Who Am I Now? (Book 2) [COMPLETED]

6 ¤ Dylan

He raises his hand up, and then Anya Lee freezes mid-flight. Dylan slowly stands up and walks over to where she floats in the air, suspended in the middle of her jump.

"What the hell?" Rose asks.

"I have no idea," he says, coughing.

Dylan looks at Anya Lee again, but he doesn't see her. He sees something else.

"What?" Rose says.

"This isn't her," he says.

"Looks like her."

"I know, but it's not." He sighs. "Whatever happened to her is something we are going to have to deal with. We need to figure out how to fix this. Maybe go get Faye? I'm thinking she can help."

"And leave you alone with her?"

"I'll be fine. Just hurry, okay?"

Rose nods and then leaves. Dylan unfreezes Anya Lee. She hits the door and slumps on the floor. Then she turns and looks at him, murder in her eyes.

"Anya Lee, it's me, it's Dylan," he says. "I'm not going to hurt you. Please, just talk to me."

Her expression changes to one of pain and sadness. Her mouth opens and closes. She is struggling, trying to talk to him. He kneels down before her and touches her hand. She recoils and hisses at him like a wild animal.

"Its me, it's okay, it's Dylan," he says, damn near chanting the words.

But she opens and closes her mouth  again, not speaking to him, but trying to. She sighs and puts her head down. The door opens up, and Rose, Jaycee, and Faye come in.

"Sis, it's me," Rose says. "Please listen to me."

"She can't speak, for some reason," Dylan tells them.

"She's sad," Faye whispers. "Oh my God, she's so sad. It's soul-crushing. She blames herself for ... wait. She choked you?"

"Yeah, but she didn't mean it," he says.

"She didn't mean to hurt anyone. She is losing control. Because someone else is controlling her, kinda like a wireless remote. I can't see who it is, but this person is seemingly testing her. Testing us."

"Testing us? Why?" Jaycee asks.

"I can't tell," Faye says quietly. She looks at Dylan, then Anya Lee. "She's so damn sad."

Dylan slowly brushes his hand against her cheek, savoring the touch of her warm skin against his. But he knows that she is suffering, and he hates himself for letting this happen to her.

He has no idea how long this will last. But something tells him it won't be a quick event.

"What is wrong with her aside from that?" Rose asks.

"I can't tell," Faye responds. "She said she's sorry for what she did, Dylan and Rose."

Tears fall down her face, and Dylan reaches for her again, but Anya Lee pulls back. He sighs.

"Can you tell her we won't hurt her?"

"I tried," Faye says. "She just .... doesn't respond or anything. It's like she's there but she's not."

"How do we get her back?" Rose asks.

"We wait. That's unfortunately all we can do."