Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Chapter 2
One Year Later...
The smell of old pee and stale beer hung in the air. The smell clung to the walls and the floor of the alley. The rain only made the smell more intense.
Carly stood outback of the bar she worked, her mind swirling with her unknown past. She was a nobody in every sense of the word. She didn’t even know who she was. She didn’t know if she would ever know who she was. She tried for a whole year to find the man she was looking for, but after a year she couldn’t even tell you what he looked like anymore. Year clouded her judgment. She didn’t even trust herself with the information anymore.
She didn’t plan to work this late. She had to take on a double shift because Bella skipped out on her shift, so she had to cover for her.
She took a drag of her cigarette. A cheap brand, the only one she could afford on her meagre salary. She only took the extra shift because it kept her out of her head, her empty head. She took another drag thinking about what her future was going to be like, she had no skills, she had no recollection of her past, she didn’t know if she had a future.
She was in nursing school, only because a friend she met at church group recommended it. She didn’t feel any ounce of joy thinking how she would be helping people. She didn’t even know if she liked helping people.
The Rusty Mug offered her a sense of security one that allowed her to blend into the shadows, she didn’t know why she felt better in the background than she did around people. It helped avoid the pain of her own forgotten past. A past she couldn’t bring herself to remember, a past she was struggling to remember. A past she wanted to remember.
Tonight, however felt a little different. For some reason her heart ached, she had this overwhelming sense of anxiety, she didn’t know where it came from. Like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was a feeling she couldn’t shake no matter how many cigarettes she smoked today shook that feeling off her.
Even when she couldn’t remember anything about herself, or her past she didn’t feel this anxious. She didn’t know what was making her feel this way. All she wanted was for it to stop. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was drowning in the unknown.
A muffled sob pierced the silence of the night. It was faint at first, as if it was in her own head. But the sound of two men arguing followed. The cries grew louder.
It sounded like a child’s cries. Unease filled her body; her body acted on instinct. She moved toward the noise cautiously. Like it was grained into her, she stayed close to the wall so no one would see her. Her heart began to beat frantically. She felt the air around her grow cold.
Then she saw them.
Three figures, two hunching over a tiny one. One was tall and broad-shouldered, the other shorter stout holding onto the small figure. They were trying to get her into a warehouse. The small child cried holding a small teddy bear. She was no older than four, Carly guessed, her small body trembling as she cried trying to free herself.
Before Carly could even process what was happening, her instincts took over. The scene unfolded in slow motion in her mind, she was in front of the taller man, she kicked him in the head before he could even see her coming.
Muscle memory kicked into Carly’s body along with a memory unfamiliar to her. In her memory, she was in a building fighting her way out. A sharp shooting pain in her head followed causing Carly to drop to her knees with a thud.
The child’s screams brought her back to the present. The memory was gone with the scream as well. The man she kicked was up and lunged at her.
Carly reacted on instinct trying to dodge, he kicked her arm, she nearly cried out in pain. But her body somehow ignored the pain and continued fighting.
She tackled the kidnapper to the ground, once he was subdued, the other one let go of the little girl and lunged at her. She tackled him to the ground, sending sprawling onto the wet pavement. She wasn’t sure if it was from the rain or someone’s pee. She hoped it was pee, and it got into his mouth. She had no idea where the mean comment came from, but she liked it.
Carly went to check on the child. The little girl went to her willingly, clinging to her.
The first guy woke up and saw her with the child. He lunged at her. Protecting the little girl in her arms. She jumped up and kicked the side of his face, snapping his neck to the side, causing him to fall backward.
She had to find a way to restrain the two. They would keep getting up, she needed to think quickly. She watched them closely.
She didn’t know how she did it. But it was if her body was working on muscle memory. She couldn’t think about who she was in the past. Was she like these men? Or was she someone who protected the weak? Did she really like saving people?
The struggle was brutal, a chaotic exchange of fists and shouts, a crowd started to form and someone called the cops. Carly sighed in relief when two regulars from the bar helped her restrain the men.
Carly couldn’t explain the protectiveness she felt for this child. She couldn’t understand how she knew half of the fighting skills she just displayed. She dropped to her knees with the girl in her arms. All the strength she just had gone as soon as it came. She was out of breath; her arm was killing her. Her legs felt like they broken.
Relief finally hit Carly when she heard sirens in the distance. When the kidnappers heard the sirens, they tried to break free but the guys keeping them wouldn’t let them. The area was known for a high crime area. But the men in the area, were known to protect children and women. The bikers in the area, kept the women and children well protected. It was why I worked at the bar. Though half of them offered to sleep with me, the other half was at least somewhat respectful.
Sirens sounds grew closer with each passing second. Yet it felt like hours to Carly. She felt like she was seconds away from fainting.
One of the kidnappers broke free and stabbed the man who was holding him down in the stomach.
He lunged toward the other holding his buddy. Once he was free, they stalked toward Carly.
With great difficulty Carly stood with the girl in her arms.
"What are we going to do?" the tall one asks.
"Take them both with us of course. I’m gonna have fun with this one..." the other said looking in Carly’s direction, making her skin crawl.
They lunged for Carly and the little girl trembling in her arms. But they were stopped by the rest of the group of bikers. They were beat up by the bikers for hurting one of their own. The men started stomping on them. For good measure too.
They screamed out. When the police arrived, they had to restrain the men and women who were stepping on the kidnappers.
