Riverton

Levi paced back in forth in the waiting room staring down at the dried blood on his hands. It had been an hour since he had arrived at the hospital, and no one had come out to inform him of Elyssa's condition.

"Will you sit down?" Imani whispered sternly. "You're making me anxious."

He sighed as he glanced between Imani and the seat she patted beside her. He made his way over and sat down, careful not to touch anything.

"What if she doesn't make it?" he asked, staring down at the carpet.

"Don't say that," Imani whispered, gently. She placed a hand on his knee. "She's going to be just fine."

"How do you know?" He flung his head in her direction, tears threatening to break loose. "This is a small hospital in a small town. What if the doctors aren't good enough?" His leg shook up and down as the thought of her dying passed by in his mind. "What if she doesn't make it?"

"You made it, didn't you?" Stella called out from the other side of Imani. "You were here lying in one of these beds just hours ago."

He huffed and shook his head. "That's different. I had a concussion. I wasn't being rushed into surgery because I was about to die."

He looked down at his hands once more as they shook. Was it his fault? Had she broken out of the hospital looking for him? And maybe if he hadn't had almost blacked out he could've kept her from losing so much blood.

"Hey, maybe you outta go wash that blood off." He turned to look up at Imani as she knelt in front of him. "It's been there for an hour. What happened wasn't your fault."

His swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded his head. He leaped off the seat hurry to get away from Imani and Stella before they saw him crying over a girl he didn't know.

He pushed open the bathroom door with his elbow and ran to the sink. He started scrubbing his hands with soap and water as he allowed the tears to flow freely. He watched as the water in the bowl turned red as the blood washed away down the drain.

His hands started trembling and he grasped the edges of the counter as he bawled his eyes out. What was going on? Why was he acting like such a girl? He was weeping over someone he didn't even know. But why have a flashback to an image of her if he truly didn't know her? That was just it. He did know her. He felt as if he had known her for years, but couldn't remember a single thing about her. Just her face. And now he may never see her again.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to get himself to calm down. He pulled a few paper towels out of the dispenser, and dabbed his eyes. He blinked several times hoping the redness would die down before returning to the girls.

He cleared his throat, and stood tall before exiting the bathroom. Down the hall, he saw a man dressed in scrubs talking to Imani and Stella. Levi picked up the pace as his heart fluttered.

"What is it? Is it about Elyssa?" he asked as he stopped inches beside the doctor.

The doctor turned his way, and nodded. "We sewed her up good. She lost a lot of blood, but it could've been worse. She's stable for now, but we put her into a medical induce coma until we know that nothing is ruptured on the inside."

"Why did the stitches not hold in the first place?" Levi's voice rose higher then he intended it to.

The doctor chuckled. "My boy, stitches along your abdomen that are holding in place organs that had been punctured by a bullet are not meant for running and falling like she had done."

Levi lowered his head feeling embarrassed for his outburst.

The doctor patted his shoulder. "She's in a room by herself if you want to visit her. Just don't expect much." He sighed. "The next twenty-four hours will be very critical."

Levi gulped. Critical? As in, there was a high chance she could die? "I would like to see her."

The doctor nodded as he gestured toward a pair of heavy metal doors. "Third door on the right."

Levi walked through the metal doors, Imani and Stella following closely behind him. As he approached the third door on the right as the doctor had said, he slowed down and nearly tip-toed to the doorway.

He peeked inside to see Elyssa lying on the bed emotionless, a nasal oxygen mask lying just under her nose. He walked up to the edge of the bed, and slowly slipped two fingers under her hand resting beside her. He grinned. "This is how we met." He spoke so softly he didn't know if anyone had heard her.

Stella appeared on the opposite side of the bed. "In the hospital?"

He nodded. "When I was being discharged, I walked past rows of coma patients. She was there."

Imani shook her head. "Must be a terrifying thing. Being in a coma."

Levi shrugged. "I don't remember what it was like. Just that I woke up not knowing who I was or where I was."

"Also a frightening thing," Stella said.

He looked back down at Elyssa and slowly squeezed her hand. "You're going to be okay."

A small knock come from the doorway causing him to turn toward the sound. Daniel stood in the threshold. "I thought I'd find you here." Levi smiled as Daniel leaned against the door, crossing his arms. "Like déjà vu, isn't it?"

Levi nodded, but said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was too concerned for Elyssa to think of anything else.

Daniel nodded in greeting toward the girls in the room before gesturing with his head toward the hall. "Come on. Raven will have dinner ready for us when we get home."

Levi nodded though sadness overfilled him. He didn't want to leave Elyssa's side. Not when he had just been able to see her again. He squeezed her hand one last time before letting go.

He followed Daniel out of the hospital, and waved to the girls as they walked down the sidewalk.

"See you tomorrow, Levi!" Imani called as she waved.

He opened the passengers side of the deputies car and got in as Daniel got in the drivers seat. He started the car and they sat in total silence as he drove down the road.

Levi looked out the window as the car pulled into a driveway. "This house is hug!" The white house was two stories, but it must've had large ceilings. The yard was green and a couple of apple trees lined the pathway from the gate at the road up to the front door. "Probably the tallest house I've seen so far." He climbed out of the car and stared at the house.

Daniel shut the driver side door and sighed. "Yup. That is the luxury of being the Mayor."

Levi turned around dumbfounded. "Your the deputy and the mayor?"

Daniel laughed. "No. Not me. My wife." He walked around the car and placed an arm around Levi's shoulders. "Come on. I'll let you meet her."

As he walked through the door, the smell of lasagna filled his nostrils. He had never smelled anything more delicious.

"Daniel, is that you?" a woman voice called from another room. Heels clicked on the wooden floor and soon a woman with long, curled black hair wearing a white, knee-length dress appeared in the dinning room. "Levi!"

