Misfits - Chapter 31 (Patreon)

Rue

I’m suffocating. It’s like I can’t breathe. Everything is dark, as if I’m underwater in a murky pond, trying my hardest to breach the surface. I open my mouth, trying to take in air, but I get nothing. As my consciousness slowly resurfaces, so does the blinding pain that explodes my nerves.

My eyes fly open and I gasp aloud taking in my surroundings. Slowly, my senses come back to me. The sound of a heart monitor fills the room, and the ugly off yellow lighting fills the room. I look around the room in a panic but am unable to move due to the tubes coming out of my throat. I begin to panic, As I look around at the room. I know immediately I’m in a hospital.

“Rue.” I tense as a voice I’ve never heard before calls out to me. My eyes slowly adjust, and I take notice of a man standing over me. My eyes widen. He’s watching me with tears in his eyes, and a small smile on his face, as if he knows me. But I don’t know him. Not at all. He doesn’t even look like the type of person I would be with.

He has wild, dark red hair, and bright amber-colored eyes that rival any leaves during fall. His body is littered with tattoos as well as piercings on his face, including his bottom lip. He stares at me with uncertainty, and I stare back in confusion. He looks so worried. He turns his head just as a nurse walks in, and sees that I’m awake. She pauses mid-stride.

“Let me go get the doctor,” she mumbles. I look back to the man in the room, and he’s watching me with a worried expression. I want to speak and ask questions, but I can’t with this breathing tube over my mouth. How did I end up here? Did my father put me in here? If so, why is this guy here? Where did he come from?

“Ah, Ms. Johnson I see you’re awake.” The doctor comes in smiling at me, holding a clipboard.

“Before we begin telling you of your condition, we just want to ensure you that you are stable. The road to recovery will be a long one, but you will reach that road just fine," he smiles as he takes a seat next to me. The nurses come in behind him, each removing the tubes from my mouth. My mouth feels dry.

“Now, the first order of business. You seem to have suffered a lot of trauma upon your arrival here, as well as damage to your memory. We need to figure out how much damage was done. Do you remember why you are here?” he asks. I think back, trying to recall if my father did this to me, or not. I also take notice that the man with the tattoos is standing behind the doctor watching me anxiously. He scares me honestly, but he doesn’t look like he wants to hurt me. He looks more like he’s genuinely worried about me.

I look back to the doctor, shaking my head. The doctor goes to write something down, then looks back at me.

“What is the last thing you remember?” he asks. I try and rack my brain for memory.

“I’m eating.. in my room...,” I say. I think back to my last memory. I had my room door locked, and my father is beating against it while I nibble away at the stale bread I had hidden. The doctor nods, then motions to the man behind him. The man that’s been staring me down as if I were his next breath since I woke up.

“Do you know who this man is?” My gaze travels up to him, and he’s watching me with such hope in his expression, that it pains me to even respond. But I shake my head, looking back to the doctor.

“No.”

* * * * *

Cal

There are a million things that Rue could say to me that could destroy me in a matter of seconds, including that word. She doesn’t remember me. At all. The doctor is going ahead and asking her questions, but I tune him out. I don’t know how to feel. I’m angry, depressed, sad, all wrapped up in one. I know that it isn’t her fault, but it kills me that she doesn’t know who I am.

She doesn’t even know who I am. The doctor finally stands, and Rue is staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. He comes towards me motioning for me to follow him into the hallway. I take one last glance at Rue and follow him into the hallway.

“It seems she has extensive memory loss. Which dates back to months, maybe even years. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly because her memories are all over the place.”

“Is it permanent?” I ask the same question I asked the nurse.

“It’s hard to say. Sometimes the memories come back on their own, sometimes they don’t come back at all. And with the trauma she’s sustained, I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t come back period. It may as well be some kind of defense mechanism her body has used to protect her from the horrors she’s witnessed.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I step away from him, roughly raking my fingers through my hair.

“Ok,” I say. I look up at the doctor.

“How soon until she can be released,” I ask.

