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Greyhound buses were big, but I guess they would have to be if you were hauling a whole bunch of people. I found my seat in the middle, off to the left. As it started to rain once again, the bus jerked forward to make its way through town. Raindrops pebbled against the windows as the gray sky turned dark and ugly.
Why would Sarah want me gone? I thought she cared. I thought Brady cared. It seemed so out of character for them. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I didn't hear the whole story. My thoughts then turned to the McGuires. Why did Raina have to be Austin's girlfriend? They left because of my parents. To get away from us. Then I practically showed up on their doorstep. A reminder of their past. Something they desperately tried to forget, and I was in their sanctuary.
Why was any of this happening to me? Hadn’t I suffered enough?
I looked out the window, feeling sorry for myself. The roads were now half flooded with rainwater as I noticed the street gutters filling up, water rushing down them.
I glanced ahead, watching where we were going, hoping the road was safe to travel on. That's when I saw the green Jeep speed past us. My heart leapt as my eyes drew to the person inside.
Tyler! Was he coming after me?
I changed my mind. Determination flowed through me. I couldn't keep running. I needed to stay and fight for what I wanted. I needed to demand that I stay. I could do it, live on my own. I wanted to stop running. To call this place my town. I didn’t need them. If Brady didn’t want me, fine, but I was done running. I was going to stay for me.
I stood up with my bag in hand, with the intention of walking towards the bus driver to ask to get off, but I never got that far. The bus swayed to the side as the brakes squealed, sending the bus into a fishtail on the road. My nerves screamed as I crashed into a set of empty seats.
Holy Crap!
"Hang on, ladies and gentlemen. The road is a little slippery this afternoon with the all the rain." I got back up to move forward once again. I needed to get off. "Young lady," the driver directed his statement to me, as he glanced my way through his large rearview mirror, "Please sit back in your seat. It's too dangerous to be up right now."
"I want to get off," I told him firmly.
"What?"
"I want to get off!" I yelled, but he didn't hear me as the bus hydroplaned across the road, twisting to the side, throwing me into another empty seat, before tipping over. The bus then slid into something hard, and my head crashed into the side of one of the windows. Pain exploded as a sole thought filtered through my mind before I blacked out. I was going to die, just like my brother had.
***
I felt groggy as fingers tightened on mine. "Daniels, please, baby, wake up," a rough voice whispered. I wanted to wake up, but the darkness seemed safer. Less painful. A hand squeezed mine as the begging continued, denying me the safety of the darkness. I floated up from my cocoon of safety to consciousness and sluggishly opened my eyes to midnight blue ones. They were sad eyes, which were red and puffy, as if he had been crying. He swept back my hair from my face and let out a relieved chuckle when he noticed I was awake. My head felt like cotton and spider webs all rolled together as the sound of a sledgehammer rang through my ears. "It's about time you woke up, baby," he sighed. "But you never really listen to anyone."
He leaned over to kiss my forehead and my lips. "It's only been a day, but you still gave us all a scare." I jerked back confused. What the hell? Then I glanced around the room and realized where I was. What was I doing in a hospital?
"We were so worried when you left and then the bus... why did you run? You said you were okay," he sighed, shaking his head, dismissing his line of questioning. "Never mind, I need to tell everyone you're awake. Brady just stepped out with Sarah." I took my hand from his and leaned away. What was going on?
His brows dipped. He looked confused, concerned, for me. Why? "Daniels?"
I was scared and overwhelmed. Questions ran through my head. Why? What? Who? So I voiced them. "Who are you? Why do you keep calling me by my last name?"
Everything was jumbled. It was like someone had scratched the clear glass of my memory and now things were unclear, fuzzy. Things didn’t make sense. My timeline was all messed up. Whoever this was, he knew me and was also vaguely familiar. I glanced back over to him, watching as he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, looking as confused as me. His intense eyes caught mine once again as he leaned forward.
"What's your name, baby?" His steel voice floated over me, searching for answers that I had. Answers I feared, that he might already know. He knew me, but I couldn't place him.
"Faith Daniels," I replied in a soft voice, "and why do you keep calling me baby?"
His eyes turned curious, almost understanding, "Do you have a brother named Austin?"
I sucked in a sharp breath, making an ache settle in my chest at the mention of my brother's name. I hadn't expected that. It was in the past. I remembered that much. "Had," I told him cautiously unsure on how much he knew. "I had a brother named Austin, but I don't talk about him anymore."
He let out a long breath and sat back in his chair once again as he dragged his hand over his face and groaned. "That's why you ran."
I was so confused. I ran? Well, I wouldn't have without reason. And back to my question. Who was he? "What is your name?" I demanded.
He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets and looked towards me. "My name is Tyler McGuire. I'm your boyfriend."
My boyfriend? I didn't remember him. I turned my head to the door when I heard someone else come in. Two other guys walked in, one held a bouquet of flowers and the other one raced towards me. "Finally! She's awake!" He glared over at the guy named Tyler, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Kayden, she just woke up," he defended, moving back to make room for the other two guys I did not recognize. Kayden? That rang a bell.
