Her eyes widened as he apologized for whatever he thought had happened between them. Did he really think she would stay around this long, if he had forced himself on her? Had she shown any fear of him? She wanted to ask Mr. Godfrey how he had raised him. He had been sleeping with some woman, he never checked in on Eric. What did he expect? Most boys his age would have fallen a long time ago. Eric was doing well for someone with no parental guidance. She felt like he might have been more susceptible if more girls had liked him.

The rumors and his reputation might have saved him. She could feel the guilt in him. She couldn't tell if he truly regretted his actions or if he was only afraid of the consequences. Eric must be seriously hurt. She would have to try to go see him as soon as possible. Perhaps it would be better if she went straight home so she could go see Eric. Since Mr. Godfrey was a hypocrite, she wasn't sure why he was being so hard on Eric. Was it because he thought Eric had forced himself on her?

Was it because he thought she was pregnant? She knew a lot of the guys in her highschool who slept around preferred to do it without protection. They thought protection of any kind was for wimps or germophobics and they didn't get the full experience. Kai knew that if she lost her virginity, there would be a chance that she would get pregnant. She didn't want to lose her virginity, so she wouldn't be planning on having any type of protection. She would either be unwilling or it would be an impulsive emotional decision that wasn't the right one. She pushed her thoughts away, because she was confused and she wasn't sure what the point was.

She realized that Mr. Godfrey hadn't expected Eric to do anything like that. He had put some trust in him, and that was one reason he had exploded. However she still couldn't let him get away with this. She was even more surprised, when Mr. Godfrey called her a fine young woman. Didn't he think she had tempted Eric? Everything he said surprised her. She decided not to stay around. She had places to be where she might be of use. She stared at the door for a moment very perplexed and confused. It wasn't what she had expected to happen.

After a moment she pulled herself together. She began to speed walk home. After she told her parents and got into her car she headed toward the hospital. After she parked she went to the front desk hoping they would let her see Eric. She had become more and more worried as she was driving. It had let her imagination grow until everything seemed dark and fiercesome. "I'm here to see Eric Godfrey," she told them. When they asked what connection she was, she hoped Eric would forgive her, when she said girlfriend. She couldn't say she was anything closer, but she doubted best friend would cut it.

Finally, they showed her to his room. "Eric," she whispered. The room was pretty silent and he lay unmoving. There were bandages around his head, and she felt worry rise in her. What had happened to him? Would the doctors tell her? She had to tell someone what had happened. She couldn't let Mr. Godfrey to continue to do this to his son. She pulled up a chair beside him and took his hand in her own. She bent her head forward and held it to her forehead silently praying for healing and help. She still wasn't decertain that her decision was the right choice.

Eric's mind was a blank canvas, dark and void of anything in the moment. All except for a few strange dreams, or...memories? It was odd, and scary, for he continued seeing faces appear and disappear at a rapid rate within the darkness, and emotions shooting through his heart upon seeing each face. Everyone he saw was familiar in some odd way, but every single one at the same time was so distant.

His breathing was slow and steady as he slept, but that was disrupted softly by the soft touch of a hand against his own, and sounds in the room with him. After a moment or two, his eyes slowly opened, and a headache like no other split through his skull, pounding in the back of his head and spreading down into his spine.

His normally bright blue eyes seemed a bit hazy and grey, and dark circles were held underneath them, making him appear even more skeletal than what he was already becoming. He was completely silent and still as he awakened, and he noticed a girl was sitting next to him in a chair, her hand in his and his hand placed gently against her forehead. He hadn't heard her speak his name, but his gaze was fixated on her, unmoving. Who was she?

Why was she here? Did she know him?

He lay in silence as his brain tried desperately to process who she was. He realized quickly that her face was one of the ones that had been in his dreams, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her before or who she was. But something about her rang familiar, and a strong and deep feeling in his chest resonated with her touch. Was that...love? Affection?

