2.13 The Truth Hurts

There he stood in front of the familiar door. It wasn't like the first time he had met her in Lunar Lakes. That was a happy moment, when the two shared their first kiss. Noah smiled at the thought of her lips on his and also at the fact that he could remember that at all. Slowly, he felt all of his memories of her come flooding back to him. Their first date, the holidays together, prom. Everything. Except there was still a hole in his  heart. How did the Grays fit into all of this? Was Emit telling him the truth? He hadn't heard from the blue haired time traveler since his dream and even then he hadn't seen him physically. He knocked on the door and braced himself for the rejection. He now remembered clearly the last time he had stood in this very spot. Corrine hadn't waited for him like she promised. He didn't expect her to, but a part of him wished that she would have. They were so young and she had already taken the next step in a relationship with somebody else.

"Noah! How are you?" Curtis asked.

"I'm good, how are you?" Noah answered back.

"Just great. You know, Corrine isn't home right now." 

Noah waited for him to finish his sentence but he just looked at Noah. He only wanted him to know that she wasn't home. "But...didn't you invite me here for dinner?"

"Yeah. I did. Until I found out that you were the guy who told her to dump me."

"Excuse me?"

"You were the guy here last time. Her high school boyfriend who actually thought she wouldn't kiss any other guy but you. Yeah right. She's in love with me now. I'm not having you interfere in our lives anymore. Now if you don't mind, my daughter is hungry and I've got to feed her." 

Noah didn't even get to explain himself. The door was slammed in his face. He was hurt, yes, but not as much as he was the first time he stood there. Hearing Curtis' jealous words only made Noah's pride swell. Noah had people to fall back on this time. Leia and Lorie. They cared about how he felt. He wasn't giving up on Corrine yet, he just had to find a time where she wasn't being guarded by her crazy jealous husband. He was so close to getting his memory back, there was no way he was going to stop now, especially by abandoning the only girl he could remember from his past.

Noah had no choice but to leave. He followed his feet. They were moving on their own, out of habit probably. He felt like he had made this trek before. He ended up in front of a small house. He pulled out his phone to see if Lorie or Leia had texted him. Nothing. He decided since they weren't waiting for him, that he'd investigate the house. Something had told him to come here. This was where he used to live in Lucky Palms. Where he came after he had been rejected by Corrine the first time. It was all coming back to him. 

 He found a weird contraption. Similar to the one he used to leave Oasis Landing. Maybe he could get back there? He didn't know what help that would be, but it was good to know about. He would take all of the information he could get at this point. He stood in the machine, kicked it, poked it. He tried everything he could. How did Puzzle get it to work that time?

"Do you mind not breaking my property?" 

Noah backed up. "Where did you come from?"

"That portal over there. You know, the one you were kicking. Your mom did that the first time she saw the portal too. Tell your kids not to kick the portal. I'm sure enough of it will cause it to break and they're not easy or cheap to fix."

Noah nodded. "Right...sorry about that."

"Its alright. I see you're back here. It took you long enough. I see my girls weren't able to fill you in on day one," Emit spoke.

"According to them, they weren't even filled in."

He sighed, "I ran out of power. I couldn't transmit much longer to both of their dreams. I hoped they would have gotten my hints."

"All they really know is that you're a time traveler and one is convinced you're her dad, the other not so much."

Emit sighed. "I know which is which. I can't be here in this time with them as much as I want to. I fell in love with their mother and we had a fling. But I had to go back to the future. There was no way the time keeper could stay here in Lucky Palms. I wasn't as lucky as your father who was able to make the switch. I love those girls and I've been keeping an eye on their timeline, but I can't be there. I just want you to let them know that. I care so much about them. Thank you Noah, for being there for them."

"You're thanking me? I should be thanking you for leading me out here. None of this is possible without you..."

"You should have never lost your memory. It means I failed my job, guarding the timelines. But here, I've tried to mend it as much as I could. This book is filled with all of your memories. One by one, the pictures should stir up some old memories. I don't know how long it'll be before you get all of your memory back but its a good start."

"Thanks you!" Noah said graciously, taking the book from his hands. He placed it in his bag and headed over to the window of the house.

"You don't want to read it?" Emit asked.

"Its not that. I remember this house perfectly. I want to make sure it's exactly how I remember it. It shouldn't have been long enough for anyone to come and switch things up." Emit nodded. It had looked unlived in for a while. There were magazines scattered on the floor, and some dust over everything but the furniture was exactly how he had left it. "Thank you Emit."

