Page 57 of Pet: Torment

I keep my eyes trained down. I hadn’t thought of it that way. If there is something happening between Remus and his mother, it’s terrifying to think of how the rest of us will be affected by it. What would mean for everyone in the aftermath of it all? What could Remus have done that was terrible his mother would attack him? He’s literally lived his every waking moment doing her bidding. It irritates me that Ezra won’t ask these questions because he’s scared of what it could mean.

“Hiding from the truth doesn’t prevent bad things from happening,” I murmur.

Instead of a smart remark, Ezra laughs, shrugging.

“Insightful words for someone who spent weeks in the resistance after her murder attempt,” he says.

I don’t respond, shifting my attention back to the window as we approach the mountains. The discomfort I felt decreases slightly as I take in the familiar surroundings I’ve come to associate as my home.

I ignore the bitterness threatening to rise within me from the contrast of my thoughts now and when Remus first brought me here. He would be pleased to hear me now—eager to return to the snowy scape that calms me. But after the confusing few days I’ve had, I’m ready to return to some sense of normalcy. I’m ready to see him and have him explain with a smile why none of us need to worry, and this was just a misunderstanding.

It takes us another fifteen minutes to reach the snowy mountainside that is Remus’s home. I breathe a sigh of relief to see it here in one piece. With each passing second as we land, I feel more and more at ease. Maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe something terrible happened, but he somehow survived and didn’t want me to see him injured.

As we step off the ship, Ezra wraps me in a coat before we make our way across the familiar balcony, entering Remus’s home.

I know something is off the second I enter. It’s cold—much colder than Remus would keep it if he were waiting for me to return. Remus has always been mindful of me and my physical condition.

As we continue up the hall and enter the main living area, my stomach sinks a little more. It’s pristine. Every trace of my existence has been wiped from each and every surface, which is another red flag. I left it a mess when I was here last. And Remus has always encouraged me to treat this like my home, never cleaning up without asking me if I’m finished.

“Something is wrong,” I say as Ezra steps up next to me.

He gently holds his hand out in front of me, putting himself between me and the rest of the room as he looks around.

“Stay here,” he says.

But we both tense as the sound of moans echoes up the hall. My breathing hitches, and my eyes burn as I try to come up with more excuses. But there are none as the moans grow louder and more fervent, lilting into screams of pleasure.

My skin prickles as I listen to the damning noises, tears burning my eyes in disbelief as everything Remus said to me becomes tainted. My cheeks burn as I step forward, moving in the direction of Remus’s bedroom when Ezra grips me by my arm, pulling me back roughly.

His eyes are serious as he shakes his head.

“Don’t,” he says.

He then moves past me, disappearing up the hall in the same direction of the moans. My legs feel weak as I watch him disappear. I don’t know what to feel or what to think. There is no explanation for this or for how I’m feeling.

I feel betrayed.

I continue to look around the room for any sign that I was here, but there is none. It’s as cold and empty as it was the day Remus brought me here. He’s erased me from this place. I hastily wipe my tears as a woman comes running around the corner, her clothes in hand. She ignores my presence as she disappears down the steps, but I ignore her as I hear Ezra’s frantic voice echoing up the hall.

I force my legs to move as I make my way up the hall, their voices getting louder. But they aren’t speaking English, and they are talking way too fast for me to decipher anything either of them is saying.

I quietly round the corner, stepping into the bedroom. The first thing I notice is that like the rest of the house, its been wiped clean of my existence. And Remus stands near the disheveled bed in only a pair of pants as Ezra pleads to him in their language.

He looks different. He’s cold, and reserved, his body language similar to the alien I met in the blight. His hair is held away from his face and his symbol remains on his bare chest, pulsing with calm as he watches Ezra with an intense gaze, and I feel a twist in my gut at the reminder of what was taken from me. He doesn’t look worried in the least.

Suddenly, his attention shifts, his eyes falling on me.

He doesn’t smile like he usually does. He doesn’t even blink. He looks at me in…disgust. There isn’t a hint of recognition on his features.

“H-how could you?” I whisper, my voice trembling from the hurt that I feel. “Did you do this? Were you sick of me that fast that you—”

I don’t register Remus’s movement. One second, I am in the doorway of our bedroom, and the next, I am held against the wall in the hallway in his crushing grip, my air immediately cut off. Pain ripples up my spine, settling in other pieces of my body from the force he uses, and my air is instantly cut off. As is my bloodflow.

The world tilts instantly, as Remus holds me, his eyes narrowed. I try and lift my hands to claw at his, but there is an invisible force holding them down. Remus is using his power to prevent me from the simple task of fighting for my life.

“Remus, stop!” Ezra shouts.

I choke, my eyes rolling back as I lose consciousness. He’s killing me and he’s doing it quickly. I feel myself spasming under his touch as the world blacks out, my body panicking. Suddenly, I am released, and I collapse to the ground in a heap.