“Well since she is awake and responding well to treatment, I want to keep her for about a week before we send her home. Even then we’ll have to have close observation and give you a schedule on her treatments.” I nod, turning away from him and heading back into the room.

I step back into the room, and Rue is still staring at the ceiling. Now, I had the chance to either be honest with her or lie to her. I could set her free or I could keep her. My mind is screaming at me to set her free, but as I get closer to her, I don’t want to. The last time I set her free, it ended horribly. This time, I would protect her. No matter what I will.

“Rue,” I say quietly. Her eyes cut to my direction, and she’s gazing at me warily. I give her the best smile I can, but it hurts my heart to see her gaze at me the way she did when we first met. Untrust. Fear.

“How are you feeling, princess?” I ask. Her eyes slightly narrow, but she doesn’t respond.

“Who are you?” she whispers. I have to control my emotions, as I sit next to her. I want to hug her, kiss her, tell her how happy I am that she is fine. But I can’t. I have to take everything slowly with her. Like we’re strangers. It’s agonizing.

“My name is Callum,” I say. I watch her features to see if anything that I say she will recall, but she doesn’t even bat a lash.

“Who are you to me. Why are you here?” she says. I let out a deep sigh.

“I... am...,” I trail off not knowing what to say. What was I to her? What was I in her eyes? She never told me because she was so angry with me for giving her the truth. I shift in my seat, and look her in the face, she’s watching me anxiously.

“We are lovers, Rue. You’ve been living with me, for the past few months,” I say. I look up at her and she’s staring at me in shock.

“That can’t be true," she whispers. She looks back to the ceiling, and I see tears falling down her face.

“What about my father?” she asks. I feel anger at the mention of that bastard.

“He’s in jail,” I say. She lets out a breath of relief, but then she realizes what I said, and asks me the million-dollar question.

“How? Did he do this?” she asks. I shake my head.

“No. He almost killed you, but I got to you in time, and we finally had enough evidence to put him away," I say. I leave out the part where I almost killed him, and his friends almost raped her. I also leave out the part where I bribed the judge and planted evidence.

“How did I end up in here, with no recollection of who you are, or the past few months of my life?” she whispers. My heart stops. This is it. This is the moment that I can be honest with her, or I can lie to her. I can go out on a limb, or I can be completely honest, and see if she’ll stay with me this time around.

I open my mouth to lie to her and tell her that there was an accident and keep my past from her. But as I stare into those big, brown eyes, that gaze at me so innocently, expecting to hear the truth from me, I can’t do it. The truth comes spilling out. I tell her everything from the beginning. From our meeting in the clearing to the point that Vitale stabbed her with my own weapon. And she listens. I leave out my occupation. I don’t know why, but I just can’t bring myself to tell her I kill people for a living. I don’t want to see that shock and horror etched into her features again. Towards me.

“It’s all my fault, Rue. I am so sorry that I ever put you in harm's way. I was selfish. I still am. I can’t think straight when it comes to you. You’ve made me feel emotions that I have never felt in my entire life, and I don’t know how to cope with them. You always helped me with that.” I look up at her and she’s still staring at the ceiling. But there are more tears running down her face.

“I know, that I’m asking a lot of you, but I can’t see my life without you... I want you to come home, with me. I promise I will always protect you and make you happy. No matter what. All you have to do is wake up, and I’ll take it from there.”

The room is silent. She seems to either be thinking or just not wanting to respond. She lets out a shaky breath.

“But, Callum... I don’t know you..” she whispers. If my heart wasn’t already shattered, it would have at that moment. She called me Callum. And she rejected me. What am I supposed to do now? I can’t just let her out in the world alone, without her memory, or anyone else. I am all she has. And she is all I have.

“Rue, you don’t know it now, but I love you,” I say. This catches her attention and she looks at me with a surprised expression. I move closer to her on the bed and reach out to push that rebellious curl out of her face. I take in her features. Her soft full lips, and the beautiful shade of mocha that is her flesh. I can’t help but smile.