The mental image of her face had been implanted in his mind, and emotions and feelings tagged along with it. He saw her face, and the image that popped up next was a small silver car. With those two images in his head he could remember a strong feeling of desire and love, but that was all. He knew that this was because something had happened with her, and this car, and his brain associated those images with a strong feeling, but his mind could not place why or what had happened to connect those two pictures.

He was trying so hard to remember, to think of her name, or any other thing that would spark something. He felt his chest tightening with fear and agony, because he felt so strongly in his heart about her, but knew not who she was.

After a long moment of this, his weakened body found the strength to speak, although it came out soft and weak, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Who are you?" he asked, taking in a shaky breath and letting it out. He had to close his eyes for a moment, the pain in his head fierce and unyielding. He opened them again, and his stomach felt nauseous, but he held back the urge to throw up. His entire body felt heavy and weak, and he really felt the desire to drift off into darkness again. But his curiosity and determination to place who this beautiful young woman was sitting next to him forced him to keep awake.

"Do I know you?" he asked quietly, wincing again. It hurt to move, it hurt to speak.

She opened her mouth about to ask him what had happened, and how he was feeling. She wondered if she could extract that information from his mind. However, he managed to speak voice in a seak hoarse tone. She didn't know where this icy cold chill was coming from, but she was sure that she had misunderstood Eric incorrectly. Her eyes widened and she stared at him. She struggled to control herself, because she didn't want to alarm him. Why did she feel so clammy? Why was he asking who she was? She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say.

How was she supposed to respond to that? Should she wait for a nurse to give her instruction? How badly had Mr. Godfrey hurt his son? She stretched her mind out to his. She wanted to know how deeply his amnesia affected him. In as steady of a voice as she could manage, she remained cool and implacable. After her initial shock, her facial expression smoothed out. "How are you feeling? Do you remember who you are? Do you remember what happened?" she asked ignoring his question. She hoped that he would soon remember and she wouldn't have to tell him.

She hoped that she had misheard him. She hoped the nurses would come in and they would be able to fix everything. She squeezed his hand. She wanted him to remember. She was scared now, and his thoughts were not reassuring her. While she knew he was down in their deep inside, his outer layer of thoughts had changed. "Perhaps you need sleep," she whispered to herself. By this time the nurses were coming in, so she didn't say anything about herself. They told her to leave so they could tend to the patient.

They told her to go home, but she didn't think she could. She didn't want to leave him. She felt like she was the only one left who cared about him, and she wanted to be here for him. If he didn't remember, did it matter? she found herself doubting. Of course it did. He was still the same person. She went to a waiting area, and burried her head in her hands. She was so startled by what had happened that it hurt. She had never expected to have to deal with something like this. His sister needed to be here for him, but she didn't know how to contact her. His sister needed to be the one to report Eric's father.

She needed to be here to make the decisions about Eric. Even though she had been away, Kai doubted her choices would be any worse than Mr. Godfrey's. She wondered if she should call her parents. She had already made up her mind that she was staying here. When they were done with Eric, they let her back in. She was a little surprised, yet pleased. She heard them muttering amongst themselves what a sweet loyal girlfriend he had. While they weren't saying that few could compare with her...yet, they already thought that she was being an exceptionally good friend.

Why isn't she answering me? Was the first thought that popped into his head as she answered his question with a question. Who was this girl? Should he be trusting her? He suddenly felt very wary, and felt the need to pull his hand back and out of her grasp. Why wouldn't she tell him her name? The questions she was asking were odd. Did he know who he was? Of course he did!

But there was a moment of heavy tension as he sat and really thought about an answer. He didn't know who he was. What was his name? So instead of answering that he simply shook his head no. "A lot of pain." he said in response to her first question. After another moment of thinking, a name did come to mind, one he recognized and then happily remembered fully. Eric. Eric Godfrey. That was his name, his name. That's who he was.

He stared at her for a long moment, wracking his brain. He knew her face, he knew her, but he couldn't remember anything about her but the emotions swirling around in his heart as he looked at her. He had very strong feelings for this young woman, but he didn't know why.

That's what scared him.

