comfort,
but it felt perfectly natural. In fact, she wanted him closer.
You
scared me , the voice said.
Harper's
eyes widened in shock and she cleared her throat. "Doctor," she told
him worriedly, "my head hurts and I'm hearing voices."
The
room was so silent it was creepy.
"Doctor?"
he growled after a moment.
She
must have made a mistake. Maybe he was a nurse? Harper glanced at his outfit.
Nope, he wasn’t wearing any scrubs. He wore a black shirt paired with jeans,
and he was definitely working it. Harper’s face flushed with embarrassment.
"Sorry,
I just thought..." her voice faded because she wasn't sure how to
continue. The man almost looked insulted from her assumption. ”I thought you
were my doctor."
He
stood, his face a blank mask. It was almost as if Harper could feel his pain
and disbelief, but that would have been impossible.
"I'm
Axel. Your mate.” His voice was as emotionless as his face.
“My
what? Mom?" she asked, searching for an explanation.
“Harper,
I’m Axel.” The man crouched next to her again and took her hand in his,
frightening Harper. She felt like she knew him, but she was positive they had
never met.
“I’m
sorry-” Harper started to say before the doctor interrupted.
“Axel,
give her some time.”
“Give
her some time? She doesn’t even know me,” he whispered. His anguish ripped
through Harper, leaving her miserable and breathless, although she didn’t know
why. He left her sitting bewildered on the bed before retreating to the corner
and sliding down the wall. Axel put his face in his hands and tried to regain
control.
The
room stayed silent.
Harper
wanted an explanation. Preferably something along the lines of, ‘I'm sorry
honey, that was just the delusional man down the hall. No worries.’
"Mom?"
Harper repeated into the silent hospital room, her mom stayed sadly quiet.
The
woman spoke up, "Harper, I'm actually your doctor. I believe your memory
has been damaged slightly. If you will give it some time, it should
return."
It
was hard to concentrate on the doctor’s words with those strong emotions
flowing into her. Harper wanted to know why she was feeling such loss for no
explainable reason.
“My
memory?” She stared at the doctor, wanting to argue that her memory was just
fine. She could remember her mother, so obviously the strange man and the
doctor were mistaken. “No, my memory is normal. I know my mother, and I can
remember school. It’s good.”
“Harper,
I’m going to ask you a few questions.”
“Okay,
sure.”
“How
old were you when you moved to Canyon?”
“14.”
“What
was your first car?”
“My
mom’s silver Mercedes.”
“What
year did you graduate high school?”
“I…
What? Graduate?”
“Do
you remember your graduation?”
“Graduation?”
Harper
was incoherent. She hasn’t graduated high school because she was in the middle
of her senior year.
“I
haven’t graduated yet.”
“Harper,
you graduated two years ago.”
That
was impossible. There was no way she had graduated because she would have
remembered. She couldn’t believe it. Her memories couldn’t have just
disappeared. Besides, if the doctor really did tell her the truth, then that
would mean the hot man could actually be her… What did he say? Her mate. Holy
shit. This wasn’t real. For one thing, there were no mates in real life. There
were boyfriends and there were husbands.
“I’m
not 20 years old, I don’t have a mate, I’m so confused, and my head hurts.”
Harper’s voice had risen with hysteria.
“It’s
okay. Your memories should return soon.” The doctor’s soothing tone did nothing
to calm her internal storm.
Harper , that voice said again. Somehow she knew it was
from Axel.
She
just couldn’t take it anymore. The memory loss, the headache, the voices, it
was all too much. “Stop! Just stop! I don’t know you. I’m not your girlfriend;
I’m not your mate.”
This
was too much to process. How was that man able
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