Chapter 17
Will's POV
Will woke with a violent gasp.
His lungs burned as though he had just run miles through desert heat. His chest heaved, pulling in air that didn't seem to reach deep enough.
For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
Darkness.
Walls.
A ceiling that didn't belong to any place his mind could anchor to.
Then the smell hit him.
Not sand.
Not sweat.
Not blood.
Hotel detergent.
Clean sheets.
But his body didn't believe it.
His heart pounded violently against his ribs, each beat louder than the last as if it were trying to break free.
Something was wrong.
His head throbbed with a pressure that felt like it might split his skull open.
Images flashed behind his eyes.
Not memories.
Fragments.
A hand gripping the collar of his shirt.
Shouting.
Foreign voices.
A boot slamming into his ribs.
Heat.
Sand grinding into wounds.
A flash of yellow fabric in sunlight.
Water lapping against wood.
Aria's voice.
You will never be completely him again.
Will bolted upright.
"No."
The word left his mouth before he even realized he'd spoken.
Beside him, Emily stirred.
"Will?"
Her voice was thick with sleep.
But when she saw him sitting there, shoulders tense, breathing ragged, she pushed herself upright immediately.
"Hey... hey, what's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
His mind was splitting open.
Images came faster now.
A wooden dock.
Aria walking down the hill in that yellow dress.
Her bare feet in the grass.
The lake behind her.
Then suddenly...
Hands again.
Dragging him.
Punches.
The smell of rust and blood.
Will scrambled backward off the bed.
The sudden movement sent the nightstand rattling.
"Will!" Emily sat up fully now. "Hey—look at me."
He couldn't.
His hands clutched his head.
"No... no... no..."
His voice came out raw.
Broken.
Emily slid carefully off the bed.
"Hey, hey, it's okay."
She stepped toward him slowly.
But the moment her hand touched his arm...
Will jerked away violently.
His back hit the dresser.
A lamp crashed to the floor.
Emily froze.
Not because she thought he would hurt her.
But because his eyes were wrong.
They were wide.
Wild.
Like he wasn't seeing her.
"Will..." she said carefully.
His breathing grew faster.
Panic clawed through his chest.
He turned toward the door suddenly.
"I have to find her."
Emily blinked.
"What?"
He looked around the room frantically.
"She's here."
Her stomach dropped.
"Who?"
Will's eyes snapped toward her.
"Aria."
The name hit her like a physical blow.
Before she could respond, he grabbed her wrist suddenly.
Not hard.
Not angry.
But desperate.
"She was here," he said, voice shaking. "She was right here."
Emily's breath caught.
"Will... listen to me."
His grip tightened.
"I heard her voice."
"Will..."
"She's in danger."
He shoved away from her suddenly.
His hands ran through his hair violently.
"It's all wrong."
Emily took a step back.
Fear crept up her spine.
Not fear of him. Fear for him.
He didn't know where he was.
He wasn't here.
He was somewhere else entirely.
Will stumbled across the room.
Knocking into the dresser.
Breathing like he was suffocating.
Emily grabbed her phone.
Her fingers shook as she dialed.
Hayes answered on the second ring.
"Mr. Hayes."
"Something's wrong," she whispered. "You need to get here."
Twenty Minutes Later
Hayes arrived first.
Parker came through the door right behind him.
The room looked like a storm had passed through.
The lamp shattered.
Sheets half torn from the bed.
Will pacing the room like a caged animal.
Sweat soaked through his shirt.
His chest rising and falling too fast.
Parker's eyes narrowed immediately.
He'd seen soldiers break before.
Hayes stepped forward slowly.
"Corporal Callahan."
Will stopped pacing.
The title hit him like a distant echo.
His eyes lifted.
But they didn't focus.
Hayes kept his voice calm.
"Look at me."
Will blinked.
For a moment, it seemed like he might.
Then his hands shot to his temples again.
"No."
His voice cracked.
"It's not safe here."
Parker moved slightly to the side, watching carefully.
"What's not safe?" Hayes asked.
Will shook his head violently.
"It's all mixed up."
His breathing grew worse.
"I can't find..."
"Find what?"
Will looked at the floor.
Then back at Hayes.
"Her."
