Chapter 211: Recognition
Nina
When I ran into Enzo on the quad, I thought for a moment as he looked at me with the strange expression on his face that he might begin to remember me.
But he didn’t. Not yet, at least.
Seeing him walk up to Selena and hold her made me want to cry, but I managed to walk away and hold it together. I had faith that my scent would make Enzo come to me eventually, so long as I gave it time. In the meantime, I had the antidote to mix.
The infirmary, which had been the last place I wanted to be after Tiffany died, had somehow turned into my safe haven over the past few weeks. It was funny to think about how my internship there was purely coincidental, and how I wanted to choose a different internship; now, I
couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
At the beginning of the semester, I had chosen surgery as my preferred career path. However, after everything that had happened since then, I knew now what I really wanted to do.
I wanted to follow in Tiffany’s
footsteps. I wanted to continue her legacy of caring for Mountainview. I loved helping sick and injured students, and I loved being the hockey team doctor. The thought of spending years here in this very office made me smile, and I imagined that Tiffany was smiling down at me as well. And I supposed that she was, in a way,
smiling down at me from her picture on the wall. Maybe I would frame more pictures and hang them to remember her, and when students years from now asked who she was, I could tell them that she was the bravest and smartest doctor I ever knew. She was a hero down to her core, and I would never forget her.
Now that I knew the recipe for the antidote, it was only a matter of mixing enough to distribute. Even though it would take me a long time to mix enough for everyone who needed it, it was at least something to keep me busy and to keep my mind off of Enzo.
I got to work first preparing the compounds for the antidote. Then, very carefully, I began the process. It was a lengthy process that required a lot of waiting, but I didn’t mind. Before I knew it, I even had the first batch of the antidote finished. Its bright, glowing blue color was a surefire sign that I had made it properly, and after bottling up vials of the antidote, I got to work mixing the next batch.
I was almost halfway through the second batch when I suddenly felt as Though someone was watching me. Not
only that, but a specific, sweet scent
filled my senses.
I froze, and my head shot up a moment later as only one possibility flashed through my mind: Enzo.
He was here.
I had to contain my excitement, as I didn’t want him to get freaked out by my insistence again. But I was certain that he was curious when I saw him staring at the antidote through the window, and with a smile, I waved him in.
“Am I interrupting?” he said, almost sheepishly, as he pushed the door open.
I shook my head. “No, you’re not. Do you want to come in?”
Ertzo paused in the doorway for a moment. He seemed to be considering it, but also seemed to be unsure. Then, with one last glance over his shoulder, he finally stepped in and let the door swing shut behind him.
“What is this stuff?” he asked, walking up to the table. He picked up one of the vials of the finished antidote and held it up to the light, inspecting it curiously. I could tell that he recognized it somehow, but the spell that Selena put on him must have made him forget the antidote, too.
“It’s an antidote,” I replied. “For people who’ve been turned into rogues.
Enzo’s eyes widened. It was still strange interacting with him in this disguise that he was wearing, but I had grown somewhat used to his new face. However, I also knew that he would likely change back to his normal appearance once he remembered everything. Before, when he had brief moments of remembering things, his appearance seemed to shift slightly. Even now, his face seemed to be moving a bit, and one of his eyes had returned to its usual soft brown color.
“How did you make that?” he asked. ” I’ve never heard of anything like that. It could be revolutionary.”
I shook my head, stifling a smile, and pointed to Tiffany’s picture on the wall. “I didn’t make it,” I replied. “She did. Tiffany. She’s the one who came up with it.”
Enzo stared over at the photograph, and as he did, I swore his face began to shift just a little bit more as he no doubt recognized Tiffany’s face. His scent became a little more powerful, too, and it made me wonder how much of my scent he could smell. Did he follow my scent here?
“What was her name, again?” he asked.
“Tiffany.” Enzo nodded slowly. He almost seemed to be chewing on this information in his mind, digesting it. He then looked back down at his hand, where he still held the vial of the antidote, and furrowed his brow. I felt my heart race when he then lifted his eyes up to meet mine.
“I remember this stuff, somehow,” he said. “I can’t explain it, but… I feel like we used it to save the school.”
My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. My eyes filled with tears, and I nodded vigorously, trying my best to blink the tears away. “We did,” I replied. I wanted so badly to run to him and hug him tightly, but I knew that I needed to be patient. It was only a matter of minutes now before he would begin remembering more; I was sure of it. “You helped me.”
“Did I?” Enzo’s brow furrowed even further. He swallowed as he gently set the vial down, then glanced over at the supply closet that hid the door to the tunnels. I could see that he was recognizing that door, too, as he looked at it. Maybe, if I showed him what was behind that door, he would remember that, too. I just hoped that those tunnels, even just the entrance, weren’t so traumatic that it would push back the progress he was making.
Quietly, while Enzo continued to stare unwaveringly at the supply closet door, I peeled my plastic surgical gloves off and walked over to the door. He seemed to follow me instinctively, which made my heart swell.
Then, I opened the door to show him the broken tunnel entrance that was inside.
A soft gasp escaped Enzo’s throat. He walked past me and peered into the dark tunnels, and during those silent moments, I could see his body shifting growing into the tall and muscular guy who I had grown to love. I knew that he recognized those tunnels, and it made me want to cry.
Somehow, through the power of fate, my scent was enough to lead Enzo back to me. And now, I only needed to help him remember the rest.
