Anchor (Book 1)

Chapter Two

A few hours after Anthony and Jen left, I began to have this incredible pain in my head, an excruciating ache that knocked me senseless. I began to lose memory of what had happened to land me in the hospital. I was alone in my bewilderment until a nurse came in and administered some medicine that helped me to remember. They told me my confusion could be a sign of a concussion, but informed me later I did not have one. They reassured me over and over again that it was probably nothing major, but I heard the nurses whispering curiously about it whenever they passed my room.  Leave it to me to stump a bunch of professionals, and now, my fate and recovery were left suspended in the air. 
I knew enough to know that visiting hours had concluded a while ago though, so, when a detective with a sly smile entered my room, I was thoroughly confused.
"Um, I am not supposed to have any visitors tonight."
He put his fingers to his lips. "Shh."
I used my arms and pushed myself into a sitting position, keeping my eyes locked on the stranger. If he was going to try anything funny, I was going to defend myself. I observed him up and down. He wore a hat and a large brown trench coat, which he now slipped off and placed on the bed. He sat down next to it and faced me. He took out a little notebook and handed it to me. I opened it and on the first page it said,
I need to ask you a few questions.
I shook my head. Why would I answer any questions under such peculiar circumstances?
He shrugged and took the notebook from me. He grabbed a pen from the table beside me, scribbled something and handed it back.
I think I can help you pin your attackers, it read.
Seemed like an intriguing offer and I was desperate for answers, so, perhaps against my better judgement, I took the pen and book from him.
What do you mean?
He smirked, and wrote:
What do you know about Anthony Jacobs?
Anthony? Why did this man want to know about Anthony?
Nothing. I don't know Anthony Jacobs. I replied, lying.
He had nothing to do with this! I didn't appreciate this "detective" playing games with me.
This time the man didn't write anything, he spoke instead. It was too low for me to hear, but he moved his lips slowly and dramatically.
"You're lying."

"Miss Coleman, I have some dinner for you."  A nurse's voice announced from outside the door.
I parted my eyes from the creep, just long enough to see the knob on the door turning and the nurse's foot step inside my room. When I looked back to where he was sitting, he had vanished, taking his hat and coat with him.

A few days later I was released from the hospital. Man, it felt good to be home. I don't know if I could've taken one more day in that horrible hospital gown, even if I had only been there a couple of days. I'd still have to go in for mandatory check ups because they've still hadn't been able to pinpoint the reason for my amnesia episode, but at least it was better than having to spend months in a drab little hospital room. It was raining outside and I walked toward the window in MY room overlooking MY street. I got as close as I could get because again it seemed like I hadn't  been able to have complete control over my actions in a month. So, call it strange, but I pressed up against the glass and watched the rain drip down the window and  betted on which drop would reach the bottom first.
"Are the meds still getting to your head, Nat?"
I turned my head towards the doorway and saw a boy- no a man- standing there. I recognized the voice, but he just looked so much older, more mature. His hair was groomed in a short buzz and he looked taller than I remembered.  He stretched his arms out and smiled.
"What? You're seriously not going to give your big brother a hug?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.
I raced into his arms. At least his big bear hugs remained the same.
"Austin. I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you more. Now, let me get a look at you."
I stood there as he examined me, but when it started to feel too much like a routine hospital evaluation, I shifted and sat down on my bed. He took a seat beside me.
"You cut your hair?" He asked, taking some of it in his hands.
I grimaced, "Um, yeah, recently. It was just easier for the doctors to access the cords and IVs that were attached to me. It sometimes got in them, so mom suggested we make it easier. I protested, but she begged me not to make it difficult. One of the nurses did it and actually, she did a really good job. I'm still not used to it, though."
"Well, I love it." He paused," Melissa would've too."
"Yeah, so how are you?" I asked, brushing off the comment he had just made. He knew why.
Luckily, he didn't seem phased by it. "I'm good. I heard about you and your condition so I asked the colonel to discharge me."
"You got discharged?"
He nodded.
"But Austin!" I exclaimed, "Serving in the army is what you've always wanted to do. How could you throw it all away?"
He put his arm around me, "Too many things have happened to this family. You need me here. It's just you and mom. If I had been home when the attack happened, I could've stopped it, stopped you from getting hurt. Joining the military seemed like a good idea a year ago. We were all so broken and I had that huge fight with mom and dad so it was so easy to run away. I'm not that guy anymore. I'm ready to face the fact that life will never be the same, but I'm not going to do it alone. I want to get through it as a family."
"It's going to be so hard to get a job, Austin."
He sighed, "I know, but this, being with my family again, it's worth it."