by Piper Hannah
“I’m sure we’ll find her,” she said. “I’ll call your best friend, Alan, and ask him.”
Wyatt smiled weakly. Unfortunately, he didn’t know anyone by the name of Alan; the name didn’t even sound remotely familiar. “That would be great. Let’s call Alan.” He sat up straighter on the bed and rubbed his hands together. “Now, can I please have some chocolate?” Chocolate chip cookies, chocolate milk, chocolate anything. He’ll take anything with chocolate.
CHAPTER 44
Since he came out of his coma seven days ago, Wyatt had to stay at the hospital. It was very difficult for him. It wasn’t just the pain on his head, or the battery of tests he had to endure. He found that hated being indoors.
He was also losing his patience. It seemed like everyone who knew him came to visit – well, everyone except for the one person he wanted to see the most… Paige. In the last seven days, he learned how to brush his teeth, take a shower, shave. He even learned how to use his cell phone and iPad, but wherever he looked, there was no sign of Paige. She wasn’t listed as a contact on his cell phone or email. He couldn’t find a picture of her anywhere. Where was she? What was she doing? More importantly, why didn’t she come to visit him? Something was definitely wrong, and Wyatt was desperate to get out of the hospital to find her.
Wyatt wasn’t sure what she was to him, but he could picture her clearly in his mind. When he closed his eyes, he could hear her voice - hear her laugh. He even remembered holding her close and smelling the scent of strawberries on her hair. Was she just a dream?
A few days ago, his friend, Alan, had come to visit him at the hospital. Although it was mentioned a few times, Wyatt had a hard time thinking of Alan as his best friend. He didn’t feel a kinship with him, and most times, he had a hard time talking to him.
Unfortunately, Alan didn’t know who Paige was either, but he was kind enough to try and help Wyatt find her. Alan told him that they went to college together at U.S.C. and suggested that perhaps, Paige was a student there. Maybe they had a class together? It was driving Wyatt crazy. It was as if Paige Harper was never a part of his life. How was this possible when all he could think of was her?
When Wyatt was discharged from the hospital, the first thing on his mind was to locate Paige. When he sat at his mother’s car and saw the navigation system, he grinned; he knew that he just found a way.
Wyatt looked at the map showing Los Angeles, and there it was. He pointed at the screen in the general direction where he knew Paige’s house was located.
“It’s right here,” he said. He looked at his mom with growing excitement. “Can we stop there first before we go home?”
“Paige’s house?”
Wyatt nodded.
“Sure.”
Thirty minutes later, standing in front of Paige’s house, Wyatt felt very nervous. It looked similar to every house in this street, but instinctively, he knew this was the house; it was her house. He looked back at his mother, who was sitting inside her car. She was parked on the curb, and she was patiently waiting for him. Wyatt hesitated. What if Paige wasn’t home? Or worse, what if she was here, but didn’t want to see him?
Wyatt fixed the baseball cap on his head, making sure that the bandage on his head couldn’t be seen. Then, he rang the doorbell and knocked on the front door three times. After a few seconds, a young girl with long, dark brown hair opened the door. With his heart pounding, Wyatt stared at her in silence. The girl was very beautiful, and she had the same features as the girl he was looking for… but the eyes were slightly different, and her lips were a little bit fuller.
Just then, a small, ugly dog came out running; it jumped up and down in front of him. Without thinking, Wyatt picked it up in his arms and scratched the dog’s head.
“Hello,” Wyatt finally said to the girl. “I’m looking for Paige. Is she home?”
The girl smiled, and her face lit up in recognition. “You’re Bruce Wayne, aren’t you?” She giggled.
“No. I’m not. My name is Wyatt Mason.”
The girl giggled again. “It was a joke,” she said. “You know… Bruce Wayne… Batman…”
Wyatt was utterly confused, and he shook his head. His memory was still in shambles. He didn’t quite know who Bruce Wayne was, but it was as foreign to him as the name they said was his. At the hospital, they kept calling him Wyatt, and he let them. His mother showed him his driver’s license; it appeared that Wyatt Mason was definitely his name.
