Lovers But Not Lovers

Chapter 36- Mind games

***Desiree POV***
I looked at the guy infront of me. He looked like the guy that stabbed me. Harden Heis. But how he stepped back and the look of pain in his eyes, tell me otherwise.

I slowly sit up on the bed and stare at him. Who is he?.

"Mom. Who is he?". I ask my mother.
She looked at him with pity and pain in her eyes.

"He is your best friend, honey. You don't remember him?". She asked me, like she was careful with her words.

Why does he look like Harden then?. I saw him get shot. But this guy, doesn't look shot or injured..

"Honey, I'll go speak with the doctor. Okay?". She said and stood up, the doctor following her, leaving a friendly pat on his back.

I saw another woman there. She was Salvatore's mother.

"Hey. Good morning?. Erm, you are Salvatore's mother, right?. Where is Salvatore?. He didn't come to see me?". I said, looking at her.

"He... He is here, baby". She said, pointing at the same guy that looked like Harden.

Is my eyes aching me?. Why is she pointing at someone else as her son?. Or maybe she is not okay?.

"Hey. I'm Salvatore. Remember?". He finally said, cleaning his teared up eyes.
"You look like him. You look like Harden". I said, starting to become afraid again.

At that point the doctor came in. "Miss Dion.  Look at me. Who do you see?". He asked.

I turned to look at him, the doctor. "I see you, doctor". I said, confused.

"It's confirmed. For now, she will see Harden face on him. He happens to be the last person she saw". He said, explaning to them.

"Do you mean, she will be seeing me as Harden?. For how long?". The so called Salvatore guy asked.

"Well, till she agrees the she was kidnapped by a close friend and saw his death". The doctor said.

Salvatore turned to look at me. "Look. I'm not Harden, okay?. You can see me as him for now but please, don't be scared of me. I'm Salvatore". He said.

"I can't see Salvatore but Harden". I said, Tryon to mask the fear in my voice.
I saw him retreat.

"Give her time". The doctor said and left.
He just nodded his head and looked at me. "I'll get her food". He said and left.

The two mothers were there, staring at me and then at themselves.
Was he really not Harden?. Is my brain playing tricks on me?. My mind wandered.

Twenty minutes later, he came in with pack of food. He opened it and it was stir fry pork, with curry sauce and rice and braisen short ribs.

Yummy.

He served me, first, and left out mothers to serve themselves.
"Can you serve yourself?. I mean, can you eat?. By... By yourself?". He said, like he was picking his words carefully and walking on a pack of pins..

"Well..". I started.
"No, the lines and machines are connected. Help her". My mom said.
"Huh?". I asked, surprised.

He took out the chopsticks and cleared his throat, dropped it back and cleaned his hands on his jeans.

"You are just feeding me, not undoing my bra in front of our mothers". I said, teasingly.

I got the sense that the panick was from my previous behavior of screaming and shouting, so I want to lighten the mood.

He looked at me, baffled and had a hint of amusement in his eyes, with something else.

"Sure. I'm sorry". He started feeding me, and was also eating from the same plate.

This felt familiar and oddly intimate. Like we've done it one too many times.

Our mothers finished up their meals. And left saying they will be back. But not before my mom begged me not to look at him like he was Harden but see him as Salvatore.

It was really scary. I'm seeing someone who hurt me meanwhile, according to my mom, he is someone that would never hurt me.

I was having a panick attack few minutes after they left. I wanted to scream.

And it was as if he sensed it and from time to time he would back away and go to the other side of the room.
But soon, sleep got the best part of me and I made myself comfortable and drifted away.

***4pm**
I woke up after a short nap to see the wall clock showing 4pm. Wait, a minute. I slept for five hours?. No way.

I sat up to see my mom packing some stuffs.
"Mom?". I said, croaky.

"Honey, you are up. You've been discharged, baby, with some drugs for your memory". She said, while packing. "Your father is downstairs". She said and left.

I sat on my bed. What if he is truly, Salvatore?. I will feel really bad for how I'm treating him. But what if he is Harden?. But he died in front of me.

I shook my head trying to not think of it. But he really acts different from the Harden I saw last.
Harden rough-handled me. But he was scared of me not even wanting to eat from him.

My parents walked through the door with my siblings. My sister, Willer, was the happiest to see me.

She ran to hug me immediately with tears from falling from her eyes.
"Long time, no see, Sister". I said, chuckling a little.

"Oh, I'm so glad you remember me. The doctor told us that you might not remember due to shock and the drugs that fool pumped with you with, and dad started crying and I started crying and mom and then the twins and I'm still crying as well". She rambled on.

"Let's go home. And I missed you too, sister". I said and she hugged me again, while helping me to get down from the bed.

As I came down, Lucian and Lucas came to hug me and my dad as well.
"Is he.... Is he truly dead?". I asked my sister.
"If he wasn't he would have been in prison by now".

I nodded my head, this means that he is truly Salvatore. We drove home with my mum blasting me in on the food she made and how they shouldn't complain if I eat too much.

I just smiled. I wanted to see him again, to check if the mind games will persist.

Like the doctor said, I have to accept the fact that Harden is dead. My head was already aching.

I'll need to see him later, maybe by then my head would have calmed down a little.

Maybe then I'll see what Salvatore looks like. I remember a guy named Salvatore but I don't remember his face.

I don't remember what he looks like. I remember everything else but not him.

And from my memories we were close. Really close, but what does he look like.