The Parts Of Me She Keeps
1024 Words
Chapter Seven: The Parts of Me She Keeps
I didn’t remember falling asleep.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
The second—
Was waking up… and not recognizing my own body.
My fingers twitched against the sheets, slow and uncertain, like they didn’t belong to me anymore. There was a delay—just a second—but enough to make my chest tighten.
I told my hand to move.
It didn’t.
Not immediately.
And when it finally did…
It wasn’t in the way I meant.
A cold breath brushed the back of my neck.
“You’re noticing it now.”
Nyra.
Of course.
My body went rigid, a sharp inhale catching in my throat as I forced myself to sit up. The room looked the same—walls, shadows, the faint outline of the door—but something about it felt… distorted.
Like reality had been stretched too thin.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, my voice low, uneven.
No answer.
At least—not right away.
A soft sound came from behind me. Not footsteps.
Closer.
Too close.
“You keep asking that,” she whispered, her voice curling around me, “like you didn’t help me do it.”
“I didn’t—”
My words cut off.
Because suddenly—
I wasn’t the one speaking.
My lips moved.
But the voice that came out wasn’t mine.
“You did.”
I froze.
Every muscle locked.
Every thought gone.
No.
No, that wasn’t—
Panic surged, violent and suffocating as I tried to pull back, to grab control of something—anything—but it was like trying to hold water in my hands.
Slipping.
Gone.
“You feel it now, don’t you?” Nyra murmured.
My head turned slightly.
I didn’t move it.
I didn’t tell it to move.
But it did anyway.
And there she was.
Standing in front of me.
Closer than she had ever been before.
Clearer.
Real.
Her eyes locked onto mine, and for a second—just a second—I saw something beneath the darkness.
Something almost… human.
Then it was gone.
Replaced by that same quiet hunger.
“You’re still trying to fight,” she said softly.
My jaw tightened.
“I’m not—”
Again.
Not my voice.
Not my choice.
Her smile widened just a little.
“That’s the part I like the most.”
She stepped forward, and this time—
I didn’t move away.
I couldn’t.
My body stayed exactly where it was, like it was waiting for her.
Like it wanted her closer.
“No…” I whispered internally, the word trapped somewhere behind my teeth.
My thoughts were mine.
At least, I thought they were.
But even that felt uncertain now.
Nyra lifted her hand slowly, giving me time to react.
Time to stop her.
I tried.
God, I tried.
But my arm didn’t rise.
My body didn’t flinch.
Nothing.
Her fingers touched my face.
And instead of pulling away—
I leaned into it.
My breath hitched sharply, horror flooding through me as I realized what was happening.
“That’s it,” she whispered.
Her thumb brushed just under my eye, catching a tear I didn’t even realize had fallen.
“You’re starting to understand.”
“I’m not doing this,” I forced out, the words trembling, barely held together.
Her head tilted.
“You are,” she said simply.
Another step closer.
Now there was no space between us.
No distance.
No escape.
“Your body remembers me,” Nyra continued, her voice softer now, almost gentle. “Even when your mind refuses to.”
“That’s not true—”
“It is.”
Her hand slid down slowly—from my face, to my throat—resting just lightly against it.
Not squeezing.
Not hurting.
But there.
A reminder.
“I’ve been patient with you,” she said.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
“But patience has limits.”
Something shifted in the air.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
“You don’t get to keep all of yourself anymore.”
My heart slammed violently against my chest, that second rhythm rising with it, louder now, stronger.
“No,” I said, panic breaking through. “No, you can’t just take—”
“I’m not taking.”
Her fingers pressed slightly against my throat.
My breath caught instantly.
“I'm keeping what you keep giving me.”
Silence.
Then—
Everything went wrong.
My vision blurred, the edges of the room warping as a wave of heat crashed through me. My body tensed, then jerked—like something inside me had pulled too tight.
A sharp gasp tore from my lungs—
And then—
Darkness.
---
I was standing.
But I didn’t remember getting up.
The room was gone.
Replaced by something else.
Something… empty.
Endless black stretched in every direction, swallowing everything whole. No walls. No ceiling. No floor.
Just nothing.
And yet—
I wasn’t alone.
“You came back faster this time.”
Her voice echoed.
Everywhere.
Nowhere.
I turned—
And there she was again.
But different.
No shadows.
No distance.
Nyra stood in front of me like she belonged here.
Like this place was hers.
“What is this?” I asked, my voice unsteady.
She smiled faintly.
“This?”
She stepped closer, her presence heavier here, more real than anything else.
“This is where you end… and I begin.”
My stomach twisted.
“I’m not losing myself to you,” I said, trying to hold onto something—anything solid.
Her expression didn’t change.
But her eyes did.
“You already are.”
She reached out again.
And this time—
I felt it before she even touched me.
That second heartbeat.
Louder.
Closer.
Matching mine perfectly now.
“No—”
Her hand pressed against my chest.
And suddenly—
Memories flashed.
Not mine.
Not all of them.
Pieces.
Fragments.
Her voice.
Her laughter.
Her presence in moments I didn’t remember living.
“You see it now,” she whispered.
“They’re not all yours.”
My breath shattered.
- Writer
