Tortured Soul

Chapter 10

(Jacob's POV)

I was entranced by the flame in DJ's hand. How is it not burning her hand? And why is it gold? I kept on staring at the flame swirl in her hand until I started to feel dizzy. Very soon my vision went black and I fell back on the bed.

Is this my... imagination? Why did I pass out? Images of past events began to go past me. Are these my, memories? The images varied from working with Adam to having good times with Max. And then one caught my eye, it was of Barney and I cuddling on his couch. When was this? More images passed by that caught my interest such as DJ, no... Aubrey, and I tied up in a dark room. The last image I saw was a green flame. What did that mean? Why is a green flame so important that it has its own memory?

"Jacob! Are you okay Jacob?"

I regained consciousness and tried to sit up. "Y-yeah. I'm fine Aubrey." Her face lit up. "What did you call me?" She asked almost excited.

"Aubrey. That is your name isn't it? Or did you change it to DJ?" Aubrey couldn't contain her happiness anymore and hugged me. "Call me either one. I'm just glad you're back and okay." Aubrey said.

"Hey Aubrey. Can you go and get Max for me. I need to talk to him." Aubrey let go of me and she had tears in her eyes, not tears of sadness, tears of joy. "Yeah, did you want to see the others too?" I shook my head. "No, just Max." Aubrey smiled and left.

I looked down at my lap and took a deep breath in, then exhaled. I began to mess with my fingers. It was like I couldn't stop messing with my hands. Maybe I was scared or bored, who knows. I heard the door open then close. "Jacob? Aubrey said you wanted to see me." Max said from the doorway.

I looked up from my lap and stared at him, memories of what I went through started to flood my mind. I could feel myself breaking down so I took another deep breath in then exhaled. "Yeah. I... I wanted to ask you something." Max came closer and sat on the edge of the bed. "Sure, you can ask me anything." I could feel myself starting to break down, panic, cry, but I kept it in.

"Is... is this... is this real? Am I in a real hospital? And are you the real Max? The one who adopted me?" Max seemed relieved to hear me ask this. He grew a sad yet happy smile. I saw a tear run down his cheek. "Yeah. This is real. I'm real. I'm glad you're okay." Max said. He came closer and hugged me. I was shutting down again, I felt my heart beat pounding against my chest I thought it was breaking a few ribs. Max let go and stood up, walking towards the door. "I'll let the others know you're back." Max said.

Once Max left I began to function normally once more. No panicking, no shutting down. And I know why it was happening.

The things that I thought Max did to me felt so real, even though it wasn't real.