The ambulance arrived right after. They first took the man that was stabbed and his buddy away when another ambulance came to check on Carly and the little girl.
The kidnappers were apprehended; the child was safe. Carly, however, felt anything but safe. Something about the police put her at unease. Was she some sort of criminal?
The police officers, efficient and professional, questioned her, their eyes curious, their tone courteous. They noted her disoriented state, her short and curt responses. Her unease.
The adrenaline had worn off and Carly couldn’t answer any of their questions. She didn’t know how she could fight off two men. She didn’t know why her body held muscle memory.
They were grateful, of course; she had undoubtedly saved the child’s life. But there was an undercurrent of concern, a subtle hint that something didn’t quite add up.
The child, nestled in a blanket provided by a female officer, didn’t cry anymore. But she wouldn’t let go of Carly. She clung to Carly’s cheap target sweatshirt. She was clutching a small, brightly coloured tattered teddy, her eyes wide and unblinking. She wouldn’t talk to anyone just stayed silently in Carly’s arms.
She looked at Carly with a mixture of awe and trepidation, a strange, knowing look in her wide, innocent eyes. Something about the little girl set Carly at ease. Something about the little girl gave Carly a feeling she didn’t know how to describe.
The experience had left Carly shaken, but strangely she felt comfort in the experience. The adrenaline faded slowly, leaving behind a gnawing sense of unease and a persistent headache. Her body was tired and sore. She needed a goodnight’s rest. She barely registered the flashing lights, the officers’ questions, even the child’s trembling presence.
It was only when a sleek, black car pulled up beside the police car, and two men got out, one of them opened the back door and a man in a tailored suit, the smell of expensive cologne hit her nose first. The girl in her arms finally stopped trembling when she saw the man.
Carly assumed he must be the girl’s father.
The man’s eyes landed on his daughter, and he let out a sigh of relief. He walked up to his daughter.
"Stella..." he said softly.
The girl lunged into his arms.
Carly watched, as he spoke to her softly comforting his daughter. He didn’t care that the little girl was dirty.
He introduced himself "I’m Chase Jacobs, Stella’s father..." His voice was deep and comforting.
Carly swallowed. "I’m Carly Lewis..." she introduced herself.
Chase’s eyes felt familiar to Carly. The dark green almost moss-coloured eyes. She’d seen it somewhere before, but she didn’t know where and thinking about it gave her a headache.
Had they met before? If they had how? He came from money. He screamed power. She didn’t know how, but she knew he came from money. She wanted to know as much as she could. But she could see he didn’t recognize her. He didn’t know who she was. But she knew it in her heart, she’d met him before.
He listened to the police as they explained what happened. He already knew all the details, but he still listened to them.
He explained to Carly how Stella was his four-year-old daughter. She was kidnapped while being out with her mother.
Then he turned to her. His gaze held an unnerving intensity, a depth that suggested he was seeing something beyond the simple act of gratitude. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me..." He thanked her, his words sincere, his voice laced with a quiet intensity.
Carly brushed it off. "I was in the right place at the right time. I didn’t do much..." She always knew she was going to be fired. She didn’t return after her smoking break. It didn’t matter that she saved a little girl.
But the thought of leaving pulled at Carly’s chest in an uncomfortable way.
"Work for me. Work for me as Stella’s nanny..." Then he offered her a job. He didn’t know why he blurted out those words in the heat of the moment. He didn’t know anything about this woman, other than a basic background check. It wasn’t like him.
Stella meant the world to him...
A job as Stella’s nanny, meant he trusted her but he didn’t know why. Looking into her eyes made him believe she was safe to be around his daughter.
He needed someone to look out for his daughter when he couldn’t. He didn’t know why, but he trusted her. He needed someone who had no ties to his ex-wife. He needed someone who didn’t know who he was. Someone who wouldn’t hurt Stella.
Carly looked at him in confusion, but Chase had made up his mind. He looked into this woman Carly Lewis. He knew it had to be an alias. But something about her set him at ease. She had to be ex-special forces. He read about how she’d protected his daughter from two men while his daughter was in her arms. That wasn’t someone who just knew self-defence.
He was going through a divorce and was fighting for full custody of his daughter. He wasn’t sure how he’d survive without the help. He needed someone he could trust to protect his daughter.
"I... I don’t know," Carly stammered, the words sounding strange and alien even to her own ears. Her mind was still reeling from the adrenaline, the chaos of the rescue. Her memories, already fragile, seemed to have shattered further.
She had no idea how to care for a child, let alone the daughter of a rich man. Yet, as she looked into Chase’s eyes, saw the quiet desperation behind his carefully constructed façade, she found herself unable to refuse. She didn’t know why, but she could read his subtle cues, the way his body was tense and only looked at his daughter. The way his eyes lit up when he saw her safe, made her unable to say no.
The offer was more than just a job; it was a lifeline. A chance to find herself in this strange, uncertain world. A chance to perhaps, finally, remember who she was. And in the depths of Chase’s gratitude, she sensed a connection, a strange, unspoken understanding that clung deep within her forgotten self.
The life she was offered wasn’t just a job, it was a way for her to find the missing pieces of herself, to find out who Carly Lewis really was. And finding out how she met Chase before was the first step into finding out who she was.
Carly was suddenly reminded of last year around Christmas when she had her mental break down. The colour of Chase’s eyes reminded her of that day. Yet no images flashed this time around.
Carly needed to know who she was... And if taking this job helped her find out who she was she would take it.
