SHEA
"How are you here right now?" I asked, staring at her. She grinned.
"Will you at least let me in first, stranger?" she said.
My chest tightened. I was having a hard time figuring out why I was feeling a strong sense of déjà-vu as soon as she called me 'Stranger'?
"Sorry about that. You can come in" I said, moving aside.
She walked in, looking around my apartment with a smile on her beautiful face.
"Nice apartment you got here, Shea" she said.
"Thanks" I said, shutting the door. She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. "Comfy couch too, that's nice" she said. I blinked. "I'm glad you like it" I said.
"Do you need anything? Water? Wine? Soda?"
"Water will do just fine, thanks."
"Wait, are you really Devon Bradley? Or am I talking to a clone?" I asked, raising a brow.
Her eyes lit up with amusement.
"Of course, it's me. Why are you asking such a weird question?"
She was usually not so bubbly around me. I mean, she was usually nothing like this. All smiles and all. It warmed my heart.
"Gosh, what happened to you, Shea? You've become really weird" I cringed and went to the fridge to take out a bottle of water. She took the bottle from me and made me sit.
"How are you feeling? Liam told me what happened" she said. I sighed, rubbing my eyes.
"To be honest, I don't know. I just feel blank"
She placed a hand on my shoulder, a concerned look in her eyes.
"What did the doctor say?" She asked.
"I may never get my memories back" I told her.
She gasped, eyes wide.
"Oh Shea. I'm so sorry about that" "It's fine"
"No, it's not. No one deserves to go through all this"
"Do you have anything from your past life?" She asked and I stiffened.
"No, I don't- It's just like I fell from the sky. If I have parents, I really don't know. If I had any relationship with anyone, I don't remember. It really sucks not knowing anything about my past. Each time something or someone tries to trigger my memory, things go wrong. I don't-"
I froze when Devon embraced me, her chin resting on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, relaxing in her embrace.
"Does this help?" She asked, her arms still around me. I smiled, opening my eyes.
"Yeah it does" I replied.
"I'm glad to be of help to you, Shea"
"Thanks, Dev" I rasped.
We pulled away and she held my hands."If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll always be ready to listen"
"Well, I do like this side of you" I said and she chuckled.
"Don't be silly. Oh, you wanted to know how I know where you live?" I gave her a pointed look.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you. We're practically neighbors" she said, grinning.
My eyes went wide.
"What? Wait, how do I not know about that?" I asked.
"You had plenty of chances, but you didn't notice. The night I brought you home, you were too out of it to notice that I'd stopped right after your house. The day I saw you at the grocery store is the day I noticed that you are my neighbor. I saw you leave. I was standing by the window which was open. You would've seen me if you had looked up"
"Woah, that's- I totally didn't expect that"
The day I left her apartment with a hangover was the day I was supposed to notice that she was my neighbor. I'd been thinking too hard to even notice that she was literally living next to me. She shrugged, raising a hand to run her fingers through her hair. I caught sight of the golden ring on her finger. I was pretty sure I'd seen it before. I felt like the ring had once belonged to me.
Pain speared through the base of my skull and I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut.
"You should take some painkillers" Devon said, squeezing my hand gently.
"No, I've been taking a lot of painkillers recently. It just seems not to work"
Devon looked really concerned.
"Or I can give you a head massage?" She said.
I shook my head. My initial thought was that she was joking. But, when I saw how serious she looked, I was stunned.
"Are you sure about that? I mean-"
"It's not a big deal, Shea. It's just a massage. I know what you're thinking"
I smiled and she went behind the couch, her fingers sinking into my hair. My eyes fluttered close when she started to rub my temples with her thumbs. It felt oddly familiar and comforting. It was soothing.
"You're really good at this" I commented.
"Yeah, I've had some practice..."
I could already feel the pressure in my skull lessening. I was starting to feel drowsy.
"Okay, I think you should stop now" I said, when my eyelids started to grow heavier.
"Nope. You should get some sleep. When was the last time you even had any sleep?"
"But-"
"No buts"
I slowly sank into a dreamless slumber.
****
DEVON
I left Shea's house after I'd made sure he was sleeping on the couch, comfortably. Watching him sleep brought back memories that made my heart ache. I ended up going to the restaurant where I worked. It was getting dark when the restaurant closed for the day. Mrs Dean, a short, red haired lady who had a very endearing personality and was the owner of the restaurant where I worked, closed the double doors of the restaurant and gave me a bright smile."Goodnight, Devon" she said just before I left.
"Goodnight, Mrs Dean" I said. I got to my car and groaned when I realized that I'd run out of gas. I quickly dialled Liam's number but he didn't pick up. I decided to walk all the way home but that didn't stop me from calling him again. He still didn't pick up.
