Page 16 of The Devil In Disguise

Her entire demeanor immediately turns gloomy, but she gives me a weak attempt at a smile, anyway. As soon as she opens her mouth to speak, the bright blue sky starts to turn the most mesmerizing shades of purple, and pink, and orange as the sun sets, stealing both of our attention. As beautiful as it is, the sun seems to be setting all too suddenly and quickly, too.

Estelle turns to look at me again, her face riddled with dread. Noting her reaction, I sit up and mirror her expression on my own face. “Estelle, what’s wrong?”

“I need you to listen to me, we don’t have much time left.”

Okay, she is seriously starting to scare me. “Time left where? What are you talking about?”

I hear voices coming from somewhere in the distance. It sounds so close, but so muffled. I think it’s coming from the sky; I squint my eyes up at the clouds.

“Shh, it’s okay. Listen to me. Don’t trust anyone, you have to be careful, please.” She takes both of my hands in hers and squeezes. “You know who you are, Amaris. You want to be free, so be free. Don’t let anyone or anything hold you down. You are fearless, you are clever, you are a warrior. I love you, but I don’t want to see you again for a long time. Can you do that for me, mi vida?”

Tears stream down my face involuntarily as I listen. “I think s-so. But I-I’m so conf-used.” I take a deep breath to even out my heart rate as best as I can.

What is going on?

I try again. “Estelle, I’m scared and confused. I don’t want to leave this bubble. We are safe here.”

“We all are a little scared and confused, my dear.” She pulls me in for a comforting hug, stroking my hair and rocking me side to side as I cry myself to sleep on her chest.

When I flutter my eyes open again, it takes extra effort. They feel so heavy. My eyes adjust while I take in my surroundings. There’s a big window, an empty sofa chair to my left, all white walls, too bright lights, and an annoying beep coming from somewhere. It hurts to turn my neck, but I manage to turn my head to the right when I hear a strange female voice.

“Look who’s awake.”

There is a short woman with meadow green eyes standing right next to me and a tall man standing behind her near the door. She says something, but I don’t hear her, too lost in the eyes that remind me of the meadow I was just sitting in.

I blink.

“How are you feeling? You took quite a fall.”

Fall? The doctor's coat didn’t register until now. I look down at my stomach and see I am in a hospital gown with a needle sticking out of my arm. What the fuck? What am I doing here?

“What happened? Why am I here?” I ask the nurse.

She stares at me blankly then speaks slowly. “Are you able to repeat that in English for me?”

Shit, I didn’t even realize I was speaking in Spanish. “I’m sorry. What am I doing here?” I ask again in English.

“You were in a motorcycle accident and flew off the bike. The good news is you didn’t suffer major physical damage thanks to your helmet and clothing. The bad news, is that you seem to be experiencing post-traumatic amnesia.” The nurse keeps talking but I tune her out.

My eyes keep finding the man in the corner. His blue eyes are so dark they look like the night. Something about him is familiar, though I can’t put my finger on it.

I won’t focus on that, it hurts too much to think. Everything is fuzzy, I feel removed from my body right now. The confusion is suffocating. I want to scream so loud that it shatters the window next to me, but what would that fix?

Did she say I have amnesia? That can’t be right, my parents are…Why can’t I remember who my parents are? I don’t think I remember anyone. The heart monitor I forgot I’m hooked up to gives my anxieties away when it speeds up its beeping, seemingly getting louder and louder. I’m about ready to rip these cords off of my body when the nurse places her hand on mine.

“Hey, it’s okay to be scared. This is new and it might be hard, but you will be okay.”

Instead of answering, I nod my head and take slower breaths in an attempt to calm down in front of these people. Let me try to focus on what I do know.

My name is Amaris. I am twenty years old and was born in Punta Cana. I like to read and bake. Boxing and riding my bike are important outlets in my life…Wait, my bike.

The nurse is still speaking so I interrupt her, “I’m sorry, but you said I was in an accident, right?” She confirms, so I continue. “Would you happen to know what happened to my bike?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know for sure, but I think the motorcycle was totaled in the accident. We will keep you updated on that,” she says, sympathetically.

Gesturing to the man to come forward, she places her hand over mine again. “I’m going to call your main doctor, you can speak to your friend here in the meantime.” With a smile, she grabs her clipboard and leaves us alone in the room.

Familiar spiced notes mixed with a woody aroma assault my nose when he comes near. He looks at me cautiously, almost like he’s trying to burn a hole through my head and read my mind.

---