Be My Escape

Chapter 12: Amnesia

It was several hours before Adam and Mila finally finished their picnic. "I have something I wanted to give you," Adam told Mila, right after she finished her second brownie.

"You don't have to give me anything else," Mila said, amazed at how this man never ceased to impress her.

"I kinda do," he said, feeling awkward. He wasn't very good with gift giving. He didn't waste any more time before handing over a small, rectangular box. Mila quickly opened it up, revealing the newest iPhone.

"Whoa," Mila said, surprised. "I've never had such a nice phone!" She pulled it out of its box and powered it on. She ran her fingers along the front and back of the device. It was a lot smoother than her old phone.

"Um. I wouldn't do that if I were you. It leaves smudges," Adam said, feeling weird explaining such an obvious thing.

"Ohhh," Mila said, still amazed at the phone.

"So, with this one, you can go here," Adam gingerly took the phone out of her hand, opening up an application, "and you can download games. You can also download Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or anything else you want on your phone," Adam explained. He pulled something else out of the picnic basket, another rectangular box. "And this is a case, to keep it from getting broken it you drop it." He put the case on the phone.

Mila admired the phone case more than anything, forgetting about the unfamiliar names he had just told her about. The phone case had sand on the back, with liquid that moved as she turned the phone around. "Whoa," she said, still amazed.

Adam smiled at her fascination. "I also took the liberty of changing your background picture," he said, grabbing the phone from her again and showing her a picture of him behind the weird, miniature boxes on the screen.

"Hmm." Mila said, eyes intent on the phone.

"Do you like it?" Adam asked.

"I love it," she said, not glancing up at him as she swiped up and down, left and right, fascinated by the movement of the screen. She distinctly reminded Adam of a child with a new toy.

"I also, uh...changed your phone number," he said, scratching the back of his neck. That caused Mila to pause, and glance up at him. For a second, he got worried that she'd be mad. She ended up just shrugging, though.

"You know what, that's actually fine with me. I was starting to get the impression that some people wanted to be more than friends, based on the way they were texting me. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to give my phone number out to random strangers," Mila mused.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that," Adam said with a smile. "So, would it be okay if I tossed your old phone into the ocean?" He asked. He'd rather not have Mila carrying around a device that so many people had access to.

Mila shrugged, once again distracted by the new phone. "Why not?" She hadn't even looked at her old phone since last night. That one was so boring compared to this new one she had. She grabbed it out of her purse and handed it to him.

Adam took it from her and headed out to the waves. He felt a sense of accomplishment as he threw the phone several yards into the ocean.

What neither of them had seen was a message from an unknown number, sent a couple hours ago.

I know where you are. I know your name. There's no hiding from me, Patient 52. We will be seeing each other again. Soon. -M

Mila and Adam finished packing up their picnic and began to head back to Adam's car. They took their time, enjoying the sand between their toes and the noise of the waves hitting the beach. There was a gentle breeze blowing between them, lifting up Mila's hair slightly.

They reached the car before long, and Mila let Adam open the door for her. "What a good boy," Mila teased. Adam's only response was to glare at her and shut the door.

"You know, that's really not fair," Adam said as he started up the car. "You can call me whatever nickname you want, and you know I'll let it slide. But I assure you, if I try the same thing, you'd be upset with me."

"Alright, let's try it out. What nickname were you thinking of?" Mila asked. Adam could sense the trap coming from a mile away.

"Nice try. Not going to happen. See, I'm a gentleman. I wouldn't make up a mean nickname for you," Adam said.

"Whatever you say, dog boy," Mila said as she grinned. Being a woman was fun. Adam didn't say anything in return. Mila bent over and turned on the radio. A popular song came on, one she had heard come on a couple times in the coffee shop. Before she could really get into it, Adam turned the radio down again.

"You know, Mila, I don't really know much about you," Adam said. He could feel her tense, the hand holding his suddenly feeling much more rigid. "I've shared my past with you. I'd love it if you could do the same in return."

Mila kept silent for several minutes. Each second that ticked by in silence only made Adam more worried. He knew he probably shouldn't have said anything, but it was killing him inside to feel like he didn't know his mate.

"I can't," Mila said, finally. Adam chewed on his lip, trying to think of a reply. Why didn't his mate trust him? What was it about her past that made her unwilling to discuss it with him? The one person in the world that a werewolf could trust was his mate. Mates were unable to physically harm the other (their wolf prevented it), and they had a tendency to be very forgiving. Adam already felt like he could trust Mila with some of his darkest secrets, though he knew he wouldn't. He didn't want to scare her away. Did she not feel the same?

"I want to," Mila elaborated. "But I don't remember any of it." Mila turned to face out the window. She hadn't told anybody about this. Talking about it made her feel empty, like a big part of her was missing. "The doctors told me that I got hit by a car. I hit my head on the pavement."

Adam didn't know how to respond to that. Out of all the possibilities he had pondered, that hadn't been one of them. "Oh." He said, dumbly.

"I had about a thousand dollars in my pocket when they found me. I didn't have an ID, so they didn't even know my name. And no one was there to help me." Mila said, feeling tears starting to form. It was eating her up inside to wonder why no one was looking for her. "I don't even know my last name," she whispered.

Adam pulled to the side of the road. He undid Mila's seat belt and pulled her closer to him. The tears started once her head was resting on his chest. They were silent tears; the tears of a woman who was lost.

Adam let her cry for a little bit, his mind wandering as he tried to make sense of her situation. Her answers to his questions made more sense, now. "I can't imagine how tough this is," he whispered, then cringed inwardly. What a cliche way to respond to her pain. "But I can tell you this: you're not alone. You'll never be alone again. Not only will I be there, but you have friends who love and care about you. And if you want to try to figure out your past? I'll do whatever I can to help, from pouring over phone books to hiring a private investigator. I'm here for you," Adam said, turning her head upward so he could look into her eyes.

Her brown eyes were rimmed in pink, one tear still slowly making his way down her cheek. Adam wiped it away gently with his thumb, and gave her forehead a kiss. Mila didn't know how she got so lucky to have found someone like Adam. A couple weeks ago, she was alone and scared in a world she wasn't familiar with. Now, like he reminded her, she had people surrounding her that loved and cared for her.

"Thank you," she mumbled, unsure of how to appropriately convey her gratitude. She pulled him closer in a hug, and rested her head on his chest. Her world had felt shaky for as long as she could remember; it still was, but now she had something to hold onto.

"I'm sure there's someone out there looking for you," Adam added on, wrapping his arms around her. Unfortunately for them, he was closer to the truth than he realized.