"You're peeling an apple" she said, her voice breaking with a sarcastic laugh. "Like that matters right now."
He didn't respond.
" why won't you say the one thing I need to hear?" she asked, her voice rising. "Was it real? "
Dominic finally set the knife down.
His fingers were trembling slightly now.
Then, he said in a low voice, "It was real."
The air left her lungs like she'd been punched.
He continued, eyes downcast. "All of it. The nightmares. The darkness. The things you saw in your dreams. They happened. To you. To us."
Her eyes burned.
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because it was the only way to save you."
Her heart shattered at those words.
She wanted to scream.
Wanted to cry.
Wanted to hit him. And at the same time, curl into his arms and ask him why....it had to be like this.
"You took my memories," she said quietly, "without my permission."
"I had no choice," he said, raising his eyes finally. "If I hadn't… if you had remembered everything back then, you wouldn't have survived the grief. You would have broken."
"But you let me walk around with half of myself missing."
"You were safe."
"What's the use" she snapped. "Raiden still found me! He still" Her voice cracked. "He still brought back the very past I was running from. And now it's here. In pieces. Inside me. And I don't know what's real anymore, Dominic."
A long silence.
Then Dominic picked up the apple again. Cut it into slices. Then placed one gently on the small tray beside her.
She stared at it.
"You'll need strength," he said softly. "You've been through a lot ."
She didn't respond.
After a moment, she reached out slowly. Picked up the apple slice. Brought it to her lips.
"You need strength," Dominic said softly as he placed the apple slice on the tray beside her.
Ava picked up the slice in silence, chewed slowly, her eyes unmoving.
Dominic exhaled, and after a beat, he leaned forward, gently took her hand into his. His palm was warm, but she didn't return the gesture.
Their eyes met.
"I'll tell you everything," he said, his voice carrying the weight of years....of guilt and memory. "But right now, you're not okay...."
"Don't give me that crap," Ava snapped, pulling her hand away. Her voice trembled not from weakness, but from rage. "I want answers, Dominic. No more lies. No more half-truths. Not when my head is full of pieces I didn't ask for."
He looked at her.
Silent.
Then, with a resigned sigh, he leaned back in the chair, hands clasped together as if bracing for a confession that might crush them both.
And then he began.
---
Dominic's Voice:
"I was twelve when it happened.
My brother Kelvin… he was fifteen. That day, he'd promised me something he hadn't in years. A day out. Just the two of us."
Ava's fingers curled over the blanket as she listened.
"We lived with our grandfather then. Strict. Powerful. Always watching. After our parents died, he never let us breathe freely. Fun was... forbidden. But Kelvin he broke rules for me. He always did."
Dominic's voice dipped, softer now, more broken.
"That day… he sneaked me out. Took me to an amusement park just outside the city. The first time in ten years. I still remember the smell of popcorn, the lights, the carousel spinning."
He looked away, his throat tightening.
"I wanted ice cream. He didn't want to go...he said it was late...but I kept pestering him. So he smiled… ruffled my hair and said, 'Fine, you brat. Stay there. Don't move.'"
Ava could see it now....little Dominic, eyes wide with joy, waiting by the bench.
"I watched him walk toward the stand… and I laughed seeing him juggle too many cones in his hand.
That's when it happened."
His jaw clenched.
"A black cloth. Rough. Tight. Pressed over my face. I kicked, screamed....but I couldn't breathe. And then… nothing."
Dominic's eyes opened to a blinding white ceiling. Cold metal beneath him.
He couldn't move.
Wrists, ankles strapped down.
"Kelvin!" he'd screamed.
A groan came from the bed beside him.
"D-Dom…" It was Kelvin his voice raspy, his face battered, bruised purple and blue.
Dominic wept in panic. "What happened?! Where are we?"
"Shh… it's okay. I'm here. I'll get us out."
But he couldn't move either.
They weren't alone.
There were rows dozens of other children, boys and girls, strapped down to hospital beds. Machines beeped. Tubes glowed. Large white panels blinked in soft green lights.
A nightmare in pristine white.
A man walked by. Tall. Cold eyes. A surgical coat.
Kelvin watched him, memorizing every detail.
They were lab rats.
It wasn't just kidnapping.
It was human experimentation.
---
Back to Present – Hospital Room:
Dominic swallowed.
"Kelvin knew we had to escape. That night, while the guards were distracted… he broke one of the bed joints with his own foot."
Ava's hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes widened in horror.
"He dislocated his ankle to get free. He limped to my bed, bleeding, in pain, and undid my straps. Told me to run."
"But you didn't," Ava whispered.
He shook his head, voice thick now. "I begged him to come with me. But he said someone had to hold them off. He'd seen the blueprints. He knew where the exit was."
Dominic's hands balled into fists.