The Cure

Chapter Four

‘’Is it possible’’ she asked. They are seated in a restaurant and she has serious expression on her face. The man with her grabs a file from his briefcase. He is a mess, his glasses are just hanging by the thread on his nose, there is tape joining the tow ends together. His hair is messy and almost non-existent as he is bald.

His clothes are rumpled, messy and not even coordinated.

He opens the file and papers fly out of it and to the floor. He rushes to pick them up and the woman in his company shakes her head in disgust. She sighs loudly and he apologises ‘’I am so sorry, today is just not my day’’ he chuckles nervously.

He sits back down and hands over the document he was looking for ‘’I have done a lot of research and my findings say it is possible to manipulate the hormones in charge of s****l attraction. It is just a little tweaking and it can be arranged’’

He hands the document to her and a smile creeps up to her face. She scans through it and she seems satisfied ‘’Has it been tested, are there successful trials’’

He shakes his head; his glasses fall to his nose and he pushes it up ‘’Never done before. If you give us the go ahead, we will get the materials needed and he can be our first test subject’’

The woman looks to be deep in thought. There is a hint of hesitation in her face. She is unsure but the words that come out of her mouth is different from what was expected ‘’Let’s do it.’’

Jared’s pov.

‘’Come on, I am taking you home’’ My supposed mother says to me with a frown on her face. She doesn’t look worried right now. I mean they just told her that I fainted. That should be a cause for alarm.

I stand up from the bed and pick up my shoes from my bed ‘’The nurse said you had some drugs in your system. When did you start using?’’

She is asking me but I cannot answer her right now. I don’t even know what kind of drug that was. I remember the name but I have no idea what it is for.

‘’I don’t know. I didn’t take anything’’

She shakes her head in disbelief ‘’We are not going to tell your father about this. This will just be between us and you know you can talk to me about anything. I will always be here for you’’

I nod ‘’ I know mom’’

She furrows her brows in confusion ‘’Mom?’’ I nod, she continues ‘’You never call me mom. What is going on with you?’’

Shit.

What do I call her? I don’t know “Uh......” I hesitate and she watches me obviously confused. I remain quiet because there is nothing I can say right now. She waits for a couple of seconds but decides there is no point saying anything else “Come on, let's get you home’’

She walks towards the door and I follow her. My footsteps are weak—tired. I don’t know what is going on with me but I am not okay. Its not just my mind, I don’t feel okay physically either.

We get to the house and I go up to my room, the ride was silent and I preferred it that way. There is nothing I could say to her that wouldn’t blow my cover. She is my mother, she'd obviously know when something is wrong with me. I mean if she doesn’t notice, who else will?

I sit on my bed and my phone is the first thing I grab. There are a bunch of messages but they are all from J.J. I don’t even want to talk to him right now. The only person I want to talk to is the one person I know can help me. His name is on my favourites list in my contacts—meaning we talk all the time. I am sure he doesn’t really want to talk to me right now but I want to talk to him.

I linger on his name, wanting to tap the screen and hear his voice but I need to take baby steps. I don’t want to scare him when I just got him on my side again. My phone flashes suddenly and his face comes up. He is calling me.

A smile creeps up to my face and I answer it instantly. His voice rings up ‘’You home?” it is supposed to be a question but it sounds like a statement. I don’t know what he is on about but I answer anyways “Yes’’

He continues “So, I’ve been thinking about the girl you woke up next to. We can find her, maybe we go back to The Maison, ask around if anyone saw you with her. Maybe someone recognised her”

‘’You think so?’’ I am desperate for some answers and maybe I could finally get some if he helps me.

“I mean, it’s a long shot but we could give it a try. Come on, we should go before it gets dark, I've got to pick Stace up.’’

“Should I come pick you up?”

“Yeah. My car is at the shop. Don’t come with Fawn. I think its best if you drive today”

“I don’t know how to get to yours”

“s**t. I'll send you the address, you could just map it. I'll drive us to the hotel when you get here’’he end the call without waiting for me to reply. A few seconds later a text drops into my phone and its from him. He sent his address. I stand up from my bed and put my shoes on.

