“Okay, Mom,” she said. “I hear you, loud and clear. I’ll deal with it.”
***
After Daniella left her mom’s house, she spent the rest of the day in preparation of Jett’s arrival. It had been about a week since the accident and time had passed faster than she could have imagined.
Her hope was the din of activity would squelch her constant inner dialog, but if anything it served to aggravate it. Daniella’s rational thoughts and her emotional needs tore her in two. Logically, what everyone said made perfect sense. It was hard to disagree with it at all but, her heart told her something her thoughts couldn’t.
It was her essence as a person; she was someone that helped others. Admittedly, this worked to her detriment on occasion but she couldn’t deny her identity in this situation.
She wouldn’t.
And besides, Dr. Wilson seemed thrilled with Jett’s recovery so far. If he said Jett’s memory would return, well then the chances were very good it would. There was little at risk for her when she looked at it that way. In fact, it might be closer to no risk whatsoever.
Right?
Those thoughts carried her through the next day as well. Daniella picked Jett up from the hospital as planned. Before the two of them arrived at her place, they stopped off to buy him something to wear. She argued with him about it being her treat but he insisted he wouldn’t stand for it.
And anyway, she had an ulterior motive for the shopping spree. As part of the deal, Daniella got to pick his jeans. Of course, she had to ensure every pair made his butt look even hotter, if such a thing was possible. So, as far as she was concerned, that alone was worth the money she spent.
Overall, it was a fun first day together.
At least it was that way until he crossed the threshold into her house for the first time. Once that happened, she realized she’d underestimated the gravity of what she’d undertaken. As they entered, time slowed. A tidal wave of doubt crashed into her. Daniella realized she had no clue if this guy was a boy scout or an ax murderer.
She questioned herself…
What if everyone was right about him?
The truth was she didn’t know anything about him or his past, and for that matter, neither did he.
Sure, they’d spent time together and gotten to know each other a bit but it’s not unheard of to know someone for twenty years and have them still surprise you. If Daniella was honest with herself, there was no way to tell what kind of man he might be.
She had hope he was normal but that was it.
On the other hand, what if everyone was right about her?
If Daniella misjudged Jett, that was one thing. She didn’t even want to begin to consider what it might mean if she lied to herself about her own motives. She mulled it over for days on end and searched her feelings for any clue she wanted to fix the past. The emotions weren’t there or if they were, they hid from her just as Jett’s past hid from him.
“Wow,” he said as he walked into her living room.
The sound of his voice echoed inside of her head. It broke through her trance-like state and extinguished her overbearing inner monologue, at least for the moment.
“Great place, Daniella.” He said.
“Oh um, thanks,” She replied.
Jett could detect the unease in her tone.
“Everything okay with you, Daniella?”
“What?” she said. “Yes, everything is fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Anything you want to talk about with me?” He asked.
Oh Lord, where would do I even start?
How about with her mother and Tricia who believed Daniella wanted to relive her lost relationship through Jett? Or what about Billy, who wanted nothing more than to haul Jett’s butt to jail for who knows what?
As she stood there in contemplation of his innocent question, Daniella wondered what else she could possibly heap on to the pile of crap she dealt with over this. It was almost certain there was more but it was late and she was exhausted. For now, a handful of people on her case would suffice.
“No, I’m fine,” she said. “It’s nothing. Let me show you to your room.”
“Okay.” He replied.
After she got him settled in she said, “Hey, um, in a couple of days my friends are throwing a going away party for me. If you’re up for it, you are more than welcome to join me.”
“No,” he said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it sounds great but I don’t think I’d feel right about it. It’s your night; I wouldn’t want to take away from that.”
“You think are that big of an attraction, huh?” She said.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” he said. “I meant…”
Daniella interrupted him.
“I’m messing with you, Jett.” She replied. “You don’t have to go, I figured you’d like to do something fun, that’s all.”
“I do,” he said as he reconsidered. “I would, so yeah. I’ll go with you.”
“Great,” she said. “Alright, well, I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Okay, goodnight Daniella.”
“Good night,” she said. Daniella tried to leave the room but as she reached the doorway, Jett called out to her.
“Hey, Daniella?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” Jett said. “For everything you've done. I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of this.”
“You're welcome,” she said. “I’m glad I could help.”
***
Thirty minutes later, Daniella slipped in between the sheets.
Perhaps she’d overreacted. She needed to learn to trust herself. There was nothing wrong with him! She was convinced of it. She’d spent the equivalent of a couple of days with him at this point and he’d never been anything but sweet, kind and sincere towards her.
Okay, he was a smartass and a little bit of a jerk as well, but in a good way. As she lay in bed, Daniella began to feel much better about her decision. Soon, he’d be back on his feet and long gone. If nothing else, his presence was a welcome distraction from all the other chaos in her life. Now if she could manage to get everyone else off her back when it came to him, everything would be perfect.