“You don’t know who Bruce Wayne is?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“Ummm. No. Am I supposed to?”
“And you’re looking for my sister?” she asked. Her nose crinkled. “Do you even know her at all?”
Wyatt didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to talk to this girl; she wasn’t Paige Harper.
“Well, you do have that Batman vibe going on, but seriously, you do look more like the Green Arrow,” she said. “Have you heard of him?”
Reluctantly, Wyatt shook his head again.
“Ugh...,” she said. She reached over and took the dog away from him. “This is going to be very interesting.” She looked over her shoulder and yelled very, very loudly, “Hey Paige, your Bruce Wayne is at the door!” Then, the girl walked away, leaving the door wide open.
Wyatt heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs, and he braced himself. Then, he saw her. It was her, and his heart started beating a wild rhythm inside his chest. She was the person who he’d come here to find - the person he had probably been looking for all of his life. Paige Harper.
Wyatt watched her, soaking in her every graceful movement. Wyatt clenched and unclenched his hands, forcing himself not to run towards her – not to hug and kiss her. Paige approached him slowly, cautiously, and Wyatt sensed that something was very wrong. It was the look in her face. She looked very disappointed. It was as if she was hoping it would be someone else waiting for her at the door.
Wyatt took a deep breath and forced himself not to panic. Not yet.
PART V: PAIGE HARPER
“I don’t always get what I want, but somehow, I always get what I need.”
-Paige Harper
CHAPTER 45
Paige Harper
I was lying in my bed when I heard the doorbell ring. I ignored it. I was too miserable, and I was still in mourning. After all, it has only been twelve days since Luke died. I rubbed my eyes. I am so tired from crying. Oh, when… when will this pain go away?
From downstairs, I heard Emma yell. “Hey Paige, your Bruce Wayne is at the door!”
When my sister said ‘Bruce Wayne’, the first thought that came to my mind was Luke because that was how I always described him to Emma. The second thought that came to my mind was Christian Bale - well, for obvious reasons. So, when my sister yells at me that Bruce Wayne was at the door, I instinctively thought that maybe it would be either Luke or Christian Bale; both options were really good, and I would have been thrilled to see either one.
So, I ran down the stairs as fast as I can. The front door was wide open, and I saw a guy standing outside. He was tall, but not lanky, and built, but not overly muscular. He was wearing blue jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a baseball cap on his head. His eyes were so blue, that it instantly reminded me of the ocean… and he was so, so gorgeous.
Regardless, I was still very disappointed when I saw him. I slowed as I approached the door. Don’t get me wrong. He was as gorgeous as any superhero, but he was definitely not my Bruce Wayne, and more importantly, he wasn’t Luke.
He was staring at me with a frown. Okay. Maybe I was frowning, too, but I knew why I was frowning; my boyfriend just died. What was his excuse? I came to the door, didn’t I? Maybe I’m scary looking right now with no make-up on and with my eyes puffy from crying all day. Who knows?
“Hello,” I said.
He continued to stare at my face, his eyes roaming slowly over every feature. What was up with this guy?
“I’m glad you’re here,” he began. “I wasn�
��t sure you would be.”
“Can I help you?” I was really curious now.
“I was hoping you would,” he said.
“Why? Are you lost?”
“Something like that.”
He looked at me from the top of my head, down to my toes, and up again. I crossed my arms around my chest right away. I should have slammed the door on his face because the way he was looking at me was no longer considered polite. Fortunately for him, I was curious as to why he was here, and did I already say he was gorgeous? I think I did. Twice.
“Can I help you?” I asked again. My voice was a little insistent this time - maybe even a bit harsh. I hated being attracted to some random guy when the love of my life just died.
“I’m Wyatt Mason.”
