Chapter 44

B: Jessie looked at him with confused and hurt eyes. "Zack?" Hearing his voice made her hurt so much but all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and hold him. When he said he was lost and didn't remember much she stopped. Then he asked her where she lived and if there was someone who could help her. She realized what was going on. This was not Zack...it couldn't be. She followed him and nodded. "Yes, I live near here and I don't really talk to anyone anymore...not after my Zack went missing three months ago...."She trailed off. "I am sorry...you...you look so much like him...then again I see him everywhere." she cried softly.

As he led her into the street, he asked her name and she felt like she had to tell him. "My name is Jessie..." she said softly. When he touched her face to wipe away the tears, she felt the warmth in her heart. It had to be Zack. It just had to be. When he called her beautiful her heart fluttered. This man...was Zack.

I: "Jessie." He whispered as he thought of this name and where he had heard it before. "Jessie. That is a beautiful name. See? There is no reason to cry. My name is Zack, and if I knew any better, I would say we both were a little lost and could use some help. So, let's help each other." He smiled and guided her down the street. "I'm starving, and I'm tired, but that doesn't seem to matter much if you have no money and no idea where you're from or where you're going. Look," Zack reached into his pocket and he pulled out his wallet. It had his I.D. And the address to his apartment. "Can you take me to this place? I don't know how to get there, and no one wants to help a creepy guy like me. I'm sure this is where I used to live, and it could give me an idea about who I am and where I come from. It says Mansfield Road; do you know how to get there? Maybe there is food and water and..."

Zack sighed and softly took her by the shoulder. "I promise, if you help me get home, I will help you find whoever it is you're looking for. Do you trust me? Jessie, will you come with me?"

B: Jess looked at him confused. "Zack, I know who you are. It's me...do you know who I am?" She asked softly scared of his answer. When he said she and he were lost she looked at him confused. "I am not lost. I know where I am. We are a few minutes from the Institution." She said looking at him with a confused expression. When he took out his wallet and asked her to take him to his old loft she sighed and looked at him. He had lost his memory. It must have been whoever took him. She swore at that moment that whoever hurt Zack would pay. "Yes, I can take you there." She said softly. When he asked if she trusted him, she nodded. "I do trust you and I will take you there." she said softly. She knew that Zack would see that she had been living there off and on since his disappearance. It smelt like him and made her feel safe. She held out her hand and hoped he would take it. She waited watching his face in the dark.

I: Zack stood frozen for a moment. Jessie said that she knew who he was, and asked why he didn't remember her, this all together made Zack confused. He tried not to show it, he could see in this woman's eyes that he meant something to her, and that alone made Zack feel warm inside after many nights of cold. She knew who he was, and she knew where they were, and Zack knew immediately he needed to keep Jessie at his side if he were to get answers. "Institution? I'm a part of an institution?" Zack felt mortified by that, does that mean he was nuts? He had gone crazy? What Institution were they a part of, and why would they let him out? Something serious had happened to him and he needed to figure it out!

Zack sighed as he saw the woman extend her hand to him and he took it softly. "Wait..." Zack held her hand gently and he sadly looked into her eyes. "Jessie..." he didn't know how to tell her, he just had to say it. "I don't...remember. I don't remember anything, or anyone. I have been searching for a while now, and gladly I found you. Listen, I don't know who you are to me but, I can tell that I cared about you because you care about me. I will find out what happened to me, and I will get my memories back. If you were my friend before then, you will be my friend forever, no matter the memories I have lost." Zack gently pulled her close and hugged her. He held her for a long moment, resting his chin on her hair. "You don't know how comforting it feels to me, to finally...finally find someone who knows me. Someone who cares. I have been through so much..." he began to think of the terrible place he was before, how he escaped, and how he ended up here. "I need your help Jessie. Please, take me home."