And so, with somewhat tranquil thoughts in her mind, Daniella drifted off to sleep about ten minutes later. If there was one thing she needed, it was a good night’s rest. At least with him in the house, she wouldn’t have to worry about her safety.
The next thing Daniella remembered, she was in the midst of a vivid dream. In it, a distinctive noise caught her attention. It sounded like a scream or cry of some kind but she couldn’t be certain. She attempted to focus. The noise grew louder, deeper and started to sound much more like an animal and an immense one.
She tossed and turned but the sound intensified. She felt as if it closed in on her and chased her. Panicked, she managed to wake herself in the hope she’d evade it. Daniella sat straight up in her bed.
Her heart thumped like mad.
But the noise remained.
It was louder than ever.
And it came from Jett’s bedroom…
What the fuck!?
Daniella scrambled out of bed and fumbled around in the pitch black for her cell phone but as she did, she hit the lamp on the nightstand. It crashed to the wooden floor and made a terrible racket.
“Shit!” She cursed under her breath.
She ran over to the bedroom door, locked it and pressed her ear against it. Terror gripped at her and she was unable to move. There was no question in her mind that there was an animal in the house. Had something gotten in through sliding glass door in the basement?
Her house did back up to the woods so it was possible.
Oh God, what is happening?
Horrified, she leaned into the door and wondered why Jett hadn’t made any noise.
Had he hidden? Was he injured? What could she do?
Her panic reached a crescendo. Fear paralyzed her as she pressed into
the door with all her might. And then, almost as soon as it began, the noise stopped in an instant.
Silence filled the air.
Daniella tried to calm her breath. Nervous exhales choked her throat and she swallowed hard to calm them. Her heart pounded in her ears as she attempted to listen for several minutes.
She strained for a hint of anything but no further sounds came from down the hall. At last, convinced it might be safe to investigate, she reached towards the knob. Her hand shook as she turned it and it creaked as a sliver of space opened.
For several seconds, she stood there motionless, petrified.
“Jett?” she whispered.
She waited for a response or perhaps for an animal to tear out of the room in her direction but again, nothing.
Daniella opened the door a bit wider and called out, “Jett!”
There was still no response.
Terror gripped at her. She had to investigate but the uncertainty of what she might find at the end of the hall scared her to death. Endless scenarios flashed in her mind as she walked and all of them wound up with him injured in a horrible way, or worse.
She knocked at the closed door when she reached it.
“Jett!” she screamed.
For a moment, there was no sound and then, she heard a low moan from inside the room.
Without hesitation, she opened the door and flipped on the light.
Her eyes went to the center of the room where he lay on the bed, motionless. Daniella’s gaze darted from one corner of the room to the other as she looked for signs of anything but him that could have been responsible for the sound.
There was nothing. The room was no different than she’d left it hours earlier. She shook her head and walked towards him. As she neared, she noticed both him and the sheets covered in sweat. In spite of that, he appeared to be asleep. As she stood there, he began to move.
“Wyatt…” he groaned.
***
Daniella wasn’t sure how to bring up any of what had happened the previous night. She assumed her mind played a trick on her. It was obvious there wasn’t an animal anywhere in the house and aside from sweat and tussled sheets, Jett didn’t appear to be worse for wear.
In fact, he hadn’t mentioned anything about it at all.
As difficult as it was for her to consider, perhaps she had imagined those noises.
For now, she decided to put it out of her mind and focus on the party held in her honor later that night. She looked forward to it for weeks and knew all of her friends would be there. Outside of Tricia, she’d been so busy that she hadn’t had time to spend with anyone else for a while so it would be great to see everyone.
Then something occurred to her about her friend.
It pissed Tricia off beyond belief that Jett was in Daniella’s house. And Daniella knew that if given the chance, Tricia would let Jett know just how unhappy she was with all of it. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of drama over him so she stepped outside of her house to call her friend.
“Hey…” Tricia said as she answered. “Having fun shacking up?”
Here we go.
“Uh,” Daniella groaned. “That’s nice. Thanks for that. Is that how we are going to start this conversation, really?”
“What do you want me to say, Daniella?” She replied. “I think what you’re doing is a horrible idea for all the reasons I’ve explained.”
“Yeah,” Daniella replied. “I know.”
“By the way,” Tricia said. “What did your mom say about it?”
“I haven’t told her.”
Tricia sighed and let out a sarcastic, “Hah!”
Daniella shook her head in silence.
“That just totally proves my point!” Tricia said.
“No, it doesn’t,” Daniella replied. “It doesn't prove anything. Tricia, I am not calling to get into all of this with you right now. I need a favor from you, well, more like a promise.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Tricia replied.
“Believe me, I’d rather not ask but I don’t know what else to do about it where you are concerned.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tricia said. “Is this about him?”
“Yes,” Daniella said. “I need for you to swear to me that you will not make a big deal about him coming with me to the party.”