That was all he said. Then, he looked at me expectantly as if I should know who he was… and I did know - well, kind of. When I was in the Library, his book was next to mine, and they were stuck together. Bonded. I wondered about that, but I forgot to Google him. Crap! I should have prepared for this meeting, but I didn’t think he would show up at my door so soon – or at all.
Wyatt Mason was here, standing right in front of me, looking confused and uncomfortable. Should I invite him in? We shared a bookshelf in the Library, after all. Will I sound really weird right now if I started talking about dying and seeing his book in the Library? Probably.
“I’m Paige,” I said cautiously. “It’s nice to meet you, Wyatt.”
Wyatt tilted his head to the right in the same adorable way as…
I quickly killed my thoughts of Luke. I didn’t want to break down in front of a total stranger. Maybe I can cry later when I’m in my room… in the dark… with no sound. That’s the best type of crying, but I refuse to cry right now.
“Have we met before?” I asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me that,” he said. “Apparently, I can’t remember.”
“Why? Did you hit your head or something?” I joked.
He tapped the baseball cap on his head with his fingers. “Actually, I did. They said I fell off a three-story balcony, and I’m now suffering from severe memory loss.” He cleared his throat. “Amnesia,” he explained.
I mentally kicked myself for being so inconsiderate. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said as I felt myself blushing. “I try to be funny sometimes, and it doesn’t always come out right.”
“It’s okay, really.” He grinned, and two adorable dimples popped out of his cheeks. “I’m not offended.”
I looked down and shuffled my feet like a dweeb, feeling embarrassed. Way to make a first impression. Go, Paige!
“Like I said, I had an accident a little over a week ago, and I cannot recall a big part of my life. You, however, I remember clearly. Actually, you are all I remember.”
Nothing about what he said made any sense. We’ve never met before. I’m sure I would have remembered him if we did.
“You say that like it’s a good thing,” I mumbled as I finally looked at him again.
Wyatt chuckled. “If you only knew what I had to go through just to be here today. They didn’t want to let me out of the hospital. I almost had to break out of there. I just found out that breaking out of a hospital is just like breaking out of prison.”
“Been in prison, have you?” I asked.
Wyatt laughed. See here? I am funny. “No, well, I don’t know. I can’t remember,” Wyatt said.
I looked deeply into his eyes, and what I saw made me gasp. The color was definitely there; it was hiding on the rim of his very deep blue eyes.
“Purple,” I whispered. My hand went up to my mouth stopping the flow of words that wanted to come out. Slowly, I stepped closer to him. I went up on my tiptoes and stared intently into his eyes. A normal person would have backed away from me because I was totally in his face… and maybe I was breathing his air, but he didn’t back away. He actually leaned a little bit closer to me, ducking his head down a little. He inhaled once, and I’m pretty sure that he sniffed my hair.
“What’s that?” Wyatt asked. His voice was soft and low.
“Your eyes,” I said, backing away. “It’s blue, but it has a little bit of purple in them.” I didn’t imagine it; the purple was really there.
Wyatt rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure. My driver’s license just says that I have blue eyes. I didn’t really notice any purple in them when I shaved this morning. Unfortunately, I don’t think I remember how to do that, either.” Wyatt lifted three of his fingers. “I cut myself three times.”
“That must have hurt. You know, you do kind of remind me of someone. Tell me something you know about me, just to be sure.”
I thought of random questions to ask him.
What’s my favorite color?” I asked.
“Past or present?”
“Both.”
“It was cherry red until you watched Avatar. Then, you changed your favorite color to blue.” He tilted his head again to one side. “But I don’t remember watching Avatar. Was it good?”
“Mmm hmm,” I said, nodding. “How old am I?”
“Eighteen.”
“When is my birthday?”
“December eighteen.”
“What’s my Gmail password?”
“Guardian.”
Huh. He got that one right. I really thought that no one, not even Luke, would know the answer to that question. I mean, I change my password all of the time. How did he know?