He released her and walked with her, holding her hand the whole way. When they finally arrived at the loft, it was abandoned. Zack looked through the window, but it was clear no one had been here for quite a long time. "I don't even remember this place." Zack sighed as he began to search the porch for a key or a key code to get inside. He found the spare key hidden under a rock and he opened the door with it. "Guess I forget a lot. Shall we check it out?" Zack walked inside and he tried the lights, but they weren't working. It was warm inside, which he thought it would be freezing. He walked around the loft, but he didn't see anything that brought back any memories. "I guess...this is it. The end of the line."

Zack sat on the bed and he lay back on it and stared at the ceiling. "So...tell me. Who am I?" He asked Jessie. "I wasn't a total jerk, was I?"

B: Jess could feel that he was confused by her words. "Yes, the shadowhunters institute. Don't you remember?" She asked with a hurt expression. She knew he had lost memory of her which killed her inside but to have lost all his memory was bad....very bad. She watched as he told her he had no memory. "Yes, I figured it out when you did not recognize me. But knowing now you have NO memory as all is very very bad." When he pulled her close, she hugged him tightly. She listened to his words and smiled. "I can help you. I hope that Seth and Blane can help us." She said with a soft sigh. Going back to her family and the institute was going to be hard, but at least she had found Zack and she knew he was safe...or somewhat safe.

Jess walked next to him closer than she should have but there was no way she was losing him. As he searched for the key her hand went to her jacket pocket which was where her keys were. She had a key to his place. She had for a while. As he walked into the house and tried the lights she sighed. She walked over to the breaker and flipped a switch and then flicked on the lights. She smiled at all the pictures she had placed around the house. Each one had memories of them or him and Seth. There were pictures of places that were special to them. As he sat on the bed she moved over to her suitcase and sat on it. She needed a shower and so did Zack. As he asked the questions she giggled. "Zack you were something special. You could be a jerk, but you never were all the time. Your full name is Isaac J. Bryant. Your mother and father's names are Devara Bryant and Michael Bryant. You have a brother named Derek Bryant. I am or well was your fiancé, but after you went missing, I stopped wearing your ring and have been waiting for you to return to me and now you have, but without memory....which is why we need to go to the institute. But we can go tomorrow. Right now, we both need showers and some sleep. And you probably want some food." She said standing up and smiling.

I: "So, I was a jerk." He chuckled in a joking manner. Then his smile faded as he looked around the room and noticed there were no photographs of them happy together, spending time together. Was it possibly because he did not take pictures? Were they too busy with the Institute to find time for one another? Did she remove all of the pictures because they hurt her heart to see them and he was not there? Why did this apartment not feel like a home to him? What had he forgotten? Did he have any secrets from her that he did not want her to know about?

There were so many questions in his mind that even when she mentioned food, he could not understand it. How could he eat knowing this poor woman was his fiancé? That she loved him, and he possibly loved her and wanted to marry her. How could he honestly say that he loved her when he had the damn audacity to forget her? More than anything, that shamed him deeper than the other possibilities. He had forgotten her, the love of his life, the woman he wanted to spend his future with. He had forgotten her, the name of her, the face that sparkled, the feeling of holding her and...had they made love? Could she be pregnant even now?

Isaac was staring at her with a pained, blank face. How in all heaven and hell could he forget about her! He hated himself for it, he hated himself now more than he could ever remember hating anything. "You go ahead and take a shower and..." He stopped and rubbed his neck nervously. "I'm sorry, do we usually shower together?" He asked not knowing.

Isaac stood and he walked over to her and he gently took her hand. "If we usually do, then I want to. I want to remember our love, Jess. I..." He stopped and bit his lip with anger as he looked away, and he nearly drew blood. "I hate myself for this, for forgetting you. It just isn't right. Please, tell me what you want me to do and I will do it. If you were to be my wife, then that means it was forever...right? No matter what. Sickness and health. Right?" He said with hope in his eyes. "Jess I don't know what happened to me, but I swear to you, on my life, that I will fix this. Even if it starts with a shower with my fiancé. I want our lives to go back to the way they were because damn I have never had anything special before! Never! and someone took it from me! And that makes me so angry!" He said with fury in his eyes. He took a deep breath and calmed his voice. "Tell me what you want me to do and I will do it." He whispered softly and kissed her hand.