Emily's heart dropped again.
Hayes kept his tone steady.
"Who?"
Will swallowed hard.
"Aria."
The room went still.
Parker and Hayes exchanged a look.
Will pressed both hands against his head.
"I hear her voice."
Emily spoke softly.
"She's not here."
Will shook his head.
"No."
His eyes darted around the room again.
"She's here."
His breathing became ragged again.
"She was on the dock, and I couldn't reach her then. I could not make her stay with me."
Parker's stomach tightened.
The lake.
Hayes stepped closer.
"Callahan, listen to me."
But Will was slipping again.
Parker could see it happening.
The memories were colliding.
War.
Aria.
Chase.
Will.
Two lives smashing together inside one brain.
"Hayes," Parker muttered.
Hayes nodded once.
He stepped away and pulled out his phone.
He called the VA.
Explained the situation quickly.
The doctor listened carefully.
Then asked a question.
"Is the woman from his previous life there?"
Hayes glanced at Parker.
Then at Emily.
"No."
A pause.
Then the doctor said something that made Hayes' jaw tighten.
"Bring her to him."
Silence filled the room.
Hayes hung up slowly.
Emily looked at him immediately.
"What did they say?"
Hayes hesitated.
Parker already knew.
"They think..." Hayes began carefully.
"...Aria might be able to pull him out of it."
Emily's stomach dropped.
Her eyes moved to Will.
He was pacing again.
Running his hands through his hair.
Muttering under his breath.
Parker watched him.
Then looked at Emily.
"Call her, please."
"You sure about this?"
Emily swallowed.
Her chest tightened painfully.
But she nodded.
"If she's the only person who can help him..."
Her voice broke.
"...then call her."
Parker studied her for a moment.
Respect flickered across his expression.
Then he pulled out his phone
Across Town
Aria was half asleep on the couch.
The empty wine bottle sat on the coffee table.
Her oversized t-shirt hung loosely around her thighs as she shifted under the blanket.
Her phone buzzed.
She groaned softly.
Fumbled for it.
Parker's name lit the screen.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
She answered.
"Parker?"
His voice came through low and urgent.
"Aria... we need you."
She sat up immediately.
"What happened?"
Parker hesitated.
Then said the words that made her blood run cold.
"Chase's having some kind of breakdown."
Her heart began to pound.
"He keeps asking for you."
Aria was already standing.
Already reaching for her keys.
"I'm on my way."
Aria stared at the phone in her hand for only a second after Parker hung up.
Her keys were already in her other hand when she realized what she was doing.
She stopped cold in the middle of the living room.
The empty wine bottle sat on the coffee table.
Her stomach dropped.
"Damn it."
She ran a hand through her hair and grabbed her phone again, opening the rideshare app with shaking fingers.
The nearest driver was eight minutes away.
Eight minutes felt like an eternity.
She paced the living room while the clock ticked.
Her mind ran through worst-case scenarios.
What if he hurts himself?
What if he hurts Emily?
What if he never comes back from whatever place he's trapped in?
The notification chimed.
Your driver has arrived.
Aria was already out the door.
Ten Minutes Later
Parker met her at the hotel entrance.
"You got here okay?"
"I Ubered."
He nodded once, already turning toward the elevator.
"It's bad."
"How bad?"
Parker rubbed the back of his neck.
"He's not here."
Her chest tightened.
"What do you mean?"
"He's seeing things."
The elevator doors slid open.
They stepped inside.
Parker lowered his voice.
"Torture stuff."
Her stomach twisted.
"What kind of torture stuff?"
Parker didn't answer immediately.
Then he said quietly,
"The kind soldiers don't talk about even to other soldiers."
The elevator dinged.
They stepped into the hallway.
Before they even reached the room, Aria heard it.
Heavy breathing.
Something crashing.
A voice.
Raw.
Panicked.
"Get off me!"
Her heart slammed into her ribs.
Parker opened the door leading into the room.
She held her breath and sent up a small prayer before stepping inside.
The rope cut into his wrists.
The memory slammed into him so hard he couldn't breathe.
His arms were stretched above his head.
His shoulders screamed with pain.
The room smelled like sweat.
Metal.
Blood.
