Restless Waves

Chapter 53

Apologies if you didn't get a notification for yesterdays update. I noticed that a lot of you didn't and I'm guessing Wattpad glitched or something. Hopefully you're notified about this one! Let me know! :)

- Sian

Rowan was sort of conscious when they pulled him out of the van. He was sort of conscious when they carried him through the old church and to the room Rowan fought in to get Kaerius. He was sort of conscious when they tied him to a chair. He vaguely remembered crying out when they fastened a rope around his broken wrist.

All these fragments of memories came back to him when he started to wake. Now, he didn't feel as though he would drift right back to sleep. He felt sore everywhere. The thumping in his head made it hard to open his eyes, but Rowan was determined not to go back to sleep. His neck was sore, so he rolled his head back and found himself staring at the ceiling.

"He's awake," someone whispered. "Let's go get Mandy."

When Rowan's head fell forward again, and his eyes opened enough for him to see the room in front of him, the hunters had gone, and Rowan was alone. "Dad?" he breathed. His voice echoed in the bare room. He sounded weak. "Kaerius?" Rowan couldn't hear his soulmate's thought, but he could feel Kaerius, and his stress wasn't helping.

Rowan could still taste blood in his mouth. The right side of his face was covered in dried crusty blood because Rowan's skin felt tight. Breathing was hard. Every inhale was effort and filled his chest with sharp pain. Rowan almost closed his eyes again, but the loud creak of the door made him look. His mother walked in, and the door closed behind her. She was alone and said nothing to him. She crossed her arms and walked until she was three metres away, then stopped and stared, and continued to say nothing.

Rowan weakly pulled his wrists against the rope. His broken wrist hurt only when he noticed it, puffy and bruised. He wasn't sure if he had the energy to speak to her, so he was thankful when his mother spoke first.

"They say that you're my son," Mandy said. "But you're not my son."

Rowan felt his heart shrivel. "I am," he whispered. "Mum-"

"No," Mandy snapped. "My son is a little boy."

Rowan stopped trying to pull his wrists free and looked up. His mother was staring at him like he was a stranger. Her eyes were confused, scared, uncertain. "Oh my god," Rowan whispered. "Jack did it."

"Who's Jack?" Mandy asked, stepped a little closer. "Where's my son? Where's my husband?"

"You don't remember?" Rowan tried to lift his head, but it rolled back, and the room spun violently. He thought he was going to be sick.

"Is this my brother's doing? Did he send you?" Mandy ran a hand through her hair. "You were in my home. Where's my little boy?"

"You don't remember being cursed?" Rowan looked up to her, wondering if he really looked so different from when he was a child. "Mum, it's me-"

"My son is only six years old!" Mandy shouted. "He's just a child. Where is he?" Her eyes watered, and she started to cry.

Rowan watched her crumple, and sob, and beg for him to tell her what was happening. All he could do was stare and process the fact that he was a stranger to her. When she settled down and gained her composure, she started pacing back and forth, fidgeting with a bracelet on her wrist.

"Kaerius, I don't know if you can hear me because I can't hear you, but I'm letting you know that Jack did it, he broke the curse." Rowan looked miserably at his mum. "She doesn't remember her life after the curse. She thinks her Rowan is some six-year-old kid. She doesn't know that I'm him."