Bent (Merome)

Chapter 16

 I woke up in my bed at home. My hand flew to my chest. Nothing abnormal- you know, besides the fact that I was a girl. I exhaled, not wanting to think to hard about what had happened, but my mind just kept wandering back. I needed answers, and I only knew one way to ask for them.

I laid my head back down on my pillow, softly chanting in my head: Please. Please. Please. I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the top of a tree in the forest. I grabbed the branches immediately, scared of falling. Looking over, I saw her.

“Hey, you wanted to talk?” She asked, standing on a branch casually. I nodded, still petrified to slip.

“Yeah. I wanted to know what you did to me.”

She looked puzzled for a minute.

“Wait, you mean why you collapsed?”

I nodded. She shook her head.

“I didn't do that. I don't know what that was.”

I just stared at her.

“You mean you're not the only one in on this?”

She nodded.

“Unfortunately, yes. I didn't want to tell you last night, but there's someone else with different intentions than mine. I think we might have the same goal- but I have a completely different approach on how to get there.”

I stood there for a second, trying to pick one of the questions whizzing around my brain. Eventually, I managed to spit one out.

“How do you both want to do it?”

She chuckled.

“The one pushing against me, I call her Lesa. The way she's going about it, Jerome wouldn't develop real feelings for you, and as soon as she stops controlling you, your relationship will fall apart. I've told her that, but she won't believe me. She says she'll just control you two forever...”

She paused, thinking.

“I don't think she knows how it works. If we control you too much or too long, you'll lose your free will and won't ever get it back. And Lesa can't control you forever. The deal with us-”

She cut herself off.

“The deal with you...” I prompted her to continue. This was the most information I'd gotten out of anyone yet.

When I realized she wasn't going to keep going, I asked another question she'd triggered.

“How long do you have to control us before we lose our free will? And would we know we'd lost it?”

She shook her head.

“It takes a couple years of constant control for that, and no. You wouldn't be aware of it. Like how Jerome wanted to kiss you that night Adam was drunk, he had no idea it wasn't his will.”

I shuddered. That was the last thing I wanted.

“Speaking of that night, I felt something pulling me to him. You said that was you, right?”

She blinked.

“No. That was you. None of that was my idea-- Lesa was the one who made Adam force you into that. I'll admit, I wanted Jerome to kiss you there for a minute. But before he did, I pulled you away. I didn't think it was right.”

I chewed this information over in my brain.

“So you lied about most of what you said yesterday.”

She blinked again.

“I lied about some stuff I'd controlled you to do- not all of it- but I didn't lie about anything else, I think.”

I nodded.

“So... What- how is Lesa going about it exactly?”

She looked down at the ground, many feet below us.

“Umm, like I said. Not the way I'd want to, and I promise to do whatever I can to keep her from taking over you two.”

I breathed in, closing my eyes.

“I never knew what that one wish would do. First I turn into a girl, now I'm in danger. I mean, losing my free will forever?”

She laughed sadly.

“I understand. I just hope- Nevermind.”

I furrowed my brow, but soon gave up.

“So... Can you tell me your name...?”

The woman smirked at me.

“Sorry, babe. I can't do that. Hope I answered some of your questions, and if you're ever lonely, I'll always be there. Remember that.”

Then I was staring at my ceiling. I had gotten some answers, but thinking back on it, I realized she'd avoided a lot of questions, too.

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Some answers cause more questions...

-The Moon's Shadow