บท 25: Confusion
As soon as he woke up, he was met with bright lights glaring at him, their power forcing his eyes shut. Trying to raise his head, he was swarmed with a wave of pain. Every slightest movement sent sharp jolts of pain through his skull, causing him to wince with agony. The throbbing sensation intensified with each passing moment, making it difficult for him to focus on anything else. He tried to rest, hoping the pain would subside, but the torment persisted relentlessly. The pressure in his head felt like a vice grip, squeezing tighter and tighter.
"Wh-what happened?", the boy asked, his senses overwhelmed by the spasms of agony burrowing through his nerves.
"You fainted", a warm voice answered. Straining his neck muscles, the boy came face to face with a kind old man wearing a doctor's outfit. He wore white trousers with a white shirt. He had a stethoscope wrapped around his neck with a pen in the shirt's breast pocket.
"Why?", the boy asked, his memories hazy and unfocused.
"I'm not a psychologist but what comes to mind is repressed trauma", the doctor kindly replied, trying to comfort the boy.
Hearing his answer, the fog that hung in his mind began to lift, floated back to him like fragments of a forgotten dream and revealing more vivid images and emotions from his past. With every passing moment, the floodgates of his memory widened, and experiences once hazy became clear.
"Are you feeling better now?", the doctor asked, sensing the change within him. Instead of answering, the boy nodded. Realising that he wasn't going to be speaking anytime soon, the doctor stood up from his seat, "I'll go inform your family that you've recovered".
He was immersed in deep thought, his brow furrowed as he contemplated the complexities of the problem before him. His eyes were fixed on a distant point, seemingly lost in the labyrinth of his mind. With every passing moment, his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, betraying the intensity of his inner dialogue. Occasionally, he would sigh, as if wrestling with the weight of his thoughts. The world around him faded into the background as he delved into the intricacies of his ponderings, unaware of the passage of time.
Unfortunately, before he could calculate the answer to his problem, a voice interrupted him. "Zephyr", a voice tinged with worry said as a man entered the room, his long brown hair messy and dishevelled from worry.
"Dad", Zephyr replied, still lost in his thoughts.
"How are you feeling?", Matt worriedly asked.
"I feel better", Zephyr responded, "I've got a small headache, but otherwise I'm fine".
Hearing his words, Matt released a sigh of relief. Sitting down on the chair next to him, Matt said, "You had everyone worrying about you", pointing at the bouquet and deck of cards.
A few seconds later, Desiree, Bella and Melaina entered. "Is he okay?", Desiree asked, receiving a nod from Mat, causing her to release a sigh of relief. Seeing this, the worry on Melaina's face began to disappear.
"I'm sure you're tired so I'll give you some time to rest", Matt said, standing up and exiting the room with the rest.
As soon as they left, Zephyr rest his head on the pillow and blankly stared up at the ceiling, "What happened to me system?".
[It appears that when you were being reincarnated, there was a problem when your soul was fused with the original Zephyr's, causing you to take on some of his personality traits. After Nyx's death, the original Zephyr forced himself to forget the memories he had of Nyx. After seeing Melaina, who looks incredibly similar to Nyx, those memories resurfaced causing you to react that way.]
Hearing the answer, Zephyr sighed, unsure of how to feel.
[Time Skip]
The car drove away from the hospital, its tires humming against the asphalt. Inside, a worried family had just bid farewell to their recovering loved one. The engine purred as it smoothly navigated through the city streets, passing by bustling intersections and tall buildings.
Along the way, the car crossed paths with other vehicles, pedestrians, and traffic lights, but it pressed on undeterred. It ventured out of the urban sprawl, the scenery gradually changing to a more serene and suburban setting. Lush greenery adorned the sides of the road as the car wound its way through the quieter neighbourhoods.
The sun had begun its descent, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, casting a warm glow over the surroundings. The car's headlights flicked on, illuminating the path ahead as the shadows lengthened.
Looking at him through the rearview mirror, Matt worriedly asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"The doctor cleared me", Zephyr replied, dazedly gazing out the window. "What happened to Melaina?", he asked offhandedly, as if not curious.
Matt released a deep breath as soon as he heard that, "As much as it pains me to admit, you have an obligation to at least know your relatives. So your Uncle and Aunt will move into our neighbourhood and every weekend you'll stay over at theirs".
In response, Zephyr nodded, opting to continue gazing out the window.
