The Amnesiac

A Tense Revelation

As you wake up, the feeling of two warm arms wrapped around your body makes you smile, and you gladly stay cuddled up into her small body, keeping your eyes closed. The body lying behind you hugs you tighter than the blanket and mattress do on either side of you, and you sigh contentedly.

But the light from the window pierces through your eyelids, and you find it harder and harder to go back to sleep with each passing moment.

"Mmm..." You grumble you finally open your eyes and turn onto your back, finally getting a look at your bedside partner.

Oh, it's Tina...

You yawn for a moment, then nearly choke on your own breath as your brain finally puts the dots together.

"Tina?!?" You yelp, startling her awake.

"Huh?!? WOAH!" She pulls her arms back, realizing where she was, but keeps her body leaning on you.

"What are you doing? Why are you here? Where's Rae?" You blurt, sitting up. Her head falls off of your shoulder, and she drowsily sits up.

Now over the initial shock of being woken up, she loosely brushes her frizzled hair back with her fingers and rubs her eyes, releasing a cute yawn and stretching her arms up.

"Rae's downstairs. She's talking to Poki, Emi... I mean, some other girls," she summarizes, her voice still carrying her fatigue. "They're here to meet you. I was supposed to come wake you up, but you refused to! I even shook you, and you didn't," she recalls, shaking her head.

"And then you kind of grabbed onto my arm in your sleep... and pulled me in... and I..." Her cheeks turn red, and she stares up at the ceiling from her place beside you. "Whoops?"

"Wait, Rae wants to introduce me to more people!" You say, fixating on the first thing she had said. "But... there's still so much I have to do with the three of you!"

"Oh..." She pauses, realizing your point. "Um... should I tell her to send them away?"

"Err... I don't know... if they came all the way here, then..." You hesitate.

"Hey, don't worry about them," she says, scooting in closer. "They can always come another time. You're the important one here. Go at your own pace," she wisely says, gently poking your chest with her finger.

You take a breath, thinking over your options.

More girls...? This is already a lot for me to deal with. I don't even want to know what kind of history I've had with these ones...

Actually, I do. But not now.

"Alright. Ask her to tell them to go for now. I want to take things slower," you decide.

"Ok. I'll tell them." She scoots over to the other side of the bed and swings her feet off of the edge, planting them on the ground. You quietly groan, feeling her warmth completely leave your side.

"Wha-? Are you ok?" She asks.

"Yeah, it's just that... do you have to go right now?" You sheepishly smile.

She looks to the door, her forehead visibly tensing.

Her gaze quietly flickers back to you under the covers, and then to the door. She swallows nervously, evidently anxious.

"I think I'll go tell them now," she quietly repeats.

You force a smile, realizing she was still fearful from yesterday. "Ok! Can you come back after you're done?"

She clears her throat, mutters something unintelligible, and walks out.

Over the next few minutes, you listen closely for any sounds. The muted chatter coming from downstairs slowly fizzles out until you can't hear anything anymore.