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My eyes opened to the star-speckled sky, and an argument brewing just outside my range of vision. It took me a few moments to recognize the setting. I was in my back yard lying on one of the lounge chairs.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Valerie’s voice carried across the yard.
“He asked, so I figured...”
“I told you what would happen. Any time a memory so much as flickers to the surface, he has a seizure. But no, you figured you knew better,” Valerie snapped, her tone laced with enough venom to turn my head in her direction, just in time to see her swat Damian’s chest. “You are an asshole,” she added.
“I didn’t think...” Damian started, flustered by her fury.
“That’s right, you didn’t think,” Valerie cut him off.
“Val?” I said, interrupting the escalating fight. She spun in my direction and nearly sprinted the distance, dropping to her knees next to me. She ran her hand over my forehead and into my hair before leaning in for a gentle kiss. I stared at her stormy eyes when she pulled away.
“Hey,” she smiled, running her thumb over my forehead in a gentle caress.
“Seizure?” I asked, and she dropped her gaze to the ground before sighing.
“Yes,” she said with a nod, bringing her beautiful eyes back to mine. “Which is the reason no one has talked to you about what happened.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your brain is overloading and shutting off whenever something triggers a memory.”
My mouth dropped open as what she said sank in. “Fuck,” I muttered and closed my eyes. What the hell kind of memories did I have that caused my mind to shut down?
“It was traumatic, babe. There’s no rhyme or reason to how the mind reacts to trauma. You just have to wait until you’re ready to handle the information.”
“And what if it never gets better?” I searched her eyes, praying whatever lay beyond my reach wouldn’t tear down what I had started to build with her. Her eyes softened and she leaned in for another kiss. This one as gentle as her thumb stroking my forehead.
“Chris, you’re still you, even without the memories or the flawless speech pattern.” She cupped my cheek. “You have not changed.”
I had nothing to compare it to and my gaze moved to Damian. The conversation on the beach was fuzzy and my brow scrunched. “Weren’t we on the beach?”
“You collapsed and I brought you back here,” he said and covered a yawn. “I need to get back home before Naomi sends out a rescue party.”
Valerie gave him a nod and he slipped into the house. Something didn’t sit right with me and I stared after him before turning my gaze to Valerie. If he brought me home, why wasn’t I inside?
“The kids kept asking when you were going to come back and sing for them,” she said, changing the subject. “You made a hell of an impression.”
“I only know one song,” I said. I had no clue how I knew the notes to play on the piano, or the words to the song for that matter, but I had sung ‘Hallelujah’ without a flaw right after I came out of the coma, and the performance delighted a group of young cancer patients at Dana Farber.
“We can always test out my theory,” she said. “I played quite a few songs over the two years you were out.”
Ah. Her theory. She thought my comatose mind absorbed the music. Neither Steve nor Tom had ever seen me play the piano before, so her theory seemed like the most logical answer, considering the absence of any prior musical training. Personally, I think she just wanted to see me do it again.
I slowly pushed myself up, despite the head-heavy sensation. The movement left me disoriented to the point I had to grip the edge of the chair. “Is there anything you can do to stop the seizures?” I asked, returning to the original subject.
“No, not to my knowledge. At least, nothing that doesn’t run the risk of permanent brain damage.” She took a seat next to me and slid her hand into mine.
I stared out over the water, at the moonlight dancing on the waves.
“Damian said monsters are real,” I slid my gaze from the ocean to her and she huffed a laugh, her gaze dropping away from mine in the process. I inhaled at her little tell and glanced back at the ocean.
A flash of annoyance heated my skin and I stood, choosing to head inside instead of continuing the conversation. I slowed as I passed the bar, turning back and reaching in, pulling the bottle of vodka out.
“You probably shouldn’t drink right now.”
I sent a glare in her direction and poured a glass, filling it to the top and chugging it down despite the burn. I pressed my teeth together and shuddered as the liquid hit my stomach and a slow fire spread from my center to my fingertips.
“You just lied to me,” I said, squaring off.
“Chris,” she started and I turned away, ignoring her and poured another drink. She tried to intercept the glass and I pulled it out of her reach.
“What the fuck was Damian talking about?”
She huffed in exasperation. “Chris,” she started in that calm manner that drove me crazy; and for the first time since I woke, I felt the bite of anger.
“Don’t coddle me.” I stepped back, putting distance between us. “I’m not a fucking child,” I growled out, getting more pissed by the second at my irritating stutter. I downed the second glass before she could grab it out of my hand.
She stopped, pressing her lips together. “So help me,” she started and I narrowed my eyes, slamming both the cup and the bottle on the counter.
I stepped closer, glaring down into her equally furious face. “I get that you’re trying to protect me, but god damn it, don’t treat me like an idiot.”
The fire in her eyes fanned the coal the alcohol set alight and I didn’t know whether to shake her or kiss her.
“What was Damian talking about?” I asked through clenched teeth.
She stared at me, the muscles in her jaw tightening. “Inhuman killers,” she said in a way that chilled my anger; and I cocked my head waiting for more explanation. She didn’t disappoint. “The kind nightmares are made of.”
My memory didn’t allow for any explanation and I shrugged. “What is out there?” I waved toward the window.
“Vampires, demons, hybrid killers.”
I blinked and took a small step backwards as my brain slowly combed over the conversation I had with him on the beach. At least, the little I could recall and I crossed my arms. “Is Damian... human?”
She smiled and kept eye contact this time. “Yes.”
I sensed more was coming but she just kept her mouth and her mind closed.
“But?” I asked when she didn’t continue.
“He wasn’t; for a very long time.”
The second alcohol bomb hit my stomach and I reached for the counter to steady myself. I wasn’t sure I heard her right. “What?”
“Damian was born five hundred years before Christ.”
If anything should short circuit my brain, that fact should have, but I just stared at Valerie, trying to break down the timeframes. When I couldn’t, I asked the obvious question. “How?”
She chuckled. “Damian was a vampire until two and a half years ago. I’ve known him since I was born and he hasn’t changed at all. He hasn’t aged a day.”
I crossed to the table and sat down, trying to find the meaning of vampire among the cobwebs in my head. She might as well have told me he had been a rock since the dawn of time and I glanced up at her. “What exactly is a vampire?”
“He existed on blood, but he was different than the rest of the lot. He didn’t become a mindless killing machine.”
“Why not?”
“That’s a long story. One I really don’t want to get into at three in the morning.” She covered a yawn. “Can we go back to bed now?”
“Does Naomi know?”
“Oh yeah,” Valerie said and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Bed, now.”
“I have more questions,” I said as she navigated me through the family room, turning off the lights as we went.
“You will have to wait until I get some sleep.”
We climbed the stairs and I excused myself, stepping into the bathroom to do my business and brush away the bitter taste in my mouth. I raised my gaze to my reflection and my expression soured. “Fucking memory,” I muttered and sent a glare at the image before retiring to the bedroom.
Valerie was already curled up on her side and I slid under the covers spooning her, and letting the alcohol numb my senses to sleep.