"Eve?"

Gentle arms shook me out of my dark thoughts and I was enveloped in a cocoon of warmth. It was only then that I realised I'd been crying. Soon, my sobs turned hysterical as I remembered the hurt in my sister's eyes that day when I failed to recognize her. The memory gates opened and everything following that incident came crashing down on my brain like sea waves in a storm surge.

Adrian was slowly rocking me, murmuring soothing words that I never thought he was capable of speaking in my ears. He held me tightly, so close to him that I could hear the loud thudding of his heartbeat, just as I was sure he could hear mine. I would have pulled away, and a tiny part of my brain said that I should. But the larger portion said to stop thinking and just go with my heart. It was a wonder how the logical voice of my brain was suddenly smaller and almost inaudible.

As much as I wanted to forget everything and sleep, I knew that it was now or never. Remembering those days had opened a deep wound in my heart and now the only sensible thing to do would be to rip it open completely in hopes that he would heal it and close it forever.

So with great restraint, I pulled back  and turned around to face him. I could see worry and pain so deep in his eyes that almost mirrored my own. He opened his mouth to say something but I closed it with my palm. I had to let everything out now. I'd been lifting this weight since so long that I suddenly found out that I couldn't do it anymore. I needed to share this with someone in order to preserve my sanity.

Adrian nodded wordlessly and caught my hand which was against his mouth, and held it between his, tightly, as if silently telling himself to never let it go. I closed my eyes for a while, silently thanking God for bringing him in my life. When I opened them again, I could see those days vividly right in front of my eyes, as if I was reliving those moments again.

"Those old couple," I started, "they turned out to be my grandparents. From my mother's side. They'd apparently last heard from my parents when Eva was born, and the next they heard was in the form if the police officer who had somehow found out about them and informed them of the accident.

They took us to their home in Minneapolis, where we grew up. I can't even imagine what they must've gone through. They were already growing old and suddenly they hear that their only daughter had died in a car accident, leaving them to take care of their two granddaughters whom they hadn't seen in years. And to make matters worse, one of them couldn't walk and the other couldn't even remember her own name.

But they never gave up. Both of them would take turns in watching over me and Eva, trying to help her move her legs and me to remember. I can still remember those days clearly. Gramps would exercise his legs with Eva while Gran would bake these lovely chocolate chip cookies for us, saying it was our mother's favorite. She'd give them as a reward if we showed any progress. Unfortunately for me, there wasn't much progress. My mind was still blank. But Eva on the other hand had improved a lot. She had begun walking slowly with Gramps' support. They couldn't afford much, but they had scheduled a physiotherapist to come every week and check her progress.

Things were slowly coming to place. My memories were still nowhere around but I'd begun to feel a sense of deep bonding with the old couple. Which is why I always refused their offer to take me up to a psychiatrist. Because I knew that they couldn't afford the cost. They already had a lot on their plate with Eva's treatment and I didn't want to add to their burden. And besides, I loved listening to my grandparents talk about my mother. They had said my parents had died on the same car crash but I couldn't feel anything because I didn't remember them.

Eva would sometimes try to remind me of my life, as she was the only one who had lived with me. I'd noticed that she always took a great effort to not include our parents in the conversation, but every time, she'd slip their name unconsciously. And then she would always end up crying, even have panic attacks. But despite this, she always tried her best to remind me. She'd have nightmares and always wake up in the middle of the night, calling my name. Always my name.

When her nightmares started being recurrent, I couldn't take it anymore. I had begun to love her as my sister, despite the big hole in my memory and I couldn't see her in so much pain because of me. So I started refusing her attempts at making me remember. There was no use of it, really. Because the only outcome of it would be her nightmares while my brain still failed to remember. When she still didn't give up, I... I took another measure to stop her."

I took another breath. That was one of the most painful memories I had. I chanced a glance at Adrian to see him looking me intensely with sorrow deep in his eyes. I knew that in a matter of a few minutes from now, that sorrow would be replaced by hate and disgust when he'd hear everything.

