Amnesia

Chapter Four - You will get your memory back

The wind played with her hair as she leaned against the huge tree. Its' branches secluded her from the rest of the world. She felt like she was the only one on Earth. The sun made itself known by showering her and the tree with its' warmth.

Suddenly, she heard a voice calling her name. "Marley, where are you?" Nope, not answering. She closed her eyes. She was confident that the tree would hide her from whoever it was. "Marley!"

Annoyed, she opened her eyes to see a shadow roaming around in front of the tree. Who was looking for her? She wanted to be alone. Wasn't that the reason why people went away without telling anyone? She wanted to be left alone!

A branch touched her cheek, as if to comfort her. She stroked its soft leaves, watching the shadow closely. More branches encircled her. Relaxing in the touch, she let the tree envolve her in a hug. She felt so safe.

It didn't matter that the tree were hugging her so hard she found it hard to breathe.

"Marley!"

Opening her eyes with a gasp she met the eyes of the young guy from before. Around them were darkness. She relaxed with a twinge of disappointment. It had only been a dream.

Then she noticed that the guy wasn't wearing a shirt. Blushing,she looked away.

"You didn't use to be such a prude", a deep voice suddenly said in her ear. Her whole body tensed. His voice sent shivers up her spine. "I'm going to let you go now, Marley." At that she looked at him.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see the smirk on his lips. She could also see how she had her arms around his neck. The blush deepened when she realized that she must have hugged him when she dreamt.

But... why would he even be in her room? "What are you doing here?" she asked as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"I couldn't resist you", he said. The response made her frown. What did he mean? He saw her confused expression and sat up next to her on the bed. "Are you okey?" he finally asked when she didn't say anything.

She shook her head as she sat up in the bed. "Hasn't mother told you?" she whispered. Was that it? Was she, her mother and Orlando the only ones who knew she had amnesia? "I have amnesia", she continued. Silence stretched out in the room. She didn't dare meet his eyes. What if he was laughing at her?

"You're kidding... Oh, damn, what a mess!" he muttered.

"What... I mean, who are you?" she stuttered, still looking down. He had sounded really sad.

"I'm Eric", he only said. The short answer made her look up. He was sitting with his head leaning back on the wall. She couldn't decide if he was looking at the ceiling or having his eyes closed, but she could see that his fists were clenched. "Is it true? This isn't some weird way to end this?"

Her fear was right, she was a slut. Still, she had to ask. "This? We had an affair?"

"Yeah", he laughed bitterly. "And you can't even remember." He hesitated. "What do you remember? Because I trust you, so I won't ask again if you're faking it."

"I'm not faking anything", she almost shouted. "I really can't remember! All I know is the basic stuff, like what Wal-Mart is, and that I know how to ride a bike and so on."

That caught his interest. He turned his head to look at her. "You remember that you learned to ride a bike?"

She nodded. "Yes. But nothing else. It's like that with everything. I know the basic facts, but nothing personal." It felt strange to talk about that with someone other then her shrink. Doctor Philles had been great during their last session. He had told her stuff about her life that he thought she needed to know before leaving the hospital. And Doctor Madison and Nurse Sophie had kindly seen her off. "It's strange... Why can't I remember?" she whispered. "Why me?" She felt tears trickle down her cheeks.

Without warning, Eric leaned forward and caressed her face. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Don't cry, Marley", he said softly. "You will get your memory back sooner or later."

"But I don't know anything. And nobody knows that I have amnesia..."

He interrupted her. "I'll help you. I'll teach you the things you need to know." A tiny smile played on his lips.

Swallowing, she thought about it. If he taught her the things she needed to know about whom she was and what was expected of her, maybe she wouldn't have to tell everybody about her amnesia. It would make things so much easier. She nodded. Yes, it was a good idea. As long as he didn't trick her... "You won't trick me? I mean, you won't teach me things that aren't correct, right?"

When he shook his head, hope blossomed in her chest. "As I said, I trust you when you say that you have amnesia."

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"First though, we have to be sneaky about it. Your mother doesn't like that the servants interact with the guests or the family." He ruffled his hair as he spoke. Then he looked at her. "Don't worry. We will figure something out." A yawn escaped her lips. He smiled again. "I'll let you sleep now."

Crawling out of the bed on all four, he gave her a clear view of his ass. A blush spread over her cheeks. Even in the dark she could see his smirk. "Good night then..." she muttered, looking away.

"Nighty, princess", he said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." With that, he turned and left the room.

What a strange day. She sighed as she lay down on the bed again, pulling the comforter over her. Deep inside, she wished that she had never woken up, that she was still in s coma. Maybe when she closed her eyes she would find herself back in the dark. Hope blossomed in her chest once again. That would mean that this nightmare wasn't true. Taking strength from that thought, she closed her eyes and let the darkness embrace her.