Beastly: Sequel to "Mr. Perfect"

Chapter 46: Terrible Plans and Track Records

🌸Faith (P.O.V.)🌸

"Man, I ain't gon' lie," Roberto said, leaning back in his chair, eyes still on Evan. "I'm ridin' with you on this one. I been thinkin' that the brother was fishy since they were back in that childhood home in Iowa. Somethin' 'bout him just...ain't sit right."

"Facts," DJ said. "Dude's brother definitely got motive to go after all 'em girls."

Jake exhaled, rubbing his jaw.

"I mean...I always thought Tybalt's brother was intense, but I'll admit, I didn't consider that he might be the one behind all of this," he said. "If anything, I thought Tybalt did something to him...or they were working together."

"Same," Zack said. "That's how it looked at first. But now...with these session notes? Whatever happens to the girls never shows up here. It's like that part of the story doesn't exist in his head. That could be because he genuinely doesn't remember. At all."

"Okay, look," Mason said, eyes bouncing between Evan and Zack. "I hear what you guys are saying, and honestly? I think Ev might be right, too. But what I don't get is if Tybalt's memories are actually being erased or messed with, then how does he still remember his brother? Or Dr. McHolland? How does he still show up for therapy and talk about work and everything else like normal?"

"Yeah, exactly," Mary said. "How do you selectively erase people? Like, 'delete those four weeks but keep everything else?' That sounds...impossible."

"It's not impossible," Evan said. "Just specific."

We all looked at him again.

"Think about this way," he continued. "If his brother is giving him something, it doesn't have to wipe everything. It could just hit a window, like from point A to point B. Tybalt meets Keisha, helps her, makes a plan, something happens...that chunk gets erased. Same with Nadine. Same with Arcely."

The silence in the room got heavier.

"And his relationship with his brother?" Evan said. "Look at the notes. It keeps swinging back and forth. Close, distant. Trusting, uneasy. The relationship keeps fluctuating, maybe because he keeps forgetting that, too. Not his whole life with him, just recent stuff. So his brother has to keep doing what he did that 'Iowa weekend' all over again—show up, spend time with him, reconnect, fill in the blanks. Refresh the bond every time some pieces get erased."

He exhaled hard, shoulders sagging a little.

"Look, I could be wrong about all this," he said. "But we also can't ignore the fact that every time their relationship goes weird in the notes, it lines up with when a girl disappears, and Tybalt suddenly doesn't 'remember.' That pattern is too tight."

"Okay, but is there even a drug that can do that?" Mason asked. "Like, are we talking about something that actually exists, or is this—"

"There is," Zack cut in gently.

All heads turned to him.

He glanced between Evan and me, then sat up straighter.

"You remember Dr. Kay?" he asked, turning to Evan.

My eyebrows shot up.

It took my brain a second to catch up, then the name hit me.

"Yeah," Evan said. "He's the same doctor who treated Faith after she got drugged the night we were looking for Ray at the club."

The memory rushed back fast.

The pulsing lights at Club Pulse, the bass shaking the floor, the smell of sweat and perfume and spilled alcohol. Ray was unconscious on that bed, the girl with the rose tattoo standing over him, talking into her phone about "destroying" him. My own throat burning, limbs heavy, the building tilting as someone came up behind me before I could get back to Evan.