"I yelled at her when she made another attempt at bringing my memory back. I told her that I was sick and tired of her following me around like a lost puppy and that I didn't want her near me. And then... then I told her that... that I was not her sister. I remember that hurt in her eyes when I uttered those words, I can never forget it for the rest of my life.

She stopped trying after that. Gramps and Gran had noticed our lack of communication, not that there was much before to begin with, but now we wouldn't even look at each other. But while our relationship was almost done for good, so were her nightmares. It was the one thing that kept me from taking her in my arms and crying for her forgiveness.

Life went on again and suddenly, I started having some flashes in front of my eyes. Sometimes they were in the form of dreams and sometimes like a distant, unclear memory. I slowly started remembering my past life. The faces were unclear; I still can't remember most of the faces from my childhood whom I haven't seen again. Even my parents' faces were unclear but I looked at their photos and slowly the hazy pictures in my brain started clearing up.

Then I remembered that accident. And for the first time, the reality of my parents' death set in. The realization hit right in the center of my heart. One second I was looking at our family photo and the next, visions of that dreadful car crash filled my eyes and suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

I remembered each and every second of the crash very clearly. And I lived that moment again and again, how mom had rushed to the backseat towards us and dad had followed right after, just before we were all pushed with a huge force. Then there was that earth shattering scream. I saw my dad's face, the back of his head smashed in, a huge pool of blood around him. His eyes were still open, though. For one second, they connected to mine and I heard him take a laboured breath, which was his last. I covered my sister's eyes with my hands and called out to dad, begging him to wake up. I tried to wipe the blood from my free hand, still urging him to wake up and hold me, but he never did.

I heard another whimper. I looked to my right and saw my mom, who was calling for me. I assessed her face and gave a quick breath of relief when I saw her head was still intact. At least she was still there for us. But she was breathing deep, just like dad. Confused, I looked at the rest of her body and almost screamed in horror. Her abdomen was soaked with blood. Multiple pieces of glass were sticking out of her belly, and there was a deep gash down her chest. With one hand still covering Eva's eyes, I tried to stop the quickly flowing blood from her stomach but she stopped me by holding my hand.

She moved her mouth but I couldn't hear anything. So I bent down a little, crying and asking her to stay with me and that I would make her okay. She shook her heart slowly and took deep laboured breaths. Then she, too, closed her eyes for the last time. But not before I heard her soft, raspy voice.

"Eve... t-take care... of... E...va..."

I called for mom, I called for dad, but both of them laid there, unmoving, unresponsive. I looked at Eva and saw that she, too, wasn't moving. I checked her body from head to toe, half anticipating similar injuries on her but to my relief, she only seemed to be unconscious because of fear. I silently thanked God for that small favor because I wouldn't want her to see what I had seen.

My relief was short lived because apparently, the explosions were not over yet. The pickup truck that had crashed to us suddenly exploded and bits and pieces started flying off to multiple directions. I quickly shielded Eva, trying to save her head and abdomen because those were what had killed our parents. I heard distant sirens coming towards us and felt some hope blossom. But before that spark of hope could light into a fire, something heavy landed on the back of my head and I closed my eyes.

All these memories hit my brain, igniting a painful fire inside. For the first time in so many months, I truly missed my parents. I felt their loss for the first time. Unable to take the pain any more, I screamed. I didn't care where I was and screamed,crying for my parents for the first time.

Eva had apparently heard my scream and rushed to me, hopping in her crutches. But I didn't notice it. I was too deep in my sorrow that I didn't notice my sister rushing down the stairs, which she had never even tried walking on. I didn't notice anything until she suddenly twisted her ankle and tumbled down the stairs, landing on her back.

