The Mate Who Couldn't Remember

Chapter 4

Maya’s POV

"Maya!" I hear a sharp voice reach out to me somewhere in the dark, where I am nestled. "Maya, can you hear me? s**t! What are you doing here? Maya?"

A groan slips from my lips as I try to lift my head from the floor.

“How did you get here?”

“Urghhh!” My hand touches the back of my neck, where an angry bruise is beginning to form. “Luca?”

“Yeah,” he breathes. “It’s me. You don’t have to say anything right now. Let’s get you home.”

His hands tuck under my feet as he lifts me easily, heading towards the entrance with my bag slung over one shoulder. Luca would have been a part of the popular male circle in Graywood College if he hadn't decided to be my friend.

We met on our first day behind these walls, and immediately, we clicked. He was the only one who didn't look at me like I was prey, and we have been inseparable since then.

As soon as we reach the empty parking lot, I feel a pair of eyes watching me. My gaze darts in that direction, between a pillar and pines of leaves sneaking away into the woods. I meet nothing there, save for a single leaf that seems to have been crushed under a pair of shoes.

My gaze lingers on that spot as Luca stops by his car and pulls open the front door. He helps me in gingerly and then notices I am staring at something.

He turns around slowly and then brings his attention back to me. "Did you see something?"

“I thought I did,” I whisper, my eyes returning to the spot. “I felt someone watching me.”

“It might be nothing,” Luca murmurs, tossing my bag to the back seat. He straps me in like a child, then pushes my hair out of my face. “You look like a mess.”

I chuckle. “I feel like a mess.”

“What happened?”

The look in my eyes gives it away. Luca nods, closing the door and walking around the car. He gets in behind the wheel, then pulls out of the driveway and onto the street.

It isn't a long ride since Graywood is a small town, with the residential areas all nestled into one part. Before long, Luca pulls up in front of a dingy house with a small porch that holds all my memories.

At least, the ones I consciously remember.

My grandfather is out, so Luca sprawls his length on the floor while I move into the kitchen to get us cans of soda and a bowl of popcorn. When I return, he is going through a huge book beside the TV set.

A book I have never felt the need to open in my entire life, since it belongs to my grandfather.

“I never knew Elias was interested in Heartwolves,” Luca murmurs, placing the book back on the shelf.

“What are those?”

"They are a species…." He stops, then shakes his head. "There is no need to bother you about that. You wouldn't understand anyway."

“Right,” I chuckle. “It’s your thing. Being interested in mythical creatures that do not exist.”

I bring the can of cola to my lips just as an indecipherable look crosses his eyes. But it is gone so fast that I might as well have imagined it.

“You don’t need to laugh if you’re going through something, Maya,” Luca says, suddenly becoming serious. He watches me intently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

"I asked for a change to my class schedule today."

“Finally!” Luca cheers, further ruffling my hair with his hands. “That’s good to know. Now, I can rest in my class knowing that you are not getting bullied.”

“I’m not sure it makes any difference,” I sigh. “I was put in Professor Koa’s class instead.”

“Oh!” Luca pauses. His eyes seem to roam around the little living room before coming to rest on me again. “I don’t think you should be scared of him.”

"Well, I am," I shoot back. "He humiliated me in front of the class, and then, I went right ahead to humiliate myself again."

“What happened?” Luca questions, angling his head. “The usual?”

I nod. "The same vivid memories that feel like they belong to me, yet I know for a fact that I have never experienced them. It was night, and there was a full moon hanging above. Some sort of ritual was going on….and it hurt so bad.”

“Maya…”

"I don't know what happened. It was stronger than normal this time, as if the memories were trying to merge with my real life. I had this feeling that if I made one wrong move, I would be plunged into it without a means of escape."

I have no idea that I am trembling until Luca pulls me into his arms.

“Shhh,” he whispers. “You won’t get lost in there. I promise.”

“Someone else feels the same way I feel.”

Luca stops. “What?”

“I can’t explain it, but today, I felt this emotional connection to someone in that memory. And I could tell the person, whoever it was, felt the same way for me. It was….consuming. Strong.”

Now, Luca actually looks worried. He pulls me away from his arms slowly so that I am looking at him.

"You have been having the same memories since you were thirteen, right? And the feeling of heartache and constant weakness."

“Yeah,” I breathe.

“Why don’t you tell Elias?”

"I did. Once. He took me to the hospital to get checked, and the doctors said there was nothing wrong with me. But I don't want to put him through that again. He looked so frightened."

“Maybe you should see the school’s therapist.”

I shake my head at once. “Luca, everyone calls me crazy in school. If they see me coming out of her office, it will only make it worse.”

“This is serious, Maya,” he pushes. “Didn’t Elias tell you that you were trapped in the backseat of your parents’ car when they had the accident that killed them? Maybe your younger self still remembers it. You need to talk to a professional.”

“And you can’t say no.”

I sigh, lying back on the rug. "I'll think about it."

And as my thoughts try to return to their hold, I think I hear a voice coming in from the stretch of woods at the back of the house.

And then, I hear my name, breathing through the leaves.

“Maya.”