I can't remember anything. Memory loss, the nurse told me. All I remember is her face. The last thing I saw. Her eyebrows arched in concern, eyes watering. Her bottom lip is trembling and tears are pouring down her face. Her torso is covered in blood and her hair is disheveled. She's familiar. Then, my eyes spot a symbol on her neck. It's a tattoo. An eagle. The same eagle is hanging on a silvery chain on her neck. A tear streaks down her smooth, dark skin and falls onto my forehead. Then I fall into the darkness.
Now, I'm up.
My eyes are heavy with drugging and my head's tied up with a bandage. My thoughts immediately go to the eagle girl. She looked so familiar yet seemed so distant. There was something about her that I couldn't place. All I want to do is see her again.
"Hello?"
A female voice brings me back into the present. A nurse is waving me down.
"Are. You. Ok?"
She sounds the question out.
"Perfect!" I say in a falsely cheerful tone trying to drown out the beeping of the monitor.
"Uhhh... By any chance, did you see a girl? Dark skin? Black shoulder-length hair?" I plead.
"She's outside." She gestured outside the door.
She gives me a gentle smile.
"She has been asking for you ever since yesterday night." I blink.
"Shall I let her in?" She presses.
"Yeah." I say involuntarily.
I notice a mirror in the corner and look at myself. I start from my bare feet and wiggle them. I lift up my hospital gown a bit and notice that my calves are intact. No damage done. My lower back hurts but no visible damage is seen. My shoulders are uneven. One's higher than the other. I sigh.
I travel up to my face. I have a jutted jawbone and rough stubble. My tan skin is uneven and is bruised here and there. My nose is pointed and I see a tuft of blonde hair peeking out from underneath the dressing. I stare back at myself and see electric blue eyes with dark circles underneath. Leaning forward to take a closer look, her reflection catches my eye. I turn quickly and fix my gaze upon the girl and returns my stare. Her eyes go up and lingers on my wound.
I clear my throat to bring her back to the present.
She's looking at me intently. She seems to know me, more than she can explain. Her hand fiddles with the straps of her bag. She has a mysterious aura to her.
I try to get up and she rushes over. She pushes me down firmly. "You can't get up now." I hear her mumble about blood pressure and I receive a firm expression that tells me there's no arguing with her.
"Do you know me?" I ask her, searching her face for any sign of recognition. Her face goes blank and she replies with a stiff head shake. No. She doesn't know me. My face falls and her expression changes but her mouth is set in a straight line.
I get the feeling that she's hiding something.
"Who are you?" I ask.
She stutters and her eyes dance around the room but never make contact with mine.
"I'm... Tara."
"How... When... Why... Are we?" I stumble. Tara becomes blank again.
"Accident. You got hit on your head. Near your medulla. Memory loss. I was going that way and saw you sprawled on the road. I got you here."
Her bottom lip quivers and her eyes fill with tears. I know that there's something else to this story. She seems to understand what I'm thinking and covers.
"Well, I'll be on my way then."
She gets up and walks towards the door. I can't help being confused. I see tears start to swell in her eyes and she turns away. She grabs her phone and starts to leave the room. I have to do something.
"No. Don't go!" I panic.
She stops but doesn't turn.
"The nurse will be with you in a minute. It was nice to see you again, Roger!"
I notice her voice trembles on the last line. "I'll get someone else to help you."
Great. The first person I befriended wants to ditch me. Not letting this happen. I don't know why but I feel safe around her.
"Stay. Please. I want YOU to stay." She turns rapidly.
"You don't need me." There's steel in her voice.
"I do." I argue.
"Don't say that please-"
"You are going to cry.." I note and she cracks.
"You aren't supposed to care about me. I'm a stranger." She retorts.
"What's with your necklace? The eagle?" I ask.
Her eyes drop down to her neck where a silvery chain is hanging. Hesitantly, she pulls it out. "Someone gave it to me." She shrugs.
She looks like she doesn't care but I can tell that it's important to her and close to her heart. I decide not to pry. I want to know more about her.
"Who lives with you?" She looks fierce all of a sudden.
"I live alone. It's best for my...uh...career." I frown.
"What do you do for a living?" I prod. She gives a light jerk but replies without missing a beat.
"I work for the CBI."
"You are a spy?" I ask, fascinated at the thought. She looks fragile, like a flower and looks like she wouldn't win a fight against a teddy bear. Maybe she's in the tech branch or something less dangerous.
"Not really." She replies almost immediately. She pauses and looks at me-
"I'm a licensed killer."
My heart leaps out of my chest. A. LICENSED. KILLER. The delicate lady I was chatting with has been dealing with the devil. Well, she probably had her reasons.
"Ummm... How many people have you..?" I falter off.
She starts to count. Her hands are outstretched and her lips are moving silently.
"About 15-16." She says casually. My eyes widen. Her mouth stretches into a devilish smirk.
"Can we be friends?" I ask, still in shock. Her smirk drops.
"No. I don't have friends." She recites.
"Why?" I push. Her eyes narrow into slits.
"Cuz I kill people for a living, Duh." "
That's cool. You kill to save lives." I say.
"This is not how it's supposed to go. You are supposed to be freaked out and avoid me at all costs... NOT ASK ME TO BE YOUR FRIEND."
I give her a dazed smile. "So cool-"
She looks mad but I see a slight smile playing on her lips. She rolls her eyes and puts her hand on her hips. I see her hesitate but then she talks-
"I did know you. Well, in high school. And then I left... I mean, I-circumstances..." She stumbles over words. She does know about me.
"I left because of my job. You wanted to be a marine biologist. We used to be the best of friends. Always together, never apart. Till 12th we were together. Then, I joined the CBI and realized that this wouldn't be the best. I always have a gun on me. We were always together. Anything could go wrong. People are hunting me down. I had to keep you safe."
A fat tear rolls down her cheek and she quickly wipes it off. The sober, stone-like expression she had was back again. Like a mask, hiding her true feelings.
"My name?" I ask her.
"Roger."
YOU ARE READING
HIS HEART
General Fiction"I work for the CBI." "You are a spy?" I ask, fascinated at the thought. She looks fragile, like a flower and looks like she wouldn't win a fight against a teddy bear. Maybe she's in the tech branch or something less dangerous. "I'm a licensed kille...
