Chapter 43 The Place I Don’t Remember
I didn’t wait.
Not this time.
The moment the final bell rang, I was already out of my seat, my bag slung over my shoulder, the file hidden carefully inside like it was something alive. Something that could breathe, shift, expose itself if I wasn’t careful.
Because now…
I had somewhere to go.
“You’re really doing this today?” Adrian asked as he caught up with me in the hallway.
I didn’t slow down.
“Yes.”
“Lenora, we don’t even know what that place is yet,” he said, his tone calm but cautious.
“And waiting is going to magically make it safer?” I shot back.
He didn’t respond immediately.
Because he knew I was right.
We stepped out into the parking lot, the late afternoon sun hitting harder than usual, like the world was too normal for everything that was happening underneath it.
I pulled the photo out again, staring at it closely.
The faded building.
The chipped sign behind me.
It looked like some kind of facility.
Not a home.
Not a school.
Something else.
“You ever seen a place like this?” I asked, handing it to Adrian.
He studied it carefully, his brows pulling together slightly.
“Yeah,” he said after a moment.
My heart skipped.
“You have?”
He nodded slowly.
“It looks like one of those old private care centers. Not hospitals exactly. More like… specialized facilities.”
My stomach dropped.
“Specialized for what?”
His gaze flicked to me.
“For people who need to be watched.”
The words hit harder than anything else that had happened today.
Watched.
I swallowed hard, looking back at the photo in my hand.
A younger version of me stood there, smiling like nothing was wrong.
Like I belonged there.
“I don’t remember this,” I whispered.
Adrian’s voice softened slightly.
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t matter.”
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to steady.
“Can you find it?” I asked.
He didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.”
The drive felt longer than it should have.
Not because of distance, but because of the silence between us.
Not awkward.
Not empty.
Heavy.
My fingers tapped lightly against my leg as I stared out the window, my mind replaying everything.
The file.
The call.
Kylen’s face when he saw me holding the truth.
I clenched my jaw slightly.
I wasn’t thinking about him.
I refused to.
“Stop doing that,” Adrian said suddenly.
I blinked. “Doing what?”
“Thinking about him,” he replied, glancing at me briefly before looking back at the road.
I frowned. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
He smirked faintly. “You get this look. Like you’re arguing with yourself.”
I looked away again.
Annoying.
Accurate.
“I’m not thinking about Kylen,” I muttered.
“Sure,” he said lightly.
I crossed my arms.
But he didn’t push further.
And for once…
I was grateful.
“We’re close,” he said after a while.
My heart immediately picked up speed.
“How close?”
“Five minutes.”
That was enough to make my chest tighten.
I didn’t know what I was expecting.
But I knew one thing.
Whatever waited there…
It was part of me.
And I had no memory of it.
The car slowed as we turned onto a quieter road.
The houses disappeared.
The noise faded.
And then I saw it.
My breath caught instantly.
The building.
It looked exactly like the photo.
Only older now.
More worn down.
More forgotten.
The sign was still there.
Faded. Broken at the edges.
But readable.
I stepped out of the car slowly, my heart pounding so loud it felt like it filled my ears.
“This is it,” I whispered.
Adrian came around to stand beside me, his expression serious now.
“You sure you want to go inside?” he asked.
No.
Not even a little.
But I nodded anyway.
“Yes.”
Because I didn’t come this far to stop at the door.
The entrance creaked as we pushed it open.
Dust lingered in the air.
The smell hit immediately.
Old.
Unused.
Abandoned.
My footsteps echoed softly as I stepped inside, my eyes scanning everything.
The walls were lined with old notices.
Schedules.
Names.
I moved closer, my breath catching again.
“Adrian…”
He stepped beside me.
“What?”
I pointed.
A list.
Old. Yellowed.
But still readable.
Names.
And there it was.
Lenora.
My heart stopped.
“That’s me,” I whispered.
Adrian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
I reached out slowly, my fingers brushing against the paper like it might disappear if I touched it too hard.
Date of admission.
Age.
Too young.
Too young to remember.
My chest tightened painfully.
“I was here,” I said.
Not a question.
A realization.
“Yes,” Adrian replied.
Before I could process that—
A sound echoed behind us.
The door.
Closing.
Both of us turned instantly.
And my heart dropped.
Kylen.
Standing there.
Breathing hard.
Eyes locked on me.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
My chest tightened.
“You don’t get to tell me that anymore,” I replied.
His gaze flicked to Adrian.
Sharp.
Unhappy.
“You brought her here?”
Adrian didn’t flinch.
“She asked.”
Kylen ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.
“You have no idea what you’re stepping into,” he said, his voice low.
I stepped forward.
“Then explain it.”
Silence.
Again.
Always silence.
My frustration snapped.
“I found my name here, Kylen,” I said, my voice rising. “I found proof that I was in this place, and I don’t remember any of it. So stop telling me to stay away and start telling me why.”
His expression shifted.
Pain.
Conflict.
Fear.
But still…
He didn’t answer.
And that hurt more than anything else.
“Say something,” I whispered.
He looked at me like he wanted to.
Like he almost would.
But then—
“You’re not ready for this,” he said.
And just like that…
Everything in me hardened.
“Then I’ll get ready on my own,” I replied coldly.
Silence filled the building again.
But this time…
It wasn’t just heavy.
It was breaking.
Because whatever this place was…
Whatever it meant…
It was pulling us all apart.
And we were only just getting started.