She whispered that he needed sleep, and he felt his throat tightening up as his body began to shift into crying mode. "I know you, don't I?" he whispered, his eyes stinging. Before she had a chance to say anything else, a couple nurses came in with some supplies and asked her politely to leave. He watched her go, pushing back the tears that wanted to fall from his eyes. Who was she?! The nurses told her to go home, and Eric felt his mind impulsively scream,

No! No, she can't leave!

She walked out and the nurses shut the door behind her. Eric closed his eyes, his head pounding. He did his best to answer any questions they asked as they ran a few more tests and checked his vitals again. One of the nurses helped him slowly out of bed, and as soon as his feet touched the floor, a massive flash of pain flared through his entire skull, and he had to slam his eyes shut as a groan of pain escaped his lips. The nurses let him sit for a moment to adjust, and then helped him stand. The floor seemed to be swimming, and he felt as if he was going to faint.

They helped him to the small and cramped bathroom, and by some miracle he was actually able to go without too much trouble. But he felt his stomach swimming, and without too much of a warning, he felt the acidic sting run up his throat as he threw up, feeling incredibly ill. One of the nurses helped stable him and after helping him there she moved him back to his bed.

"Severe concussion," One of them said to the other, nodding. "Eric, honey, can you hear me?" One spoke to him. He nodded, feeling dizzy still, but functioning well enough. They proceeded to ask him more questions, and then ran a few more tests before leaving the room.

Almost as soon as they'd left, the girl from before returned. He didn't really allow her much time to do anything before he begged in a weak voice, "Please tell me your name." His eyes began to sting again with tears at the very thought, and it was such a weird sensation to have such powerful emotion about someone you didn't know the name of or recognize. Deep down he knew he knew her, but he couldn't remember much at all. When he looked at her, the only images that popped into his head were a small silver car, and a blue dress. Heavy emotion stringed along with the images.

"Please," he said, a tear escaping and running warmly down his cheek. He just wanted to know her name. If he knew her name maybe the memories would return, maybe then everything would click. "I want to know who you are," he said, his voice cracking softly. "Because I know I know you, I know I do, but it's so far away." He slowly and weakly reached up a hand to her for her to take, because he desperately wanted her touch again.

She didn't want to help him, because she wanted him to remember on his own. He could pretend that he did remember, if she gave him any hints of who he was. Would he actually be able to remember if she told him? She would at least know if he didn't remember since she could read his mind. She wished she could take away his pain, but it might be a good thing to be able to gauge it. As far as she knew it was the clear sign that he had had a concussion. While she knew it wasn’t good, she didn’t know how serious it was.

From his feelings, she gathered that something in him remembered her or it was just because she was a pretty girl. Eric had had a crush on her before he knew her, so it might just be that. It encouraged her that he was feeling something towards her that resembled what he felt like before his accident. Was there a chance that even if he didn't remember her, he would still like her? She gave a small smile, "You know me." Should she tell him their relationship?

She had to leave when the doctors and nurses came in. Before she went back into the room, the nurse told her she could say whatever, but to try not to ply him with questions, especially if they were confusing or distressing. She hadn't been in the room long before he asked for her name. She could feel strong emotions swirling around in him. She came closer to him and pulled up a chair so she could sit near him. "My name is Kailey Adair," she told him her voice slightly quivering.

Her head cocked as she tried to see if he remembered her. Since his hand was inching toward her, she reached out her hand and enclosed his hand into it. She wasn't sure what to say to him. They were definitely friends, but she wasn't sure what to tell him if he couldn't remember. "Just in case someone tells you, I said that I was your girlfriend. We're not quite there, but I wasn't sure if they would let me in to see you, since I'm not closely related to you," she warned him with a slight apologetic tone.

"I hope you don't mind," she disliked talking like he was a different person. Hopefully, it wouldn't bother him. She didn't want to distress him, but it would probably make him confused or wondering what their relationship had been like. However, she didn't want people mentioning that she was his girlfriend without him knowing. She wondered where Mr. Godfrey was. She thought he had seemed contrite. He should be watching over his son. "Do you remember your family members?" she asked him without thinking.

