In Memoriam

Chapter 2

One day passed, then three, then a week and the blue-haired weirdo was nowhere to be seen. Cherizel was starting to doubt that he ever would again.

"Maybe he was just a very convincing nutcase," she muttered to herself as she cleaned the same glass for a third time now. Cher wanted to write Regis off as some kind of nutcase who just got a lucky guess, but she couldn't. She couldn't dismiss it like that. Partly because it seemed impossible for something like that to not be what it seemed. And partly because she didn't want to.

Cherizel didn't want to dismiss the very first real lead she got on getting her memories back. For years she was all alone in this, too afraid to tell anyone, too afraid to risk things.

All week she kept thinking about Regis and what he said. All week she kept looking around and waiting for him to show up. And all week she saw no sign of him.

Every time she closed up for the night, Cher actually hoped he'd slink out of the shadows, but no such thing happened. And tonight was no different.

Cherizel looked up at the dark purple sky as she walked down the empty street. It was quiet, almost eerily so, but she found the silence soothing.

She kicked her shoes off the moment she stepped into her apartment and dropped her bag on a side table. Cher slipped her bra off and out from the top of her shirt and tossed it on the couch on her way to the kitchen.

The moment that the torture device came off, she sighed in relief.

"Well, if I knew I'd get a welcome like this I would've come back sooner."

Cherizel froze and scrambled back to look out into the living room. On the couch sat Regis.

And on Regis' head was her bra.

He smirked and pulled it off of him, curiously holding it up to examine it, "Lace, huh? How delightful. I would—"  

"Ugh, don't even start," Cher rushed over and grabbed her bra from him, shoving it behind her. She glared down at Regis.

"How did you get in here? How do you even know where I live?" She demanded.

"Through the door, Ma Cherie. How else would I get in?" Regis smirked. He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand as he looked up at her. All his focus was on her and her alone.

Cherizel opened her mouth to argue, to yell at him, but she knew that the last time she got into it she got nowhere with him. She took a few deep breaths.

"What do you want, Regis? Is it to waste my time or are you here for an actual reason?"  

She crossed her arms in front of her and narrowed her eyes at him. Regis snorted, leaning back against the couch with a laugh. Cher looked down, seeing that she was holding her bra out on full display and quickly hid it behind her back again.

"Pretend you saw nothing and give me actual answers. I'm too tired to play around," she said.

"Alright," Regis said, holding his hands up in the air. "Though when you are in the mood to play, do let me know, Ma Cherie. I would be more than happy to play with you."

"Regis."

"Yes, Ma Belle?"

"Answers. Now."

"Of course, of course," Regis said and gestured for her to take a seat. Cherizel ignored the fact that he was acting a little too at home here.

She sat down in one of her armchairs and casually stuffed her bra behind some pillows, now entirely out of sight his sight.

"I will get right to the point," he said.

Cherizel had to resist throwing out a retort at him. It was tempting, very tempting, but she knew he was far too easy to derail. And she really was tired.

"Does the name 'Anker' mean anything to you?"

"Anker?" Cherizel frowned. The name did ring a bell, but she didn't know why. Whatever it meant to her, she couldn't remember.

"It does ring a bell, but... No, it doesn't mean anything to me."

"Huh, so he took that too, the clever dog,"  Regis whistled in mocking admiration.

"What? Took what? What are you talking about, Regis?" Cher crossed her arms. She wished he would get on with explaining, but that was probably too much to ask for.

"Erling Anker is a very bad man. He is a part of an organization that... helps people get whatever they want."

"For a price, I'm guessing?" Cher asked.

"Yes. And the price is never the same. With them, you always have to be careful with what you ask for. If the wording lets them fuck you over, they will."

Cherizel frowned, quietly staring at Regis as the wheels in her head turned. Normally she would have said that there was no reason for her to hear about someone like Anker, but something told her otherwise.

"So... I asked something of him and the price was..." Cher couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"The price was your memories, yes."

"Well... crap," Cherizel swore under her breath. She spent so long wondering what happened to her, what could have possibly made her forget who she was or what kind of life she had before. But this? She would've never guessed something like this. Not seriously, anyway.

"I don't even remember what I asked for. Or who this guy is... is it possible to get my memories back from him? You said something about a heist...?"

Regis smiled, "I did and it's possible. That's why I'm here, Ma Cherie."

"I still don't know why. Other than that you claim to have been a part of my life before," she said. She didn't know why she was trusting him, but so far everything felt right. Being around him made her feel comfortable. Not that she was going to tell him that. Nope, no way in hell.

"That's why I'm here. That's why I looked for you. I want to help you remember everything. I want to help you remember me," Regis smiled, though there was something sad about it. Something that made Cherizel want to reach out and take his hand. She didn't though, she didn't move at all.

"Alright... let's say I believe you. How are we supposed to pull off this... heist?" She asked with a frown. Cher knew her fair share of criminals and other shady individuals, but she never had to do anything like this herself.

"I have a plan, Ma Cherie. Which we can talk about after you get some rest," he said and stood up.

"What? No, I'm not having you disappear for a whole week again," she protested. Regis chuckled and shook his head at that.

"I swear to you that you will see me tomorrow and I will tell you my plan then," he said. Regis stepped closer to her and picked her up in his arms without a word.

"Wha— Regis, put me down!"  Even as she demanded this, she grabbed onto him.

"Ah, but you're tired, are you not?" He asked with a smirk.

"I am, but that doesn't mean I lost the ability to walk. So put me down."

Regis ignored her. He carried Cher to her bedroom and gently set her down on the bed.

"Rest. We will talk tomorrow, I promise," he said, pulling the covers over her. Regis leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead in a sweet kiss.

Cher closed her eyes, her body relaxing with the soft warmth that filled her body. She started to drift away before she could even form a full thought.

Regis smiled down at her and quietly walked out of the room. Before he closed the door, he stopped to look at Cherizel for a little while longer.

"I love you... my Cherizel," he whispered to the dark room and finally closed the bedroom door.