Deceitful Marriage

Chapter 05

A week has passed since being in my house with Jasper and it's been quite peaceful. My ankle's mostly healed up after lots of rest, so I've been walking around without the crutches. Therefore, most of my time is spent in the attic or watching TV. Jasper has had long shifts all last week and this week, so he's been really tired but still makes the time to have conversations with me. Memories of us making out on the bed last Monday runs through my veins whenever we cuddle to sleep. Nothing like that has happened since then, only a few kisses on my lips and cheeks. I have no idea what got into me for needing that touch. Desperately. Maybe I was too damn horny and he realized that, wanting to satisfy my needs. I don't want to give him the wrong idea that I only want sex, so that's why I've been trying to get to know him more. He knows that and has been very open-minded about everything. It was only once a few days ago that I got a memory of us going on a date, but nothing else. Even though I don't remember anything, I can feel deep in my heart that I truly care and love him.

Thankfully, Jasper had an on-call shift today so we stayed in bed and talked. I'm so happy to have him here because it's been a bit lonely whenever he leaves for work.

"You know what we can do today?" He strokes my back in small circles.

"What?"

"I feel bad that you haven't been able to leave the house, so your coworkers have been speaking to me about hosting an art exhibition for you—to see the artwork you haven't laid eyes on."

I raise myself to stare down at him, "Really? For me?"

He nods, "They've missed you. Don't worry, I told them to keep this quiet between us because I don't need the media finding out you're visiting the art gallery after the accident."

My excitement cannot contain itself. I'm going to see paintings I've created and meet the people who I used to work with. What if my memories trigger from this get-together? Or maybe if things go well, I could start going to work again. Stop being in this house all alone and tell how my day went with Jasper as he does with me sometimes. That's all I want. For my life to go back to normal even if my memory loss is permanent.

"When do we leave?"

Jasper has a fixed gaze as he says, "This evening. In the meantime, do you want to take a walk?"

I raise an eyebrow, "Out there? In the woods?"

"Don't worry," he pinches my nose, "I'll protect you."

     Arm in arm, we go out through the backdoor and head straight for the dirt path leading into the tall trees, leaving my crutches behind. Thankfully, it's still morning so the sun is out and shining many shades of green and brown. As we head deeper into the woods, my uneasiness begins to slowly pour out of me.

"We won't get lost, right?"

Jasper has a slight closed-lip smile as he says, "Totally."

I give him a small glare but press closer into our linked arms. "You know how the victims of the Redeemer leave their bodies hanging in the woods? Has that ever happened here? Around our home?"

He tilts his head, "No. Those bodies were found on the other side of town, nowhere near here."

"Okay," that makes me feel a bit better but wolves still roam around here, no matter what Jasper said about them being too scared to even get close.

"Why, hello there!"

A sweet voice startles me as we turn to our left to find a young woman and man crouching near some wildflowers. She has a huge smile plastered upon her small freckled face. Her hair is a golden blonde that's a tad below the shoulders and a light shade of blue for her eyes, she also has two white clips in her hair matching the flower dress. The man looks to be as tall as Jasper but with curly hair covering his forehead. They both stand up with dirt on their hands and knees.