122 Hidden Memories Unlocked
(Jayden)
The pain is blinding, shooting through my chest like exploding fireballs. I can hear everything, the chaos, the shouts, but I can’t move, can’t open my eyes.
Everything’s a blur of sounds and sensations, a whirlwind that I can’t escape..
The cold ground beneath me, the frantic voices around me–it’s all too much. The searing pain in my chest is worth it. I saved Winona. That’s all that matters.
Memories start to flood my mind, crashing over me in waves.
Graduation day, Winona’s smile brighter than the sun as I hand her the necklace. “For congratulations,” I’d said, and she’d promised me three wishes. There’s still one wish left to get.
That moment, the happiness in her eyes, a lifetime ago. The way her face lit up when she finally accepted. the necklace, the way she hugged me so tight, like she never wanted to let go.
Prom night, Winona and I dancing like the world was ours, her laughter music to my ears. In college, together with Lance and Lisa, inseparable friends.
The late–night study sessions, the impromptu road trips, the lazy Sundays spent doing nothing and everything all at once.
Then darker times. Losing our first baby, the pain and grief that could have torn us apart but somehow brought us closer.
Our wedding night in Vegas, spontaneous and wild, promising forever amidst the neon lights. Her eyes shining with love and excitement, the way she said “I do” without hesitation.
The memories shift, and I’m back in the car, the moment of the accident playing out in slow motion.
Winona felt ill, and I insisted she stop and let me drive. The impact on the driver’s side, the screeching of tires and metal. The airbag thumping me back.
The darkness that followed–it all came rushing back.
The smell of burning rubber, the taste of blood in my mouth, the unbearable fear that this was the end,
But there’s more. Something claws its way to the surface. I hear Mother’s voice and Gus. I didn’t know who he was back then.
“This was you, wasn’t it? You went too far, Judy!” Gus hissed, his voice trembling with rage. “You almost killed my son!”
“Our son.”
I realized Greg Brennan wasn’t my father at that moment. The revelation hit me like a ton of bricks.
The pieces of the puzzle now finally come together in my mind.
“How co
could you risk his life like that, Judy?”
Mother’s response was calm, almost cold. “They were never supposed to swap seats, Gus. It wasn’t
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122 Hidden Memorin Unlocked
meant to be Jayden.”
Gus’s voice trembled with rage. If Jayden dies because of you, I swear I’ll kill you myself.”
“He’s okay, they have him in an induced coma, he’ll get better.” Judy’s response was calm, almost cold, ” You won’t kill me, Gus. You love me. You’ll always love me.”
“What about Greg? Did you kill him too?”
“None of this can be proven.” The words echo in my mind, each one a dagger to my heart. “But everyone gets what’s coming to them, eventually.”
The pain in my chest is nothing compared to the searing pain in my head now as the memory hits me with full force. I have no doubt about what I heard in that hospital bed before my world went black.
My mother, the woman who meant the world to me. The woman who was my world until I met Winona had orchestrated an attempt to kill the woman I loved
And in doing so, she almost killed me. That’s what my mind has been blocking all this time.
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