She remembered that if he remembered his mother it might hurt him and make him sad. "Do you remember waht happened? What is your last memory?" she asked him. She had a feeling that wasn't the kind of question she was supposed to act, but she wanted to know. She was pretty sure that if she could get him thinking along those lines, she wouldn't even need him to voice all of his thoughts. She wanted to tell Eric that she missed him. Now that she was holding his hand she nervously rubbed his fingers in between hers.

She began to feel tired. She wanted to lay down beside him or take a nap. This had all moved fairly fast for one afternoon. For some reason she couldn't imagine this would ever happen even though she knew about his home life. She supposed she could have imagine broken bones, but memory loss and amnesia were not something that had occured to her. She prayed that he would regain his memory. She was willing to start over, but it wouldn't be the same.

I do know her. He confirmed again in his head as she said that he did. He swallowed quietly, watching her pull up a chair next to him once again. She spoke her name, and a spark lit in the back of his mind, his heart jumping wildly around in his chest. He was unable to hold back the tears as her hand slipped into his, and he had to close his eyes for a moment to pull himself back together. It hurt to cry, and it hurt to move.

"Kailey," he whispered softly, tightening his grip on her hand ever so slightly. She informed him that she'd told the staff that she was his girlfriend, and another piece of the puzzle clicked in his mind. "I...don't mind." He said after a moment, his hand starting to quiver ever so slightly with the heavy toll his emotions were taking on him. "Kailey," he whispered again, his thoughts swirling around wildly in his mind. Pictures were whizzing by, each one a clue to who she was. A silver car, a blue dress, roses, roller skates, a history textbook, a wii remote, a dark closest.

"Oh Kailey!" he gasped suddenly, his body jerking a little too quickly upright, and his hand gripping hers tightly now. His heart was doing a million flips and tears slowly began to leak from his blue eyes. He remembered now. At least, most things. She was his best friend, a girl who he was planning on becoming more with. The girl who'd gone to prom with him in a blue dress, riding there in his silver car. The girl who'd roped him into playing Just Dance on her wii, the girl he'd asked to prom by giving her roses, the girl he'd gone roller skating with, the girl who'd helped him study in history and math.

The girl he'd shared his first kiss with in the closet at a party.

He wanted to do that again, he wanted to feel that again. But he couldn't, not now. So instead, out of relief, love, and joy over remembering her, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly, tears springing from his eyes as he did so.

"I love you Kailey," he whispered through the tears, almost in complete shock. How could he forget her? How could anything make him forget her?

She began asking him more questions, beginning with his family. He kind of stared at her for a moment, unsure how to respond. He knew he had a family, but...he didn't know their names. He couldn't place their faces. She then asked him if he remembered what happened, or what his last memory was. He stared at her and slowly shook his head no, his adrenaline and excitement over remembering who she was fading away.

"I don't." he said quietly, swallowing nervously. He felt her touch as she ran her fingers over his, and even though it sent pain throbbing through his skull, he shifted his body closer to hers. "I-" he started to speak, but was swiftly interrupted by the soft sound of boots stepping on the hard tile floor. His gaze shifted to the doorway, and there stood a bulky and fairly tall man with a baseball cap on his head a red and black plaid shirt covering his chest and shoulders.

Eric's entire being tensed upon seeing him, and his brain began firing pictures again. Blood, a wall, wooden floors, fists, bruises, a leather belt. He stared at him for a good few seconds, his mouth hanging slightly open. Finally, it all began to click, and in a quivering and cracked voice he spoke,

"Dad?"

The man in the doorway let out a long breath and moved slowly over to the bed, standing on the opposite side from Kai. "Eric." he rumbled. Eric's eyes followed him warily and he gazed up into his father's face as David stood there over his bedside silently. Inside Eric's chest was a fiery turmoil. He didn't know what to feel. Part of him was deathly scared of this man, and deep valleys of anger cut through his heart, but at the same time...there was love. Compassion. Forgiveness. Something in the back of his mind told him that this was the man responsible for putting him here. But he didn't know that for sure, he couldn't remember that for sure.

