Chapter 46 I Did Something Bad
I Did Something Bad
Emily's Search History: Differentiating between repressed memories and dissociative amnesia
Emily
I cancel my afternoon appointments, then rush out of my office.
“I’m heading home. Not feeling well,” I tell Kayla, waving as I go.
The door crashes open and I stumble down the steps. I’m opening my phone to call an Uber when a masculine groan stops me cold.
Snapping my head to the side, I’m confronted by Eli—his back pressed to the wall as he rocks back and forth. Nonsensical mumbles spill from his lips.
My body locks up. I don’t know what to do.
The part of me that’s terrified of him wars with the part of my heart that’s hopelessly in love with the broken man before me.
My feet unfreeze and I crouch in front of him—care winning out.
“Eli,” I coax softly.
He doesn’t respond.
I place a hand on his arm.
He jolts. His eyes open, but they aren’t seeing me.
I bite my lip.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I hit call.
“Can you come pick me up from work?” I ask as soon as she answers.
Carina’s response is immediate. “On my way.”
Thankfully, her house isn’t far from the practice. She arrives in fifteen minutes.
Eli still hasn’t stopped whispering to himself.
Carina hops out of her pink Fiat, Nate right behind her. They stop short when they see me crouched in front of a trembling Eli.
“What’s wrong with him?” Nate asks.
I don’t have an answer. “I found him like this. Can you help me get him home?”
It isn’t easy, but the three of us wrestle Eli into the back seat. I climb in beside him while Carina and Nate take the front.
“I know you said no questions asked…” Carina trails off.
I release a shaky breath, the weight of my discovery pressing down on me. “Eli became a stalker because of a girl when he was seventeen. He followed her everywhere. Then he said that one day she just disappeared, and he’s been chasing her ever since.”
I swallow. “Today I got a news alert. Jenny’s been dead for twelve years.”
Carina gasps. “He was lying?”
I shrug, glancing at Eli, who’s still muttering under his breath. “I don’t know.”
“Is that why he’s like” —Nate gestures toward him— “this?”
“I honestly don’t know. I came outside to Uber to yours, and I found him on the floor like this. Maybe he found out after he left my office?”
“But if he did it, then surely he knew,” Nate says. “Why would he react this way?”
I hang my head.
The car slows, and together Nate and Carina help me get Eli inside, then up the stairs and into bed. We wait downstairs in the living room.
“I’m not leaving you here alone with him,” Nate says.
“He wouldn’t hurt—” The words freeze on my tongue.
“If he hurt this girl—one he was so obsessed with it sparked a lifelong pattern—then we can’t assume he wouldn’t hurt you.”
My throat tightens as tears burn behind my eyes. “I can’t leave him like this.”
Carina nods, placing a comforting hand over mine. “I know. We’ll all stay.”
I choke out a, “Thank you,” and curl in on myself.
At some point, a blanket is draped over my shoulders, and a pizza box appears on the table. I take a slice, chewing without really tasting it.
My eyes drift closed, sleep tugging at me, when an ear-piercing wail shreds the quiet from upstairs.
I’m on my feet instantly. So are Nate and Carina.
We race up the stairs.
The bedroom door flies open.
And there’s Eli.
Screaming. Crying.
His head snaps up at the sound.
“Angel,” he chokes.
He stumbles from the bed and rushes toward me. I take a step back—but then he drops to his knees at my feet, his hands gripping my hips.
He stares up at me, eyes wild and broken.
“I think,” he whispers, voice splintering, “I did something bad.”