The guy named Kayden came to the side of my bed and leaned down, giving me a brief kiss on the lips, and his hands held my head. He pulled back, his eyes watery with tears, which I was sure I didn't deserve. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
My heart sped up. He was pushed aside by another set of lips that met mine. When those lips lifted, I peered up into crystal blue eyes. "You are never leaving our sight. You scared the living daylights out of us, Daniels! Do you know what would happen to us if we lost you?"
I reached up, overwhelmed, and pushed him away, shocked and confused yet again. All three of them kissed me, and it was familiar. The taste and my feelings. Something teased at the very edge of my memory, but it was just out of reach. "Air. I need air people. And I thought he was my boyfriend," I stated, as I pointed to the guy named Tyler. Isn't that what he had said?
The other two turned to Tyler, then back to me confused. I was glad I was not the only one. Uh-oh, I thought as my heart raced, when another thought entered my mind. They looked like brothers. Was I two-timing—no, three-timing on them? I cringed, realizing that this would not bode well for me. What if a fight broke out?
"Daniels," the guy who was still leaning over me said, demanding my attention. His crystal blue eyes were intense as they searched mine, "Do you know who I am?"
I started to panic. Something was wrong. My head hurt like a mother of a headaches, and I didn’t know these guys, but they knew me. At least they seemed to. Either that or they were confused.
"Lincoln," Tyler warned him, as he put a hand on the guy's arm, pulling him away from me. "Give her some space. We’ll figure this out."
"No," I answered in a whisper, as I glanced towards Tyler. "I don’t know you."
Moments later, I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed the next person to step into my room was Brady. Hopefully, he would know what was going on. "Ah, so you're finally awake." He walked over to me with Sarah, his wife, not far behind. Tension in the room was high with the guys and me. Why? I wasn’t quite sure, but I was too confused to care at the moment.
"Oh honey, we were worried that you wouldn't wake up," Sarah cried as she reached my bedside and took hold of my hand.
"What happened? Are my foster parents talking to the doctors?" I asked her, as I tried to get some sense of clarity. I was not sure who I was living with at this time. I avoided the guys’ eyes and focused on her. I knew I was missing things, but surely not that much, right?
Sarah's eyes went wide as her mouth opened, but she couldn't come up with anything to say and turned to Brady, who froze. "What do you mean foster parents?" he questioned, his brows pressed downward.
My palms started to sweat as nervousness set in. I knew I was missing things. A lot of things. Like what home I was living in. "I can't remember which one I'm supposed to be with. Am I in a new home?"
"Daniels, you're in our home. We moved to New York, remember?"
My heart pounded, and my headache grew worse. I rubbed my sweaty palms against the top blanket as my nerves set in.
I lived in New York. With Officer Brady? I was apparently missing a lot.
"Since when?" I croaked out, the ringing in my ears becoming louder. "Because the last thing I remember was getting accused of stealing money out of my fosters mom’s purse."
"Did you?" Brady asked quietly stepping up to my bedside.
"Tom!" his wife cried, appalled at his question.
I glared at him, pressing my lips. "I’m not a thief. I never touched her purse."
He smiled. "I know. You said that the first time, too."
"So, I really did lose my memory?" I asked, scared about what else I was missing.
"Yeah, baby, you did," Tyler said softly, and I turned to look at him. He was standing alongside Kayden and Lincoln. All of them had stepped back, standing with hands tucked in their pockets, looking upset.
"And we’re going to find out what we need to do as soon as the doctor comes in. We paged him." Brady said, but I kept my gaze on the three guys. Their eyes held secrets. Secrets that, deep down in my soul I knew too. Secrets I was supposed to know, but now were scattered pieces of broken glass all scratched and unclear. All I had to do was put the pieces back together and for the glass to clear. If it ever would.
The doctor came in, and the guys left, leaving me alone with Sarah and Brady. He looked me over as he asked questions.
How old are you?
Sixteen.
Do you know these people?
Yes.
Where do you live?
I thought Denton County.
What year is it?
2015
What month?
June.
It’s almost September. Count to ten, please.
My mind was still reeling as I did as he asked. Three months. I’d lost three months. Tears started to well up as I stopped at thirty. I went further than he asked to prove a point but it was all too much. Months. I’d lost months.
A sob tore from my lips, but I pressed my lips tight before I could let another one out. Sarah came over to me, putting an arm around my tense shoulders. "What am I going to do?" I broke out as I glanced up to the doctor. My head felt like it was going to explode with all the pressure. "Will it ever come back?"
The doctor looked resigned. "It’s a possibility, but with kind of this kind of trauma..."
I blocked him out. I'd heard it all before. I wouldn't remember. I didn’t the last time. I remembered that much, I thought bitterly. The past still haunted me. It always would.