After another few tense moments, Eric's other arm twitched, and he took in a shaky breath, pulling away from Kai to lean over and wrap an arm around his father in a hug. David stood for a moment in complete shock, his entire body stiff. Soon enough though, he wrapped a single arm around his son in return, and a single tear fell from his eye.

Eric pulled back, his chest rising and falling faster than before as many emotions began swirling through him. He instinctively scooted back over to Kailey, the only source of protection and trust and love he felt in the room at the moment. He shakily reached out to her again and grabbed her hand, feeling comforted by any sort of touch from her.

“I love you too,” she smiled at him. He must have remembered something, because he kissed her hand. It would be odd to do, if he didn’t remember her at all. She found it hard to believe that his whole personality could be altered. She wasn’t sure what all could happen. She wanted to hug him or something, but she decided to stay where she was. She felt guilty for making his previous joy disappear. These questions could have waited. However, she hadn’t anticipated the reaction that it would elicit from him. Her face remained impassive, when he said that he couldn’t remember what had happened.

He didn’t remember the particulars of his family, which she thought might be a good thing. He had no one who was close to him, and she didn’t want to make him sad. She rubbed his hand trying to bring him some soothing comfort, “It’s okay.” At least for now it was. She would start getting worried if the doctor told her to. She heard footsteps, and she turned her attention momentarily to the door. If Mr. Godfrey had any love or good regard for his child, she expected him to be here. If he regretted what he had done at all, she thought he would be here.

However, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him yet. She realized as she heard the footsteps that she sort of hoped that he didn’t come. It would interrupt her time, and he might try to kick her out of this room. If he asked the nurses, he would disapprove that she had introduced herself as his girlfriend. She didn’t want him to hurt Eric, and she wanted to keep him safe. The only way she knew how to do that was to keep Mr. Godfrey far away from his son. Kai wasn’t sure if she was happy or otherwise that Eric remembered his own father.

Her gaze darted between them, while she tried to figure out what was going to happen. He was on the opposite side of Eric, which made Kai feel a little trapped. She had taken the far side, so that she could keep an eye on the door. She would almost have to go by him to get out of the room. More roiling emotions came from Eric. She squeezed his hand reminding him that he wasn’t alone. She tensed as Eric pulled away from her. She felt a little hurt at first, because she wasn’t sure why he would do that.

She was surprised, when Eric embraced his father. If he truly remembered everything that had happened, she was surprised that he could do this. It was one thing to forgive someone, but it was perfectly reasonable for the trust to be gone. How was he not terrified being so near to his tormentor? Mr. Godfrey shed a tear, and he looked stiff. At least he was being affected, and he wasn't able to ignore it this time. She looked at them wondering if Mr. Godfrey would try to scare her away. She was glad that when Eric decided that hug was over, he went back to her side, and he held her hand.

Kai was tempted to start berating Mr. Godfrey, but she knew this wasn’t the time. If Eric could forgive, she could at least remain peaceful. "Where have you been?" she asked Mr. Godfrey in a neutral voice. It held a wariness that she wasn't sure what to expect from him. She wondered if she had surprised him that she had appeared here. After what he had said, it would have made the most sense for her to try to stay away. She didn't want Eric going back with his dad. He needed a new guardian. Mr. Godfrey might hurt him again, and she was scared that the next time Eric would forget her forever.

She didn't want that to happen, and she wasn't sure if she could stand it a second time. Sure, it hadn't been a significant time period this time, but she hated the thought that he wouldn't return her feelings. She knew it was selfish. Kai felt tempted to beg Mr. Godfrey not to hurt her. She felt a little safer since they were in a public hospital. He would be more aware of himself, and there would be people around who could actually stop him. She gave Eric a small smile trying to be encouraging. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable.

He smiled, reassured of her confirmation of love, and her mention that all was okay. At least it would be for now. When his father had shown up, Eric didn't fully remember everything about David Godfrey. He knew he was his father, and his emotions associated pain with his face, but he didn't all together remember every punch, every hurtful word, and he certainly didn't fully remember exactly what he'd done to him to put him here.