I don’t know how I am going to go about this. I don’t know if my mother will even allow me to go but i need to do this to figure this out. I need to know who i am, that is my only goal. I go out of the house and Fawn Is in the drivers lodge. I need to get the keys from him. I need him to know that I am alright. He looks up from the movie he is watching on the flat screen tv that is placed on the wall.

‘’Sir’’ he stands up.

‘’I need the keys to my car?’’

He nods “I was authorised to drive you by your mother’’ he reaches for a bowl in the middle of a table that is full of keys and picks one out of the bunch ‘’Where to sir”

I shake my head “I need to go on my own. I will be fine” I assure him. He shakes his head and the realisation that this is going to be difficult dawns on me. Who does he really work for? He is supposed to be MY driver.

‘'But madam said I should take you wherever you need to go. that was the direct order “

“And I am telling you that I don’t need you to go with me. I will be fine. You don’t have to worry yourself. I will tell mother on my own’’ I reach for the keys and he looks at me “Now hand me the keys to my car” i cant even belive myself right now. My acting is so believable even though on the outside I am freaking out.

He sighs loudly and gives me the key in defeat “Mrs Luz will be disppleased” He says like I have any reason to fear my own mother. She has been the only one even talking to me since I woke up and couldn’t rememebr a thing.

I walk out of the room and head to the car. I don’t know how i am going to get to his house but I will figure it out.

I need to figure this out.

BREN’S POV.

He is acting suspicious. i don't know what is happening but i can't understand why he even wants to talk to me. After everything that happened. I want to hate him but when i look at him i can’t.

He seems different anad I don’t like who he is right now. Jared has always been confident, this Jar is oblivious, terrified and a little pathetic. i am waiting for him and it takes him forever to get here. After a couple of hours, I hear his car pull up to my driveway.

I walk out of my house as he gets down from the car. He has a pair of shades on and this confuses me cause its already getting dark and there is basically no sun anymore.

‘’Hi’' he greets me with a warm smile and that smile does somethinf dangerous to me. i cant explain it but the feelings I have been trying to supress find their way up and out of the deepest darkest part of my heart.

‘’Hi’' I reply. Not in the mood to engage in conversation. The smile still sticks to his face. it is still there and i just want to slap that smile out of his face. I want him to rememebr everthing that happened and hate me like he should.

I walk over to the passenger seat and he runs towards me “You said you were gonna drive. It took a lot to get me here. I don’t know how I'd do the same thing again. Please’' he stretches his hand out and I notice the car key.

For a second, he is the same guy I knew. Controlling, bossy and adorable.

‘’please’’ he begs.

And that second vanishes and he is back to the Jared that I don’t know. I collect the key from him and we start our journey. The ride is quiet. He is nervous; that much I can tell but i don’t even want to encourage conversation.

‘'We dated.’’ it is more like a statement but I know he is asking from the tone. He really doesn’t rememeber anything. What happened to him last nigh?

‘’Yes’'

i look at him for a second and he is watching me. His eyes bore into me and goosebumps cral over my skin. I hate this feeling so bad. I face the road because I know this drive is going to be long ad awkward as hell. The rest of the drive goes with him checking his phone and me facing the road.

We get to the hotel and he smiles wide “This is it” he says excitedly.

We come down in front of the entrance and the valet collects the key from me. Greeting us with a welcoming expression. This is not the first time we have come here together. He always used to want to come here to escape his parents. His grandfather left this hotel in his name.

I don’t think he knows that all this belongs to him.

Everyone knows him here so someone would know who he came with last night. That much is obvious. I don’t know why I am even helping him but I cant help but be weak when it comes to this man.

We enter the lobby and I walk straight to the front desk. Havier will know something, he always watches out for Jared.

Emily smiles when she sees us, she is dressed in her uniform and her hair is gelled neatly to the back. Her name tag is clipped on to the top part of her shirt ‘Hello sir’' she greets Jared.

