Page 27 of What's Left of Me

“Morning, all, I am running late.” Matt rushed in and grabbed a thermos Nick was holding out for him. “Thank you.”

“Have a good day, dear,” Nick shouted but Matt was already gone. He was a physical therapist, and I hadn’t seen a ton of him since I’d been here, but he was nice and I knew that awhile back he’d had a stalker and that Nick and the brothers had helped him through that.

Breakfast was a whirlwind with simple selections. I grabbed some cereal and toast and ate with Hazel while everyone moved about, going over what their day looked like. Aside from my appointment with Aziza, I didn’t think I had anything else going on.

An hour and a half later I was outside, the sun shining on my face and the gentle breeze kissing my cheeks. Aziza was doing her usual pleasantries, gauging where my head was at.

“Are you feeling good today?”

“I’m okay.”

“Anything new going on in that brain of yours?”

I chuckled. “There’s always something. I did watch one of my ballets yesterday.”

“Oh? That’s wonderful. Which one?”

“Giselle.”

She blew a raspberry. “So dark.”

“I know, I don’t know why I was drawn to watching that one. I just was, and I thought it best to follow my feelings.”

“Follow your feelings…you say that like it was torture.”

I lifted my shoulder. “Noel actually found me, and we talked. It wasn’t so bad.”

“You’ve told me before that the two of you have had a few encounters. Do you connect with him more than most?”

I nodded. “Something about the way he just is, I dunno.”

We stopped at a bench overlooking a cliff and sat. “Oftentimes we assume that conversation is how people connect, how we find the person whose energy matches their own. But through the years I’ve discovered that sometimes it’s a physicalreaction. Noel calms something inside of you, and there isn’t always a reason for that.”

That made all the sense. I’d noticed that when he was near, the frantic fizzy feeling in the pit of my stomach dulled. I hadn’t thought much about it until Aziza mentioned it.

“I suppose.”

“Phoenix, I’d like to ask you some questions, abouthim.”

Him was not Noel. She needed information to help me, but she’d mentioned that there might be pieces of my mind that were closing off, stopping me from remembering painful parts. I’d laugh over that since it was all painful, but I’d trust the process.

“Okay.”

Her smile was warm, and in my gut I knew she was about to deliver a blow.

“It has been brought to my attention that there has been another missing person.”

I’d been afraid that would happen. It was what he did, right? Gathered toys.

“I see.”

“Here’s the thing, Phoenix. And I want you to take a deep breath, because what I’m about to say may shock you.”

I liked that about Aziza—she prepared me for things, knew how to talk to me.

“Let’s hear it.”

“The man who was taken, he looks so much like you and before this none have appeared similar, only beautiful.”

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