Pieces of the Past
[Hotel Room – Late Night]
Gasp.
Adeline jolted upright in bed, her shirt clinging to her skin, heart pounding like a war drum.
She clutched her chest. Her throat was dry. Her hands were shaking.
The alley. The man's hand on her wrist. His laugh.
But it wasn't just tonight.
A different laugh echoed in her head.
A cold room. Metal walls. A chain clinking. A voice—deep, calm, protective.
"Stay still. You're safe—for now."
She blinked.
That voice again.
Her breath caught.
She couldn't recall the man's face—but the tone… it was the same as…
Elias.
"No…" she breathed.
She pushed her legs further off the bed and moved to the window, gazing out at the faraway skyline. The reflection staring back at her in the glass was strange.
"I was kidnapped," she breathed. "Two years ago."
Memories flashed—snippets of someone putting a blanket around her shoulders, cleaning blood from her forehead, silencing her when footsteps sounded.
She hadn't been alone.
She had forgotten him.
Why does his voice sound so much like Elias's?
Why did no one ever speak of it?
She pressed her forehead to the chilled glass.
Who was he?
Knock knock.
She winced.
"Adeline," Elias called from outside the door. "I heard something. Are you okay?"
She stalled.
Then walked across the room and opened the door.
His eyes swept across her face.
"You had a nightmare."
"…Yeah."
"You remember something?"
"A little."
He didn't press. Just waited.
"I think…" She swallowed. "I think you were there."
His brow creased. "There?"
"In the place I was taken."
He didn't say a word. Not a word.
"Do you remember me?" she asked.
He said nothing.
Which wasn't a no.