Pleasure ~ Jenlisa

Chapter 25

Jennie Pov

The room was spartan, save for a bookshelf and a few framed pictures on the desk. I did my best not to gawk at the family photos Lisa with her father and brother. Lisa watched me as I look ed at one of the portraits.

"He's handsome." I murmured as I studied the photo of Lisa's brother on his horse.

Lisa nodded stiffly. "He loved to ride horses."

"What happened?" I asked in a soft voice. There were still walls standing between us, and more than ever, I understood how much we needed to tear them down.

"Jennie, I honestly wish I knew." She spoke sincerely, and my heart ached for loss and her confusion. The guilt had broken her but facing it might allow her to finally heal. "I remember flashes. That's why I continued to invite Nancy to events." She told me this with some hesitation, so I forced an encouraging smile onto my face. As much as I hated Nancy, I'd track her down myself if she could give Lisa the answers she needed to move past the accident.

"I was drinking and my brother showed up. He was underage, and I yelled at him for being at a bar." Lisa struggled to remember, and I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "For some reason we left. I don't remember much after that. And what I do remember, I can't burden you with."

"Nothing between us, Lisa. No secrets."

"I remember how slippery his blood was on my fingers. He sagged like a rag doll. I remember the heat of the fire as it blazed across my skin, but I couldn't leave him there, even though I couldn't carry him." Lisa's eyes had grown distant, fading to another place and time. "I was so scared that I didn't even feel the frame add the door in my side. I'd been impaled, but I wouldn't leave him, so we burned together." I cooked back a sob and nodded, trying to stay strong for Lisa even as my imagination painted a gruesome picture of me. "And Nancy?"

"She'd been flung from the car. Broken bones." She said. "If she remembers more than me, she's never admitted it."

"Lisa, what happened was horrible." I brushed back an strand of her bangs. "But it wasn't your fault."

"Why don't you see the monster when you look at me?" She asked. "Like everyone."

"They don't see you like I do." My words were faint as I gathered my courage. "They don't love you like I-"

"I'm sorry." Lisa interrupted my confession. "I just need a minute." She staggered to the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

'You scared her away' my critical side admonished me. I pushed the thought away, refusing to believe it. If Lisa said she needed a minute, I would give it to her.

I didn't go after her. She would come back out, and I needed time to digest what she's told me. The physical details ah the accident were public knowledge. But why couldn't she remember anything?

A knock on the door pulled me away from my thoughts, and I opened it with some trepidation. The Queen's eyebrow raised when she saw me, and I knew what she was thinking.

I bowed my head to her as she entered. The queen paced the perimeter of the room, pausing to pick up the photograph of her husband and son. Taking a deep breath, I moved closer to this one. The king was quite handsome he hugged his son to his chest. Somehow the photo had managed to capture them so vibrantly that when I looked at it I felt as though I had known them.

Of course, in a way, I had through Lisa. They lived in her memory, and I had faith that one day they would no longer haunt her. Instead, she would remember only the good times. That's why it was so important to help her find the answers she needed.