Authors: Melanie Moreland
A strange gasping noise woke me with a start. I had fallen asleep in the chair, my hand still being held by the woman and the storm raging around us. Three things struck me as my eyes snapped open.
The storm was still blowing, the wind and snow beating against the house in their fury.
My hand was no longer being held in a death grip.
The woman was awake, pressed against the headboard and staring at me with terror-filled eyes of the bluest cornflower shade I had ever seen. Her body was shaking with fright and I felt the urgent need to calm and reassure her.
I stood up and she whimpered, trying to back herself even farther away. I saw her glance between me and Bear, who was sitting on the bed, head cocked, looking at her, and I knew she wasn’t sure who she should be more afraid of.
I held up my hands in what I hoped was an innocuous gesture and smiled kindly. “He,” I nodded toward Bear, “won’t hurt you. He’s a gentle giant. He’s been watching over you all night.”
She continued to stare at me, frightened.
“
I won’t hurt you, either. You’re safe. I promise.” For some reason, I wanted to tell her I’d been watching her too, but I kept that part to myself.
Her voice was shaky and raw when she finally spoke. “Who are you?”
“
Josh. I’m Joshua. The huge beast sitting there is Bear,” I explained. “He’s my dog,” I added unnecessarily.
She nodded slowly. “Where am I?”
I sat down, thinking maybe she would relax a little if she thought I wasn’t about to pounce on her. I gave Bear the hand signal to lay down and this time he actually did what I instructed him to do.
“
You’re in my house. You, ah, got caught in the snowstorm and crashed your car on my property. Bear and I found you.”
“
You… you found me?”
I nodded. “I think you took a wrong turn and ended up on the road leading to my place rather than the main road. The storm is really bad.” I frowned. “You shouldn’t have been out driving in it.”
I paused, watching her. She was still tense and shaking, but didn’t seem as frightened as she had been.
“
You must have lost control of your car and hit a tree. You hit your head on the steering wheel pretty hard. You were out cold when I found you.”
Her hand came up and gingerly touched her head. I saw her wince as her fingers made contact with the bruised skin. Then her hand drifted down to her cheek and paused. “I hit my face as well?” she whispered.
I paused, not sure what to say now. “You, um, seem to have several sets of bruises on you,” I said quietly, indicating she should look at her hands.
She stared down at them, examining the bruising, but saying nothing. She looked at the massively large shirt she was wearing and glanced back up me. “This isn’t mine?” she questioned, her voice hesitant.
I shook my head. “The passenger side door had flown open with the impact of the crash. You were wet from the snow being blown in. I took off your wet clothes.”
Her eyes opened wide in fear again. ”You took off my clothes?” I could hear the panic in her voice.
“
I only did that to put dry ones on you while I check your injuries. I swear. I didn’t remove your underwear,” I hastened to assure her. “I only wanted to help you.” I wanted her to believe me. I wanted her to stop looking at me with so much fear in those huge, blue eyes.
“
I saw other bruises,” I added gently.
“
Where?”
“
Your, ah, your legs and your arms.”
I watched as she pulled the covers back and rolled up the shorts I had put on her. In the dim light of the overcast day the bruises looked even darker, and I could clearly see the imprint of a shoe. She traced over the bruises again, not saying a word.
Then she glanced back up. “I don’t know you. How do I know you didn’t do this?”
I sat back, shocked, and felt a ripple of anger go through me. She thought I had done this? I took in a deep calming breath and stood up, approaching the bed. Instantly she shrank away.
“
It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. I just want to show you something that will prove I didn’t do this to you.”
“
How?” she questioned me, her voice trembling.
“
Do you see the imprint on your leg?” I asked, pointing to the large bruise.
Looking down she nodded. “Someone
kicked
me?”
“
Not me. It was
not
me. Can I show you?” I kept my voice soft and calm, feeling the desperate need, for some reason, to show her it was not me who inflicted those injuries.
She regarded me for a moment, and then nodded. I grabbed the back of the chair, knowing I wouldn’t be able to keep steady, and slowly raised my foot and laid it beside her thigh. We could both see my foot was easily two sizes larger than the imprint on her leg. I saw her shoulders relax a little and heard her breath release.
“
I’m going to sit beside you now, okay?”
Again, she nodded.
“
Roll up your shirt sleeve. Just the sleeve. Hold your arm out. Please. I
won’t
hurt you.”
She regarded me silently for a moment, then I watched her wince as she lifted her arm and rolled up one sleeve and held it out slightly, trembling in fear.
“
I’m going to touch your arm now, all right? I’m just going to show you something, I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
She nodded warily and I lifted her arm higher, the loose shirt falling away even more, revealing the deep bruising on the upper part of her flesh. She gasped when she saw it, and then watched as I silently placed my hand over the imprints that the bastard, who
had
done this, left behind. My long fingers and large palm easily encompassed the mark showing both of us there was no way my hand could have left them. “I didn’t hurt you. I found you like this. I swear. I would never, ever strike a woman,” I spoke slowly and with conviction.
