Remember Me *Book 3 Of The Remember the Rules Series*

The Pain in Your Heart

Peter claimed his own room, just across the hall from us. When Tommy got back from... whatever it was he did during the day, we were in the middle of getting ready for bed. I was already dressed, since Felix and I changed at different times, so when he got back I was in the front room, sitting silently next to Pan.

When Tommy walked in, his eyes widened a little at the two of us. "I take it that you're the Peter they told me was staying with us?"

"In the flesh." Pan looked at him thoughtfully. "And you'd be Thomas."

"Tommy." He looked at me. "You're headed back to the palace tomorrow right?"

I nodded, looking at the ground. "We need--"

"We need more information before we can make a move," Pan said, cutting me off. 

I felt Tommy's eyes on me, waiting for my inevitable anger, but none came. I didn't even react. Despite not knowing Tommy as well as Felix, I could still pinpoint the exact moment when he figured everything out: who Peter was and, almost as importantly, who he was to me. 

"I see. Well, I'll see the two of you in the morning then. Goodnight."

"Felix is in our room if you want to let him know that you're back," I said quietly, still staring at the floor. 

"Thanks," Tommy said before walking away. He put a hand on my shoulder briefly before walking out.

I was on edge; that much would have been clear to anyone. So far, Pan hadn't done anything to make good on his promise to essentially wreck me emotionally. I knew it was a tactic to make me nervous, and there was a time that it might not have worked. The problem was that logic had no place in this scenario. 

I'd given in to the True Love magic, and this was one of the consequences. As far as I knew, there hadn't been a scenario where someone rejected the bond, but this gut wrenching pain in my chest seemed pretty par for the course. It was even worse for Rosalie; she was the part of us that held the most affection for Peter, despite all that she had done to keep us apart. As far as I'd been able to tell, she hadn't trusted Peter's Neverland side and had been trying to keep us from getting hurt. It was only after he'd gotten rid of Pietro altogether that she'd realized how badly she had made me screw up.

At the moment, she was having a bit of a breakdown, so I walled her off desperately from the rest of me until she calmed down. Rose was the most present of all of us sometimes; her emotions tended to project outward more easily than Uri's. I couldn't afford to have a breakdown in front of Pan, not when I was trying so hard to prove that I could be a good Lost One. 

"Lights out," Pan said cheerfully. "We'll discuss the game further in the morning."

I forced myself to stand up. It was hard to make myself move for some reason, but I managed. Pan led me back to my room, placing a searing hand lightly on the small of my back. I struggled against the urge to lean into his touch.

It seemed to take an eternity to take the sixteen steps to the door of my and Felix's bedroom. The heat disappeared from my back, leaving a cold shadow in its place. The wall around Rose started to crumble as he silently made his way to his own room. 

No, stay. Please. I'm sorry.

Rose, shut up. Please. I can't deal with it right now.

She whimpered. But Pietro...

Something told me that Pietro was actually one of the driving forces behind Pan's behavior. Peter was definitely the more stable of the two, especially when it came to me and Rose. Pietro was... borderline obsessive. And it was very possible that he was a bona fide psychopath.