The Memory That Refused To Stay Buried
1452 Words
ATHENA'S POV
I didn't sleep.
Not after what happened with Dominic.
Not after the way he'd looked at me.
I couldn't forget the strange expression on his face when he saw my necklace.
And definitely not after the paparazzi cameras flashing somewhere behind us while I climbed into his car.
The entire drive back to the mansion had been silent.
Painfully silent.
I sat staring out the window while rain streaked across the glass.
Dominic drove.
Neither of us spoke.
Neither of us knew what to say.
Because somewhere between the fighting, the tension, and the confusion, something had shifted between us.
Something dangerous.
Something none of us seemed ready to name.
By the time we got back to the mansion, I was exhausted.
Emotionally.
Physically.
Mentally.
I barely remembered making it to my room.
I only remembered collapsing onto the bed.
Then darkness.
Then dreams.
Then, Pain.
A sharp pain exploded behind my eyes.
I sat upright in bed with a gasp.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
The room spun.
Images flashed.
Voices.
Faces.
Memories.
And for the first time in years...
They didn't disappear.
I saw Lucas.
Clearly.
Too clearly.
And suddenly I wasn't in Dominic's mansion anymore.
I was back there.
Back in that apartment.
Back in the life I'd forgotten.
*FLASHBACK*
"Why did you do this?!!"
He sent me a drugged smile.
The tears streaked down my cheeks.
"It was money for school Lucas. You just blew away years of saving for school for a few smokes. You threw all my hard work down the drain. What the hell am I going to do now?!"
"It's your fault for hiding your savings from me" he mocked.
I felt my hands fist as I gripped the empty container in my hand.
"I hid it because of you! I suspected you would try to pull a stunt like this."
I replied and followed him as he stalked away.
"Don't you dare walk away from me. I won't let this slide. You're going to go back to your dealer or whatever you call them and get the money back!"
He sat on the sofa with a heavy plop and fiddled with his phone nonchalantly.
"Lucas!" I screamed.
"You're an ungrateful b***h!"
I gasped at the full brunt of his words.
He rose up abruptly.
"I picked you up from the streets, you were basically scrambling in trash for food but I saw you, fed you, clothed you and even housed you and here you are hiding money from me. Who do you think you are?!"
My mouth widened in shock.
"Lucas, why are you saying all this mean things to me? What have I ever done to you?!"
"Everything!" He roared.
He ran a hand through his hair that was sparse now from the excessive shedding.
"Where is this coming from?!"
"You're bad luck. I was doing well before I met you. I had a promising future before you. You ruined my life!"
His voice was laced with venom.
I could feel the hatred coming off him in waves.
The hairs at the back of my neck stood on edge.
"Are you okay?"
I took a step toward him.
But the brunt of his reddened eyes had me stumbling back.
"Lucas, what did you take?" I asked, worry laced in my voice.
"That's none of your business! You made me like this! It's because you don't love me. I don't know if you ever did."
He abruptly rose from the sofa and gripped my arms tightly.
I winced in pain and struggled to get out of his grasp.
"You're hurting me! Lucas let me go!"
"How can you say you love me when you've never fully given me all of you?!"
He cried.
"What are you talking about?" I cried.
"You never let me touch me. You so much as flinch whenever I try to kiss you. You don't love me. I know you don't. Please tell me you love me Athena. Please, please..."
He began his onslaught of kisses on my lips from my neck downwards. He threw me against the wall and trapped my arms behind my back.
“Lucas, please. Stop! I don’t want this!” I cried.
“I never asked what you wanted.”
He pushed me down on the sofa and when I had tired to roll out of position, he pulled me back and I felt the sting of his slap across my cheek. Stunned but unrelenting, I tried to push him away but he was bigger than me. He had my hands trapped criss crossed above my head.
“Lucas stop!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
He trailed sloppy kisses down my neck and with a hand ripped my shirt open. I felt his cold hand grip my breast, he let out a sigh and his teeth bit down hard on my n****e.
I cried out in pain.
That was the worst night of my life.
The memory flashed through clear as day.
My Broken pieces.
Fear.
Pain.
Crying.
The feeling of being trapped.
The feeling of being powerless.
It truly was the worst night of my life.
The next memory came immediately after.
Like a wound reopening.
"ATHENA!"
I flinched.
Lucas.
Standing in front of me.
Looking broken.
Looking terrified.
Looking sorry.
"Athena, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"You've gotten what you wanted."
I said stiffly and pulled my bag over my shoulder as I headed for the door.
"You can't leave like that. We need to resolve this."
"There's nothing to resolve Lucas. What's done is done. You can't take back what you did."
"What can I do to make it up to you?" He pleaded.
I let out a sigh.
My hands fisted at my sides.
I winced in pain as my arm throbbed in memory of the previous night.
"Lucas, why can't you just do something to help me out? Since we're stuck together for a while."
"So I'm a burden?! You don't want me anymore?!"
He stalked toward me with reddened eyes.
I felt the surge of anger rise in my chest.
"Yes. I'm tired Lucas! I'm tired of all of this! I just want all of this to end!"
I yelled.
Those were the last words I said to him.
The last words he remembered me saying.
I jolted awake.
A sob escaped my throat.
The room was dark.
Silent.
But my face was soaked with tears.
"Oh God..."
My hands shook violently.
I remembered Everything.
Enough to know Lucas wasn't who I'd convinced myself he was.
Enough to know I'd been running from something horrible.
Enough to know that the life I'd forgotten wasn't nearly as beautiful as I'd imagined.
My chest tightened.
Because another memory was surfacing.
Something after that morning.
Something important.
Something huge.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Trying to hold onto it.
Trying to catch it before it disappeared.
A road.
Rain.
Headlights.
A car.
Someone shouting my name.
Then,
A child crying.
I froze.
A child.
My eyes snapped open.
No.
No.
That wasn't possible.
I sat up straighter.
My pulse raced.
A child.
Why would there be a child?
Why could I hear a baby crying?
The sound echoed through my head.
Louder.
Louder.
Louder.
Until suddenly...
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Athena."
Dominic.
His voice sounded outside my door.
I quickly wiped my face.
But it was useless.
The tears kept falling.
"Athena, open the door."
I stood on shaky legs.
Crossed the room.
And pulled it open.
Dominic's expression immediately darkened.
He looked from my tear-streaked face to my trembling hands.
"What happened?"
The concern evident in his voice melted my heart.
I opened my mouth.
Then froze.
Because another memory slammed into me.
Violent.
Sudden.
A hospital room.
Machines beeping.
A nurse.
A doctor.
And a single sentence.
One sentence that made my blood turn to ice.
The memory finally completed itself.
Not Lucas.
Not the accident.
Not me.
The child.
The child.
The child.
My knees nearly gave out.
Dominic caught me before I hit the floor.
Strong arms wrapped around me.
Holding me steady.
"Athena!"
I looked up at him.
Terrified.
Completely shattered.
Because I finally remembered.
And what I remembered changed everything.
My lips parted.
The words escaped before I could stop them.
"Dominic..."
His eyes locked onto mine.
"What is it?"
I stared at him in horror.
Then whispered the one thing that made all the color drain from his face.
I stared into Dominic's eyes.
My heart pounded.
My entire identity crumbling around me.
Then I whispered:
"I remember now... and Athena was never supposed to survive."
- Writer
