Chapter 1
Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.
Grief does many things. It can make a person act irrationally. It can turn a confident person into a shell of themselves. It can give someone a purpose - either for good or for vengeance.
Grief can come in stages, can hit all at once, or not affect a person at all. No one experiences grief the same, and it will not always make sense. Because grief does not discriminate. It does not show mercy, and it will show up in the worst moments.
Grief for Devyn has become routine. In daylight hours, she keeps herself busy enough that her thoughts are focused. Work, chores, and projects around the house keep her occupied so that she doesn't have time to think.
However, at night her mind is still - too still to keep her grief at bay.
Tonight, Devyn finds herself lying on the ground in the middle of her backyard. She is here often, looking up at the stars in silence, waiting for answers that she knows are not coming.
“My heart aches too much, Nilla,” Devyn says to her golden retriever next to her. Nilla looks at Devyn without getting up. “At least I still have you, old girl.” Devyn rubs Nilla’s head absentmindedly and continues staring at the stars.
Silent tears stream down her face as she thinks of the love she lost and the life she once had.
She thinks of her house, which is just an empty reminder that no longer feels like home to her.
She thinks of her purpose, and how she feels she has none.
She thinks of her loneliness, which she does to herself by staying isolated.
Devyn takes a deep breath and lets it out.
Above her, a shooting star appeared briefly and was gone before Devyn could properly register that she saw it.
Nilla lets out a warning gruff.
“What is it?” Devyn asks while looking in the direction her companion is facing. Nilla barks again, this time standing up and taking position between Devyn and the dark woods at the edge of her property.
Devyn sits up and scans the tree line, but sees nothing. “Getting your nerves worked up and it's probably just a raccoon,” she says to the dog while lying back down.
Nilla remains guarded, and a crunching sound of footsteps is heard through the dog’s growls.
Devyn sits back up again, more alert and trusting of Nilla's instincts. She rises to her feet and stands ready to run inside.
"Who is there?!" Devyn says to the dark treeline. She hears her heartbeat throbbing in her ears but tries to appear more confident than afraid.
A crunch is heard again, but this time she makes eye contact with a stranger coming out of the woods.
“Who are you?! What do you want?” Devyn demands.
“I'm sorry, I don’t mean to sneak up on you,” the man answers. “It's just... I must have hit my head and woke up in the canal back here. I don't know where I am right now.”
Devyn stares at the man and can tell even in the moonlight that he is bleeding. She stands in silence, quietly assessing the risk of helping this stranger who could be lying.
The man has also stopped moving, respecting the invisible boundary of a stranger trespassing on a lone woman at night.
Devyn sighs. “Come inside. Let’s get you cleaned up and see if I can help.” Nilla follows Devyn inside and watches cautiously as the strange man enters the house.
“Have a seat,” Devyn motions to her kitchen table while grabbing a first aid kit. “Do you have a name?”
“Briggs,” the man responds, setting his bag on the floor by his feet. Devyn puts the kit on the table. “I’m Devyn. Is it ok if I take a look at your head, Briggs?” He nods.
She steps closer to him to check is head. Using some gauze and some saline, she cleans around the wound. Briggs took notice of how close Devyn was to him - he could feel her breath on his head and the body heat radiating off her. He purposely ensured his hands were resting flat on his knees where she could see them. He knew he wasn't going to be a threat to her, but he wanted to make sure she knew that too.
“I don’t think you will need stitches and the bleeding stopped. But you are going to have a knot on your head from whatever you hit it on...or from whatever hit you.” Devyn grabs a bag of vegetables from the freezer and hands it to Briggs. He winces when the cold bag touches his head.
“Can you tell me where we are, Devyn?”
“This is technically Fayard but I’m well outside the city limits," she responds while leaning against the far counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "We are about twenty minutes by car from the main parts of town. You either wandered too far from where you were, or someone put you here.”
“Shit. Well if you could point me in the right direction, I can start walking to town.”
Devyns eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “That seems unwise. It is the middle of the night and you have a head injury. Where would you go?”
“I don’t know, but I have already imposed enough.”
“I have a phone. Do you have anyone to call? Family? Friends? Neighbors? Coworkers?” Briggs shakes his head, then winces again in pain from the injury.
Devyn studies the strange man in her kitchen for a moment, but for some reason feels compelled to help. She lets out a deep sigh. “I have a spare room, if you want somewhere to sleep tonight. I can drive you to town in the morning.”
Briggs looks up at Devyn in surprise. He studied her face, trying to figure out what could be behind the offer. But her expression seemed genuine.
“Are you sure? Your husband or boyfriend isn't going to come home and want to fight me, right? I don't want to cause any trouble.”
Devyn stills for a breath before flatly answering, “No, nothing like that.” She turns towards the hallway and motions for Briggs to follow. Briggs follows, unsure how to read her sudden guarded expression.
“Here is where you can sleep. Bathroom is across the hall, and there are extra toiletries in the drawers that you can use. You know where the kitchen is so feel free to use it as you need. I’ll see you in the morning, Briggs.” Her tone was almost robotic as she gave the instructions.
Nilla follows Devyn to her room, and Devyn stops at her door. “Briggs? I know this was reckless of me inviting you to stay here. I just ask that, if you are lying and have plans to hurt me, please just make it quick.”
Briggs stood frozen, unprepared for that statement. “I have no intention of harming you, Devyn. I don't know why I am here, but I appreciate your kindness. Thank you.”
Devyn gave a short nod and closed her door behind her. Briggs climbed into the spare bed, but did not go to sleep. He stared at the ceiling while his mind flooded with questions. What happened to him? Why can’t he remember how he was hurt and how he ended up here? Who is this woman and why would she say what she did? He hopes the morning will provide answers.
