I bolted through the front door and up the stairs.
It took only seconds but far too long for my liking.
I found him crouched over her, his disgusting cock rigid and poised to dive inside her.
I was repulsed by what he intended on doing to her.
More than just on a physical level.
It was deeper than that.
It might not signal the end of the world if he entered her but it would be the end of my world.
Claimed, not entered, a little voice said.
I looked over at Isabella, thinking she had been the one to speak, but I was wrong.
She was focused on the road, leaning forward in the oversized seat to squint at the signposts above the motorway.
The voice hadn’t come from her.
It’d come from inside my head.
Hello? I said, calling out to the darkness. Is anyone there?
There was no response.
Of course there wasn’t.
What was I thinking?
That someone was communicating with me and using my head as a receiver?
The voice was a part of me, of who I used to be, that essence that existed in the past.
Something was attempting to bubble up from the depths but the more I thought about it, the more distant it became.
That voice, that essence, whatever it was, slipped through my fingers like mist.
It was a relief to know there was a path through to my past.
Somehow.
“I’ve never seen Liam like that before,” Isabella said, gesturing wildly.
“He was angry I took you from him,” I said. “I know I would—”
“No. It was more than that. It was like he was a completely different person. I know how crazy it sounds, but it wasn’t him. It said something about Liam being a part of him now, that they’re united in what they want to do next. For some reason, that involves fucking me. Do you have any idea why?”
“No.”
“None of this makes any sense.”
Isabella shook her head before turning to me.
“He said something to you too, before he attacked you. I heard it. About how you were his opponent? What did that mean?”
I’d been thinking about it ever since he said it, and I still had no idea.
Come on, internal voice, I said. Where are you when I need you?
“How can I be his opponent? I never met him before the other day!”
“He seemed to take a lot of enjoyment out of hitting you like it was some kind of vendetta or something.”
I marveled at Isabella.
She was far more observant than I was, or maybe she just had a better perspective from her bedroom window.
“It seemed to me like he definitely knows you. Are you sure you haven’t seen him somewhere before?”
I shook my head.
“Never. Not before the other day when you introduced us.”
“And I’m not even sure that’s the real Liam.”
Isabella shook her head.
“None of this makes any sense. How can he know who you are without you remembering him?”
“Maybe I would remember him if I still had my memories.”
“Did any of this make you remember something from before?”
I ran a hand over my jaw, making the joint crunch.
“Except the pain of being hurt. I seem to have been in a lot of pain in the past.”
Isabella reached over with her free hand and felt my cheek.
She turned her hand over and checked my forehead.
“You’re burning up. You were already sick. You didn’t need to be attacked like this. Liam is going to pay for doing this to you. I’m going to make sure of it.”
Even as she said the words, she lost conviction in uttering them.
With how easily he beat me, I couldn’t say I blamed her.
“We need to find somewhere quiet off the beaten track where he can’t find us. I’ll get some supplies from a convenience store to treat the cuts to your face. I’m sorry we can’t go to a hospital right now. Liam will be watching them.”
“It’s all right.”
Isabella slammed her fist on the steering wheel.
“No! It’s not all right! This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t taken you in.”
I placed my hand on her bare knee and gently stroked her skin.
“If it wasn’t for you, we never would have met, so I’m not sorry for what’s happened. Being with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You don’t know that. You can’t remember.”
“No, but no matter what I did in the past, none of it measures up to being with you. And that truth is buried deep in my bones. No memories required.”
She squeezed my hand and smiled over at me, genuinely touched.
“Let’s get off this road and find somewhere out of the way. I want to take care of those cuts of yours.”
She signaled and took the next exit.
Isabella brought us to a small motel off the beaten track.
It had a large parking lot out front—far larger than the twelve-room motel needed—a fact the owner at the front desk was quick to defend:
“We intended on expanding but when the virus came, we decided to sit on our hands. We never expected this whole thing to last this long but we’re sure glad we made that decision!”
The second half of the main entrance served as an informal convenience store.
It had a useless, untouched feel to it like it didn’t get many customers.
Much of the produce was out of date but Isabella was only really interested in the small medical section anyway which, surprisingly, had most of the equipment we needed.
Ever since we first met, Isabella seemed to spend the majority of her time patching me up.
She added a handful of instant noodles and four bottles of water to the handbasket.
She paid with cash and led the way to our room.
It was simple, with dour orange curtains and even dourer walls.
The curtained windows looked out on the road that fed directly onto the highway.
The gentle rush of vehicles roaring in the distance made light, comforting noises that reminded me the wider world existed and operated completely independently of what was happening to us right now.
The double bed didn’t make me