I came to my senses when I saw her lying at the foot of the stairs, unconscious. But I couldn't move. She was lying down just like dad and mom had, and another sharp pain hit my head as I remembered it. For the second time, my sister needed me the most and I was standing there, frozen. I... am the cruelest sister and the worst human being in the world. I couldn't fulfill the one thing my mother had asked me on her deathbed. I...I made my sister's life a hell. She was doing so good and because of me, she had to spend all these years as an invalid. I... am nothing but a curse to her life."

I couldn't stop this time. Strangled sobs racked through my body uncontrollably. Each sob pierced though my entire being, making it hard for me to breathe. My lungs suddenly felt like they were closing up on me and my vision blurred by the tears. All my pent up emotions came crashing down in the form of these tears- sorrow, despair, pain, hurt, anger, guilt, worthlessness. I let them all come out and felt every emotions once again.

I was suddenly pulled into a hard chest and a pair of arms held me tightly to it. I buried my face into Adrian's neck and cried, not caring that he saw this vulnerable side of me. For the first time, I needed someone to hold on to, and I felt like I'd finally found him. I would never let him go.

Adrian once again resumed the role of sweet-talker and continued whispering sweet nothings to my ear, gently rubbing my back. We stayed that way for a long time, him holding me tightly and rubbing my back. My sobs gradually decreased in intensity and slowly, there were only residual hiccups left.

Adrian pulled away a little and held my face in between his hands. His eyes held a lot of pain and his eyes suspiciously looked like they were moist. I was a little confused by his reaction. Surely it wasn't just sympathy that made his eyes water?

But before I could dwell on it longer, his look turned serious again and he pinned me with a hard gaze. "Eve, I know you won't believe if I tell this now. But it is the absolute truth and you must believe it when I say that it was not your fault. It wasn't. Understand?"

He kept his eyes on me the whole time, daring me to contradict him. I searched his eyes for any pretense, disgust or hate but there was none. His eyes held truth, like he truly believed that I had done nothing wrong. I wanted to believe him, I really did. But it was hard to forget the fact that had been engraved in my mind since so many years. That it was all because of me.

With these thoughts swirling in my head, I couldn't look into his eyes anymore. I turned my head away from him and gave him a small nod, hoping he'd leave it at that. Thankfully he did, but it was clear that he wasn't satisfied. He just didn't want to push me further.

Sighing, he took both of my hands in his and rested his forehead against mine. I could feel his harsh breathing, as if he was in more pain than I was, as if he was hurt deeply by my parents' death. But I forgot about this when he opened his eyes and asked softly, "What happened then?"

I sighed. "Gramps had just happened to enter the house at the moment and had come rushing when she heard the sound. He was the one who found Eva lying unconscious on the floor and me standing like a statue, looking at her form. He quickly called for an ambulance and rushed to lift her up in his arms. I finally snapped out into reality when her body was lifted from the floor and followed them to the front door. By the time I got outside the house, Gran was frantically calling the neighbors for help. Fortunately, the hospital wasn't very far and the ambulance came sooner than expected. I numbly followed them to the hospital where they discovered that Eva had damaged her nerve and that she might not be able to move her legs again.

She took a whole week to gain consciousness. I was terrified to look at her. I had finally remembered her and the second I did, I'd caused her irreparable damage. I sat with her every single moment when she was unconscious, but as soon as she showed the signs of waking up, I ran away like a coward because I couldn't see hate in her eyes for me.

I hid at home for five days until one day, Gramps came and sternly ordered me to come to the hospital with him in an instant. He told me that Eva had always been looking at the door for me to come and that she always asked if I was with them. It was the first time Gramps had raised his voice at me and I felt worse. Begrudgingly, I followed him to the hospital and to Eva's bed.

My sister was more mature than I could ever be. She showed no signs of disdain for me. The moment I got close to her, she hugged me tight and told me that she knew I finally remembered her. She forgave me, just like that. She was just so happy to have me by her side that day. It was then that I promised myself that I would do anything for her.

