The Next Step:Jiley's story

The truth

James' POV

I don't know what's going on, I have people telling me I have eight children and a fiancé but I know that I certainly don't, I'd remember that, right? Then that person, Rachel, Rosa, Rose, Riley, yeah Riley, telling be we were engaged with eight children and yet her face is as unfamiliar as anybody's, I know we have never met before and yet how does she have a photo of me with eight smiling toddlers? I wish I did have children, and a beautiful fiancé, that Riley was pretty hot, but I know I don't and now I probably never will because I can't remember my own family let alone how to love somebody. As I drift off to sleep an image flashes across my eyelids, of me and Riley at a park, a ginger toddler soaking wet after falling a puddle, could Riley be telling the truth?

My eyes slowly open and I know instantly that I'm not alone but my head is set in a certain position so I can't look to see who it is. "James, are you awake?" I hear a voice ask me from my left side "Yeah, just." I croak whilst trying to work out who the voice belonged to "It's Riley," she says almost reading my  mind "I know you don't want me here but I love you and I can't leave you, just try and remember what we had before this." she tells me, that's when I remember that image with Riley, me and the ginger toddler. I think carefully about my choice of words before I speak again "If you're telling the truth, about us and our supposed children," I begin not really knowing how to word it "Is one of these children ginger? she must be about one and owns a bumble bee coat." I say trying to remember everything about that image that I saw for a split second "Did she fall in a puddle? at a park." I say slightly unsure when she stays silent "Yes," she says quietly "We have two ginger one year old twins, Poppy fell in a puddle, her identical twin is Isla, they're triplets, the other one is a little blonde boy, Oscar." She tells me excitedly. "How do you know?" she asks "I don't really know, I just kind of had an image in my mind of this soaking wet ginger toddler in your arms at a park, but that's all I remember." I told her, I decided to trust her because my gut tells me that I know her even if I can't remember her at all. "Can I show you some pictures, to try and jog your mind?" She asks, I guess I do kind of want to know more so I agree "Yeah, if you think it'll help." I reply. After a few seconds she's holding her phone above me so I can see the screen, I look carefully and see me and Riley and five older babies with me holding two newborns and Riley with one newborn, I don't remember any of this apart from the backdrop of the picture, it kind of looks like a place I would love to spend all my time at, maybe a dance studio? But I don't dance, do I ? "Riley, I'm going to ask you a question, please don't laugh if it's really stupid," I say before taking a deep breath and saying "am I a dance?" something about saying it makes me believe it more "Yes, you are, you've danced since you were three, we met at dance, you were part of A-troupe, at The Next Step." she says excitedly. Some of these words make sense in my head, they seem right "How old were we when we met?" I ask trying to make sense of this jumbled up mess in my head "When I was 2 and you were 3, and you had a crush on me ever since day 1." she says giggling a little bit, I still don't remember but the more I'm told the more makes sense, maybe I am a father.

After hours of discussing my past I've established certain facts, I know I'm a father yet I don't remember my children, I definitely used to love riley but the new James doesn't trust anybody yet, I have four sisters, I lost a three month old daughter in a house fire, she was called Annie, I won internationals with The Next Step, I now run the studio with Riley and I know that I was happy before I lost my memory. A  doctor is now running a few tests on my physical and mental health to see if I can go home, but I'm ready to go home, I can't even remember my children let alone look after them. I look over to the clock on the wall to see it read 8:!5 Riley and I really did talk away most of the night. "Okay, James I think you're ready to go home now." he tells me, I just nod my head trying to hide the fear of having to go home and try and remember my previous life, I'm not sure I can do this.

Riley and I have just pulled up out of what is supposedly our house, but I don't remember anything about it "Alright, this is it, are you ready to see the kids?" she asks me I just stare into the distance trying to pull myself together, I nod "You're Mom's here as well, she's looking after the kids." she tells me clearly looking for a response but all I do is nod and open the door. My legs are shaky but I just keep on walking to the door, not looking back. I open the door and nothing feels right, for all I know I'm breaking into a house that I don't own or being lured into a trap but I know  I can't turn around now. I walk in and am met my a chorus of little voices "Dada!" they all shout, and that's when all the memories come flooding back. This is where I'm supposed to be.