“Okay. What else do you know about me?”
“Your aura - it’s white - like a very bright light,” Wyatt said.
My eyes started to water, and my heart was beating so fast. Luke has said this very same thing to me before. My eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”
“I can see it.” He waved his hand towards my head. “It’s all around you. You’re glowing.”
I was speechless. Could it be possible?
“And you save small insects that get lost in your house, and you let them out in the backyard. You believe that the insects have a family to go back to. Well, actually, I think you believe that everyone has someone to go back to.” He paused, and my eyes started to water. I so want to cry right now.
“You have a dog named Buffy and a sister named Emma. I think I just met them both earlier.” He shrugged. “I remember meeting you in your backyard at night - every night.”
My tears finally spilled out. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hands. Wyatt was Luke. Luke was Wyatt. I was sure of it, and he was human. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it. He came back to me.
It was fate, or destiny, or whatever else you want to call it. Our books were bonded together in the Library. We really are meant to be.
“I have to warn you, Wyatt Mason, you can never - ever - get rid of me. We are destined to be together, you know.” I’ll explain it all to him later.
“Yeah?” Wyatt’s smile was blinding. “Bring it on,” he said, opening his arms wide. Both of his palms were open, facing me. Here he was. My gift… My miracle… It was him all along.
“Is it too early to tell you that I love you?” he asked. “I feel like I have the right to say it now.”
I tried to smile, but I was so emotional that my lips wouldn’t cooperate. “Not if I tell you I love you first,” I said, “and I definitely love you.” I took a step towards him and placed my arms around his neck. I felt the zing as it traveled through and all around my body. Wyatt wrapped his arms around me tight. I closed my eyes, loving the feel of him.
“I love you, too,” he said as he leaned down and kissed me… Oh yeah, it was definitely him. It was in his kiss… and just like that, life was suddenly good again.
EPILOGUE
It was a few minutes before midnight. I had just tucked Buffy in her doggie bed when I heard tapping on my bedroom window. I gently pulled the curtain away from the window, peeked out, and saw Joshua’s frowning face. He was so close that his face was almost pressed on the glass. I yelped as I backed up from the wi
ndow, almost tripping on my feet. That demon almost scared me to death. He pointed to the backyard. I thought about it for one good second. Then, I gave him two thumbs up. What the heck? It was Joshua. He saved me once when he caught me before I hit the ocean. Someone who has saved me wouldn’t try to kill me, right? I can, at least, try to get along with him. Besides, I just found Luke again. I was in a very good mood. So, sure, I can talk to a demon.
I snuck out of the house as silently as a ninja. I was even wearing my best ninja outfit. Quietly, I closed the back door behind me. Joshua was standing in the darkness in the same exact spot where I used to meet Luke not so long ago.
Without any hesitation, I walked towards Joshua. I wasn’t afraid of Joshua anymore. Maybe it was because he has already proven himself to me, and maybe I trust him like I would my own Guardian. It’s hard to explain.
“So, are you my replacement Guardian?” I asked.
“You wish,” Joshua said in that deep, dark voice of his.
“No. Not really, but thanks for checking up on me, anyway.”
“You certainly have a great imagination,” he said, “but I’m not here to check up on you. I’m just here to test a theory. Care to hear it?”
“No. Not really,” I said with a grin. I couldn’t help throwing his words back to him. I’m just really clever like that.
“You’re happy,” Joshua said, and it wasn’t a question. It was as if he knew that my life was suddenly perfect again.
That wiped the grin off my face very quickly. “How do you know that?” I asked cautiously. “I could be crying on the inside. Yes, I am definitely crying on the inside. Boo hoo hoo. That’s what my insides are saying right now.” No one should be accusing me of being happy. As far as he knows, I should be mourning his friend – his dead friend.
Joshua crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, for one thing, you’re really glowing. You’re very bright. Actually, you’re like a firefly. To me, that’s a sign that you are happy.”