Fate: Diabolical

Unstable Conversations

Several astonished blinks later, I press on for answers.

‘How can you not know my name?’

‘Because you never told me’ he said flatly.

‘If I was your wife you would know my name!’ I urged, my pitch rising.

In response he merely shrugged as if I were asking something completely inconsequential. I gawped, lost for words as I lowered my eyes to my lap, studying my hands and the dark blue satin sheets I was sitting on. For the first time I really observed my surroundings. The bed I sat on was grand, with four intricately carved dark wooden posters, but strangely no curtains hung from them. The rest of the room did not fit the beds grandeur at all. The walls were stark plaster, bowing slightly from shoddy craftmanship, the unrefined floor was a mismatch of different woods completely raw and un-sanded and looked like it would be rough on bare feet. A single lightbulb swung from a wire in the middle of the ceiling with no shade, flickering occasionally as if threatening to cut out. The few other pieces of furniture went beyond shabby chic, just shabby really. Maybe once, in some other century, they had been beautiful pieces, but age and the elements had clearly not been kind, nor the woodworm either. Everything looked as if it had just been placed in a hurry, no thought or planning to it. The dresser sat at least a metre from the wall and at an awkward angle, a tiny bedside table rested in the corner, far from the beds actual sides. It felt as if the people moving in had been called away in hurry, leaving the job unfinished and never returning, leaving their furniture to rot and gather dust over years and years. Otherwise the room was completely empty, no art adorned the walls, no personal knickknacks lay around, what looked like a grey workman’s sheet hung across the window in place of a blind.

‘I know I’ve let the cleaning go a bit, but no need to look quite so disgusted’  

I almost jumped out of my skin, forgetting momentarily he was there! I hadn’t meant to give away my thoughts so obviously. How awful of me to grimace so rudely at the home we share together… but then again… this place was bad. What kind of person must I be to have made a life in a place like this? It looked like the sort of place junkies would hang out – god, I hope my life isn’t that tragic… but this man, he doesn’t look like that type… far from it. Being able to observe him in full felt like a treat to the eyes after looking around that eyesore of a room. His silky hair hung loosely, the ends just brushing the nape of his neck, shorter layers in the front hung in disarray around his face, giving him a rather sexy, dishevelled look. His broad shoulder and strong arms had a sheen to them, as if he had just been doing some heavy labour, or an intense workout. But his eyes were clear and alert, no sign of fatigue. It was hard to be sure since he was kneeling, but he looked tall.

His eyes widened and he snapped

‘Wow, judge the room and now judging me too? That’s not very nice’

Oh damn. I had forgotten to speak again and got caught staring twice in row! What is wrong with me? I need to get a grip and focus on what matters – figuring out who I am and what the hell is going on.

‘Im really sorry, this is all a lot to take in and I still don’t feel quite right’ I hastily changed the subject ‘I don’t understand how you can have no idea what my name is! What can you tell me? What’s my birthday? Who are my parents? Who are my friends? Do I have a job? Tell me something, anything please!’

As if it were nothing, he replied

‘I can’t help you. I don’t know’

This was getting ridiculous! Talk about talking to a brick wall - a very beautiful brick wall… No! Concentrate! So, he knows nothing about me but claims we are married…. Maybe he can at least tell me about our life together.

‘How long have we been a couple?’ please let this bring something I can make sense of.

‘You’ve been asleep for 4 days’

‘That’s not exactly the question I asked though is it?’ I said snidely, sarcasm born from frustration bubbling to the surface

He switched to an equally sarcastic tone in retort, but he had laughter behind his eyes. Was he finding this humorous?!

‘Yes, but the answer is exactly the same’

As he stressed the ‘exactly’ his right eyebrow raised suggestively, lowering his chin and looking at me from beneath his lashes. His eyes challenged me with a dark mischief, clearly enjoying the shift in mood to the more combative. Clearly this guy enjoyed a little drama, and he looked so damn hot that my toes curled under and I bit at my bottom lip instinctively, catching myself too late and hurriedly trying to neutralise my expression. He definitely noticed, his brows twitched and the corner of his mouth curled up enticingly. There was nothing getting past that tense, unwavering stare. I could see his pupils move with my every jerk, following my movements keenly. I have to get this back on track, fast…and yet I couldn’t deny this part inside me that really wanted to engage in the sexy repartee I knew he was egging me into…. Maybe there was something in my soul that recognised him… but I can’t just let the fact that he clearly knows nothing about me go. I can’t think of any explanation that would safely explain away this situation. All the possible routes my brain imagined had bad destinations.

‘Listen, please. I need you to tell me everything you can right now, I’m beginning to spiral from lack of answers and beginning to feel I should be afraid!’

His expression became stern.

‘What would you have to be afraid of?’

His eyes were fiercely intense, and I couldn’t help leaning further away. The mood darkened drastically. God, this guy had a lot of presence, it makes me nervous.

‘Well… you must understand how it looks… A girl waking up in a strange place with all these injuries and no memory with a man who can’t tell her a thing about herself, but claims to be her husband… well you know what that looks like…’

I hoped he would fill in the blanks himself but his ominous, scowling face didn’t move, waiting for me to elaborate. I didn’t want to say anymore, my instincts were screaming that I was on dangerous ground… but the heavy silence and that gaze, I had to say something, if only to end the uncomfortableness of this encounter

‘…well, like I may have been brought here against my will… by a delusional madma – Ah! A confused umm… gentleman?’

My voice trailed off awkwardly and I cringed from the verbal diarrhoea which had just spewed from my mouth.

The longest silence fell upon us, the most awkward of silences. The menacing way he was looking at me was enough to break me out in a cold sweat. For a moment I really thought he was contemplating killing me. I started counting numbers in my head to maintain some control. I got to 33 before he finally spoke.

‘So that’s what you think of me!’

My pulse soared as he was suddenly towering above me, having risen wicked fast. I craned my neck to keep my eyes on him. I was right, he is tall.

‘I can’t believe you would think so lowly of me!’ His voice rose angrily, and my body cowered back on its own ‘Your soulmate! You should feel it! You should know me!’

A sentiment which seemed ludicrous considering he was unable to tell me even the most basic thing about myself barely a moment ago, and he still had his memories! I kept that thought to myself, however.

A painful few moments passed before he turned around in a frenzy and stormed out, slamming the door so hard the whole room shook and the faulty light hanging above flickered vigorously, throwing shadows around the room.