But then—the memories flood back in.
Lucas.
The wedding.
He drugged me.
His friends, tying me down.
I remember what each of them did to me. I felt every moment of pain. I couldn’t move, paralyzed in my own body as they took from me.
My breath falters. Igasp for air.
“Breathe, Iz. You’re okay. You’re safe.” Enzo’s voice acts as a lifeline and I cling onto it with all my might as I drag myself out of my mind. “You’re okay,” Enzo repeats, his voice trembling. That’s when I notice how disheveled he looks. He’s wearing sweatpants and his top is back to front. His eyes look bloodshot and the bags under them tell me he’s not been sleeping.
He’s not the boy that left me all those years ago. He’s all man now. He was always tall, but he’s huge now, even sitting in the chair his presence takes up the whole space. His beard is longer than in the photos I see of him; it’s straggly and bushy but somehow even more endearing.
His dark hair is standing up in all directions like he’s been running his hand through it too many times.
He has an air of danger to him now, that wasn’t there when we were kids, but despite that, I feel that same sense of safety I always felt. Like he’d never let anything happen to me. Being around Enzo always felt like coming home.
I try to talk but my throat is too dry. Enzo passes me some water which I take a small sip from before giving it back.
“Hi,” I whisper, a small smile on my lips despite everything.
Something happens that I never expected. One tear falls from his eye, then another, and another, until he’s sobbing uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking with the force of it. He rests his head against the bed next to me and cries.
With a shaky hand I stroke his hair until he stops, looking up at me with a pained face. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m not so easy to get rid of,” I joke, and try to laugh but wince at the pain in my head when I do.
“What happened?” I ask, looking around the room. I’m in a bedroom. The mattress below me is comfortable, the walls are my favorite shade of green.
“What do you remember?” he asks, looking apprehensive.
I swallow; my mouth dries again. “Everything,” I murmur as my eyes drop to the bed beneath me. “I remember everything, but how did I get here?”
“Someone found you and brought you to me. Apparently, you refused the hospital and gave him my name.”
I frown, struggling to remember anything after they dumped me at the side of the road. Small fragments of memories pushinto my mind.
“How long have I been here?” I try to sit up but my whole-body aches. I look down to see I’m in nothing but a large men's top. A wave of embarrassment washes over me knowing that Enzo saw me at my worst.
“Two weeks.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Two weeks?”
“Longest two weeks of my life,” Enzo chuckles, but the sound is hollow. “Why did you ask for me, Iz?”
Two weeks.
Fuck.
I gasp.
“I need your phone,” I demand, my heart racing.
“Iz—”
