarked as he removed his coat and made his way over to one of the couches, where he promptly sat down on the closet end. "You have been gone for almost three months, and now you turn up back here, claiming you have no memory, with this woman, who's obviously taking advantage of your situation, if what you're saying is true, and I'm supposed to just, what? Accept it? Have a cup of coffee with you and your new missus like you haven't been putting us all through absolute misery dealing with your shit?"

Tau rubbed at his chin as he sat on the couch across from him.

"Yes. I suppose I do expect too much of you," Tau replied as he lowered his hand.

"Yeah, so, this woman, who is so obviously taking advantage of everyone's situation here, would love to know if you would like a coffee? If you have a preference?" Quayleigh questioned as she motioned to the display of single use cups, designed for the coffeemaker, on the counter between them.

"I'll have one, if you don't mind. Your choice," Tau replied as he offered her a gentle smile.

"Not a problem. And you?" she motioned to Caoimhín, who ignored her, refusing to even look in her direction.

"Asshole," she sneered to herself as she searched through the cups for a medium roast.

"You know, you are being incredibly rude. She has been kind enough to ask you a question. One that requires a response."

"How do I know she hasn't bewitched you? Or isn't responsible for all of this? No, Dylan, I don't want anything from her."

"Yeah, got the message. Thanks though. Nice to know you're not going to be childishly pretending I'm invisible on top of being insulting."

"Look lady, whether you like it or not, I'm his brother! I'm his family! Whatever scam you're trying to pull, you can forget it! I'm not going to let you take advantage of him any longer. I'll let you leave without calling the cops and be grateful that I'm offering you that! Now grab your things and get out! I can take care of him from here!"

Her blood boiled in her veins as her fists tightened. "Grateful? I should be grateful? You arrogant, self-entitled, asshole! How dare you tell me what to do! This is not your house; you do not get to order me out of here like I don't matter! You presume to know my motivations for being here. You assume, I'm a greedy little bitch, just like you, but I wouldn't wipe my ass with your offer! I will not be grateful to be belittled to by the likes of you. Now grow the fuck up and stop acting like you have any idea of what is going here, you insufferable excuse for a man!"

Turning around she leaned onto the back counter, her face buried in her hands. She had been triggered by that phrase. She hated those words more than any other and had let her emotions get the better of her.

"Now, would you care to try that again or perhaps you would prefer to just leave? And do keep in mind that our hospitality has neared its end."

She heard Tau say as the coffeemaker finished its cycle.

"What have you even known her for? A month? Two?"

"Far longer. Although the details are all lost to me now, but we have only recently met for the first time," Tau answered as Quayleigh picked up his mug, and carefully brought it over to him.

"Careful, it's hotter than you're used to," she warned him as he took the mug from her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"I'll manage," she replied as she turned and went back into the kitchen.

"You want to explain how that's even possible to me?" Caoimhín questioned and she could feel his eyes watching her as she went back to looking through the various selections of coffee.

"Not really. It's quite a long story. To shorten it into something you can understand though, I was lost, and her number was the only thing on me when I was found. A kind man, whose name I did not get, called her, but in my confusion, it took a while for the two of us to finally meet. When we did, she took me in. She's given me a place to stay, food to eat, and clean cloths. She brought me back here and has helped me learn to navigate this world, much as I once did or so I assume. She treated me with compassion, before she even knew my name. I would be lost without her, and for that, I cannot abide any further outbursts towards her."

"And before you even ask, he had left his phone here, and it was dead when we found it," Quayleigh added as she waited for her coffee to finish. "It never mattered who he was. To me, he will always be Tau. That's the name he gave when he first contacted me. I was a grief support sponsor, and one of my former clients gave him my number. Even though I had separated myself from that community, I was glad that he called. He needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn't familiar with his story. It's why we use landlines, give false names, and don't meet in person. His grief was his to share when he wanted to share it, not when I decided to look it up and read the stories. Anyways, Dylan and I, we spoke for about six months before he disappeared. I thought he was doing better. The last time we spoke, he seemed to be calmer, and then he stopped calling altogether. But there was nothing I could do. Even though it made me worry for him, I didn't know who he was. All I could do was wait and hoped that he called me when or if, he needed to talk to me again."

