𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝐿𝑂𝑂𝐾𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐹𝑂𝑅 𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝐵𝑈𝑇 𝑌𝑂𝑈'𝑅𝐸 𝑅𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇 𝐻𝐸𝑅𝐸

"I still don't understand" Gwen said, feeling her heart racing in her chest as Edward quickly placed her back in her wheelchair after muttering that 'Harry' was on his way and hanging up the phone. "How are they getting here so fast?"

"Magic" Edward grinned at her with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, as he helped her into the car. "When they called, Harry and Alex, they said they would meet us here within 15 minutes. It's been almost that."

Gwen opened her mouth, wanting to say something--Anything! But Edward looked distracted. He looked upset. His confession of marrying someone else and loving her had placed her in a tough spot with a million questions she needed answered. On top of all of this, there was now the complication of her boyfriend coming to rescue her.

'Messy' was not even the appropriate word to describe the entire ordeal.

The raven-haired woman felt conflicted after the way she had felt him kiss her. Her heart was racing throughout the entire drive back into town, not knowing if she should be excited, nervous, feeling guilty...Or all three. How would any of this work when she got her memory back? Would she forget her time as Eden? Would she automatically remember she loved Harry?

"Edward--"

"Gwen" Edward said, taking a deep breath and smiling at her. And yet, once more, his smile did not match his eyes. "Do you know what this means? Harry is here, he'll be here in less than a few minutes. You'll get your memory back. You'll be able to go home."

She fell silent as the unknown was eerie to her. How could being with Edward feel so right, when her life was within her grasp?

———— ✦ ⁖ ✺ ⁖✦ ————

Edward could hardly believe the order in which everything was happening. He knew it was wrong to have confessed his feelings for her when she was in this state. What a coward he was to do it when she had no memory of what he had done to her, how he had hurt her. Would it be such a terrible excuse to say he was only human?

He hardly let her get a word in as he told her Harry Potter was on his way and they headed back to the clinic. He knew she saw the way his jaw was clenched, he knew she could sense his strained happiness.

Selfishly, he wished he had more time with her. But not like this. Not when she was not herself, not her real self. Not when he knew the cure for her memory was only minutes away. As soon as Harry Potter arrived, she would no longer be Eden, but Gwen. And his mission to find her would be over.

Now the question remained, would the real Gwen invite him to stay? Would she feel as though he had taken advantage of her in her state? That he should have found a faster way to get her memory back?

The two drove in silence as he noticed how still Gwen had become. Her eyes were no longer gentle or soft, but hard and determined. In the right light, she looked almost like her old self again: a war torn hero, Helen of Troy, bearing the burden of war on her shoulders. He was taken aback by this, glancing at her as he did a double take. Did she remember?

Quickly, he knew he his belief of her memory being back was folly. Of course her memory had not returned. But it did not stop him from feeling frustrated at not knowing what was going on in her head. Gwen's dark brown eyes stared back at him, her expression full of wonder as she glanced at him in the way she often did when she was trying to figure out what was going on in his head.

He had to look away from her.

The guilt hanging onto him for kissing her back was too great. She would be Gwen again. And he could not dream of her. She should not dream of him.