Jared smiles and somehow this makes her blush. Jared has always been able to attract the ladies and who can blame him; he is f*****g gorgeous. He waves shyly and she creases her brows in confusion.

‘’Your suite as usual?’’ she asks.

i shake my head “Is havier in today?’’ I go straight to the point because I don’t want to revisit the memories we shared in that room.

‘’Yes, he is at the back, should I get him for you” she directs her question to Jared. You see, i am the one that asked but the important one is the one that deserves an answer.

‘’Yes please” Jared answers.

I look at him and he is already watching me. It's almost like he can't stop looking at me. Why the hell is he so interestd in me if he cant rememebr me.

‘'Why do you believe I can help you? You don’t even remmeber me”

He smiles “I watched the videos”

i furrow my brows “What videos”

he brings his phone out of his pocket and I remember them like it happened yesterday. The thing about videos and pictures Is that they don’t tell the whole story. They show what you want them to see. You see, that day was the best and the worst day of my life.

He doesn’t rememebr and that is why he can smile when he watches them. He knows what happened that day. Deep down the memory is there but somehow hs is able to bury it deep down.

“This doesn’t explain anything. It is just a video”

He shakes his head “It is everything to me right now’’

My heart hurts because what he is doing to me is not good. He forgot everything but I didnt and he is reminding me of the pain that I chose to forget. I close my eyes and everything that happened that day spring up and sadness engulfs my heart.

FLASHBACK.

‘’My mom knows about us” he is shaking. Like somehow, he is terrified of her. He doesn’t want her to know. I shake my head because I am confused. We have been dating for a while. He has basically hidden me from everyone.

I have been patient with him because I know the kind of family he is from. His parents are influential. Their opinion of me is important and somehow I would like it if they approve of our relationship but everytime I bring it up, he brushes it off like it is not important.

“Is it such a bad thing?” I ask because I don’t understand why it would be. I have met his mom. She is a sweetheart and although she doesn’t know that I am his boyfriend, she has always been so welcoming.

‘'Yes it is, it is a very bad thing. My mother is the biggest homophobe in the history of homophobes, she would not approve of her only son being this way’’

I chuckle because I find it hard to believe, that woman is anything but a threat to us. Jared is just insecure and coming out to his parents would take our relationship to another level and i am sure he doesn’t want that right now, he is just scared.

The next day I get a call from Mrs Luz, inviting me to their house for dinner. I don’t know why I am extra excited but the fact that the woman wants to meet me means she is coming to terms with our relationship. It means, she is ready to accept this relationship.

I call Jared and he is scared. He doesn’t want me to come for this dinner, but I convince him at the end. I get to their house and I am giddy. This is a step for our relationship and I love him so much.

Louis welcomes me into their house with open arms. Her smile is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night. It is soothing and precious. All through the dinner, Jared is uncomfortable, he doesn’t talk. He watches his mother like she is some kind of threat and I don’t understand.

I don’t remember anything after we finish eating but I wake up in a dark room, alone and terrified. I open my eyes and I am scared. I shout and scream, calling for help. I don’t know what is happening but maybe Jared was right. Maybe this is his mother’s doing.

Someone finally enters the room and I see a man I have never met before. He has a smile on his face.

‘'Who are you’’ I yell hoping that at least someone can hear my screams but from the looks in that room I know it is not possible. I know that I will not get out of here unless they let me go.

The room suddenly brightens but it is still unrecognizable. There is a glass on the wall of the other side of the room, it almost looks like an interrogation room. The one you see in movies.

‘'What do you want’' I notice that I am tied up.

The man ignores me, I shake my head in disbelief. The last thing I remember is having dinner with Jared’s family. I remember drinking something. Was I drugged?

The man suddenly pulls my chair which rolls to the front of the glass on the wall. At first it is opaque, but it suddenly clears up and I can see what is on the other end of the room.

It is brighter than the room I am in. There is a king sized bed and Jared is on it. He is tied up. Just like me but the difference is that he is half naked, in only his underwear. His eyes are open, but I have never seen him in the state he is in. There are bruises on his face. Someone beat him up.

