Chapter 68 IN MY MEMORY.
\~~~SERENA.
“Tell me everything that happened that night,” I demanded, my voice low but firm. The words hung in the air between us, sharp as a knife. Maya's eyes widened, and she froze mid-step on the path, the campus noise fading into a dull hum around us.
She scratched the back of her head, her nails digging in like she was trying to pull out an excuse. Her gaze darted left and right. No one was paying us attention, but she looked anyway, like secrets had eyes.
“Serena, come on,” she said, forcing a weak smile. “That was ages ago. It is no longer necessary to dig it up. We were young, drunk, and stupid. Let's just... move on?”
Her words twisted in my gut.
Move on?
Like it was some silly college prank, but I could see the flicker in her eyes, the way her shoulders hunched. She knew more, and I wasn't letting this slide. Not after Damien's half-truths, the photos, the shadows creeping into our lives.
I grabbed her arm, my fingers tight enough to make her wince.
“Talk now, Maya, or you’d not like the other side of me.” The threat came out colder than I meant, but damn it, I was done with lies. My heart pounded, a mix of fear and fury bubbling up.
Maya's face paled, and she stopped resisting. “Okay, okay,” she whispered, glancing around one last time. “But not here. Let's walk.”
We resumed moving, our steps slow along the shaded path lined with oaks.
My mind raced ahead, piecing together fragments of Damien's vague story, and the missing pieces of my past. Why did it all point back to that night?
We settled on a bench underneath a thick canopy, the shade cool against my skin. The spot was tucked away, away from the main flow of students. Maya sat beside me, twisting her hands in her lap.
“I wasn’t sure what happened,” she started, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was late, the club's music was still thumping in my ears. Everyone was leaving, stumbling out, calling cabs, and pairing off for the night. And that was when we realized you were no longer with us. You'd been dancing, laughing, and downing shots like water. Then... poof. Gone.”
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, staring at the gravel path. My stomach churned. I remembered the club in flashes, the bass vibrating through my chest, colorful lights swirling, the taste of vodka burning my throat.
But after that? Nothing.
“The search went for a while,” Maya continued, her words tumbling out now, like a dam breaking. “We checked the bathrooms, the bar, and even texted your phone. No answer. You didn’t even go with your phone and bag as they were back at the table. I got worried and started circling the place alone. Finally, I went outside to check the alley behind the club. That's when I saw it.”
She paused, and swallowed hard, her eyes meeting mine for a second.
“Saw what?” I pressed, my voice tight.
“A man standing beside… bodies.”
“Bodies?” I raised a brow, my heart skipping. The word felt wrong, like it belonged in a nightmare, not my life.
Maya nodded, slow and heavy. “Yes. Two men, sprawled on the ground like broken dolls. Blood everywhere, pooling under the streetlight. And you... You were lying right beside them, Serena. Unconscious, clothes torn, face smeared with... I don't know, dirt or worse.”
Horror clawed up my throat. I could almost feel the cold pavement against my back, and the metallic tang in the air. But no memory came, just an echo of dread.
“Brutally murdered?” I echoed, the words tasting bitter.
“Yeah,” she said, voice cracking. “Their throats were slashed, and their faces... unrecognizable. It looked like someone went at them with rage, not just a fight. I screamed, I couldn't help it. Before I could get closer, the man slipped away. He was tall, shadowed, but he noticed me and just... vanished into the dark, like a ghost.”
My breath hitched as she went on, her hands trembling now.
“At first, I thought you were dead too, you weren't moving, your eyes were closed, and your breathing was shallow. But when I moved closer, I saw your chest rise and fall. Still conscious, but barely. I pulled you away quickly, before anyone else came out, and dragged you to the car with my heart hammering the whole time. I… didn’t calm the cops, I just wanted us safe.”
“W… why did you never tell me about this?” I stuttered, my voice breaking.
Tears pricked my eyes, hot and sudden.
She swallowed hard, looking around again, as if the trees might whisper our words. “You were extremely drunk, Serena. Blacked out cold by the time we got to the dorm. There was blood on you, splattered on your dress, and your body. I took it upon myself to wash you off that night, scrubbed until it was gone. Changed your clothes, and tucked you in. And as God would have it, you didn’t remember anything the next morning. Woke up hungover, complaining about a headache, and asking for coffee. Like it never happened.”
I gasped, palming my mouth to stifle the sound.
What the hell had I walked into? Or have been pulled into?
“Also…” Maya added, her voice dropping lower, “I was scared of your response. Hell, I was scared, okay? I have no idea what happened that night. Did you know those guys? Were you in danger? And I fear knowing. What if it drags us into something ugly? Police, questions... I just wanted to protect you.”
Protect me?
By lying? My chest tightened, a whirlwind of anger and hurt. But underneath, gratitude flickered, she'd saved me, in her panicked way.
“Did you see his face? The man you first mentioned,” I asked, leaning in, desperate for details.
Maya shook her head, curls swaying. “No. It was dark, and he was facing away, bent over the bodies. He straightened when he heard me, but then he slipped away the moment he noticed me approaching. I didn't get a good look, just his outline, maybe a jacket.”
We sat in silence for a beat, the bench hard under me. Birds chirped overhead, mocking the tension. Why now? Why dig this up after four years?
“Why are you suddenly asking?” Maya said finally, turning to me. “Did you remember something? Is that why you look like you've seen a ghost?”
“No…” I whispered, almost inaudible. The name stuck in my throat, heavy.
Her brow furrowed. “Then what?”
“Damien mentioned it,” I admitted, the words slipping out like a confession.
“W… what? How so?” Maya's eyes went wide, shock rippling across her face. “That was… four years ago, was it not? It was about a month before you met Ryan, no?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, staring at my hands. The timeline clicked right before Ryan entered my life, before Damien became my husband. Or so I thought.
“I think…” I started, my voice faltering. The suspicion coiled tight in my chest, refusing to loosen.
“Talk to me, Serena,” she urged, grabbing my hand. Her touch was warm, and grounding, but my mind spun.
“I think… Damien was the man you saw that night.”
The words dropped like a stone into still water, rippling out. Maya's grip tightened, her face draining of color. The shade above us felt colder suddenly, the world tilting on its axis.
If Damien had been there, what did that mean?
I needed answers from him, and from the void in my memory. But right now, the truth felt farther away than ever.