Page 28 of Us Defiant Few

“Takeshi,” she whispered, afraid to raise her voice any louder against the chilling silence.

He flinched.

She waited for him to turn. But Takeshi stayed right where he was, eyes still locked on the wall as if it held the answers he couldn’t reach.

Khalani swallowed, glancing back at Jericho, but he looked away, giving her some privacy.

Five minutes. That’s all she had.

She maneuvered around the bed, her heart thundering in her chest. Takeshi’s eyes were glazed over and he looked utterly lost. Like he was trapped in a never-ending loop with no way out.

She trembled, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him. To tell him she was there. That everything was going to be okay.

But she forced herself to stay calm.

“Is it okay if I sit?”

He flinched again, clearly hearing her, but he still didn’t respond.

She bit her bottom lip and waited.

A full minute ticked away.

When Khalani realized she wasn’t going to get an answer, she sat beside him anyway. Their shoulders didn’t touch—a good few inches apart—but his jaw tightened, and he angled his body away from her.

“Takeshi… Do you remember me at all?”

The doctor had confirmed he didn’t have his memories, but she needed to hear the heartbreaking truth spill from his own lips.

Takeshi’s ruthless energy crackled in the air. She could barely breathe. Hardly even think as she waited a lifetime before he finally answered.

“No.”

Khalani nodded, staring at the wall next to him. If she melted into the concrete, he probably wouldn’t even notice.

But she needed to hold it together.

For her.

For him.

“Are you here to kill me?” he asked with more interest.

“Of course not,” Khalani nearly sobbed at the disappointment in his gaze. “Why would you think that?”

“I’m missing something.” His deep voice bled across the room, drowning her in its grief.

“It’s there…on the edge of my mind,” he whispered, his eyes flaring. “Something or someone so important to me. It feels like a piece of my soul was tethered to it. And now there’s just this gaping hole in my chest. I’d rather rip it all out.”

He reached for his shirt, crumpling the fabric, as if he were about to do just that, and she immediately covered his hand to stop him. Takeshi jerked his head, but she still saw it.

A single tear sliding down his face.

Takeshi never cried. He was always the one holding everyone together.

He tried pulling his hand away, but she clutched his fingers tighter, refusing to let go.

“Takeshi, look at me.”