"Then it's true? You don't remember anything at all?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't. I've had to relearn almost everything, although some things do click more than others," he replied as Quayleigh made her way over to the couch and sat down next to him, being careful not to spill her coffee.

"Then how do you know that you did this to yourself?"

"There was a ritual set up, right here around the coffee table."

"We found it three days ago, and it was a mess," she said with a grimace, the very thought of the stench of the place making her shutter.

"Took us hours to clean it up. To be honest I'm a bit surprised that we managed to get the smell out. It was something extraordinary," Tau remarked with a light chuckle.

"Can you remember what it looked like?" Caoimhín asked, directing the question towards Quayleigh.

"Most of it," she replied, taken back by his sudden willingness to speak to her.

"Good, good. That's great. Mom or Kyffin could probably fill in the rest and reverse whatever happened to you."

"I would prefer to not have it reversed, actually," Tau said as he set his mug onto the table. "I don't know who I was before this happened, and although it seems that something went wrong with the ritual, I'm not displeased with the outcome. I can gather that I was devastated and grieving. That I was in pain and deeply struggling to bear it, but all of that is gone now. I can rebuild the relationships I had, and be overjoyed with the new ones I've found," he said as he turned the looked at Quayleigh, reaching out and taking a hold of her hand. "I feared contacting anyone from the family, because I don't want to be forced into having my memories restored. I hope you can understand that."

"What I understand is that you fucked up and it got Francesca killed. And instead of taking responsibility, Father helped you cover it up and that guilt was eating you alive. So, you go and nope out by making another impulsive mistake. Damn straight I'm going to force you into fixing this, because clearly, you're being manipulated! You don't think she doesn't know what'll happen…"

"Stop! You do not want to finish that thought, Caoimhín," Tau stated as he turned and glared at him once again. "Quayleigh has been working to try and find a way to restore my memories, so that the choice is mine, if and when, I wish to recover them. But after this, knowing that I could have been anything like you, she shouldn't bother wasting her time."

"You don't mean that. You can't mean that! Dylan, come on. We're brothers. We used to do everything together. You're telling me that you don't want to remember any of that? What about the family trips? The summers with Grandma and Grandpa in Cove-Atal or the hunting with Father in fall? Or what about participating in the Katano Vog Ha'shé with mother during the winter solstice festival? Does none of that matter at all to you?"

"Of course not. I don't remember any of it. As hard as this is to comprehend, the Dylan you knew is dead and gone. I'm all that's left. I welcome the chance to get to know you again, but Quayleigh is a part of my life now. If you can't accept that, then I'm reluctant to believe that any relationship is possible going forward. Your insults towards her today will be forgiven, but I ask that you not repeat them in the future."

"You're really plan on choosing a woman over your own family?"

"I'm not choosing anything. Here is where I stand. You have been openly hostile towards her from the moment she answered the phone and for absolutely no reason. You have insulted her and accused her of taking advantage, being responsible, and manipulating me in this situation. Not to mention being outright rude to her in my own house. All are things for which you have no proof, evidence, nor reason to believe. So why? Because your pride's hurt? Is it because you weren't the one to rescue me? Because I didn't turn to you in my hour of confusion? Or is it because you are nothing but a shallow little man who's incapable of seeing the measure of her beauty?"

"What? No! Her looks have nothing to do with it! I just know you! I know that you got this stupid idea in your head from somewhere, you disappear for months and now your back with some stranger acting entirely different! I know that loosing Francesca was devastating on you, but this isn't the answer. Jumping into bed with the first woman who's nice to you, isn't going to change what you did. This doesn't make it right!"

"Caoimhín," Quayleigh interjected.

"What?"

"What was it that Dylan did, exactly? What really happened the day that Francesca died?"