Do You Remember Me?, Onyx [i can read book club txt] 📗

again, either here or around me or her, I will call the police and tell them you’ve been harassing us.”
“That doesn’t scare me, Jaclyn.” He laughed, “I will do anything to protect her. Even from you.”
I slapped him across the face and he scowled at me. Then he shoved me harder against the wall, and I could feel his disgusting breath on my face. He slipped his hands around my neck and I tried desperately to pry them off, but I felt my last breath escape my lips and I gasped for air. Air that wouldn’t come. I kicked, I tried to scream for help, but no words formed. I felt my lungs collapse and my head spun. Just as I was about to give in, Chris freed me from his hold and I fell to the floor. He knelt beside me, playing with one of the strands of my hair.
“Don’t you dare hurt her, and don’t you ever give her those pills again.”
I saw it clearly in his eyes now; darkness. Murder. He was evil, and he’d nearly killed me, his best friend. He’d lost his mind out there and he was corrupted. He was one of them now. I had to protect Danielle, but how could I? Now that he knew where we lived and how to get in here.
I nodded weakly, a couple tears falling to the tile floor. Chris sighed and left through the front door, gently shutting it behind him. For some time I stay there on the floor, my tears forming a tiny puddle in front of me. I lie there until a burning scent hit my nostrils and I scrambled to my feet. I quickly turned the stove off and poured the burnt pasta into the trash can. Danielle could make her own dinner. Some chicken noodle soup, or pizza or… something. I wasn’t hungry anymore.
I curled up on the couch and closed my eyes, fear creeping into my bones. I had that unsettling feeling. That I was being watched.

Danielle

I was again in the dark room, ankle chained to the floor. I looked around, but saw nothing other than pure darkness. My whole body was sore, especially my lower stomach and back. A rat was scurrying around, its squeaks echoing throughout the room. The room, I knew, was large and empty. Other than me, this chain, this water and this rat. I’d been in here for so long, with so little food, I’d grown dangerously skinny. I tried to see if I could wiggle my foot out of the chain, but it was still too big. I sniffled and tried to look for the rat.
My gaze met his and we just stared at each other, his light blue eyes boring into mine.
“Help me? Where am I?” I whispered, but the rat said nothing. Instead, he squeaked and ran off, his tiny feet making the faintest splashes in the water.
There was a creaking sound I looked up as a light poured into the room. The only door in or out of here had just opened, and a shadowy figure stepped in, shutting the door behind him. I shivered, wanting to scream and run out of her. Away from this strange figure.
His steps made loud splashes in the water as he came closer. He chuckled once in front of me. I still could not see him.
A rather deep voice muttered, “Ready?”
I sobbed, “No! Not again!”
He quickly slipped out of his clothes as he said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon. Just relax.” He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around my waist as a searing pain shot up through me and I screamed.

My eyes flickered open, just to be met by darkness. The same darkness from the dream. I panicked and ran for the light, sighing with relief to find I was in my own room. There was the twin bed in the corner, the small dresser with the lamp I just turned on, and the desk with the chair. On the desk were two things; my computer and a framed picture of me and Jaclyn at the fair. Part of that picture was cut off, though. What could’ve been there?
I ran to the desk and opened its one drawer, taking out a sheet of college-ruled paper and a black ink pen. I jot down everything I remembered from the dream as well as every other nightmare I’d had.
I snuck out the front door quietly, careful not to wake up the snoring Jaclyn on the couch. I had to find that man. Only he would give me the answers I needed.
Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Chris

