Liam was the first one to wake up in that apartment the next morning. Making as little noise as possible, he left the room, trying not to further disturb Evan while he was still in that state of amnesia.
"Are you leaving so early?" Kyle's voice sounded, leaning against his bedroom door.
"Yes," he yawned. "I don't want to bother you anymore, and I have things to do. School projects, homework... and all that."
"Thanks for staying with us yesterday. It was nice being the four of us together like we used to."
"You say that as if it were so long ago."
They both smiled wistfully, because just a few weeks ago, it was normal for them to get together on weekends at Kyle's apartment. While Liam and Ryan worked at the dining room table, Evan and Kyle chatted on the couches or in the kitchen, or helped the other two, even if it was just passing them more sheets of paper, since they didn't know much about the subject. Evan made coffee, and Kyle helped him make dinner. Later, the four of them would eat together while they talked and laughed like the good friends they'd become. At night, Evan and Liam would go to sleep in the guest room, cuddling to keep warm due to the golden-haired man's temperature sensitivity, while Kyle and Ryan slept in the next room. That's how it used to be until a few days ago, when Evan lost his memory and Liam abruptly decided to leave so as not to inconvenience him and let him get on with his life.
"That it's true... Is there any treatment for amnesia?"
If another health problem does not cause memory loss, then the only thing that can be treated is the symptoms. If there are still intact memories and there was no neurological damage, he may have fragments of memories to anchor him, but if those memories are gone, then there's nothing that can be done. Other than to be careful that it's not anterograde amnesia or early Alzheimer's. We just have to wait and see how he evolves with medical treatment."
"They said the same thing about Nikki, but thanks to you, she can now be with her brother outside the hospital for several days."
Liam smiled as he remembered that little girl in a teenager's body, his friend's little princess who never gave up and, on her own, never stopped looking for a way to save her sister.
"That's different. It was a great stroke of luck that a professor I know was conducting research and experimental treatments for her illness. But, honestly, I'm still a student, and there's not much I can do without a license; I only serve as an intermediary or assistant."
"You've done much more than that for little Nikki. You could revolutionize the field of medicine by finding a cure for certain types of amnesia and add that to your accomplishments as a child prodigy. You know the best doctors in the country, and they never refuse to help you."
"I don't know if that's possible," he sighed. "By the way, tell Ryan for me that I won't forgive him for his little prank last night." Kyle tilted his head in confusion. "He just gave us only one blanket and locked himself in with you before we could complain."
"Oh... so that happened…" the silver-haired boy chuckled lightly, understanding why Evan and Liam had slept in the same room even though they had stopped treating each other as a couple, with the younger boy's self-imposed limits so as not to upset the actor. "It's not like it's the first time you two shared a bed. You shouldn't get so nervous, you're both adults."
The younger boy blushed without responding, and the honey-eyed boy stifled a light laugh, remembering when his best friend had mentioned, several months ago, his suspicions of being Liam's first partner and his "first time" with practically everything related.
He still remembers that day with a laugh and smile.
"Kyle, I feel like I'm doing something wrong," Evan confided dramatically. "He's so, so innocent! I feel like he's a minor and I'm a perverted adult taking advantage."
Kyle almost spit out his coffee and choked with laughter.
"You're a cradle robber."
"That's why I feel bad!"
"But he's an adult. You're both adults, and there aren't that many years between you and him. I don't see the problem."
"It's just... How do I put it?" He began to play with his fingertips, looking away embarrassedly, with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Let's just say those few years' difference in age is pretty noticeable in terms of our personal experiences."
"It's not like you have a huge list of exes, either."
"You know what I mean."
"Oh, yeah… But, as far as I remember, you haven't had as much experience in those areas as you pretend to say. Your fans asking you for drinks doesn't count as having the harem you were talking about…"
"Forget about that harem thing!"
Evan turned red with embarrassment as he remembered that lame joke he'd told him years ago to avoid the question of why he meant not to get romantically involved with people. He figured every guy wrapped up in fame would dream of a harem and be a total Casanova, so he told that little lie, which quickly fell apart when his best friend discovered that the guy seemed to run away when beautiful women or attractive guys started flirting with him with clear intentions of something casual.
"Okay, okay. Let's pretend you had your harem with your fans. Surely Liam has already had a few encounters, even if you're his first boyfriend." Evan's negative look surprised him. "I mean, yeah, he seems very serious, but he probably at least kissed someone in middle school or high school... Right?"
Evan shook his head, red in embarrassment.
