赤裸裸的滑稽故事

It had been two days since Tomas had made his request to Alice. She had agreed but needed time to prepare the tea and the triggers.

Alice had done her best to avoid Roman at every turn, but of course, he had found her.

“Alice… dear, sweet, Alice,” he whispered, holding her body pressed to the wall. Her hands pinned above her, and his hip turned into her, blocking any movement of her legs.

He had caught her by surprise. She was too focused on the mounting headache, she hadn’t smelled him or felt that sense of danger that naturally came off of him.

As she had turned the corner, he grabbed her and slammed her hard to the wall. The headache that had been building erupted in pain and white blurs in her vision.

“You don’t call, you don’t write, it almost feels like you’re avoiding me…” he whispered with a grin. “Seems a bit rude, don’t you think?”

He lifted her chin toward him, Alice clenched her jaw as she looked back into his burning eyes.

“You have a lot of fight in you,” he whispered. “Most people won’t hold my gaze for long. They’re too scared. Aren’t you scared of me, Alice?”

“Only an idiot wouldn’t be scared of you, Roman,” Alice growled. “But I will never let you see me cower.”

Roman’s smile grew, and his eyes sparkled with delight. He looked her up and down. Then, grabbing a lock of her short curly hair and twirling it on his fingertip.

“You aren’t my type, Alice,” he said.

He let go of the curl and then his hand slipped gently along her jaw and to her neck. He pressed his thumb against the back of her jawline, softly forcing her to expose her throat to him further. Roman leaned forward and pressed his nose to her throat, inhaling her scent.

“But I have never forgotten you,” he whispered, his hot breath against her skin. Sending a wave of repulsion over her.

“I still remember that day as children when you interrupted my game. How I chased you down, tore into your flesh, and still you didn’t look at me…” he whispered. “You looked back at that boy… you smiled at that boy when you should have been screaming for me.”

Roman’s hand on her neck quickly grabbed the hair at the base of her skull and pulled back on it painfully. Forcing a pained gasp from Alice._.

Roman stood up straight and looked down at her, his eyes usually giving the appearance of the ember of a dying flame, now held a raging inferno.

“Will you scream for me now, Alice?” Roman asked angrily.

Alice stared back into the flame and gathered her will.

“I would rather bite my tongue off than give you the satisfaction!” she growled.

Roman took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Although she could see that he was enjoying this exchange, it sickened her to know that she gave him any kind of good feeling.

He leaned his head forward, pressing their foreheads together intimately. Alice clenched her jaw as her heart continued to race.

“You’re different,” he whispered. “I might have treated you differently.”

He pulled back, looking down at her once more, his fires were tempered to a warm glow.

Roman stepped back, letting her fall to the floor as he let her go.

“Get my father to talk, Alice,” he said quietly. “Get me the information I need.”

He hurried away before she had a chance to say or do anything.

***

Alice didn’t wait any longer to treat Tomas. She removed his memory of Bell, of knowing who or where she was beyond her time in Autumn.

She trained his mind to believe that Bell had learned of the suppressants, she had stolen the bottle from Tomas and then after receiving medical treatment for her broken jaw she had run away.

Tomas had sent people to look for her, but when he didn’t find her, he told Roman she was dead because he didn’t want to risk a war from Roman’s overreaction.

Only recently had Tomas heard that she might be in Europe. But he didn’t know where exactly.

Alice made sure to clear Tomas’ mind of Wyatt’s connection, of Winter, of Summer.

Once she was sure that Tomas’ mind had wholly removed and accepted all of her redirections, it was time to wake him. At least, that’s what he believed happened.

“Sorry Tomas, I know what it’s like to be forced to do something without your knowledge or permission,” she said. “But, I need your help this time, and I don’t want you to know about it.”

Alice sat back in the chair and took a deep breath.

“Tomas,” she called.

He stared blankly at the wall.

“One side will make you grow taller,” she said, Tomas turned to look at her. “While the other side will make you grow smaller.”

Tomas stood from his chair and approached her.

“Are we ready to begin?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

***

Alice grabbed at her head painfully, she stumbled and fell forward landing on her knees as she cried out.

Tears of pain streamed down her face.

With a shaky hand, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

“Hello, my dear,” Holden answered immediately.

Alice gasped for air and grunted as the spike in her brain hit her painfully.

“It will only get worse from here on,” Holden said. “Your mind is not prepared for all those memories. It is fighting against them.”

Alice couldn’t speak, the pain was too much.

“The only thing that will help is to get a treatment,” Holden said. “You know it works; you have experienced it before.”

Alice licked her lips, holding her fist tightly until her nails dug into her palms.

“You…. Promise…” she managed to say. “Only… one… just my memories… restored.”

“I promise,” Holden replied with a smile in his voice.

Alice cried out again, her entire body shook. She was covered in sweat and tears.

“Ok…” she replied weakly as she felt her strength leaving her.

“I will come for you now,” Holden smiled.

***

Alice stirred, her eyelids were heavy, but she managed to open them.

She recognized the lab around her, the sound of the monitors that gave a loud and irritating beep to show her heart still beating properly.

“She’s stable, she should be waking up now,” a man’s voice said.

She recognized it as Daniel immediately.

“Alice?” Holden called to her.

Alice turned her head, he sat in the chair beside her.

“Hello dearest,” he smiled. He reached out and touched her cheek tenderly. “Are you… you?”

Alice swallowed and looked up at the ceiling as she thought for just a moment of a woman with curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a smile that warmed the room… and then she thought of the red floor.

A tear slipped out the side of her eye as she turned to look at Holden.

He swallowed and pursed his lips.

“Yes,” he said sadly, “you are you.”

Alice tried to lift her arm, planning to remove the oxygen mask on her face but found her arms unresponsive. She tried to move her legs, no response. Finally, she tried to speak… but all that happened was a muffled moaning in her throat.

“There has been a change of plans, dearest,” Holden said sweetly, a shine in his eyes that highlighted the tears that he held back. “I’m afraid, I can’t let you keep your memories.”

Alice let out a muffled scream, she tried desperately to move any part of her, but nothing worked.

“I expected you would be upset, so I took the liberty of giving you a mild paralytic. It will wear off soon. But before then…”

Holden swallowed and looked her in the eyes.

Alice breathed ragged angry breaths through her nose.

“The little girl just could not sleep because her thoughts were way too deep,” Holden began, another Lewis Carol line that Alice recognized. “Her mind had gone out for a stroll and fallen down the rabbit hole.”

Holden watched as her body relaxed and the panic in her eyes fell away to a dull stare. He leaned forward and kissed her head, then once more looked into her eyes.

“I am… sorry,” he whispered.

“Not yet,” Alice said, as she stared at him through the window of her mind, her arms crossed over her chest. “But… you will be.”

She turned to look at the small corner of her mind where her consciousness had lived for so long. Except, this time, there were no cave walls, no grimy windows. No cracks or holes.

Her hair wasn’t matted and tangled. Her clothing wasn’t soiled rags that never provided her with warmth.

This time, there was a couch where she could sit and watch through her own eyes. A bed for her to rest. The same bed she had shared with Axel for those precious hours they had together.

There was a desk, with switches and buttons, triggers that only she could access. And a computer, which stored her memories, locked away where Holden couldn’t reach them anymore.

She wore jeans, a t-shirt, and an oversized sweatshirt that smelled like Axel.

And most importantly, there was a door.

An emergency exit was ready and waiting for the day she could finally regain control of her life. All she needed was a little patience and planning.