Chapter 1
My eyes fluttered open, the fluorescent lights burning my eyes. I blinked, looking around at my unrecognizable surroundings.
The room was white, with machines in one corner and a desk in the other. Trying to get up I got light headed, falling back onto the bed I was on. I tried again but realized I had tubes and wires attached to my body. I was confused, where am I, what is all this for, what's going on?
The door to my left suddenly opened, a man wearing a white robe walked with a clipboard in hand, with his head down he marked on the paper. He looked up and froze when he saw me, his mouth hung open. He ran out of the room and began calling names of people I didn't know. About two dozen people pushed into the small room and crowded around me, and the various machines.
I did not recognize a single one of them, but they kept talking to me and calling me by name as if they knew me.
A woman came to me and inserted a long needle into the back of my hand, I opened my mouth to speak, "What's going on? Where am I? Who… who are you?" She continued to pull a tube over my ears. I slapped her hand away and sat up,"WHO AM I…" I screamed, "...SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON AND WHO I AM!" They all stopped what they were doing and stared at me in shock,"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no…" the man with the clipboard went pale,"everybody please exit the room."
Everybody except him and I left. He walked over to me and took away all of the wires and cords that had been attached to me. He then brought another machine by the bed and hooked a red cord to my heart and another to my head. He turned on a big black screen, that now glowed a violent shade of blue.
My eyelids suddenly got heavy and closed, although I was still awake. I felt a small vibration on my chest and head, making me shiver. I heard a beeping sound to right of my head. He pulled the cords away from me, then pulled a lever on the side of my bed.
He wheeled me out of the room and I immediately felt out of place, everything was so unfamiliar to me. Eyes were staring back at mine, dozens of people lined up in the hallway. But I didn't know any of them. "Cara? Oh my goodness...CARA!" I turned my head to see a boy, running by my rolling bed, I did not recognize. He had black hair and black eyes, that were almond shaped and had long eyelashes. He was almost the same height as me and was very fit, his body bulging with muscles.
I just stared back at him with a confused look in my eyes.
We stopped by a room and a young woman opened the door to let us in, but shutting out the boy. The woman had a kind smile, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and hazel eyes.
The clipboard guy and the woman helped me onto my feet, guiding me to a soft chair.
He came to me and said something that took my breath away,"My name is Dr. Yarin, this is Dr. Claire, and your name is Cara. I feared that this would happen, you have no memory of anything do you?" I would have said something but I was in such shock that all I could do was shake my head."I thought so… Cara, you have been asleep for two years, not once did you wake up. You had no heartbeat but still had brain activity so we hooked you to a breathing machine, and life support to keep you somewhat, or partly, alive. For some mysterious reason you are completely healthy, with no heart damage whatsoever. However you obviously do not remember anyone, anything, and much worse yourself."
I looked out the window by the door and my heartbeat sped up at the sight of more people walking through the hall. I looked back at Dr. Yarin, "How old am I?" I asked. He looked at the ground then back at me and said, "Seventeen...you went into the coma when you were fifteen."
I looked back out the window where the people continued to walk by. Two years and I'm still alive, I don't remember anything, not a single person or thing about my life.
I had the sudden urge to run, I got up and sprinted out the door running, I just ran. I didn't know where I was going I just wanted to get away. I ran until a loud yell stopped me, "CARA!" It was the boy that had been running by my bed in the hallway. He ran up to me and wrapped his arms around my body in a warm embrace,"Sorry Cara, I know that you don't remember me, but it's me, Nathan… your boyfriend, if your coma didn't change that." I pushed on his chest so I could get away, feeling his muscles under my hands my heart skip a beat. I let my hands fall and suddenly wanted to cry.
I felt terrible, almost nauseous, bile rose in my throat and I ran to the wall, throwing up in a crouching position. I watched Nathan walk away as Nathan came to lead me to a room with a bed.
There were no machines, no tubes or wires, just a nice comfortable room with a bed. I curled up into a ball and cried. Nathan laid beside me, his chest against my back I could feel his breaths against my neck.
My eyes drifted closed in sleep, not the sleep that I had for two years but, real, heavy, delicious sleep.
+++
I woke up to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Nathan was still behind me his hand was now resting on my hip. I felt a drop in my heart, I felt lost, I didn't even remember who he was, yet I could tell he cared for me so much.
As I got up I moved Nathan's hand, leaving him behind, I left the room. I walked back out into the hallway, realizing that I was still in the blue medical gown, I needed to find clothes.
I walked down the hallway, people staring at me. Dr. Yarin walked to me quickly as I turned the corner, making eye contact with him. He looked slightly angry, "Cara...you obviously don't want help. I am disappointed," he took a deep breath, "but I am allowing you to do your own thing. You can roam around and figure things out." He looked at me, expecting a response which I did not give. "If you want help just come to me." I did need at least a little help,
"I need clothes." I said. He stared at me as if considering something, "Yes, clothes… follow me."
He led me down two or three hallways, stopping in front of a storage like room, "There are girls clothes on the left, just choose whatever you like." I nodded and walked in as he held the door open. "I have to go, but just do what you want when you're done." He left.
It took me a long time to find something that I liked, but I finally settled with a pair of black jeans and a gray jacket over a black tank top. Then I pulled on some black sneakers over mismatched socks.
As I changed into the clothes I finally felt a little more in place and left the room.
I wandered the halls for a while until I tripped over my untied shoelace, I forgot how to tie them. But of course Nathan came up right at that moment and taking the laces out of my hands he began to tie them. "You left, I woke up and you were gone." He looked at me and I could see the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry Nathan I just don't remember you, I want to but it's also been two years." He looked down at his shoes and grabbed my hand.
"Follow me." He pulled me through the hallways, it was like a giant maze. He stopped and pulled me to a corner at the end of a dark hallway, it was hidden but he had obviously been there a lot.
"Maybe this will help you remember…" I was confused for a split second, but then his lips were on mine. His eyes were closed as his hands rested on my hips. I didn't know what to do with my hands, so he took mine in his and
placed it on his shoulder. His kiss became more persistent so I pulled away and stared at him. I suddenly felt a spark in my heart that wasn't there before and I ran.
I ran down the hall until I saw a sign that was familiar, so I pushed the door open and slid into the women's restroom.
I was standing in front of a mirror and I realized that this was the first time I had seen myself in two years.
I had a long but oval shaped face, big round eyes that were slightly upturned, but were a violent shade of gray. My blonde hair was just past my shoulders and was slightly wavy. My eyebrows were a darker brown and were long and sharp angled, that hooded my eyes. I had a long nose but it was stubby and almost button like. But my lips were a light pink but they were proud and prominent, still uncomfortably buzzing from Nathan's kiss. The last thing was that had not a single curve, my chest was flat and I had almost no hips. To myself, I was ugly, I was too skinny and was at an estimated height of about five seven.
