Beastly: Sequel to "Mr. Perfect"

Chapter 44: First Loves and No Shows

🌸Faith (P.O.V.)🌸

"He forgot Keisha..." I said.

"But...how is that possible?" Mary asked.

"This isn't the first time. The day I went to his studio...When I showed him the picture of Zuri. I asked him if he remembered her."

I paused, the memory washing over me.

"He looked confused," I continued. "Like...blank. Like he genuinely didn't know who she was. I kept thinking he was lying, but he looked just like what Dr. McHolland described here."

"Or, he's deflecting," Evan said. "He's playing dumb. Maybe something happened over that weekend, and he couldn't face it. So now he's rewriting it in his head."

Rashida exhaled through her nose.

"So what now?" she asked. "Huh? Tybalt just do somethin' to girls, then act like he don't kno' 'em after?"

"Could be," Jake said. "People dissociate like that sometimes. He could be faking it, yeah. Like a defense mechanism."

"I thought that too..." I said slowly.

Everyone turned to me.

"But the way he looked when I showed him Zuri..." I said, my voice softer. "It didn't feel fake. It was pure confusion. Like...something in him didn't have the memory."

I glanced at the screen again.

"And now, reading how he reacted when Dr. McHolland mentioned Keisha?" I continued. "He was just as lost. He didn't even recognize her name."

Zack stepped forward.

"You thinking he's wiping his own memory or something?" he asked. "Like...selective amnesia?"

"I don't know," I said, meeting his eyes. "But something about this doesn't feel normal."

No one said anything for a moment.

Then, Mason leaned forward and scrolled down with two fingers.

"Let's see what Dr. McHolland has to say about it...in the next few sessions," he said.

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Session 366

Overview: The patient presented with a notably brighter affect today. He appeared more grounded, conversational, and less emotionally blunted than in the previous session.

Session Content

When asked how it has been going, the patient immediately referenced his brother.

"We've been hanging out more. It's weird...but in a good way. Like, it doesn't feel like we're walking on eggshells anymore."

The patient described spending time together outside of structured environments—short trips, meals, occasional studio visits.

As he spoke of his brother, his laughter seemed genuine; his shoulders visibly relaxed as he recalled him.

Notably, there was no mention of Keisha.

When prompted with open-ended questions regarding recent emotional stressors or unresolved matters discussed in previous sessions, the patient did not reference her.

When the therapist gently brought up last week's abrupt shift in memory, the patient brushed it off, stating, "I think I was just mentally drained that day. You know how it is."

His tone was casual, a slight shrug, no visible distress.

While affect remained pleasant, the therapist began to note subtle gaps in narrative continuity and minor inconsistencies across his reflections.