Only

Chapter One

Verity’s POV

I could only hear two voices. Two voices, discussing only one thing – me.

“Is she... is she all right?”

“Yes, she’s doing well. She has some major burns but she’ll be out of hospital in no time. There is one thing, however. We thing she may have suffered some... mental problems...”

“What?! What are you talking about?”

I let my eyes flutter open, curious to see who the voices belonged to. I saw Harry talking urgently with a balding doctor in a white coat. “Harry!”

Harry whirled around to face me. “Verity!"

The doctor came over to examine me. “How are you feeling, Miss Danner?”

“All right... a bit hungry!”

Harry laughed, but it was a nervous, uncertain laugh. “I’ll go get you some food from the cafeteria, okay? Doctor, could I please speak to you?”

“Certainly.” The doctor nodded. The two walked out of the room, leaving me alone to eavesdrop. Thankfully, I had always had excellent hearing, so I could hear the doctor and Harry’s conversation without straining myself.

“...Mental problems, you said. She seems fine.”

“Hm, yes. We had analysed some memory loss, but I see she can remember you... does she have a boyfriend, a family member, that she might not remember?”

“Yes! She has a boyfriend, but she never told me who.”

I have a boyfriend?

“I have a boyfriend?” I said, voicing my thoughts. I clapped a hand to my mouth and hurried back under the thin blankets as Harry and the doctor walked back in. Harry had a faint smirk on his face.

“She always loved to eavesdrop.” Then his smile disappeared. “But... apparently, she doesn’t remember her boyfriend.”

“But... how? I remember Jenny, and Mum, and Dad, and all my sisters... how can I not remember a boyfriend? Are you sure I actually have one?” I racked my brains, searching for a clue. Then I realised that I had a big white blank space in my mind – where my boyfriend should be, perhaps.

“You do,” Harry said softly. “You used to on dates and stuff... unless you were lying to me, of course...”

I felt myself getting more and more depressed by the minute. “Oh, no,” I wailed. “What if my boyfriend doesn’t want to be with me anymore, because I can’t remember him?”

“If you had told me who it was, I could call him...” Harry brightened. “Do you have your phone?”

“Er – I’m sorry, Mr Styles, but unfortunately Miss Danner’s phone was left in her room. It must be melted to goo by now.”

“Shoot!” I said, frustrated. “I can’t believe I left my frigging phone in my room when I was escaping...”

The doctor looked at me with raised eyebrows as I muttered a bunch of gibberish under my breath. Harry laughed. “She never swore – I guess being in a burning building hasn’t changed that.”

“Hm,” said the doctor, with a small smile. “Well, this is a very rare case. She can’t remember her boyfriend, and she hasn’t told anyone about him, so we can’t contact him. Maybe he’ll try to contact her?”

“Maybe,” sighed Harry. “Well, I have to go see a friend of mine. He was in a car crash, and I should really check on him. I’ve been with Ve the whole time...”