The doctors said that there was no possible treatment for her, and even if there was, she was too young for that. One of them suggested that there were some good surgeons working in New York and that they might be able to do something but we had to wait until Eva was a little older. They also told that those doctors might charge a lot so we might not be able to afford it.

After hearing this, there was only one thing on my mind- work hard and earn money so that Eva would walk again. So I studied hard, aced all my subjects and got into NYU for business studies with scholarship. I brought Eva with me and we lived in a rented room. Gran and Gramps would send some money but they could only do so much. I worked as a waitress in two diners and in a bookstore near our place. During my off periods in college, I'd help my professors with their research projects. Somehow, I'd managed to support me and my sister.

It was then that I met Allie. I never talked to anyone in my college because I was always busy. Anyone who tried to befriend me would back away calling me a weirdo when I ignored them. But Allie was different. She never gave up on me even when I told her off countless of times. So unknowingly, I let her in. She never judged me or treat me like the others at college did. She even offered me and Eva to move in with her, saying that she was lonely living all alone. I'd denied it for many times, but she was stubborn and I finally gave in after making a deal that we would split every bills.

I met Jake through Allie. They were apparently friends from high school and he is a really good guy so the three of us became good friends. We graduated from college and while I was panicking at the thought of not being able to earn enough for Eva's treatment, Allie's father, Henry introduced me to his friend, Mr. Grayson, who hired me as a finance head in his office after seeing my college records. I worked with him for  around eight months and slowly started getting the hang of business world.

Then one day, over the Christmas dinner that Allie invited me to join with her family, Henry gave me an idea to found my own business enterprise. He offered to give me enough fund as a loan and told me to pay it when my company becomes stable. I refused it because I was afraid to take such a big step which could land me in debts I wouldn't be able to pay. But Allie pestered me relentlessly to just accept it and in the end, I did. It is because of her that I am here today as the CEO of one of the biggest clothing brands of the State. I owe everything in my life to her.

It took some time but surprisingly, Eva's became successful. Eva was taking online courses for fashion designing; it was always her dream of becoming one, and soon started designing the clothes for the company. She's pretty good at it so the fame of Eva's reached to a new level.

Then I talked with some of the best doctors of the state who said that she needed to be under observation to check her eligibility for the surgery, which was a very difficult task. So she was admitted to St. John's hospital. She practically lived there for all these years because she didn't want to come to the new apartment I bought until she was alright again. I'm always amazed at how well she took her condition and at her willpower to be better.

She was doing so well that the doctors were almost certain that she didn't need surgery but suddenly, they found that her nerves had been compressed. So they said that her case was very complicated and hence she won't ever be able to walk again. But I couldn't give up. Then Keith suggested that Brandon could help and well, here we are."

I took a deep breath and stopped the yawn that threatened to escape. I was suddenly exhausted by everything. Just recalling all those dark memories had drained what little energy I had. Adrian might have sensed my tiredness as he got up held his hand out for me.

"Come on, sleepyhead. Let's get you to bed." I narrowed my eyes at him and he immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Only sleeping, I swear. You look like you're about to fall asleep anytime now and to be honest, I'm quite tired as well. So don't argue for once and come on."

I opened my mouth to argue, just because he asked me not to. But instead, a loud yawn sneaked out of my mouth, making him smirk. I rolled my eyes at him sleepily and placed my hand on his. Instead of dragging me to the guestroom as I expected him to, he lifted me up in his arms and moved towards a room. He opened the door and gently deposited me to the bed at the center of it.

With unexpected gentleness, he removed both of my shoes and covered me with a warm blanket. Before I could react, he'd discarded his shoes and joined me on the other side, holding my body against him, my back against his chest. I was too tired to yell at him for this bold move. Besides, it felt really good being this close to him, enveloped by his chocolate perfume. So slowly, I closed my eyes and let myself be drifted to dreamland.