The Prophecy (The Guardians) - By Wendy Owens Page 0,48
his insistence on the memory wipe.
It was different then when he had left Rampart though, now, standing here, it was like looking into the eyes of the Sophie he once knew. From the moment he had met her, it was clear she was a warrior, strong and bold, just one of the guys, always ready for the fight. It had been something they shared, though he hadn’t realized that until after he was already gone. Her feverish attitude was one that was always keeping the people around her on their toes, and there it was, the fire was back in her eyes, but it couldn’t be, that Sophie was gone forever. Confused by her behavior, Gabe sought clarity, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you’re the chosen one, the great Gabe Harwood, or have you so easily forgotten that part? Perhaps it’s not me with the memory issues. Oh no, of course you remember, after all, the first night you came to Rampart you brought me back from the brink of death with your healing abilities. You’re a damn legend, I’m just wondering when you’ll start acting like it.
“I know exactly who I am, so let’s not presume you’re here to enlighten me or something. My question is; who told you about me? You seem to be getting your information from somewhere.”
“Really? You’re not as clever as I remember, that’s for sure.” Sophie replied firmly.
“Wait, no, that can’t be right. When I left Rampart Manor you had no memory of me, of us. Hell, when I left you were fantasizing over Uri.” Gabe insisted.
“Oh please, Uri? Anyone with any common sense would have known that wasn’t going to last. Like I could ever fall in love with someone like Uri.” Sophie scoffed as she shuttered. “Actually, that’s quite gross, he’s like my brother.”
“No, if you remembered, someone would have told me.” Gabe argued.
“Let me get this straight, you left in the middle of the night, not telling anyone, leaving us to fend for ourselves. Then we are attacked, one of your supposed best friends is killed, yet you don’t return to ensure your other so called friends are alright? Yes, I think that about sums it up. And you wonder why people didn’t run out to tell you I got my memory back.” Sophie’s words dripped with venom.
“I didn’t know Rampart had been attacked.”
“You didn’t know, because you didn’t care to know.”
“Sophie, I loved you. Why wouldn’t you have come after me?
“After the attack, the night you abandoned us, we fled, spread out all over the planet. Dina watched over me, in my condition I wasn’t able to fight. Had you been there, maybe Raimie wouldn’t have had to die.” Sophie explained.
“I left because I couldn’t watch you love someone else.” Gabe defended.
“You gave up so easily,” Sophie said coolly. Gabe didn’t know how to respond, questioning himself and his choices all those years ago. “Eventually we ended up at Iron Gate; it was only a matter of months before my memories started returning. The effects of the wipe fading.”
Gabe didn’t know if he should feel regret for leaving or anger that she wanted to keep the truth from him. “Why Sophie? Why wouldn’t you let Dina send someone for me?” Gabe pleaded.
“You didn’t think I was worth sticking around for. You didn’t think your friends needed you. I got to watch Dina go through her grief over Raimie, not you. Just when I started remembering things, she got really bad; it was like she had a death wish or something.”
“What happened?”
“You don’t get to ask those questions, Gabe. You lost that privilege when you left us.”
“Fine, you hate me. What’s the point of all this then?” Gabe had enough of the blame; he wanted to be anywhere but there.
“Don’t you get it? I want you to know what you walked away from.” Sophie snarled.
“So this entire conversation is just to make me feel terrible. Mission accomplished, I’ve been miserable for five years, Sophie!” Gabe shouted.
“Then why was it so easy for you to leave?”
Rushing forward towards her, infuriated by her flippant disregard for the relationship they had, Gabe cried, “You think leaving was easy? You can’t be serious! That was the first time in my life I had people who seemed to care about me. Leaving Rampart meant leaving the only place that ever felt like home. I was in hell while I was gone.”
“Oh yeah, Gabe. Being with all of those women must have