Isabella
I felt like a bird, free and flying high above the clouds. It was beautiful. The breeze was cool but not cold as I flew without a care in the world. I felt at peace and was surrounded by serenity. All the troubles of the world below me were gone from my hold and I felt light as a feather. I could hear the sounds of children's laughter as they played their games so happy and free. They were oblivious to the cruelty of the world they were in. Suddenly the beautiful sound of children's laughter was replaced by a dull beeping sound in the distance and without thinking I flew towards it eager to explore what and where it was coming from.
My body drifted towards the direction of the strange noise and the beeping sound got louder each second I moved closer towards it. As I flew closer towards the sound, a faint light could be seen in the distance and I pushed my body to the limit to try and reach it, but I felt a force pulling me back away from the light. For some reason I didn't quite understand why I was so drawn to the light like a moth to a flame. I had to reach it. I fought frantically against the strong force that kept dragging me further away from the sound and the light refusing to give up.
I screamed out as the light began to fade and the beeping sound started to quieten, but I couldn't be heard. I prayed that I would be able to touch the light just once and then I would leave to end my long and tiresome journey. But for some reason I had a feeling that my journey was far from over.
As if my prayers had been heard, a deep voice spoke through the atmosphere making me tremble in fright. I strained my ears desperate to understand what the voice was saying. I continued fighting against the force that had a hold of my foot and gasped as I felt myself get thrown back off the cloud I was situated on. I was now free falling from the sky down to the earth below me. The speed was too fast and I knew there was no way I could get out of this one. The sound had completely gone and the light had diminished as soon as I had fallen off the cloud. I closed my eyes feeling queasy at the speed I was falling. Counting quietly under my breath I braced myself for impact.
3.......2........1
Splash
My body slammed against the icy cold water harshly. The impact had taken my breath away and I instantly sunk into the freezing water unable to retain any oxygen. The force still had a hold of my leg and was pulling me further into the water refusing me any chance to return to the surface for air. I kicked out my legs everywhere I could and clawed at the water desperate to reach the surface to breathe. But it was useless. I closed my eyes and let the water take complete control of my body.
This is the end.
Just as my eyes closed, the beeping sound that I had heard not long ago started sounding but even louder than it had on top of the clouds. The sound got louder and louder and I opened my eyes shocked at the volume. And there right before me was the light. It was even brighter than before and was within reaching distance. The same masculine voice I had heard up in the air was now with me in the water and was coming directly from the light. His voice provided comfort and words of encouragement and spurred me to fight against the water and the force. I kicked my almost frozen legs and reached into the light and instantly felt warmth.
I was no longer submerged in water, but instead I was wrapped up in blankets and resting on a soft mattress. My eyes opened and closed slowly adjusting to the bright light that was shining down from above. I looked up at the ceiling, my eyebrows scrunching together as I stared up at the patterns on the wall that I had not seen before. The beeping noise could still be heard in the background but was not as loud as before. The light was nowhere to be seen and the man's voice had disappeared too. I let out a sad sigh desperate to hear it once more. My eyes had now fully adjusted to the bright light and I began to focus on the objects in the room hoping it would help me to figure out where I was.
A loud gasp sounded in the strange room and just as I turned my head to the side to see who had made the noise, I gazed upon an extremely handsome man with raven coloured hair and flawless tanned skin. His eyes were opened wide and was staring at me as if I was some sort of miracle. He grabbed my hand and cupped it with both of his large hands. His hands were so warm and soft and honestly, I wouldn't mind keeping my hand in his for some time.
"Princess, you're awake. I-I can't believe it".
It was his voice, the same voice I had heard above the clouds and in the water. The voice that made me quake with fear yet tremble with excitement and anticipation. I looked at the gorgeous man sitting beside me and took the time to look over his exquisite facial features before quickly averting my attention back down to my hand which he was still holding securely in his. I trembled slightly as he brought my hand close to his face and tensed as I felt warm lips press softly against the back of my hands. Normally this sort of action would stir butterflies in my tummy, but I had a uneasy feeling.
I quickly pulled my hand out of his hold and placed it beside me on the bed. I kept my eyes down on the bed, but curiosity got the better of me and I looked up into his captivating eyes once more. This man looked powerful and seemed like he liked to be in control. He was probably angry at my sudden actions, but as I looked up at him I let out an audible gasp as my eyes fell upon his face which held sadness. I could see tears forming up in his eyes, but clenched them tightly refusing to let them escape.
His face turned pale and his breathing grew heavier. He looked like he was about to pass out.
"I-Isabella, it's me, it's James". His voice was shaking as if he was afraid. But what was there to be scared of. I didn't know him. He was a stranger to me.
He looked like he had been destroyed. He looked like he had lost everything.
"I'm really sorry, but I don't know a James".
Usually I'd scold myself for being abrupt and cold, but I was getting uneasy feelings and was still completely confused about my current situation.
The guy called James looked behind himself at another man who was wearing a doctor's coat. The supposed doctor looked back at him before looking at me with a quizzical look.
James scooted his chair closer towards me and reached out to grab my hand, but I moved it across my body in attempt to distant it from him.
"Isabella. Please, tell me what you remember". I looked up at James taken aback by his desperate plea. He didn't look like the type of man to plea.
I looked out of the window and tried to piece together the last memories I had. I felt like I had been asleep for years and suddenly it had become a challenge to remember pieces of my life. My head started to throb and a sharp pain tore through my head making me wince uncomfortably.
