Without Me

Chapter 24

Lizzie's feet crunched all the way up the long driveway to the cabin.

"Lizzie, where are we going?" Landon asked, not for the first time since they'd opened their eyes in this prison world.

"Just wait here." She held up a finger and motioned for Landon to stay outside. She had a theory, and she had to make sure it wasn't true first. If her theory was correct, it threatened her entire plan.

Quietly pushing the door open, she held her breath as she stepped inside.

"Raf?" she whispered. She wasn't sure if his parents were around. She hoped they weren't - not that they'd remember her anyways. "Raf?"

"Lizzie?" 

"Okay, no, see? That's exactly what you're not supposed to do!" Lizzie hissed, hurrying towards him and holding a finger to her lips. It looked like Malivore's spell didn't reach prison worlds. Her theory was correct. She looked around the cabin for a solution. "Damn it."

"What's going on?" Rafael furrowed his eyebrows.

"Look, Landon is waiting outside -"

"It's about time," Rafael scoffed. "He must've been busy with finals."

"No, look, it's - it's complicated, okay? But nobody remembers that you're here. Well, they will now, because I'll tell them all, but …" Lizzie took a deep breath. She couldn't look him in the eyes as she said it. "But you can't tell them you remember me."

Rafael didn't understand. He studied Lizzie up and down. Why couldn't they know he remembered Lizzie? How could everyone forget him? They promised to come visit him every week, even when things got hard. They wouldn't have forgotten him … unless -

"You went into Malivore, didn't you?" Rafael sat back, nodding slowly as he stared at Lizzie. He was starting to figure it out. He remembered what it was like when Hope did it. "And since you made the prison world that we're in right now, everyone forgot about it too."

"Yeah," Lizzie whispered. "And Landon really needs to see his brother right now, but he doesn't need to know that you know me. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?"

"Are you blackmailing me? Keep my mouth shut or else I can't see my brother?" Rafael crinkled his forehead.

"No, silly." Lizzie smiled even as her chest ached. "I'm black tie-ing you."

The corners of Rafael's mouth turned up against his will before his stoney face crumbled into a grin. "Come here." He threw his arms out.

"Wha- Oh." Lizzie's eyes were wide as he hugged her.

"Something tells me you've needed one of these for a while." 

Lizzie melted. She did. She really, really did. She locked her arms tightly around him. 

"And after I see my brother, you're going to tell me exactly why nobody can know who you are." 

Lizzie nodded, but she didn't dare speak. Something told her that if she did, the lump in her throat would turn to tears. 

Landon was exactly as overjoyed and confused as Lizzie expected. She led him through the cabin by his hands, pushing the door open dramatically to reveal Rafael.

"What? How?" Landon asked, launching himself into his brother's arms. "I thought you were - but you were -"

"In a prison world." Lizzie's heart warmed at the sight of the reunion. Landon's joy was infectious. "A prison world nobody knew about."

Landon pulled back from his brother to stare at Lizzie curiously. "Nobody but you …"

"Hey!" Rafael said brightly, yanking Landon's attention back to him. "You'd love to see the place! It's like paradise …"

Lizzie watched Rafael expertly distract Landon with fake enthusiasm. It wasn't long before the how was far from Landon's mind. Rafael took him all over his slice of heaven, giving Lizzie plenty of time to think of a cover story.