Time slips by

Lately, you've been having strange dreams. It all feels incredibly...real. Less like they're dreams, more like frighteningly vivid memories, but you know they're dreams, because what happens in them never happened at all. Every time you try to recall them, though, your head just hurts. That's been a recurring issue, too. Bouts of dizziness, sudden headaches...loss of memory. Loss of memory is the biggest one. You shiver. Amelia worries it may be something serious, but with all the doctors booked up...you let out a heavy breath. You pour yourself a large glass of cold water and retrieve the bottle of ibuprofen left in the cabinet. You take a few of the white capsules out as a precautionary measure and make your way over to the couch, settling into it as you put your drink down onto the table next to you. Using a coaster, of course.

You've always been...well, forgetful. It's not uncommon to forget small things. But things have just gotten worse as of late. Hell, it goes beyond loss of memory. You're remembering things that never happened at all. Swearing you went to the store, only to discover you never actually left. That you bought the blue shirt, only for her to hold up the red one with the price tag still attached. That you had an argument with Amelia...but she insists nothing like that happened. Why would you even argue with her, anyway? Amelia's always right. You huff as you sink back into your seat, shivering a bit uncomfortably again. She's working right now. Looking up a bit to see the TV more clearly, you see her there, playing A Child With A Clock with Ollie, and your shoulders relax. You weren't even aware they were tense.

Amelia is the one to catch all these little discrepancies. She was always the quick one between the two of you, so it doesn't surprise you much. You're very lucky to have her. She's been so helpful, lately, it almost makes you feel a little guilty. Finding your keys, which you swear you left in the bowl, practically right in front of you. Locking the door she says you left unlocked after you double checked. She's always the one to see it. To catch you fucking up, your lapses in concentration. She doesn't say flat out that you're going crazy - she'd never be that cruel - but it's not hard to tell that she's worrying about it.

Symptoms point to early onset dementia. You did some research on it. You count yourself lucky you can even remember that. No matter what, Amelia said she'd be with you, but...you don't want to put her through that. This is bad enough.

You curl up a bit into your knees. God, what more could you forget? You run through the important memories you have. Those feel relatively secure. Grounded, concrete. Childhood and parents, all that. They're still there. Then you remember meeting Amelia, and things feel...fuzzy. Conflicting thoughts, feelings. It was when you moved, right? But you have memories of her from before then. They're hazy, but there. A cold sweat breaks out on your forehead. That's impossible. The times and dates wouldn't match up at all. Amelia was never in the same state as you. You never met her before moving here...something in your brain burns. It was in college...or, no, high school? Late high school? Or...shit, no, before then...you've seen her before meeting her, but-

"Ah, senpai, are you okay?" Ollie's voice rings out, snapping you back to reality. Amelia failed a jump and died as a result.
"Y-Yeah, of course!" Ame cheerfully replies before clearing her throat. "Just zoned out for a minute, heh. Focusing on something for a minute..."
Slowly, Amelia turns just a bit. She looks at the camera head on, a soft smirk growing on her lips. It's creepy.
"You ever just like...forget when you met someone?" Amelia asks casually. "Like, you think you met them at one point, but it turns out to have been way before that? That kinda thing. Or maybe you saw someone a lot before ever really meeting them."
"Mm..." Ollie mutters, seemingly lost in as much thought as her undead brain can muster. "Yeah! Memory's really dumb sometimes."
"Mhm. Fickle. Was just thinking about that, is all."

You feel another headache coming on, and you grit your teeth. You met Amelia a year ago. You've been dating for three months. That's a fact. But, in that case...why?

Why do you feel like you've been seeing her before that? Out of the corner of your eye. Something just barely in the fringe of being perceptible. Almost a blur. The headache worsens. Snatches of memory feel like they're being horribly rearranged. She was at the store on the trip you never made. She wanted you to buy the red shirt. You grit your teeth as you look back at the TV, desperate for something that gets your attention away from the thoughts currently swirling around the drain in your head. For some reason, Amelia seems just the faintest touch out of focus. Almost shaky.

"Easy to mess with, too." She adds. Her voice has a hint of reverb.
"Ah? What was that, senpai?"
"Nothing!"

The pain in your skull grows. You blindly fumble for your glass of water, untouched since you got it earlier. It's time for the painkillers. As your fingers find purchase on the cool glass and you bring it up, you pause, nearly dropping it.

Half full.

Amelia lets out a refreshed sigh and mutters something about staying hydrated.