‘'What the hell happened to him’'

I try to stand up from the chair, but I am still tied up. I can only watch. This is wrong, this is a crime. They have kidnaped us and I don’t know the reason why. What the hell is happening.

The door in the room that he is in suddenly opens up and two girls walk in. They are naked too. In their underwear. They look like prostitutes. They walk over to the bed and Jared looks at them with tears in his eyes.

I already know what they are going to do. I don’t understand why this is happening but my heart breaks as I watch them abuse him continuously. It is obvious that he doesn’t want to do this but he can’t get out of the situation. He doesn’t scream, he doesn’t yell or try to push them off him but I notice the tear. He is looking right at the glass—at me and I know he can’t see me, but it feels like he knows I am there. He knows that I am watching this.

All of a sudden, I understand why he is so scared of his mother. She is the one that is doing this to him.

She is the one that probably got people to beat him up. She is trying to get the gay off him.

And she thinks this is the best way to do it.

I don’t see Jared for two months. I don’t know where he is or what happened to him after that night, but I remember everything clearly. A month later he walks into the diner where we first met, and his bruises are healed. Almost like it never happened but I remember. I could never forget.

He walks up to me and holds me in his arms and for the first time in my life. I cry--I cry in his arms and he understands why. He knows that I had to watch that happen to him. He knows that I was there. Things to go back to the way they were, we date in secret.

END OF FLASHBACK.

“The prodigal son returns” Havier greets him enthusiastically. The middle-aged man Is dressed in a black suit with a bowtie and dress shoes. You’d think he was anything but the hotel manager. He walks up to Jared and embraces him’

Jared welcomes him into his arms, but the hug only lasts for a second. They pull apart and Havier leads us into his minuscule office. Which is behind the scenes. At the back of where all the action happens. I sit down before he even tells us to and Jared follows suit.

‘’So, what can I do for you today?” he has a warm smile on his face.

‘'I am looking for someone I came here with last night’' he rolls his eyes around almost like he is thinking about it. The smile on his face disappears and a concentrated look finds its way to his face “I didn’t see you last night’’ he seems disappointed, but the smile finds its way back.

‘’We can check the cameras in the control room. That could help you find her” The fact that he automatically assumes that he came here with a girl gets to me because no matter how evolved I think the world is, they will always misconcept situations.

Jared jumps up excitedly and I roll my eyes. He is too giddy, I need him to get his memory back. He cannot be acting unlike himself.

We go to the elevators and it takes us to the top floor. We get to the room and it is very spacious and dark. It’s like the movies—action ones to be precise. I don’t know what Jared thinks this is, but we are unlikely to find anything.

There are computer monitors layered in a straight row in a wall. They show all the parts of the hotel, the hallways, the reception, the dining room but there are no rooms and I understand that it is a privacy issue.

‘’Caleb, I need you to help me go back to the footage of last night’’ he looks at Jared and directs his question at him ‘’What time specifically”

Jared shrugs and now he is looking at me. I don’t know what time he came here, I know when I left him, but I don’t know what happened after that. ‘’I don’t know but we parted at around 1am. So maybe around that time?’’

He nods and Caleb uses the mouse to control the screen. There are a bunch of files with dates and times on them. He scrolls through and I watch and wait patiently for him to find it. He clicks on a file and it plays on one of the numerous screens. I see the time written at the bottom, this is the time I left him. I remember the fight, I remember the anger in his eyes but at this moment I choose to ignore it and focus on why we are here.

‘’Do you think we know her’ I jump from his voice because I didn’t even realise he was next to me. His breath tickles my ear lobe and a sensation hits me but at this moment I brush it off and ignore everything.

‘’I probably don’t but you should, and we would never know because you can’t remember s**t’’ I answer him harshly and I regret it immediately from the sad look on his face.

I don’t want to be mean to him, but I don’t also want to be too nice to him. Being nice to Jared will only complicate things. I can’t have complicated right now, I need to let go of this baggage that he dropped for me.