He'd felt Kai's hand squeeze his own, he assumed to remind him that she was still here and he wasn't alone, which led him to a small confusion and worry. She knew something he didn't, she knew things that he couldn't remember. Her simple gesture of comfort meant something, and it surely meant that his father was a more dangerous man than he was taking him for in the moment. Part of him was glad he couldn't remember. Forgiveness would be much easier that way, and maybe it would be easier to bond with him. He knew he wasn't close with his father, he knew that the instant he felt David's muscles tense as he hugged him. This wasn't a normal thing to happen.

Eric pulled away and held Kai's hand again, comforted by her touch and presence. She asked him where he had been, essentially prying into what had taken him so long to get here. Eric's eyes shifted to his father, curiousity in them now, and wariness. She was right. She'd beat him here by a long shot, and she wasn't related to him in any way, nor was she his official girlfriend. She was his best friend, and she'd beat his own father to the hospital to be by his side.

"Miss Adair," David's voice said lowly but politely. "I'm afraid that's nothing you should be worrying about. I'm glad you're here for Eric, he cares for you and I know you care for him. As I've stated previously, I'm glad he has you in his life. But I would rather you stay out of our family's personal affairs." Although his tone sounded mostly polite, Eric could sense and hear the ever so slight impatience and anger.

Eric was feeling nervous and a bit sick, and one glance over at Kai told him that she was feeling uncomfortable as well. "Why?" he challenged, his tone slipping out a little boldly. "She's my girlf-" he quickly righted his words, his brain automatically skipping to what she'd told him first instead of being able to remember what was real. "She's my best friend and she cares about me too. She was here before you were, I think she at least deserves to know the answer to a simple question like that." His stress was building a little, because the more he saw here with David standing over him, the more he was beginning to subconsiously remember.

His head was throbbing, but he didn't seem to much care. David folded his arms and glared at the two of them for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. But before any words were able to leave his lips, a female voice spoke.

"Mr....Godfrey?" she questioned, peeking her head into the room. "Are you Eric's father?" David nodded at her, his arms slowly unfolding. "Can you come with me for a second? The doctor would like to speak with you privately in more detail about what happened and what he thinks is wrong with your son." David shot one last look at the two of them before walking silently out of the room. The nurse stood for a moment longer, hesitating before entering and speaking.

"How are you feeling, Eric? Still in pain? Can I get you anything?" Eric shook his head.

"I'm better, thank you." he said, even though his head was pounding. She nodded then shifted her brown eyes to Kai.

"I think you should probably-"

"No!" Eric exclaimed a bit sternly, fear shooting through his body. He didn't want her to leave, he wanted her to stay here by his side. "No, I...I want her to stay." The nurse gave them both a slightly hesitant look before nodding.

"Okay." she said quietly. "Let us know if you need anything." She turned and left the room, the sound of her footsteps fading softly down the hallway. Eric's body relaxed the further she went, and he looked back at Kai, that familiar childlike expression on his face. He shifted on the bed and reached over to touch her with his other hand, placing it on top of hers.

"Thank you for being here." he told her softly. "It would have been...pretty scary if you weren't." He looked back up at her, and gave her a small smile. "I remember more now. About you. But I still feel like I'm forgetting something. Important..." He trailed off for a minute, running his thumbs gently over the top of her hands as he thought. He remembered most things about Kai and their relationship, but he'd managed to think now that she was completely normal. Memory of her being able to read minds was lost, leaving his thoughts wide open to her and easy to access.

"You're...special, aren't you?" he asked slowly. "Not like...disabled, but...there's something about you that's different...I just..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He took in a breath and gave her a smile, his eyes glittering with happiness even though he was in pain. His brain couldn't manage to form any words, and a heavy drowsiness took over him again, nearly knocking him out. He leaned over to her and rested his head gently on her shoulder, untwining and then retwining his fingers through hers.

I love her. he thought, his chest rising and falling peacefully. Never letting go.