A voice shouted something in a language he couldn't understand.
Then the blows came.
A fist.
A boot.
Something cracked against his ribs again.
His vision blurred.
"Tell us!" English this time.
Another hit.
His head snapped sideways.
Blood filled his mouth.
He spit it onto the dirt floor.
"I don't know anything," he rasped.
The men laughed.
Then someone grabbed his hair and forced his head back.
Pain exploded across his face.
A knife.
Cold metal dragged across his cheek.
"Then you will learn to remember."
Will jerked violently.
"No!"
The hotel room exploded back into view.
His hands clawed at his own head.
"It's not real!"
But the smell was still there.
The heat.
The sand.
His brain couldn't separate them anymore.
"Will!"
Emily's voice cut through the chaos.
But he couldn't see her.
He only saw shadows moving toward him.
Hands grabbing.
Ropes tightening.
He shoved something away violently.
A chair crashed into the wall.
"I told you I don't know!"
His chest heaved.
The room spun.
Another memory slammed into him.
Days without water.
His lips splitting.
A man pouring something over his wounds just to watch him scream.
Will fell to his knees.
His hands pressed into his temples.
"Stop!"
But the memories wouldn't stop.
Because this time, they were mixing with something new.
Aria.
Her voice at the lake.
Her yellow dress in the sunlight.
Her feet are in the water.
Her eyes looking at him like she still loved him.
The two worlds collided violently.
Chase.
Will.
Past.
Present.
Everything shattered.
"I can't hold him back!"
His voice cracked.
"He's coming through!"
Aria stepped into the room and immediately understood.
Will wasn't just panicking.
He was reliving something.
His eyes were open, but they weren't seeing the hotel room.
They were somewhere else.
Somewhere dark.
Somewhere brutal.
Parker and Hayes stood nearby, trying to keep him from hurting himself.
Emily pressed herself against the wall, pale and shaken.
Will was on his knees now.
Sweat soaked his shirt.
His hands clutched his head like it might split open.
"I told you everything!"
Aria's breath caught.
Her voice came out softer than she expected.
"Chase."
Everything stopped.
Will froze.
His chest rose and fell violently.
Slowly...
His head turned.
His eyes found her.
For a moment, something terrifying flickered across his face.
Rage mixed with fear.
Then relief so deep tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.
"Aria..."
The name fell from his mouth like a prayer.
She moved toward him slowly.
"No one is hurting you."
His breathing trembled.
"They're here."
"No," she whispered. "You're safe."
His eyes searched the room frantically.
"The ropes..."
"You're not tied up."
She crouched down in front of him.
Close enough that he could focus on her face.
"Look at me."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"You're not there anymore," she said softly. "You escaped."
His breath stuttered.
"Did I?"
"Yes."
Her hand lifted slowly.
Resting gently against the side of his face.
"You made it home."
His body trembled violently.
Then suddenly.
His forehead dropped against her shoulder.
The fight drained out of him.
His breathing slowed.
Not calm.
But no longer drowning.
Behind them, Hayes exhaled quietly.
Parker shook his head in disbelief.
Because what they had just witnessed wasn't just a panic attack.
It was the moment Chase's buried memories started tearing through the walls his brain built to survive.
And the only voice strong enough to pull him back...
Was Aria's
Emily couldn't stay in the room any longer.
The moment Will whispered Aria's name again, something inside her chest cracked open. She turned away quickly, pressing a hand to her mouth as tears flooded her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she choked out, though no one had accused her of anything.
Then she hurried toward the bathroom.
The door slammed behind her.
Parker hesitated only half a second before following.
He stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him.
Emily leaned over the sink, both hands gripping the porcelain as she struggled to breathe through the sob rising in her throat.
Her reflection stared back at her in the mirror.
Pale.
Shaken.
"Hey," Parker said gently behind her.
She wiped at her eyes, but it was useless.
"I knew he had been through things," she whispered. "I knew that logically."
Parker leaned against the door, giving her space.
"But hearing it... seeing him like that..." Her voice cracked. "I didn't know it would feel like this."
She swallowed hard.
"I don't know how to help him."
Parker didn't answer right away.
"I just know I am not the one who can help him... I am not the one he wants."
Because the truth was...
