The fog clears and now everything is bright and my hearing is back, I don’t understand what they are saying, it’s like they are speaking a foreign language right now. I think it’s Cress and she’s angry, like momma bear angry. Then her words finally register. They play on repeat over and over in my head, “You’re pretending to be her.”
“Am not,” someone who sounds like Baylor scoffs in reply.
“Please, you lying bitch.” Yep, that’s Cress. “The person lying in that bed is Avery Evans. Standing before me is bitchy Baylor Evans.”
She’s pretending to be me? Why? I’m confused right now.
“Baylor, why?” I scream but it’s my mind because my eyes droop closed and once again, I begin to drift away from reality. No! No! No! I plead with my body but once again, it wins.
This time rather than drifting into darkness, it’s gray and hazy and I feel like I’m floating.
You’re pretending to be her. Am not.
You’re pretending to be her. Am not.
You’re pretending to be her. Am not.
This repeats over and over in my mind. What the fuck, Baylor? I’m so confused right now, surely what I’m hearing isn’t what’s happening. Panic begins to fester and in my mind I shout, She’s not me over and over.
I’m pleading, she’s not me.
My mind is crying. Pleading. Begging.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
I keep chanting this as I will my eyes to open.
I will myself to speak.
I will myself to move, even a fraction, but my body won’t cooperate. Anything, I just want my body to do something, but all I can do is lie here and listen to them bicker and argue.
“You are not her,” Cress scoffs.
“Yes, I am!” Baylor yells back.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
Come on body, do something.
I shout over and over in my mind.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
She’s not me.
Please body, do something. Anything. Please.
The door opens and Flynn snarls, “Enough!”
He’s here, I think to myself. The atmosphere in the room freezes when he speaks. My eyes flicker open but no one is paying attention to me. Rage is enveloping the room and I’m forgotten about.
Please Flynn, look at me, I beg. Hoping he knows, hoping he feels my presence. Hoping our love is enough for him to see through her lies and deceit.
Flynn is talking.
The girls are yelling.
The voices begin to fade away and the last memory I have before I drift into the darkness is Flynn fighting for me.
34
Flynn
I’m looking between Cress and Avery/Baylor/whomever arguing like children. My mind is racing to process what’s playing out right now. My eyes drop to the person in the bed and then flick back to the doppelgänger standing next to me. I’m so confused , I don’t know what’s the truth or who to believe.
“You are not her,” Cress scoffs, stepping toward Avery/Baylor, poking her in the chest.
My eyes look back and forth between the two of them as they continue to throw barbs at one another.
“Yes, I am!” Baylor/Avery yells back.
“You are not Avery Evans, I bet my life on it.” Cress points at Baylor/Avery and she smacks her hand viciously away.
I’ve had it and I explode. “Enough!” I yell, they both jump at the loudness of my voice. Even I’m surprised at the forcefulness behind it. “Just stop it,” I plead. “Whoever is in this bed needs rest. You two fighting like this isn’t going to help.” I shake my head and stare at the body lying in the bed. “Regardless of who this is,” pointing to the bed, I go on, “you both need to show some respect. She was attacked, she doesn’t need this in her recovery.”
“Yeah, Cressida,” Avery scoffs, and with that one comment, I start believing Cress that Baylor is parading around as Avery right now.
Stepping over to Avery/Baylor, Cress, reaches out and stops to me. “Flynn, that there Baylor Evans.” I stare at her, then look to Avery/Baylor. I’m so fucking confused right now. “Flynn, the person in that bed is Avery. My best friend. Your girlfriend. I know it without an ounce of doubt.” She pauses. “Flynn, I swear to you on my life. On Lexi’s life, the person in that bed is Avery.”
“Prove it,” Baylor/Avery snarls, just as the door to the room slams open, hitting the wall with a thud. Security is here, probably from the yelling and commotion echoing out in the corridor.
“With pleasure,” Cress snaps. “Yesterday morning, Avery and I got tattoos.” My eyes scrunch in confusion, I knew they had brunch but this I did not know. Cress grabs the hem of her shirt and lifts it up. On her left hip is what looks like Lexi’s handwriting, spelling out her name within a pink and blue inkblot. “I got this yesterday. Avery, the real Avery, got one on her wrist.”
The woman beside me quickly hides her arms behind her back and her face drains of all color.
“Is this true?” I hesitantly ask, my voice laced with confusion and hurt.
“Flynn, babe, she’s lying,” Baylor/Avery whines.
“Show me your wrist!” I demand, my voice a few confused octaves higher than usual.
“No, I don’t have to prove anything. I’m Avery. I’m your girlfriend. Flynn, please…” she pleads, but I don’t believe her this time.
“Uhh, yeah, you do,” Cress says, stepping toward Baylor but Preston, who I’ve just noticed is here, wraps his arms around her and pulls her back into him. He whispers something into her ear and she instantly deflates.
Walking to the bed, I pull back the blanket and lift Baylor/Avery’s arm up. Sure enough, on her left wrist is a fresh tattoo. Holding Avery’s hand, I squeeze and kiss her knuckles. Then the most amazing thing happens, her eyes flicker open and this time, after blinking rapidly, they stay open and focus on me. I’d recognize those gorgeous green orbs anywhere. When she realizes it’s me, she smiles and it lights up her pale bruised face. “It’s okay, lass, I’m here,” I say, kissing her knuckles repeatedly. Relief floods through my body that she’s regained consciousness.
“What’s…what’s going on?” she asks, her voice raspy and dry sounding.
“What do you remember?” I ask, doctor me takes over even though I want to wrap my arms around her and hug her dearly.
“It’s all hazy.” She pauses and thinks. “There were two men and then,” a tear escapes, “one of them zapped me and then…and then…” She’s a sobbing mess now and can’t talk. Sitting on the bed, I lie down next to her and pull her into my arms. Her body is shaking. She flinches at my touch.
“I’m sorry, lass.” Gently I place a kiss on her temple.
She nods. “I was so scared.” She burrows into my chest and blubbers.
“Shhhh, you’re safe now, lass. I won’t let anything else happen to you,” I say, running my fingers gently though her locks. “No one will hurt you again.”