"Don't tell me… You were his first kiss?"
And the red on his face intensified, causing Kyle to laugh. He understood then why it took them so long to become a couple, even though it was obvious they both liked each other, unlike him and Ryan, who, on their second date, went to a hotel room.
He now understood why Evan felt like he was with a minor doing something wrong.
That funny memory now seems like a scar that still aches.
"Hey, before you go, could you make us something for Evan and me for the hangover? Ryan is immune to alcohol, but my age is taking its toll, and Evan still doesn't tolerate alcohol well."
"Okay, I hope you have what you need in your kitchen."
.
.
.
Evan woke up, feeling a little cold after being so warm during the night. He remembered sleeping over at his friend's house after drinking and ended up offering the guy who kept making him nervous to share a bed, since he only had one blanket. His face turned red at the memory, and his heart started racing. However, instead of feeling relief at seeing the other side of the bed empty, he felt a pang in his chest.
It had been so warm sleeping with someone beside him… The bed felt cold even with the blanket on him.
He decided to ignore it and go to the kitchen for a glass of water. The sunlight was starting to bother him, and he knew the hangover would soon kill him. Yawning, he walked barefoot to the kitchen, where Kyle was making breakfast.
"Good morning, Evan."
"Good morning."
He arrived and sat down on a stool at the counter in front of the kitchen while Kyle poured him a glass of lemon water.
"What's this?" Evan asked, confused, after taking a sip and tasting the sweetness. "Lemon water?"
"It's actually electrolytes Liam made for your hangover before he left."
"I see," He drank that glass. "It tastes good."
"I think he added honey to sweeten it. I don't remember what else he used, but it certainly helps with a hangover. At my age, I'm no longer up for drinking so much."
"And Ryan?"
"He's immune to alcohol. He had a business meeting, so he left early, fresh as a cucumber."
Evan laughed at his friend's face.
"We need his youth."
"You've never been good with alcohol, so don't blame your age."
They both laughed and finished those sweet-tasting electrolytes.
"So... are we alone?" Evan asked, after a few seconds of silence.
"Yeah," Kyle placed a plate of breakfast in front of him on the kitchen counter. "Do you want to talk about something?"
Evan nodded as he began to eat. The silver-haired boy took his own plate and went to sit next to his friend.
They ate in silence for a while, until Evan worked up the courage to speak.
"I'm afraid I won't get my memories back. I feel like a part of me is missing, like I've broken and I'm fading away."
He kept his gaze lowered; he didn't have much of an appetite anymore. His friend became concerned to see him like that.
"Have the doctors told you anything?" Evan shook his head, causing his golden bangs to sway in the air.
"They say they might come back on their own, or that they might not come back at all." He took a bite from his plate. "And they don't care, but every time I talk to someone, I'm afraid I'll walk a tightrope and they'll know things about me that even I don't know."
"Are you talking about work?"
Evan nodded.
"As far as I know, only your manager knew a little about your personal life; with everyone else, you only professionally spoke about business."
"I thought so too. But… it scares me. I feel like any word could work against me. And the more I try to remember what I'm missing, connecting the gaps, the more I realize that the rest of my memories might be just as blurry or artificial. Ah… but my childhood, my damn childhood, is always there. It seems like those are my only intact memories, the only ones that will never leave me. But…" a few tears began to accumulate in her blue eyes. "I don't want to be that person again, I don't. I can't allow everything I've spent so long building to fall apart and be that boy again."
The image of a blond boy crying in fear, hiding among the trees in a slum park, with bruises and scratches on his skin and his clothes dirty, flashed through his mind. So fragile and defenseless. So weak. Vulnerable.
Broken.
He couldn't hold back his tears any longer, and his friend offered him his shoulder to hug and protect him while he let out his pain. Kyle knew how difficult those years had been for Evan, because when they met in middle school, he was just a lonely, scared kid. He knew how hard he worked during those years to build a mask to protect himself from others, starting in high school, and how hard he worked and saved to get a scholarship to study psychology. Although his current manager discovered him in a drama club play and he had to drop out midway through his studies, the club had given him the lead role because of his great talent.
He waited for Evan's tears to stop so he could think of some way to help his best and most precious friend, but he had to admit that, beyond emotional support, there was nothing he could do for him. He wasn't a doctor, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist to help him with his amnesia or his trauma, and he didn't work with him to protect him from what show business entailed.
Then he remembered the same thing he'd said to that medical student before he'd left that morning.
"What if you ask Liam for help?"