“I love you so much. I never thought that someone like me could love. But you came along, and without even trying, you made me fall for you. Deeply. I know it’s scary. I know it’s a lot to take in, and you have every right to reject me, but I am begging you. Please don’t. You are all I have. You’re my life. My family. The love of my life. And I did a shitty job of protecting you, and this is my fault as a result. But just come home. Let me take care of you. Even if you don’t regain your memory of us, I will never stop loving you, Rue.” I say gazing at her with pleading eyes. She looks back at me with wide eyes, and I can tell she’s thinking hard about what she wants to say.

“Callum, I-”

“Cal,” I say automatically.

“What?” she asks, and I get the feeling of Deja vu.

Even if she had her memory, she never knew that no one calls me Cal. Because my only friends don’t even exist. I came up with that lie on the fly the moment I met her because I didn’t want to hear her call me Callum. That’s what everyone I know calls me, and it’s because they fear me. Or they used me. Rue is the only person to call me Cal. I let a bitter laugh escape me.

“My friends call me Cal.”

* * * * *

“So how is your lover?” I’m in the office of Boris Viktor, my new boss. The man that now owns my soul. He’s sitting behind his desk, with his back to me as he gazes out the window.

“She has extensive memory loss. But she is stable and should heal fine,” I say. Viktor nods his head, finally turning around to face me. He levels me with his cold gaze.

“I’m glad to know that she is fine. She is a part of this family now, Callum. So she will be treated as such. No harm shall come to her. I already have guards posted around the hospital," he says. I nod.

“Thank you,” I say. And I truly mean it.

“Now, about that rat Vitale. What has become of him?” I take a seat pulling out the large jar that has been sealed shut, placing it on the table. Viktor gazes at it nonchalantly, but I don’t miss the look of shock on his face when he notices what’s in the jar. He reaches out grabbing it off the table and looking at it closer.

“You ripped out his heart?” he asks. He almost sounds as if he’s in disbelief. I smile to myself, remembering the pleasure of physically ripping open his chest and pulling out his heart. It was an all-new high for me. And I’ll never forget that feeling.

“You can put it over your mantle, as a thank you for the protection, or if you don’t want it I’ll take it back and add it to my new collection,” I say. In the past, it was all about blood for me. The rush of taking a life, and preserving a small jar of their blood as a reminder of the victim. But Vitale has opened up a new gateway for my bloodlust.

Viktor laughs placing the jar back down on the desk.

“I must say Callum your mind is very fucked. But I like it,” he says. He smiles at me.

“I think I’ll keep it. As a reminder for my enemies what could come of them if they piss me off.” He leans over pulling open the desk and slapping an envelope down in front of me.

“I already have a job for you. That is if you think you’re up for it?” he says eyeing me. Of course, I’m up for it. I’ve been wanting a reason to blow off steam, and since my new contract prevents me from killing unless he authorizes it, my fingers have been itching for a job.

“How soon until you take your lover home?” he says, handing me the envelope.

“The end of the week.”

“Perfect. I want this quick. Clean. And I want his associates to know it was me. Got it?” he says. I open the envelope, revealing all the information I need.

“This is how you will receive your jobs from now on. I’ll either hand them to you, or I will send them to your mailbox. The details are in the envelope.”

I nod, looking at the information. This guy is crazy organized. Much more so than Vitale. He has everything already figured out, where Vitale would just make me do all the work off of a name, Viktor has the address, places this guy is seen at, and more.

“Now, about your lovers memory. There isn’t any telling for sure whether or not she will regain her memory. I still want the same terms before this incident. You will need to marry her, Callum,” he says. This causes issues within me. I look up at him and he’s watching me closely.

She doesn’t remember me yet he expects me to be married to her within the year?

“Ok," Is all I say. I stand to leave, not saying another word as I walk out the door.

* * * * *

We finally pull up to the driveway, Rue was released from the hospital today, and finally, after a week of begging, said she would come home with me. I look over to her as she takes in her new home. Her eyes are wide.

“Whoa,” she whispers. I knew she’d love it. Even before her memory was wiped. I made sure to buy a house that fit her. And this was it. This was her dream home.

“You live here?” she asks in disbelief. I let out a deep chuckle.