Her jaw tightened as he avoided the question, but there wasn't anything she could do. She supposed she couldn't get in the inner workings of this family even though she could read it in their minds. She thought there was a good chance that Eric would tell her later, but she wasn't sure. They had no way to block her. The only way to stop her was to not think about what they didn't want her to know about. She didn't feel like this was the right time to fight for information. While she supposed she didn't have a right to know what Mr. Godfrey had been doing before he arrived here, she did want to know what was wrong with Eric, and how they planned to treat it.

She wanted to be involved. While she wasn't paying for any of it, she wanted to know the implications and problems he would have to deal with. He shouldn't have to be alone. She looked at Eric surprised, when he spoke out against his father. She winced, assuming Mr. Godfrey could guess what he was going to say. There was silence as they both stared at each other. She was nervous that confronting Mr. Godfrey wasn't a good idea. When a woman's head peeked around the door, she knew Mr. Godfrey had escaped questioning this once.

She wanted to know what was going to be said, and she would mind read people if she had to. She waited to see what the nurse would do. Her head turned toward Eric again, as he vehemently protested her removal. She wasn't sure when she needed to go. She supposed she needed to tell her parents what had happened, and where she was, so they weren't worried. She looked at the nurse hoping that she would let her stay. She relaxed a little now that it was just them.

The nurses were strangers, and she was uncomfortable with them around. She disliked being around Mr. Godfrey, because he was a symbol of Eric's suffering. She knew that she was supposed to love others, but she wasn't sure how to respect a parent who treated their kid the way Mr. Godfrey did. "Of course," she smiled at him, when he thanked her. "I am glad that I figured out about it. I would have hated for you to spend most of your time alone in this hospital," she told him. When she had had her short stay here, her parents had been here.

She wasn't sure if Mr. Godfrey would stay, so she had to do it. Her head cocked as he said he was forgetting something important. She was pretty sure she knew what it was. However, she decided not to remind him. At the same time it sort of scared her. What if he forgot about it forever. Would she retell him or would she keep it a secret? She supposed that he hadn't reacted too badly the first time, so she could tell him another time. However, she wasn't going to do that right now. It was too soon, and he needed some time to heal and recuperate, before they started the messy business of getting things in order.

"Yes, there is something different about me," she told him, leaving herself a way open, so that she could tell him if she needed to. Normally, she would have rested her head on him, but she stayed where she was. She didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. She wasn’t sure how tender heads could be after concussions, and she didn’t want to contribute to the damage. If he ever went to sleep, she would use that time to contact her parents. She hoped that Eric’s desire to keep her here, would be enough to dissuade the other adults from trying to get her to leave. She felt a small glow spread, when she heard Eric’s thoughts.

Eric was so confused, especially now that she'd confirmed something was diferent about her. It was so frustrating because he knew that there was, but he couldn't remember exactly what. It felt so close, so close to being real and there, and yet...it didn't. He wasn't completely sure why she didn't tell him what it was but he wasn't upset about it. Perhaps it was something really big, and now just wasn't the time. She'd tell him later, he was confident in that. They told each other everything, didn't they?

It took him a second to remember that she wasn't required to do that, they weren't a couple. Her telling the nurses that she was his girlfriend, and that being one of the first things he heard upon seeing her, it messed with his head a bit. He kept thinking that they were for real, and had to keep reminding himself that they weren't. That they were nothing but friends. But he vividly remembered kissing her in a dark closet, and very vividly remembered the heavy emotions involved in the backseat of his car, kissing her like he'd never done before to anyone in his life. Had they done that on purpose? Had he purposefully kissed her like that? Or had it been an accident? Because friends didn't just make out in the backseat of a car, he knew that much. But they certainly had. So what were they? Why couldn't he remember that as clearly? Were they working their way to being a couple? Or were they just friends with benefits? He thought they hadn't had sex but...maybe they had. If so, and if it was true that she'd lied to the people here, then...they were nothing but friends with benefits. But he didn't want that. He knew that he loved her, and she'd said that she'd loved him, right? Did she mean that?