"Hello, pretty" a man said as he walked towards me. With my heart in my throat, I stumbled backwards. Just as I made to take out my pepper spray, someone else gripped my hand. Another man. From the looks of things, they were both drunk. I backed away from the two drunk men who were fast closing in on me.
My heart pounded hard against my rib cage. I needed to get away but I was trapped. The two men grinned at me, bloodshot eyes gazing at me intently. They were basically eye raping me.
"Isn't she such a beauty?" the first man said, licking his lips. My stomach churned uneasily.
"She's a goddess" the other one said, pinning me to the wall with his hands on both sides of my head. I could literally smell the horrible stench of vodka and weed coming from him.
"Leave me alone" I whimpered, trying to escape from his hold. He was too strong and I couldn't reach the pepper spray in my jacket. "I like the feisty ones" the other one said, his fierce mouth odour invading my nostrils. I gagged, feeling like I was going to be sick. I started to cry because I knew that no one was coming for me. If Theo was still alive, he would've saved me. I felt like I was going to die.
"Someone help me! Help!" I screamed but a large, sweaty hand was placed over my mouth to silence me.
"Help! Please!" My cries were muffled but the drunk men took offence in the fact that I was crying. They slammed my head against the wall and I whimpered when I felt the sticky warm liquid oozing out of the cut on my temple. "Don't say a word, got it?"One of the men hissed, pressing a knife to my throat. I nodded frantically, my whole body trembling.
I squeezed my eyes shut as they started to trace my skin with their fingers. All of a sudden, I heard a dull thud. My eyes shot open just as the two men fell to the ground. Someone had saved me and that someone was Shea. His dark hair was being ruffled by the wind, green eyes darkened with rage.
Shakily, I stepped out of the corner where I'd been standing. He embraced me, holding my trembling form to himself. I didn't care that he wasn't my boyfriend.
Tears crawled down my cheeks when he started to stroke my hair. "It's okay, I've got you" he whispered in that familiar voice that I could never get tired of hearing. I closed my eyes, my heart shattering when I perceived the scent of lemons and pines from him. It felt like déjà-vu. He led me towards his car and I got in. I slowly wiped away my tears as he drove. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine now" I said, forcing out a smile. He sighed. We remained silent until he pulled over in front of my house. It had begun to rain heavily.
****
"How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked as he cleaned the cut on my temple gently. "I can't explain it. I was at home at first. I suddenly had the urge to go out in search of you. When I found you like that, I was terrified and upset at the same time" he said as he dressed the cut.
"All done" he said and I rose to my feet. "I need to have a shower" I said.
"Go on, I'm right here" he said. I moved towards the door but stopped to look at him. He was staring at the floor and was oblivious to the fact that I was staring at him. I didn't thank him for saving me, I realized. I walked up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Thanks for being my hero tonight" I said and he smiled, his emerald eyes lighting up. I walked into my bedroom and started to take off my jacket.
****
"Shea?" I said as I stepped into the sitting room minutes after I'd showered. I'd changed into a pair of grey sweats and a white T-shirt. My face was bare since I'd just washed away my ruined make up. I frowned when I realized that he wasn't in the sitting room. "Shea?!" I said, moving towards the door of the sitting room."I'm right here" I turned so quickly, I nearly had a whiplash. He was sitting on the floor, beside the couch with his knees drawn to his chin. "Shea? What are you doing there? I thought you'd left" I said. He didn't say anything. "Shea, what's wrong?" I asked when he rose to his feet. What I wasn't expecting was for him to pick up the photo I'd taken with Theo in Paris.
"Who's this?" He asked with his hot gaze unwavering. "Why does he look like me? Why does he have golden eyes?" I swallowed hard, my throat threatening to close up. "That's my brother. His name's David. It was Halloween. It's just a costume" I said hoping that he wouldn't see right through my lies. "You're a horrible liar, Dev. You have two brothers and none of them bears the name 'David'" he said and my eyes widened. "You don't know that" I said, shakily. "Melvin and Allen are your brothers and they look nothing like this" he said, narrowing his eyes. I stared at him stunned.
"H-how did you know that?" I breathed. He went pale ."I-I don't know.... I just know" he said, his eyes wide.
"Shea, what do you mean you don't know? How do you even know what my brothers look like?" I asked. He swayed slightly on his feet, reaching up to press a hand to his temple.
"He's the one I dream of every night. That person in the photo is Theo. You lied to me-" he said, moving towards the door.
"Wait, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But how on Earth have you been dreaming of Theo? He died three years ago" I said. He paled further, eyes wide. His breathing started to quicken. He was having a panic attack."Look at me, just breathe" I said, forcing him to look at me.
"I-I can't.... I shouldn't be here" he gasped and opened the door. "Shea, wait!" I cried as I went after him. He ignored me and got into his car. I watched him drive away with my heart shattering into pieces all over again.