“No, princess. We live here,” I say. Now she turns her gaze on me.

“Why do you call me that,” she asks.

“What?”

“Princess.”

I hadn’t even realized that I called her that. It was so automatic now, it came as a surprise to me when she pointed it out.

“Oh. Because you are my princess. And you deserve the world.” I study her closely as I repeat the words I used when she first asked me that question.

“And I’m going to be the one to give it to you,” I add. She eyes me for a moment before looking back in front of her at the house.

I help Rue out of the car and hand her the crutches. The doctor said she should refrain from walking altogether, but she insisted that she was fine and got crutches. She slow crutches up the driveway. The sun is high in the sky, and it’s a beautiful day. It really makes the house look a hundred times better.

I can’t tear my gaze away from her face as she takes it in for the first time. God, she’s beautiful. Stunning. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t remember me, but it almost seems like this is a new chance for us. For me to be honest with her completely. I run ahead of her opening the large red door that’s the front.

She slowly makes her way up the porch and into the entry area. She looks around in awe.

“How long have you lived here?” she asks.

“I actually just bought it. For us. I used to live somewhere else, and when you moved in with me, well I bought this so that you would be happy living with me once I got you back...” I trail off as the heaviness of the situation comes back to me. She doesn’t remember me.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” She looks at me.

“We don’t share a room?” she asks. The question alone makes me want to groan. Of course, I made sure the master bedroom was large as well as the bed. I planned on spending a lot of time with her in it. But now that she doesn’t remember me, there won’t be any of that any time soon.

“We did, but I figure you wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping with a stranger. You can have the bedroom, and I’ll take one of the guest rooms,” I say. She opens her mouth to protest, but I cut her off.

“No. You’ll be more comfortable there,” I say. We silently walk through the house, heading to the master bedroom. I push the door open, and let Rue make her way inside.

“You bought all of this... for me?” she asks. She sounds like she can’t believe it. And since I don’t know where exactly her memory cuts off, I can understand her disbelief. When I first met her, she was afraid of me. Afraid of love. And every time I would do something nice for her, she would ask me the reasoning behind it. And now she was back to that position. It breaks my heart.

“Of course. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you princess. Nothing,” I say. She slowly turns to face me and studies me. Hard. Her gaze roams up and down my body, and I take notice when she begins to study my tattoos. Her eyes linger on my throat, as well as my arms. And my lips. She slowly crutches her way towards me and is standing directly in front of me, leaning her weight on the crutches as she reaches out to touch my face.

At the first contact of her hand against my cheek, her soft flesh touching me, I close my eyes. A sigh of relief leaving me. I hadn’t even realized how much I missed her touch. Her simple touch. I open my eyes, and she’s gazing at me like a child would something they have never seen before. Her fingers trail down to my throat, and she traces the tattoos that are there.

“I wish I could remember you, Callum.” She looks up, giving me a sad smile.

“You seem like you really do care for me.”

Her fingers begin to leave my skin, and I reach up as fast as I can, holding her hand in place.

“Wait,” I say. I hold my hand over hers, and slowly squeeze it tighter, remembering every soft crevice. I take in the heat coming off her hand into mine. I missed this. I miss her.

I keep eye contact with her, not wanting to miss a thing. Not the frantic blink she gives me, not the soft gasp that leaves her. Not the shocked expression on her face, and the way she licks her lips. She always does that when she’s nervous. Her big hazel eyes immediately dart away from mine and I smile. She could never keep eye contact with me when we first met.

I bring her hand to my lips, giving it a long kiss.

“You don’t know, how bad I missed this,” I say.

“... How bad I missed you,” I add. She opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something, but her eyes catch something. They slightly narrow at my neck. She softly pulls her hand out of mine and reaches towards my neck. Shit. Her hand closes around the vial of her blood. I made it into a necklace and wear it around my neck to keep her close. She studies it, for a long time. Just stares at it. Her brow slightly furrows, and she looks up at me before returning her gaze to the necklace. I don’t say a word.

Finally, she drops it. Her voice comes out soft, and timid.

“That’s a beautiful necklace.”