I stared out of the window starting to lose myself in my memories and slowly and surely they started coming back to me.
My parents had both been killed by a drunk driver and the man responsible was locked up. My best friend Louise. We're inseparable. I still remember that time when I was being bullied by a group of girls and during a science lesson Louise 'accidentally' set fire to the ends of one of my bullies' hair. There was another important memory. Oh. I'm madly in love with a man. But I couldn't put my finger on his name. We hadn't been together for a long period, but he was the sweetest and most perfect gentleman. I remembered our first date on the ice skating rink and how he had managed to hire it out for just us. It was so romantic and from that moment I knew I wanted more with him. What is him damn name-
"Damien".
My head whipped over to James and looked at him with wide eyes and my mouth agape proud that I remembered something.
"I remember Damien". James let out a deep sigh of relief and grabbed the hand that I had been trying to refuse from him.
"It's alright princess. He won't hurt you"-
"Hurt me? Damien would never hurt me. Why would you say such a thing". I snapped back defensively. I didn't even know this man and he's accusing my boyfriend of hurting me. Damien would never hurt me.
"Is this a sick joke?! Damien is the reason you were in this damn coma". James pushed his chair back and stood in a defensive stance as he yelled back at me. I whimpered slightly at the sudden volume change of his voice.
"I don't know who you think you are, but there's a load of crap coming out of your mouth so I suggest you leave me alone. I don't appreciate you making up lies" I yelled back at him and he looked at me with a startled expression. He probably wasn't expecting my frail self to snap back at him.
I watched as he looked at the doctor and made lots of random hand gestures before looking back at me.
The doctor signalled James over to him and whispered hushed words into his ear. They both gazed back at me before heading to the door. They swiftly exited the door and shut it firmly behind them.
I slumped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling in confusion. Where are Damien and Louise? I don't know where I am and I'm surrounded by people I don't recognise. I hope this nightmare is over soon.
James
"What the bloody fuck is going on?" I tried to contain my anger but I lost it. After everything that monster did to her and she doesn't even remember. She doesn't remember me. My heart ached painfully. Call me selfish, but in some sense I wish she had died. At least she would've been at peace.
The doctor began writing away on his clipboard and scratched the scruff of his beard. He looked up and let out a deep sigh.
"It would appear that your wife has amnesia. Truthfully I didn't think she would wake up when she did. I'm a doctor and don't believe in wishful thinking and miracles, but in your wife's case it definitely was a miracle. But due to the significant amount of brain damage I would have expected some sort of memory loss, but not to this degree. It would appear that she can only remember up to a certain point. Did she tell you anything about Damien? What was he like during their relationship".
I clenched my teeth tightly together as my brain drifted off to that night that Isabella opened up to me about Damien. I remembered all the tears she had shed, the way her body trembled and how my actions brought back a dark memory for her.
"Yes. He was cruel and abusive to her. But she did say that at the start of their relationship it was perfect. He was kind to her and treated her as though she was a rare gem that was untouched. But that changed once he began getting involved in the mafia. I remember when she told me that he would parade her around like a toy and threaten to share her with his men. He'd hit her when she made the smallest of mistakes and lock her away in his room for days without water and food just because she suggested the idea of leaving him.
"But that doesn't explain why she only remembers the good memories with him".
My voice broke slightly as I started to get increasingly frantic.
I turned to face the doctor hoping he had the answer I needed to hear.
"Hmm. There could be numerous explanations and I will do some tests on her with your permission, but I think I can offer you a theory as to why I think she can't remember the bad memories with Damien".
The doctor cleared his throat and let out another deep sigh.
"Apart from her parents' deaths that you told me about, she didn't really have any other major dark times in her life, until Damien's downward spiral for power. I believe that she can only remember the good times with him because of the amount of pain he put he through. The abuse, the pain and the torture caused significant negative damage to the brain, thus causing the memories of those events to diminish. It's almost as though her body is trying to protect her from the darkest moments of her life and cling onto the happier memories. There's been many studies indicating this as a possibility, but I'll conduct more scans and tests to conclude this theory further".
My brain began to buzz frantically trying to think over the whole situation and praying for my wife to make it through this.
"Well, what can I do to help".
"All I can advise is don't force memories onto her. Try and show her pictures and take it slow. Too much information at once could overload her brain and cause a seizure or other issues. I must insist you to be patient with her. She has a long road ahead of her, but if you work it the correct way then she will reach the light and the end of the tunnel. There's a chance she may eventually get her memory back. But it's early days".
I let out the breath I had been holding in and nodded in appreciation before he excused himself and walked away promising to be back soon.
Without sparing a second I turned around and entered back into the room and closed the door firmly behind me startling Isabella who had fallen into a light slumber.
"Oh, you're back. Great. Have you finished your little temper tantrum?". She snorts and shakes her head from side to side.
Still my feisty little kitten
"Isabella, we need to talk". I walked cautiously over towards her but decided to keep my distance.
"I think we've done enough talking thank you".
"Isabella, I'm serious".
"Fine. What is it you have to say?" She muttered whilst bringing a glass of water to her lips ready to take a sip.
"I'm just gonna blurt this out. I'm your husband".
Hi guys. So this is it. Chapter 1 of the sequel. I'm sorry it's not the most exciting chapter but it will get better. Let me know what you thought of it. Sorry for any errors or mistakes. xoxo