“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand. We checked me out of the hospital and walked to his car. He led me into the passenger’s seat and climbed slowly into the driver’s seat. I looked out the window blankly until the car stopped, not really paying attention to anything. I opened the door slowly and stepped out of the car. Immediately, Grayson was at my side and with his arm at my waist.

“Can you give me a little bit of space? I’m not used to this,” I told Grayson. His expression darkened and he let go of me immediately, muttering quietly to himself. I frowned in confusion, but didn’t comment. He let me inside the building and into the elevator, where we waited ‘patiently.’ When I looked up to Grayson’s home, my jaw dropped. Everything looked really expensive! I was almost afraid to touch it. He handed me clothes to change into.

“Go ahead and sit down,” he said, gesturing around the room. “This is ours,” he informed me, waving around him. Then, he stepped into a door to the left. At that moment, a strong, metallic scent and one of... something rotting filled the air, causing me to gag in disgust. The smell disappeared as quick as it had come, leaving me to wonder what had caused it. I slipped on the clothes he’d handed me, surprised at how they fit almost perfectly. Maybe Grayson really is my boyfriend…

“Hmm...” I waited for what felt like hours until Grayson came back. He stared at me for a few minutes, then sat down next to me.

“Do you really not remember anything?” he asked. I nodded, looking down. “Look at me,” he ordered. I looked up at him, still trying to avoid his eyes. “I promise you that I will never let Jayden near you again. Okay? And you should know that I never break my promises.” I nodded wordlessly. “What do you want to eat?” he asked me.

“Huh? Oh! I’m not really hungry,” I replied... just as my stomach let out a loud growl. My face slowly flushed with embarrassment. At that same time, Grayson began laughing.

“Don’t ever lie to me again,” he stated, still laughing at me. Even though he said it so casually and half-heartedly, it made my heart skip a beat. Why does he have to make everything sound so ominous. It’s as if something bad will happen if I didn’t do as he says? “What do you want to eat?” he asked me again, this time more sternly.

“I don’t know,” I answered, looking down at my hands and squirming uncomfortably beneath his cold, scrutinizing gaze.

“I’ll be right back,” he stated, leaving the room. I waited patiently for a few minutes. When Grayson came back, he was carrying a steaming bowl of what appeared to be chicken soup. He led me to the dining room and set the plate down in front of me. He pulled out the chair for me and sat across from me, watching me with an expectant, almost hopeful look on his face. I scooped the first bite into my mouth and closed my eyes in delight.

“That’s so good!” I complimented him. A proud smile appeared on his face as I continued to eat happily.

“You must want to know what happened,” Grayson commented. I nodded, looking up from my meal. “Well... you were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Amnesia after a harsh blow to the head. You and I were coming home from a date when Jayden slammed his car into us,” he explained. I furrowed my eyebrow, the story sounding unlikely. “You took a harder blow than I did, since he slammed into the back of the passenger’s side,” he added.

“Head trauma... Seems strange,” I muttered.

“Why?” Grayson asked.

“Because when I first came to and you hugged me, I felt pain around my torso and throat,” I replied quietly. I finished the meal he made me and stood up, only to fall right back down into the seat. My legs felt weak and my hands were trembling slightly. I only now realized how tired I really was. His eyes snapped to mine and he looked confused for a second before regaining his aloofness.

“You need rest,” he commented, examining my face. “After all, you… you’ve gone through a lot,” he muttered. I smiled and thanked him. He then led me to a bedroom, where he left me alone for a few minutes. I perched myself on the edge of the bed and thought about the situation. What happened? Was it really Jayden who hurt me? If so... why? I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice Grayson re-enter the room.

“Hmm… ” I looked around the room.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, jumping in surprise at the sound of his voice and then laughing at my reaction. “Nothing,” I replied quickly.

I lay down on the bed and realized that Grayson was probably sleeping with me. This caused my eyes to widen in panic. The bed swayed slightly because of his weight as he lay beside me. I shut my eyes tightly and felt his arm wrap around my waist to gently pull me to him. I drifted off to sleep, still extremely aware of the virtual stranger hugging me firmly.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, I awoke. It was an inexplicable feeling, but I felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity and decided to explore the building, hoping to find something that could help get regain even a small part of my memories.

I slipped out of his room and snuck into the living room. Then, I walked up to the door leading to the outside and faced the room. What door did he open before...? Oh, yeah! To the left.  I placed my hand on the doorknob and twisted it slowly, causing it to creak loudly. The same smell from earlier threw my senses into overdrive, causing me to gasp. Suddenly, I felt an unknown presence hovering over my shoulder. I turned on my heel and let out a squeal of surprise. I felt my blood run cold, panic spreading through me.