“What!” Tricia said. “You are bringing him to the party that I put together? Is that what you are telling me?”
“Yes, so what?” She said. “It is a party for me, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Tricia snapped. “For you, not your little wounded pretty boy.”
“Uh!” Daniella exclaimed. “Take that back, Tricia. What’s the matter with you? Why do you hate him so much?”
For several seconds, Tricia remained silent on the other end of the line.
“Daniella,” she said. “I don’t hate him. I am just suspicious of him and I don’t want you to get mixed up in something crazy.”
“Like what?” Daniella replied. “I’ve spent a good bit of time with him at this point and I haven’t witnessed any of the kinds of things you are talking about, Tricia.”
“For now,” Tricia replied.
“Jesus,” Daniella said. “Look, you know what, just cancel the party. I don’t even want to be near you right now if you are going to act this way.”
“Cancel the party!?” Tricia exclaimed. “Daniella, I put this whole thing together for you.”
“And I appreciate it but unless you agree to lay off for one damn night, I am not coming.” Daniella said.
“Okay.” Tricia said.
“Okay, what?”
“I’ll lay off for one damn night.”
“Good,” she said. “I’ll see later.”
“Okay,” Tricia replied.
***
Later that day, Jett’s first follow-up visit with Dr. Wilson took place. And aside from the bizarre situation that happened the first night he stayed with her, things had been somewhat normal at Daniella’s house.
They’d spent almost all of their time together since he came back to stay with her. She grew fonder of him and discovered she was all but helpless to stop it. He was cocky and funny, a dangerous combination for Daniella. She was a sucker for guys like that, especially when they were as sexy as Jett.
And as much as she tried to convince herself that nothing would happen between them, a tiny part of her held out hope. Even so, she did her best to keep her emotions in check around him although it proved more difficult with each hour that passed.
She and Jett made their way to Dr. Wilson’s office where he greeted them and ushered Jett into a room for a full body scan. Once he’d completed the scan, Dr. Wilson approached them in a nearby waiting room.
As he entered Dr. Wilson said, “Jett, I have bad news. It seems as though we had issues with the imagery from the scan. We need to do it once more. I do apologize.”
“No problem, Doc.” Jett replied.
Fifteen minutes later, Jett returned for another scan. As he slid into the tube, Daniella and Dr. Wilson observed from nearby.
“Doctor,” Daniella said. “About Jett’s medication… I was wondering if it would make sense to take another look at the dosage.”
“What do you mean?” Dr. Wilson asked. “Is he experiencing side effects?”
“Well, something is wrong.” She said. “I don’t know if the medication is the cause or is just aggravating the underlying condition.”
“What condition?” he asked.
“He had a nightmare the other night.” She replied. “A bad one…”
“Hmm, well, considering the dosages we’ve got him on at the moment, it’s not uncommon for things of that nature to occur.”
“I see.” She replied. “Well do you suppose…”
The doctor interrupted her and said, “But, it’s unlikely Jett will be required to continue with those much longer, if at all.”
“What?” Daniella said. “Why?”
“Daniella,” he said as he turned to face her. “May I speak frankly with you?”
“Yes, of course.” She replied.
As they watched him disappear into the full body scanner Dr. Wilson said, “Before I begin, I need assurance from you what we discuss here will not find its way back to Jett.”
Normally, Daniella wasn’t a person who liked secrets but in this case, she was willing to make an exception.
“Alright,” she said. “You have my word.”
“Good,” Dr. Wilson replied. “Well, to put it in the bluntest manner I can, I’ve never seen anyone heal like this in all the years I’ve practiced medicine.”
Daniella expected news like this about a patient would be something that thrilled Dr. Wilson. Yet his tone indicated he was far from excited about it. In fact, he seemed more concerned than anything else.
Surprised, Daniella asked, “Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” he said. “It’s a good thing, of course. It is also unlike anything I’ve ever known in the entire recorded history of human anatomy!”
Daniella wasn’t sure what to say so she remained silent.
“Forgive me,” he said. “I imagine that isn’t what you expected to hear.”
“No, it isn’t,” she said.
Dr. Wilson exhaled and looked straight ahead.
“Daniella, the extent of Jett’s injuries when he arrived were…” he said. “I’ll be honest, the first hour or so, there was a good chance he could have experienced brain trauma associated with his concussion that might have been well, fatal.”
“Oh my God,” she said. “I don’t you mentioned that when we met for the first time.”
He turned his attention back to Jett.
“That’s just it though, you see?” he said.
“What is?” She asked.
“The first night… By all rights, he could have died.” He said. “If nothing else, a coma wouldn’t be unexpected. But, there he was, conscious, not three hours after arrival.”
“You didn’t seem surprised at the time.” She said.
“Well, having been a doctor for more than twenty years, I’ve been around enough of these types of situations to know almost anything is possible.”
“Okay then, couldn’t this just be one of those kinds of situations?”
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