“
I… I believe you. Thank you for showing me,” she whispered as her eyes drifted up and met mine. I was relieved to feel a little more of her tension ease away. I removed my hand and helped her lower her arm back down.
“
The question is; who did do this to you? Who were you running from last night?” I asked quietly.
I watched a multitude of emotions play out across her face.
“
I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice quivering.
I sighed. She was hiding something.
“
What is your name?”
Her mouth opened, and then her brow furrowed in concentration.
“
I don’t know.” Her voice was filled with confusion.
“
You don’t know?” I repeated, dubiously.
Her expressive eyes widened and filled with tears.
“
I can’t remember how I got here and I can’t remember my name.”
Chapter Three
Joshua
I stared at her, watching the tears fall down her cheeks. I was wrong, she
wasn’t
hiding anything; I could see from the fear and confusion in her eyes that she couldn’t remember. Wanting to comfort her somehow, I reached down and stroked her hands gently. “You hit your head pretty hard. No doubt things are fuzzy. I’m sure when you feel better, you’ll remember.”
She continued to stare at me, frightened and upset. “I’m going to make some coffee and something to eat. Do you feel up to joining me in the kitchen?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet.
I saw her glance down dubiously at the shorts she was wearing. I stood up and grabbed a pair of sweats and a heavier shirt out of the drawer, along with a pair of socks, and handed them all to her. “I know they’ll be far too big, but they’ll keep you warm. The only heat sources we have are the fireplaces. The storm has knocked out the power and I need to make the generators last as long as possible. So we’ll have to stick to the rooms with the fireplaces, okay?”
She nodded silently.
“
The kitchen is in the front of the house; it’s sort of one big room, so you’ll find it easily. Come join me when you’re ready.” I indicated the door behind me. “There’s a bathroom right there. Help yourself to whatever you need. There’s hot water if you want a shower. Just keep it as short as possible, please?”
Again, she nodded silently. I watched her wince as she tried to move from her defensive position against the headboard. For a brief moment, she sat on the edge of the bed and then stood up. As she went to step forward, she gasped in pain and stumbled. Instantly, I lunged forward, catching her before she hit the floor. Instead of falling, she ended up pressed against me, a shaking mass of raw sobs. Unsure what to do, I held her loosely, not wanting to press what were obviously very painful injuries. Surprisingly, she allowed me to hold her and soothe her. I stood, feeling her resting against me and found myself noticing how well she seemed to mould into me, her head fitting right under my chin as she sobbed. Tentatively, I raised my hand and lightly stroked her back, trying to calm her.
Why did she feel so right in my arms?
Slowly her sobs eased off, and I pulled away. Leaning down, I tilted her chin up with my finger so I could see her eyes. The pain and fear I saw in them tore directly into my heart and I found I wanted to erase both. Gently, I eased her back down on the mattress, handed her some Kleenex and went into the bathroom. I found the painkillers that I used when the agony was too much to handle, and filled a glass with water. Returning to her, I showed her the bottle so she wouldn’t add the fear of me trying to drug her to the mix, and gave her two of the pills. I sat beside her as Bear came up to rest his head on her knee, adoration in his eyes as he stared up at her. I shook my head at his actions.
“
What?” she asked; her voice raw and broken.
“
He doesn’t go to anyone but me. He is as leery of strangers as I am. But he seems to have taken a liking to you.”
“
Where did you get him?”
I told her about rescuing him not long after I had moved here. He was just a puppy and it seemed to be the right fit. Both of us were abused and needed to heal; we helped each other. He was a great companion for me, and Bear had a good life here. I made sure he was treated well and would never be hurt again. I spoke quietly and gave the medication time to start easing the pain before she moved again. As I talked, I watched the pain fade a little from her eyes.
“
Ready to try again?” I asked.
She nodded and this time I helped her up. She still winced and moved slowly but she was able to stay upright.
“
Do you want me to bring you something to eat in here?”
She shook her head no.
“
Do you feel up to coming to the kitchen?”
She nodded, so I helped her into the bathroom. She promised to call if she needed me; I told her I would leave her alone but I wanted the door open so I could hear her. Again, she nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“
I won’t leave the kitchen unless you call. Okay?”
Her eyes looked up at me for a minute, unblinking. “Okay,” she whispered.
Calling Bear to come with me, I left.
I made my way to the kitchen slowly; I was stiff from sleeping in the chair and my leg was aching with the strain from yesterday. I stood at the counter for a minute, thinking about what had just happened. I had no idea why it was so important that I comfort her. I shook my head at my own odd behavior. My mind seemed to have a will of its own at the moment and I couldn’t stop the reactions. I started the coffee and grabbed some eggs from the refrigerator. All the appliances were working, thanks to the generators. I heard the water start-up and was pleased to know the woman was able to get into the shower. I stopped for a minute again, thinking. I couldn’t keep calling her ‘the woman.’ How should I address her? I puzzled briefly, and then decided I would figure it out later. Earlier, I had hoped she wouldn’t be here long enough for me to have to address her at all. But looking out at the storm, still pounding away outside, I knew that probably wasn’t going to be the case.