Memories (2)

The quite apartment of Ryan, there were a soft melody of song coming from the computer in his room.

Ryan was in kitchen preparing a small snack so he could eat it while watching his favourite shows, As Ryan prepared his snack, the soft melody from his computer created a soothing backdrop. He arranged some chips and a sandwich on a plate, making sure everything was set for a relaxing evening.

The aroma of the sandwich—freshly toasted with melted cheese—filled the kitchen. Ryan grabbed the plate and headed back to his room, he paused the music and turn on the show that he was going to watch.

Then only he noticed the mountain of messages on his phone, it was all from Johan.

Ryan was uninterested in even reading the messages that Johan send him, "I should have blocked his number".

Then the last message caught his attention and he started to read it:

"Ryan! Let me remind you the thing you caused that enabled me from having a normal life"

Following by that there was an image, he clicked on the image to download it, he already knew what might be image was but still he pressed it.

There were two images, one was an image of a leg and the another one was an image of an arm, both of them had stitch marks on it.

Ryan stared at the images, his breath catching in his throat. The stitched scars on the leg and arm brought back memories he had long buried. His hand tightened around his phone as a wave of guilt and frustration hit him. He knew exactly what Johan was referring to—the incident that changed both of their lives back in high school.

Ryan dialled the number of Tyler, the phone started to ring on the other end.

Tyler picked up on the second ring, his voice lighthearted as usual. "Hey, Ryan. What's up?"

Ryan hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to even start. The images from Johan's message were still seared into his mind, stirring up emotions he had tried to suppress for years. His voice was shaky when he finally spoke.

"Tyler, I just got a message from Johan," Ryan said, struggling to keep calm. "He... He sent me pictures of his scars. You remember, right? That accident back in high school."

The line went quiet for a few seconds, and Ryan could almost hear Tyler processing the situation. "Yeah, man," Tyler replied, his voice more serious now. "I remember. But that wasn't your fault, Ryan. You know that, right?"

Ryan slumped down onto his bed, running a hand through his hair. "But he keeps blaming me. Every time I think I'm moving past it, he drags me back. I don't know what to do. I don't even want to look at my phone right now."

Tyler sighed on the other end of the line. "Johan's still hung up on it, clearly. But listen, you can't let him keep controlling how you feel. What happened was an accident. You didn't do anything wrong."

Ryan remained silent, staring at the ceiling as memories of that day replayed in his head. The shouting, the panic, the aftermath—it all felt like it had just happened yesterday. He had carried the weight of that incident for so long, even though deep down, he knew Tyler was right.

"Maybe you should block him, Ryan," Tyler suggested, breaking the silence.

"No I can't do that, then he will become more and more frustrated I don't know what will he do next, I think the only way for him to quite is me attending the reunion." Ryan said that while his voice cracking.

Tyler let out a long breath on the other end of the line. "Ryan... are you sure about that? I mean, going to the reunion might just stir things up even more. Johan clearly hasn't moved on, and being around him could bring back all that tension. You really think it'll help?"

Ryan's grip tightened around the phone. "I don't know, Tyler. I've been avoiding it for years. Every time I refuse to go, Johan sends these messages. I feel like I owe it to him—like maybe if I show up, face him, he'll finally stop blaming me. Maybe he just needs closure, or... I don't know, something."

Tyler paused for a moment, his voice laced with concern when he finally spoke. "Look, I get that you feel guilty, but if Johan hasn't dealt with his anger by now, showing up might not magically fix things. What if it just gets worse? You don't have to do this to yourself."

Ryan sat down on the edge of his bed, his mind torn. "I just don't want him to keep haunting me like this, Tyler. If attending this reunion gets him to stop... maybe it's worth it."

There was another long silence on the line before Tyler finally responded, his voice softer now. "If you really think it'll help, then do it, Ryan," Tyler snapped, his usual calm demeanor gone. "But don't say I didn't warn you. Johan's been dragging you through the mud for years. He's not going to stop because you show up to some stupid reunion. You think he's looking for closure? He wants someone to bully, and that someone is you."

After saying that much Tyler ended the call, when Ryan called back his phone was switched off.

He tossed his phone onto the bed, the frustration boiling over. He knew Tyler was right but if he didn't attend the reunion only god knows what would Johan do next.

He take his phone and send to Johan a message, "I'll come to the reunion" and silenced the notifications then put away his phone.

He quickly eat the food and then decided to sleep, it took a while for him to sleep, but when the sleep finally pulled him to its side, the disturbing days of his life played in his mind as dreams, to him it was more like a nightmare.