The rest of the journey was the same, with Zephyr and Matt remaining quiet. Eventually, the car reached its destination - a charming suburban house. It pulled into the driveway with a gentle hum, and the engine came to a rest. Matt and Zephyr stepped out, their faces reflecting a mix of relief and anticipation as they began to make their way to the doorstep.
Pulling his keys out of his pocket, Zephyr inserted them and prised the door open. Turning the lights on, he was immediately met with a shout of "Surprise!".
Startled, he let out a very manly scream, which he would deny having performed. To his surprise, everyone he knew was present, including a few figures he didn't know.
"What's this?", Zephyr asked, curious as to what was happening.
Walking right behind him, Matt answered, "Since you were in the hospital for nearly a week, everyone thought it'd be nice if we had a welcome home party".
Still surprised by the events, Zephyr didn't respond, but from the smile on his face, you could see that he was overjoyed by the sentiment of everyone coming. "Thanks guys", he muttered.
"No worries man", Raul said as he came forward, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah", Paolo said as he appeared right next to him, "All the girls kept asking us about you. It was really annoying".
"Yep", Michael added, "the coach was worried that you wouldn't be back in time for the game next week though".
"Ugh. I don't like that guy", Phil stated.
"Neither do I", Claire agreed.
"He shouts way too much", Gloria commented.
"I thought he was fine", Jay remarked, taking a sip from his drink, "He motivates them during the match".
"Really?", Mitchell asked, "I thought he was just being rude the whole time".
"Nah", Cam waved him off, "He just shouts to get them to give it their all in the match".
"See. At least someone can see it", Jay murmured.
"It's fine. You can complain later", Claire stated, feeling that they had forgotten the reason for being there.
"Can we go home now Mom?", Haley asked as she glanced up from her phone for a brief second.
"Haley!", Alex exclaimed, "He just got back from hospital. At least have some sympathy".
"What?", Haley remarked, "He's okay now, isn't he?".
"Yeah", Alex replied, "But that's not the point".
"Ugh", Haley groaned, "You're just upset because your boyfriend was hurt".
Incapable of answering, Alex crossed her arms and looked away from Haley, her cheeks slightly red.
"I thought you two were finally getting along", Claire remarked, sighing upon seeing their interaction.
"It's not my fault", Haley replied, still not looking up from her phone.
[With Zephyr]
"I've got some people to introduce to you", Melaina said, leading Zephyr towards a couple who looked out of place at the party.
The man had short black hair with the same azure eyes as Melaina and Zephyr. He donned a white shirt with the first two buttons undone alongside grey trousers. Beside him was a blonde woman with hazel eyes. She adorned a floral sundress and had a warm welcoming smile on her face.
"This is your uncle, Nikos", Melaina introduce, "While this is his wife, Elena. Your grandfather Theseus can't come because he's too busy with the family business".
"You don't need to make excuses for Father", Nikos interrupted, "We know that he never liked Matt".
"Honey, don't be so rude", Elena gently replied, "Don't ruin his thought of your dad before they've even met".
"But it's true", Nikos argued.
"So", Elena remarked, "It's disrespectful".
"Ignore them", Melaina said, "They've been like this since childhood. You'd think that after getting married they'd stop acting so childish".
""Hey!"", they screamed at the same time, ""We're not childish""
Melaina didn't respond, instead shaking her head, "Can you please not act like toddlers? If you don't, as the eldest I have to punish you".
In response, they both stuck their tongues out, with Nikos even commenting, "Yeah, but you're the only one who hasn't gotten married".
"O-okay", Melaina spluttered, her cheeks heating up, "No need to bring it up every time".
"You know what", Zephyr remarked, "I'm just going to walk away", he said, slowly sneaking out. After a few seconds, he was far enough that he couldn't hear their conversation. Walking out of the living room, he entered the garden and sat on one of the chairs, looking up at the constellations in the sky.
"Hey", Alex said as she walked behind him, "How are you?", she asked, somewhat anxiously.
"I'm all good", Zephyr reaffirmed.
"I'm glad", Alex replied, a small smile on her face.
"How was your day?", Zephyr questioned.
"It was actually pretty fun. Mom wanted Dad to sell his old car and they made a bet about it. But as we were cleaning up the car, Mom got emotional so we had to drive around for one last time in the old car. While we were having food in the car, Luke felt like he was going to throw up so we panicked and everything was chaotic", Alex answered.
"That sounds pretty fun", Zephyr remarked, a faint smile on his lips, "Do you want to look at the constellations with me?", he asked, receiving a nod from Alex who sat down on the chair next to him and looked up at the sky. As they gazed at the stars, Zephyr pointed at several constellations and their history.
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