"No, thank you, Noah. Once you get your memories back, I want you to use this portal to go back to Oasis Landing. You have to see your family and straighten everything out. From there, your future will be clear. You'll know what you have to do. I need to go, but keep doing what you're doing." Before Noah could say anything, Emit was gone. 

Noah took the book to the park and began to read it. Page after page he was hit with reminiscent pictures.

 Him as a toddler, trying to hang out with the guys. He didn't remember his years as a toddler, but he could hear his mother's voice telling him all about how he was Uncle Elliot's and Caleb's shadow, constantly wanting to be with the older boys. He wanted to be accepted.

Building a snowman with his father. He had insisted that someone go out and build a snowman with him. It was the first snowfall of the year and Caleb had locked himself in his room as usual. Who was going to play with him? Levi heard his pleas and went out with him, despite his dislike for the cold. He had a good father.

Going out to the park with his father and brother. Noah was getting jealous of all of the attention the twins were getting. They were toddlers after all, they needed a lot of attention. His father let him wear his halloween costume and Caleb didn't even make fun of him. He learned patience and acceptance.

Reigning over his kingdom. Noah had grown way too old to play with Puzzle, but it didn't stop him from using his imagination. His mother played along with his ALL of his games no matter how tired she was.  He had an amazing mother.  

Playing chess with his grandfather. Bruce was one of the most important people in his life. He taught him respect, discipline, and how to win any game of chess. After his death, nothing seemed to matter until he embraced his dreams of becoming a doctor. Eventually, he learned to let go.

His sibling's birthdays. Preparing himself to teach Kayden all about how to woo a girl and fighting off all the boy's who tried to talk to his sister. They were only becoming children, but Noah didn't care. he could finally be like the older brother he cared so much about. He took on responsibility.

Prom. The first time he had seen eye to eye with his older brother. They were always close, but it was the first time Caleb had let anyone in at all. He had to beg his brother to go to the dance in the first place, but Caleb was glad he went. Noah learned to be persistent.

As he sat there, tears began to fall from his eyes. How could he forget such wonderful memories? His mother and father were amazing parents. They gave him everything he needed and more. They encouraged him to go and chase his dreams in that boarding school, no matter how much they wanted him to stay home. His older brother, Caleb, was annoying. He ignored him when he wanted to play. He was always locked up in his room. Despite all the trouble he was going through though, he still had Noah's back. He gave Noah his prized imaginary friend, Puzzle. Caleb encouraged Noah to do what he had to do. Caleb was the one who held him and told him everything was going to be alright after Grandpa Bruce died. The twins. Daisy was always the one to call Noah when he was away at Smuggsworth. She called just to check up on him and see how he was doing. He wished he was there to fend off the boys like he promised on their birthdays, but Daisy didn't care. She was happy just hearing his voice. Kayden was more of the silent type. he locked himself in his room to paint and because of boarding school, Noah never got a chance to spend as much time with him. As a toddler, Noah was always the one to feed or play with Kayden. Despite their silence, they were still looking out for eachother. Kayden understood the role Noah gave him when he left to boarding school, watch out for his little sister and Kayden definitely delivered. His family. They were a huge part of him. He had a legacy to fulfil and he couldn't believe that just a few days ago, he didn't even know if he was really part of that family. Some of his minor memories were still hazy, ,but he remembered all that mattered. His mother's words began to echo in his mind, "Love takes you in so many different directions. What you say now isn't final. Life will twist your plans around in a second flat. I know the plan was for you to stay in Lunar Lakes...but I'm almost positive that with your good will Noah, you can change the future from anywhere."

His mother really was the smartest woman he knew. Here he was in Lucky Palms. Love had taken him here. He was sure of that now. His family's love had pushed him hard enough to fight for his memories here in Lucky Palms. Now, he had to go back to Oasis Landing and confront his family. They'd want to know his plan. Would he stay in Lucky Palms? Stay in oasis Landing? Go back to Lunar Lakes? The choice was obvious to him. He didn't even have to think about it. One girl was the deciding factor and he couldn't believe he wasn't sitting with her right now.

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Hey everyone! This was a little trip down memory lane. I knew I wanted to go the amnesia route but I didn't have a clue how Noah would get it back! Now we're finally back on track to fulfilling the legacy. Noah just has to pick his girl. She'll be revealed in either the next chapter or the one after that. You can still vote for it here: Spouse Poll