Her Strange Love

2. The Awakening

Awakening-
to become conscious or aware of something.

4 months later

A faint beeping is the first thing I hear.

I blink open my eyes, and try to lift my hand to shield my eyes from the blinding light streaming through the window, but it flops uselessly against the scratchy, white sheet. When my eyes finally stop watering, I look around the room. Wires run from my hand and under my nose to a machine in the corner. A heart rate monitor, the source of the beeping, is pushed against the wall that - like everything else - is void of any color. I notice a coffee cup laying on top of the small table next to the visitor’s chair.

I start and look up as I hear the click of the heavy, brown door being shut. A tall man around 20 stares at me with wide, chocolate eyes. He drops the book in his hand and it makes a thudding noise when it hits the tiled floor.

Before I can blink, my face is cradled between his rough hands. “Rune,” he croaks. Tears fill his beautiful eyes and before realize what I’m doing, my thumb is brushing under his eye as if I’m trying to will the crystalline drops away from his seeking gaze.

But then it hits me. “Who’s Rune?” I cringe at the hoarseness of my unused voice.

Sorrow paints his features as he slowly lifts his hand from my cheek and gently extracts my hand from his face, and holds it on my lap.

“Angel, who am I?” His thumb rubs circles on the back of my hand, and he stares pleadingly in to my eyes.

“I-I don’t know.”

At my admission, he jerks back, as if I physically hit him.

“I’m going to get the doctor,” he releases my hand and stands up. “Stay here.” He says this like I can go somewhere and I’m not hooked up to a million machines.

As I wait for him to come back, I sift through my memory. I don’t know my name. I start hyperventilating as this hits me. I don’t know my name. The heart monitor starts going crazy, making rapid beeping noises, and a harsh ringing fills my ears. I grimace as my chest constricts painfully. My heart stutters and the machine emits a high whine, which is the last thing I hear before utter blackness encompasses me.

----

Frantic voices surround me, but I tune them out.

“Move out of the way.”

“She’s seizing.”

“We’re losing her.”

Out of the flurry of voices surrounding me, one calls out to me. It’s him, the strange man from before. Even if I can’t remember, something about it sounds familiar.

“Rune, Angel, please come back to me.” His tortured voice soothes me, and I notice the tight pain in my chest subsides.

More voices.

“Her heart…”

“It’s  beating again.”

----

This time, when I open my eyes, I am not alone. The man from before is resting his head on my stomach. His light brown hair is a sharp contrast against the white of the sheet, and his rough hand is loosely gripping mine.

I hate to wake him, but I have to know who he is; it's like the screeching in my head, the unrest in my soul won't subside until I know this beautiful man's name.

I gently run my free hand through his soft hair. When that doesn’t work, I lightly shake his shoulders. My sharp intake of breath fills the room. His shoulders are muscular and filled with strength. I can’t help but keep touching them. My hand that’s not held by his explores his back, and when that’s not enough, I slip it under the hem of his black shirt. His masculine groan makes me jerk my hand back and hold it closely to my chest. I glance at his face and see his heavy lidded gaze trained on me.

“Sorry,” I mumble. A feel the blood rush to my cheeks, and I glance at our still joined hands in my lap.

“Angel, you can touch me anytime.” I jerk my head up at the double meaning to his statement. Eyes that I’ve only ever seen filled with sadness are now glinting with mischief.

“What happened?” I quickly change the subject.

At the reminder of my earlier state, his hand tightens on mine. “You had a seizure. You’re heartbeat stopped for a millisecond, but it was enough to make me feel a lifetime of grief.”

He’s acting like he loves me. Honestly, I hope he does. That would be one good thing to come out of this situation.

“Who are you?” I hold my breath as I wait for him to answer.

“I’m William Lawrence. I was your foster brother for 2 years, though I’m not anymore.” His eyes are looking for something in mine; when he doesn’t find it, he lets out a weary sigh. “You truly don’t remember anything.”  I notice this is a statement, not a question.

“No,” I whisper. I don’t look at his eyes, for some reason, I feel like I’ll find disappointment in them.

“The doctor said it’s normal. You’ll slowly regain your memory, but it will never be the same. There may be some things you never remember. There’s a pill you’ll have to take twice a day, if you don’t, you’ll experience permanent amnesia.”

I finally look into his eyes. I find nothing but sadness, not the condemnation I was expecting.

“William.” I like the way his name feels in my mouth, it feels like it belongs there. His eyes grow dark at my use of his name. “When will I start to remember?”

“The doctor said a few weeks after you keep taking the pills. Until then, you can stay at my place.”

I nod at his announcement. The thought of having to be alone with no memory for a few weeks sounds terrifying.

"Get some rest, Angel. I promise I'm not going anywhere." My heart swells at his assurance. "Now scoot," I barely have time to move before William lays down beside me, still cradling my hand in his.

~~~
Song- Nobody Knows/ LostBoyCrow