He was so confused, but he knew one thing. He knew that he loved her and there would be nothing that she could ever do to make him change his mind. He wanted her, and he wasn't going to let go. Perhaps it was selfish, a little clingy even, but he wanted so much more with her. He wanted to be what she'd told the nurses they were, he wanted to be even more than that one day. Only time would tell, and he knew he would have to be patient, but he knew for sure the feelings that he had, and he knew that they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. He only hoped that she felt the same way.

As he laid his head on her shoulder, his drowsiness was really starting to pick up. His head was throbbing painfully, and he knew that he needed sleep. He was scared to sleep, for fear of not waking up again, but he was so tired. He held her hand gently, his thumb running softly over the side of her side in a soothing motion, before it ultimately stopped as he drifted off into sleep, his thoughts and emotions slowly fading away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aw come on, you're sure you'd rather watch a movie?"

"Oh bugger off you big lump." she retorted playfully, her hands busy washing the dishes but her body leaning backwards into her husbands arms as he wrapped them around her from behind. "We watch the movie...then we do what you wanna do, sound good?" she teased, reaching back and flicking water in his face. He laughed and let go of her, stepping back and wiping the water from his face with his shirt.

His name was Johnathan Goode, and he was a man of average height. His hair was black, short, and straight, always seeming to appear as if he'd just rolled out of bed. At least at home. At work it was always combed neatly, and his body was always dressed in fine clothing. But at home he wore a simple T-shirt and jeans or sweats. His eyes were a smooth and gentle brown with flecks of gold, and his skin was fair.

His wife, on the other hand, was a rarer beauty, not so average. Especially in his eyes.

Summer Godfrey was rather short, standing in at 5'3. Her hair was a beautiful golden-red, her eyes a shimmering icy blue. Her skin was fair and her cheeks always a bit rosy, as if she had a natural blush. A light spray of freckles dotted her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, and her body was slim but curvy in all the right places. As of now her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she wore a baggy shirt open at her shoulders, short track shorts adorning her waist.

She dropped the dishes carefully into the sink and turned around, running almost full speed at John, throwing herself into his arms. He laughed, unprepared to catch her, but did as always. She kissed him once and pulled back, walking quickly over to the couch. She flung herself over the top instead of walking around to sit like a normal person, and grabbed the remote. John sat down next to her as she scrolled through to find a good movie. Just as it started, they both jumped to the phone ringing. Summer paused the movie, and the couple exchanged looks of nervousness before John stood up to grab the ringing phone.

"Hello?" he said. It was rather late in the evening, they never got calls this late. His brown gaze turned to Summer, his expression worried and confused. "Okay, yeah. Yeah of course. Here she is." He handed the phone to Summer, and she took it nervously from his hands.

"This is Summer," she said to the person on the other end. It was a woman's voice, and her words were so incredibly confusing. Talking about David Godfrey and Eric and how Eric's only relative left within the area was her. "What? Excuse me, I'm sorry. I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"This is Summer Godfrey?" The woman asked.

"Yes ma'am." she answered. "My maiden name."

"This is Marie Hudson from the Child Welfare Department of Colorado. Your father David Godfrey has been arrested and charged with child abuse. He will be spending time. I have here that Eric Godfrey is your brother?"

"Yes ma'am, younger brother." Summer answered, giving a nervous look to John.

"You are the only direct relative he has left in this area, and we are contacting you to ask if you would be willing to be his guardian. If you agree to this, papers will have to be filled out and we will further talk to you about what comes after. If you refuse, we will have to contact indirect relatives and possible family friends."

Summer was trying to process the information. Her father had been arrested? Child abuse? What happened to Eric? Did he tell someone or did someone else finally tell?

"Can I think about it?" she asked, her voice wavering with shock.

"You have twenty four hours to make a decision and get back to us with information." The woman said on the other line. "Call this number please once a decision has been made. If you do not contact us we will contact you."

With that, the woman hung up, and Summer was left sitting on the couch, the phone still held to her ear, a blank expression on her face.

"So what's going on?" John asked quietly. "What are we going to do?" She slowly put the phone down to rest in her lap, and after a moment of silence, she turned her head to her husband, and blank look still in her eyes.

"We're going to Colorado."