Levi couldn't keep his jaw from dropping open. "You're the mayor?" He couldn't believe his eyes. It was the volunteer from the hospital. This was Daniel's wife?

She folded her hands in front of her, and gave the brightest smile, that nose of hers wrinkling. "Raven Noble. Don't think out of all the times I met you I ever really got to properly introduce myself."

Daniel took his brown jacket off and placed it on the coat rack to the right. He gestured to his left toward the dinning room.

Levi followed his nose toward the table and sat down, a big dish of lasagna sitting in the middle of three set plates. Daniel sat to his left at the head of the table, and Raven sat across from him at Daniel's left.

"I hope you're hungry," Raven said, her smile never wavering.

Levi smiled back. "I don't remember the last time I ate something this good."

Daniel patted him on the back. "You first."

***

Levi sat back as he rubbed his stomach. He was so full, but he had never tasted anything more delicious then that. "You definitely know how to cook, Mrs. Noble."

"Oh, please. Raven is just fine." She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.

Daniel leaned forward, his elbows on the table, and intertwined his fingers. "So, did you find anything today that helped regain some memory?"

Levi smiled. "I did run into Imani Bones. She said she had seen me around a few times at the bridge where you've seen me. She and Stella both said they'd help me try to remember who I am."

"That's wonderful news!" Raven exclaimed. "If you met Imani then you must know that her father is great at helping restore memory lose."

He lowered his head. "Actually, yeah. I know. Imani took me to visit him."

"Was he able to help you?" Daniel lowered his elbows to just his hands on the table.

Levi bit his bottom lip. What would they say about what he had seen? Would they make fun of him for being so interested in fairytales growing up? Would they think it was girlish?

What would they think about the vision itself? If they knew he had come from a troubled home would they kick him out?

"Well?" Daniel urged.

Levi sighed. "Well, I had a vision about Snow White." He watched Daniel and Raven exchange glances. "She was trying to kill me. Dr. Bones thinks it could've been my mom or a sister perhaps. I used to read fairytales a lot growing up, and he thinks my mind warped reality into a fairytale."

Daniel furrowed his brow. "But, how do you know these things are true? What if it was something fake? Something you had maybe dreamt about as a child."

Levi slowly laid his arm on the table and raised his sleeve to show the deputy and his wife the scars covering his arms.

Raven gasped. "Oh my goodness! You poor thing! I couldn't even imagine what it would be like growing up in an abusive home."

Levi's cheeks blushed. "Yeah, me neither."

The room fell silent for a few minutes until Raven scooted her chair backwards making an awful sound on the hardwood. "Well, I baked an apple pie for dessert." She disappeared into the kitchen. "As you could tell from the trees outside, apples are my favorite."

She came back to the dinning room carrying a delicious smelling pie in her grasp. She placed it down beside the lasagna dish before sitting down herself.

It smelled good, but he didn't want any. He was too full as it was, and talking about his abusive family made whatever appetite he had left disappear.

"Actually." He stood to his feet. "I think I'd like to just go to bed now. My head is starting to ache, and I've had a rather long day."

"Of course." Raven pointed toward the long, curved staircase. "Your bedroom is the last door on the left."

He nodded in gratitude. "Thank you for the dinner. It was delicious." He took off up the stairs, and started heading toward his room. He felt exhausted. Today had definitely been a trying day full of excitement and sadness.

Just before he entered his room, he remembered he had forgotten to ask if they had a pair of pajamas anywhere he could borrow.

He rolled his eyes not wanting to go back down there and bother them, risking being asked questions. Let's just get this over with.

He tip-toed down the stairs feeling guilty for bothering their dessert. Maybe he should've stayed until afterwards. The smell still filled his nostrils even from the staircase. As he reached the bottom step, he heard whispering in the kitchen.

"What was Dr. Bones thinking?" That sounded like Raven's voice in a hushed but stern tone.

Levi tip-toed into the dinning room and placed his head against the wall as he listened in on the conversation in the kitchen.

"Shouldn't the curse had worked?" Daniel asked, also in a whisper. "Everyone was supposed to get knew memories except you and I."

"Don't you think I know that?" Raven's voice rose. "It's my curse. I know how to make a curse."

Curse? What was she talking about?

"If you had done it right, Dr. Bones would not have found Levi's real memories. He would've found the fake ones."

"What do you want me to do, Daniel? I can't go back in time and do it all over again. We'll just have to let this fantasy play out."

Levi's heart beat against his chest. He was terrified that one of them would hear it it was pumping so strongly.

"What about Elyssa?" Daniel's voice spoke out again. "She woke up, and went looking Levi. How? She was supposed to be dead in the first place. She shouldn't even be here, let alone in a coma."

There was silence for a few minutes. Levi scooted a tad bit closer to the opened doorway to hear Raven's reply.

He heard a famine sigh. "You're right. She shouldn't be here. I ran her through, and she died right then." Another sigh. "Or so I thought."

"But she has her memories," Daniel stressed. "What are we going to do?"

"Calm yourself," she said sternly. "It'll be the same as Levi. He had his memories when he first awoke, but give it time. She'll lose her's too. Right now we need to figure out how she even woke up in the first place."

Levi heard a faint gasp. "Levi touched her hand this morning as we were leaving the hospital. I don't think anything of it."

She huffed. "We'll have to do something about this. He cannot be allowed to see Elyssa ever again. I don't want to think of what would become of us if he remembered who he was."

The sound of her heels began clicking again causing him to swiftly, yet quietly, make his way out of the dinning room and up the stairs before he was seen.

He ducked on the staircase as he watched Raven and Daniel walk by, both carrying a glass of wine. When the two disappeared inside the living room, Levi cautiously made his way up the remaining steps.