Page 97 of Nobody Wants Me
“Fuck.”
Taking out The Grid was always going to come with consequences, and they were consequences I was willing to take.However, rumor was already circulating about the cause being The Butcher.
“Yes, fuck indeed.”
“They’re going to know it is her.”
I looked at her, hooked up to so many tubes, her face still covered in bandages.She still had a long way to go, and my plan, although fucked up, could help her.
“How far are you willing to go to save her?”I asked.
I was willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe.Bethany, The Butcher, had my back more times than I could count.I knew she made a deal with The Grid to keep me alive, and I will never forget it.
The Beast looked at me, and then toward the bed and back at me.“Anything.”
I nodded.“You will take her to be your wife.We will build a whole new world around her.The Butcher didn’t make it out of that tunnel.She died that day, along with Eric The Tool.She will have a new identity, and we will create memories that she doesn’t remember.”
“Wait, Ivan, what the fuck?”
“If she wakes up, there is a chance she might not remember anything,” I said.“So, we will have everything in place to make her believe she is who we say she is.A whole life, where she doesn’t ever remember what happened.We will take care of her, and we will make sure no harm ever comes to her again.”
The Beast began to pace.“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”he asked.
“No.I’m being serious.”
“You’re asking us to lie, to manipulate, and that doesn’t bother you?”
“Oh, it bothers me.Trust me, this bothers me immensely.They tortured her.They nearly fucking killed her and when I asked the doctor if there was a chance of them killing her and us not knowing about it, and bringing her back, he told me anything was fucking possible.She can’t have kids.They butchered her enough that she can’t have kids.Any kids you have will be adopted.”
The Beast ran a hand across his face.
I had listened to everything the doctor had told me, and I hadn’t shed a tear.I couldn’t.All I could think about was what I could do to keep her safe, to keep her alive, and away from the darkness.I owed her everything, and wiping out that memory was the only thing I could do for her.
“What about Freya?What about everyone close to you that knows her?”The Beast asked.
“I will tell them what they need to know.”
“You know even if she has amnesia, there is a chance she will remember.People remember all the time.”
“Then we pray she never remembers,” Ivan said.“I don’t want her to remember what she went through.”It was that bad.
“People will still look for her.”
“The Butcher is gone.The surgeons had to do small jobs, and she doesn’t even look like The Butcher anymore.Her whole being is gone.”
“So, you’re just going to write a whole story for her?”The Beast asked.
“No, if you agree, we’re going to write both of your stories together.She will be your wife and help you where she can.You will protect her, and she will never doubt that you love her.”The Beast looked toward me.“Yeah, don’t give me that look and pretend you don’t.We both know the reason you have never killed her is because you love her, and have for a long time.”
“I don’t like this.She deserves better.”
“What other idea do you have?”
The Beast looked toward her and then growled.“None, okay, I don’t fucking have any.”
“Then it’s decided?”
The Beast stared at her.The machines filling the sound of the silence.
