Chapter 9: Remembering Pieces
-Celeste-
Brendon couldn’t stay with me all day. He had responsibilities as one of the pack’s most powerful warriors. His role included overseeing security and training the other fighters.
“I can stay,” he assured me.
“I’m fine. Truly. Go, work,” I insisted.
He seemed reluctant to but kissed me briefly before he left. Then I retreated to one of the living rooms to relax by myself.
Later in the day, Simone found me. She let out a relieved gasp when she saw I was perfectly fine.
“You had me so worried,” she scolded as she flopped down beside me on the couch, where I had been reading a book.
“I don’t know what happened,” I admitted.
“Yeah, I take my eyes off you for a few moments, and then you just pass out.”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” I corrected her.
“Then what? We drank the same amount. I just don’t see how someone could slip something into your drink and not mine. I was more drunk than you.”
I chuckled a little. “I ran into someone on the way to the bathroom.”
“Who?” she inquired.
“Zack.”
“Zack of the Moon Lake Pack?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“He’s an arrogant prick,” she groaned.
“Well, he invited us to drink with him, and he was actually very nice to me,” I replied.
“Really? Then he must have wanted to sleep with you.”
I rolled my eyes at her but couldn’t help smiling.
“I hope you told him you already have the hottest warrior to satisfy you at home,” she teased me.
“Goddess, Simone!” I exclaimed.
“What? You might not have had anyone before him, but you told me he makes you feel things you sometimes black out from,” she teased, winking.
“Did I say that?” I inquired, my mind racing. From what Brendon did to me this morning, I wasn’t surprised, but there was something else I focused on. “Brendon was my first, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Just then, a sharp pain cut through my temples, and I bent forward, screaming into the couch.
“Celeste? Celeste?”
“Let me see you. Fuck, you’re beautiful,” a dark voice said. I couldn’t see who it was, but the voice made me feel incredible and brave. I felt warm hands guiding me to a body, and I sensed something between my legs. Am I ready for this? I wondered, but I didn’t stop what was happening.
“Celeste? Can you hear me?” I blinked my eyes open, staring up at several faces looking down at me in fear. My mother stood over me, with Simone beside her, and a few other pack members I recognized.
“Sweetheart, are you all right?” my mother asked.
“Um…”
“I heard your screams all the way at the other end of the hallway. What happened?”
“I… don’t know,” I whispered. That wasn’t completely true. An image had become stuck in my head—an image of Zack, naked. How did I know what Zack looked like naked? It was disturbing. After they helped me into a sitting position, I forced myself to my feet and took off.
“Celeste!” my mother called after me.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to talk about what had happened because what if something had occurred between me and Zack? Was Brendon even my first? I stormed back to my old bedroom. It looked just as I remembered it. As a child, I had a habit of hiding under the bed when I was scared or in trouble. Instinctively, I slipped beneath the bed, staring up at the underside and taking deep breaths.
“What is happening to me?”
“Celeste?” I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep, but I was completely drained from everything that had happened. A voice woke me from my slumber, and I immediately recognized it.
“Down here,” I whispered, knowing Brendon would hear me.
I watched as his feet approached, then he bent down to see me lying under the bed. He looked puzzled, then slid underneath to lie beside me.
“What are you doing under here?” he inquired.
“You came to find me here. You must know,” I whispered.
“Yes, but you haven’t done this since you were about ten,” he reminded me.
“I just needed it.”
“Does it help?” he inquired.
“A little. It feels safer,” I replied.
“Safe from what?”
“From… whatever is happening in my head.”
“Your mother came to find me. She couldn’t quite explain what had happened, but she said you weren’t feeling well again,” he said.
“I’m not.”
“Why not?”
I covered my face with my hands, unsure of how to explain. I wanted to be honest, but I barely understood what was going on myself. All I knew was that after running into Zack, strange things had happened, and now I had an image of his naked body in my head. While those experiences had felt good, now that I was awake, I felt disgusted. Why had my mind conjured such a scenario?
“Celeste?” Brendon called.
“I didn’t sleep with anyone before you, did I?” I asked, turning my head to look at Brendon. He appeared puzzled by my sudden question.
“No,” he replied.
“Are you sure?”
“Are you trying to confess something to me?” he inquired, sounding a little irritated, but I couldn’t blame him for that.
“I can’t remember anyone else,” I assured him.
“So why are you asking me?”
“I…”
“Celeste, you need to be completely honest with me if you want my help.”
“But I don’t know if you can help me,” I admitted.
“Try me,” he insisted.
I sighed, knowing I couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but I wasn’t even sure what I was really telling him.
“I’ve been having these images,” I confessed.
“Images?”
“Flashing in my mind. I can never really see what’s happening, but it’s always followed by pain, and then I blackout.”
“All right.”
“But today, one image stuck.”
“What did you see?” he asked, and I looked away because I couldn’t face him while saying it.
“Someone… naked.”
“Someone?” he repeated, his voice turning harsher.
“Zack…” I whispered.
“Wait… Zack as in…?”
“Yup…”
It went dead quiet, and then I heard Brendon move away from me. I turned my head, listening as he hurried toward the door.
“Brendon!” I yelled, following after him.