‘’I’m sorry. Look lets just focus here’’

Havier coughs ‘’Well, I am sure I can leave you guys to figure things out here. I have a meeting that I am late for’’ he taps Jared shoulders lightly and walks away from us and out of the room.

Caleb looks away from the screen and I notice him for the first time. He has big glasses on and his hair is a mess.

‘’So, what are you guys looking for?’’

Jared speaks up “I came here last night with a girl. I need to know who she is?”

He smiles “Hangover kind of night?” he is messing around—obviously but this is not a joke. It is very serious.

We watch the recording of the entrance. It is just a bunch of people, coming in and out of the hotel. Caleb speeds the recording and everyone movement quickens. After a couple of minutes, I recognise his car.

‘’Stop’’ I tell him.

He slows the recording and we watch. It is 2am. That’s two hours after I left him. He didn’t drive to the party. How is his car here? I wait for him to get down from the car, but he doesn’t. a couple of minutes pass by and a man gets down from the car. I don’t recognise this person.

‘’Who is this?’’ Jared is asking me but I have no clue. He must also recognise his car.

‘’I don’t know. I have never seen him before. Caleb can you zoom in a little bit’’ he pauses the video and zooms closer to the man’s face. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. I can’t really identify him because the video is in black and white. There is no colour, so I don’t even know what colour his hair is, or his eyes.

‘’This is ridiculous’’ Jared exclaims frustrated.

Caleb looks at him unsure of what to say or do ‘’We can keep looking, maybe something will explain why he has your car’’ try to smoothen the situation. He manages a smile and we watch as the screen again. The valet collects the key from him and drives the car away. We watch and wait for something, but no one comes in. Caleb skips a bit and at 3am a yellow cab parks in front of the entrance.

Jared falls out of the can and he is unsteady. He seems drunk. He manages to get on his feet and I watch as a girl comes out of the car. I recognise her immediately.

‘’Annalise”?

Jared looks at me ‘’You know her?”

I run my hands through my hair in disbelief. She can’t be the one he slept with last night.

I look at the screen and she is next to him now. Her arms are around his shoulders. She has a smile on her face. He whispers something to her and she laughs. I can’t hear and I have no idea what he said but it must have been very funny from the expression on her face.

‘’She is the one, do you know who she is’’ he is hopeful, desperate but my heart is breaking. I don’t want to believe she is the one he had s*x with last night. She wouldn’t do that to me. We are not really friends, but I know there are some lines you just won’t cross.

‘’Yes’’

‘’Do I know who she is’’

I nod again and he frowns “She totally acted like she didn’t know who I was. She made me feel like a f*****g jerk’’

I furrow my brows “What do you mean?’’

At this point, Caleb is done paying attention to us. He is fully engrossed in his face. I face Jared and he speaks up ‘’I woke up next to her and she acted like she didn’t know me. She even freaked out and left in a hurry. She looked at me like I raped her or something’’

‘’She wouldn’t do that unless she actually can’t remember you either’’ I try to reason with him.

He shakes his head ‘’she knew who the f**k she was, she just couldn’t remember anything that happened last night’’ he sighs “Who is she?’’

‘’She works in the same supermarket as me. We have the same shifts on Saturdays’’ I explain. They have met a bunch of times and Annalise is always telling me about how jealous she is of the two of us. She joked around all the time with Jared.

‘’Where can we find her. I need to talk to her’’ he is in patient, I don’t blame him and I need to help him out.

‘’She should be at work right now. I can call her” I grab my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and search for her number. I look at Caleb and he wants us gone ‘’We should probably leave’’

Jared nods and we walk out of the security room. We get to the reception and I dial her number. It goes straight to voicemail ‘’She’s not answering’’ I don’t know what else to say or do ‘’She’ll be at work tomorrow. I’ll talk to her.’’

He shakes his head ‘’We need to find her right now’’ he paces back and forth. I am unsure of how to control this situation. I shouldn’t even be here with him. We broke up last night. He said all he had to say and then he went to sleep with a girl.

This is messed up and I can’t seem to let him go and figure all this out on his own. I can’t seem to stop the aching feeling in my chest.