They had both just watched Chase choose.
Back in the Room
Hayes cleared his throat softly.
"Aria."
She looked up.
"I'm going to give you a minute," he said.
His tone remained calm, but his eyes were sharp with concern.
"I'll stay in the room."
He stepped back toward the far wall.
"If you need me," he added quietly, "just signal."
Aria nodded once.
Then she turned back toward Will.
He sat on the edge of the bed now, his shoulders slumped forward, his hands resting loosely between his knees like the weight of the world had suddenly dropped onto them.
His breathing was slower now.
But his eyes...
His eyes looked hollow.
Aria sat beside him carefully.
Neither of them said a word.
The silence between them was thick.
Finally, he spoke.
"They didn't just beat me."
His voice sounded distant.
Like he was narrating someone else's nightmare.
Aria didn't interrupt.
"They liked to make time disappear," he continued quietly.
His gaze drifted toward the floor.
"They'd wake me up every time I started drifting off."
He rubbed a hand slowly across his face.
"They'd drag me out, ask the same questions again, and again, and again."
He let out a hollow breath.
"And when I didn't have the answer..."
His jaw tightened.
"They'd make sure I stayed awake long enough to regret it."
Aria's chest tightened painfully.
"They stopped feeding me after a while," he said. "Not completely. They would bring just enough to keep me alive."
His eyes lifted slightly.
"You ever go long enough without water that your tongue starts sticking to the roof of your mouth?"
Her throat closed.
"They'd bring a bucket in sometimes," he continued.
"Set it right in front of me."
His fingers curled slightly.
"Then they'd kick it over."
The memory flickered behind his eyes.
"They wanted to see how desperate I'd get."
His voice cracked.
"I remember licking moisture off the walls."
Aria's hand covered her mouth.
He stared at the floor again.
"The pain they enjoyed inflicting on my mind and body might be anything from having wooden splinters shoved under my nails to having my nails completely ripped off.
One guy liked to burn me with heated metal rods.
.. he got really pissed when I would pass out, and he would wake me by electrocuting me over and over. .. pain and passing out."
He clenched his fist at the memories.
"After a while... I stopped remembering my own name."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"That was the worst part."
Not the pain.
Not the hunger.
Not the fear.
His eyes drifted up toward the ceiling.
"They finally started to leave me alone for days sometimes."
"No voices."
"No movement."
"No idea if it was day or night or when they were coming back to beat me or feed me."
His chest rose slowly.
"That's when my mind started breaking."
Aria felt tears slipping down her cheeks again.
"What do you mean?"
His gaze shifted toward her.
"I started talking to people who weren't there."
Her heart twisted.
"Like who?"
He swallowed hard.
"You."
The word shattered something inside her chest.
"You were the only good thing I could still remember clearly."
His voice softened.
"I'd picture you standing in our kitchen."
"Or sitting on the porch drinking sweet tea."
His fingers trembled slightly.
"Sometimes I'd hear you laughing and singing."
Aria couldn't stop the tears now.
"And when that stopped... when you stopped visiting me."
His voice faltered.
"I started forgetting you, too."
Her breath caught painfully.
"That's when everything went black."
Silence filled the room.
Then he whispered something that made her heart break.
"I think that's when I disappeared."
Aria wiped her eyes quickly.
"No."
His brow furrowed.
"No?"
"You didn't disappear."
Her hand reached for his.
"You survived."
His fingers tightened around hers.
As he stared at her like he was seeing something he'd been searching for so long.
Then something changed in his expression.
Something softer.
Familiar.
His eyes filled with emotion.
"Baby..."
The word fell from his mouth without hesitation.
Aria froze.
Because that was Chase.
Not Will.
Not the careful, uncertain man she had been speaking to for days.
Chase.
His hand lifted slowly to her face.
His thumb brushed away a tear sliding down her cheek.
"I've been trying to get back to you," he whispered.
His voice trembled.
"But I've been so lost."
Aria's breath caught.
The world around them disappeared.
No hotel room.
No Hayes.
No broken memories.
Just the two of them.
She searched his face.
And in that moment...
She knew.
This wasn't Will speaking anymore.
Chase had finally found the door back.
And he was sitting right in front of her.