❤~Ayre~❤
I slid my fingers along the velvety fabric of the tent, intertwining them with Greyson's. "Stay with me?" I pleaded, widening my eyes just so in a further attempt to persuade him to remain where he was. The corner of the third Digit's mouth tugged upwards in a half-smirk as he gently eased his fingers from my grasp, scooting towards the flap of the tent.
"Sorry, love, urgent business to attend to. I'll be back soon," Greyson assured me, leaning forwards to press his lips against mine in a chaste kiss. He drew back before I could pull him closer, winking as he said, "Don't miss me too much." With that, he slipped out of the tent, leaving me alone.
Pouting, I drew the rumpled sheets closer around me, snuggling into their warmth. I could feel a headache forming in the back of my skull, a throbbing reminder that not all was well. Over the past few days, I had convinced myself that I was completely content here, with Greyson, my boyfriend. But there was always a little niggling feeling in the back of mind that everything was not a-okay, as I believed it to be.
I often took those feelings and shoved them into the recesses of my mind, promising to sift through them later on, though I hadn't yet gotten around to that. Sighing, I massaged my temples, reluctantly dragging... my intuition, or whatever it was, to the surface of my mind, in a weak attempt at figuring something out.
Everything I knew up to this point were things Greyson had told me. Apparently I had tripped and fallen in the forest, hitting my head right on a rock, and losing all of my memories. Sounds like me, I thought absently, with a smile. Greyson had found me, and brought me back to our tent. The others were our classmates, or Digits, as he had called them. Genetically altered humans made as weapons for the government. The thought had saddened me at the time, but he had explained to me that we were going to get our revenge. We'd take over the world, and rule it.
Together.
Thoughts of Greyson swirled around my mind, and all of my unease faded away. Of course there was nothing wrong with my life. Not as long as I had Greyson.
I allowed my eyes to flutter closed, more than ready to drift into an oblivious sleep, when the rustle of a tent flap alerted me to someone's presence. "Greyson? You back already?" I asked hopefully, a bit disoriented. As I finally regained my composure, though, I realized something was terribly wrong.
"You're not... Greyson." My eyes widened as I gazed at the boy who now lingered in the entrance to the tent. I recognized the raven black hair, the crimson eyes. It was all very familiar to me, and caused my heart to clench, strangely enough. "Jett?"
The first Digit's eyes widened; he obviously didn't expect me to know who he was. I remembered him as the boy Greyson had tied up, when I had first awoken. He was the bad guy, the enemy. My eyes narrowed suspiciously, even as I crept backwards to distance myself from Jett.
"Wait, Ayre, no," Jett begged me, beseechingly. Something in his voice caused me to pause; there was immense pain there. Warily, I crossed my legs beneath me, sitting down once more. What? Can't a girl get curious once in a while?
"What do you want?"
"I want... You need to know the truth, Ayre. You need to recover your memories," the first Digit murmured, his tone urgent as he fully entered the tent. He crept closer to me, but stopped when I recoiled.
"Why? I'm perfectly happy just as I am," I protested, tilting my head upwards petulantly. Though Jett intrigued me. I felt connected to him in a way I didn't understand. Something must have happened between us, before I lost my memories, or before I began dating Greyson. And it had to be something big.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what happened," Jett muttered, more to himself than to me.
"What happened then?!" I finally snapped, my patience wearing thin. The nerve of this boy! To think he could just enter my tent, and demand that I get my memories back. As if I chose to have my memories erased! I seethed silently, awaiting his answer.
"It was my fault," sighed Jett, this confession seeming to take a great toll on him as he slumped against the wall of the tent. It was surprisingly sturdy. "I brought you here, and erased your memories... all because he told me to. And then... he took you. I didn't expect things to turn out that way."
Comprehension dawned on me like a wrecking ball barreling through a run-down building. I immediately shot to my feet, having to bend down a bit as the tent didn't accommodate my full height. "You're the reason why I can't remember anything?!"
"I believe that's what I just said," the first Digit responded drily, though he seemed to regret opening his mouth when I punched his arm. Hard. "Sorry, sorry. I mean, yes."
"Then why are you here? Come to mess with me some more?" My words were dripping with sarcasm, as resentment grew inside of me. I couldn't believe Jett was the one who had erased my memories. No wonder Greyson had tied him to a tree! But if that were the case, then that meant I hadn't tripped on a rock and fell, which would have meant...
Greyson had lied.
My lips tugged downwards into a frown. Greyson had lied to me? How much else of what he had said was the truth? The second he came back I was going to give him a piece of my mind... But in the meantime...
I turned an accusatory glare on Jett, who looked ashamed under the scrutiny. Serves him right.
Jett ran a hand through his hair, mussing the disheveled locks a bit more. I couldn't deny that the guy was... attractive, but that fact just made me loathe him all the more. The hot ones were always the bad guys, weren't they? Finally, the boy deigned to speak.
"No. I want you to remember the truth." He opened his eyes, turning his head so he faced me. He gazed at me unwaveringly, my endless black eyes returning the intensity. "I want you to remember what happened, why we're here."
He shifted, slowly inching towards where I knelt, amongst a pile of sheets. I was paralyzed, trapped by the fire that had kindled in Jett's eyes. So much passion in the depths of the vermillion orbs, all directed onto... me. And I wasn't stopping him as he approached me.
"I want you to remember..." he whispered, kneeling just in front of me. He didn't continue, and I managed to raise an eyebrow in a silent question, not trusting myself to speak. A gentle hand lifted, brushing a strand of bright pink hair out of my eyes that I hadn't noticed before. Everywhere his skin touched mine sent a burning tingle rippling throughout my body. My mind felt fuzzy, and I couldn't tear my eyes off of him, couldn't even if I wanted to.
Which, if I was honest with myself, I didn't really want to.
Jett leaned forward, his finger tracing soft patterns on the side of my face as he continued gazing at me, almost searchingly. "Us." With that, he dipped his head further, brushing his lips across mine.
Almost against my will, I leaned into the kiss, encircling his neck with my arms and nearly crushing our lips together. Tongues melded and entwined in a familiar dance, as everything else in the world disappeared and faded into black around me.
And all of a sudden, I remembered.
Everything.
"Jett," I breathed, as images flooded my mind and threatened to throw me off balance. Jett's arms tightened around me, and I automatically felt comforted in his strong embrace, even as my past flashed before my very eyes.
The escape from the military base. Parting from Jett. Flying to Washington. Seeing Jett kiss Racquel. My heart breaking. Seeing Jett again.
Jett erasing my memories.
Fury welled up in me as the recollections were returned to me, and I could already feel angry tears forming in my eyes. "How could you?" I asked, raising my eyes so that could lock with the love of my life's eyes once more. Betrayal was clear in my voice, but I refused to cry. I wouldn't anymore. Not for him.
"Ayre I--"
But Jett was cut off by a lofty, drawling voice. "Well, well, well. Isn't this touching?" My eyes instantly shot towards the tent of the flap, which was pulled back to reveal the third Digit.
Greyson.