I didn’t sleep at all that night. I was excited yet broken about being friends with Danielle again. Happy to have her close, to know I could keep her safe, but hurt that she didn’t remember anything. I wanted to be more than friends with Danielle again, but I was treading on thin ice here. I needed to regain her trust. Now, following her home and almost killing Jaclyn was a bit over the top, but I needed Jaclyn to know I was serious about what I was doing. Danielle was mine.
I watched her come into sight, look around from the tree to the pavilion to the lake, catch me and head my way, my heart pounding inside. I hoped she’d remember my name so that I could hear it from her angelic lips once more, but I didn’t want to tell her anything yet.
You see, I had a plan.
“Hey… you.” She greeted me. She still didn’t know my name.
“Hi Danielle.”
She took a seat next to me on the bench overlooking the little pond in the middle of the park. We watched the ducks swim and a little girl run around trying to catch a rabbit. Danielle laid her head against my shoulder, completely oblivious to my heart racing inside, trying to reach her.
“I had another dream last night.”
“Tell me.” I said coldly, trying to hide the pain in my voice. This was like trying to be friends with an ex you want to be with again but you know you can’t.
She shrugged, “I was in that damn room again, chained up. It was all dark and then this man came in and…” She buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back in what I hoped was a comforting manner. It felt amazing to have her in my arms, but to see her cry was heartbreaking, just like it always was.
“Please tell me that was just a dream… not an actual memory…”
I bit my lip, “I honestly don’t know on that one. I wasn’t there.”
She cried for another few minutes before sitting up again and we watched the sun rise together. The sun was my enemy, just another reminder that things change, good things never last, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
A memory resurfaced.
I was running through the woods. The sun was about to set, but it was my only light. I quickened my pace, tripping over tree roots while the vines sliced through my soft, weak flesh like butter. I kept running. I wanted, no I needed to get out of that horrible place. As quickly as possible. I was finally free, I couldn’t give that up.
The time came where I couldn’t run anymore and I collapsed on a fallen tree trunk. I took a few deep breaths. My vision was getting blurry again, my head pounding. I looked up for a moment, the final sun rays reaching me through the trees. I was close to escaping! I used the last of my strength to stand and run. As fast as I possibly could. The sun slipped under the horizon, hiding the fall from my sight. I reached the clearing only to stumble down a cliff.
It seemed like forever I was tumbling, being slammed against boulders and cut even further by the vines growing between the rocks. A few of my fingers, my left arm and my right ankle all sprained from hitting the rocks so much. By the time I reached the bottom, right into more woods, I was unconscious, bloody, broken… dying.
I was kept alive by the hope of seeing Danielle again. When I was in pain, I’d dream of being in her arms with her soothing words in my ears. I’d dream of kissing her and seeing her smile or just lying there beside her, getting lost in her beautiful green eyes.
Now I had her and I couldn’t kiss her or love her properly. All I could do was hold her, but that was enough to keep me sane… right?
“If you refuse to tell me your name, what do I call you?” She looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and dry.
I frowned, “Just call me C.”
“C.” She shook her head, “Well, C. That’s such an odd name. Just the letter C.”
I laughed, wiping the hair from her eyes and whispered, “It is, but I’m not at all creative. I think you should be getting back to Jaclyn. She’s probably worried sick.”
She sighed heavily, “Oh yeah, sure. Why does she treat me like a child? She isn’t my mother! I’m 20 years old for God’s sake! So is she!”
“She’s just looking after you, Danielle. She’s protecting you. Well, trying to.”
“From what?” she laughed. She expected me to say from murderers and rapists. She was ready to snap back at me that she could take care of herself. Even though she was 21, she could still act just like a child or a teenager sometimes.
“From me.” I muttered, shifting my gaze to the ground. Well actually, I was a murderer. And Danielle couldn’t protect herself from me. I was stronger and she’d loved me once. I wanted to reach in and pull that back out. To feel her against me one more time. Or at least feel her love through a kiss or hug. Without that I had nothing else to live for.
Danielle stared at me blankly, “But… you’re not dangerous.”
“No but my actions have had violent effects in the past.”
“I… I don’t understand.” She tilted her head towards me, completely perplexed.
What was this feeling inside me? Urgency. To tell her. To get it out. To get this game over with. I just wanted to hear her say she forgave me or that she loved me. If not, I wasn’t going to waste any more time here.
But I didn’t have the courage to talk about it. Or was it really just because I didn’t want to talk about it? All I wanted was Danielle’s forgiveness. So I could get past this. So things could get back to the way they were and we could be happy. Cuddled up together on the couch