22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Ben stood at the bedroom window taking in the valley. The scene was picturesque, but it didn’t feel like home to him. Even the actual house he was standing in didn’t feel like home. It was a hell of a house, and it belonged to him?
After leaving the motel, Eric and Marcus tried to talk to him about what had happened. He wanted to figure things out. That had been his whole reason for leaving Walter’s place, but their words became muffled. As if his mind was full and blocked any and all information flying at him at the speed of light.
How could he be this Adam? He didn’t have any spark of recognition when Eric and Marcus embraced him. And Sienna? Her scream had pierced him. He would be an emotionless robot otherwise, but he didn’t remember her.
Dr. Murphy, another person he was supposed to know, had just finished examining him. Now he was finally alone. And he was relieved, which made him feel guilty. Shouldn’t he want to spend time with his family? To figure out what it meant to be Adam?
He was in shock, or that’s what the doctor said. He’d wanted to hook him up to an IV, but Ben refused. So they compromised and the doctor had Ben drink two glasses of water and made him promise to lie down for a bit. Ben hadn’t slept but an hour here or there for the last three days, so he knew he could use the sleep, but his nerves were dancing and not in the mood to cooperate.
He turned when the door opened slightly and a head peeked inside. His heart jumped at seeing the little girl. He stopped himself from backing away from her since he was still worried about hurting her somehow. “Lily.”
She grinned and walked into the room carrying her crayons and sketch pad.
That smile did something to his insides. “Did you come to visit me?”
She nodded and sat on the couch, because yes, the bedroom was big enough to have a couch and chairs in it along with a desk and a large attached bathroom. Ben didn’t know if he would get used to this. But then, he came from this, right?
He walked over and sat next to her. “Will you show me the picture you were coloring of you and me the other day?”
She nodded and flipped through the pages until she held up the book to him. It was the same picture, but Lily had added some things to it. He had wings as well. Did that mean he could fly? He sat back and blew out a breath, and Lily reached over and patted him on the hand.
His heart cracked open. She was such a wonder, and it had nothing to do with her gift and everything to do with her kind soul. He blinked his heavy eyes.
She frowned and shook her head like a schoolteacher, setting her crayons and pad on the couch. She stood and walked over to the bed and pulled back the comforter before turning to him. She patted her hand on the bed, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, Dr. Lily.”
He climbed into bed and let her tuck him in. She rested her hand on his head for a couple seconds before going back to the couch, where she flipped to a blank page and started to color.
Lily didn’t need to speak to let him know she was going to watch over him while he slept. Once he was lying down, it was hard to keep his eyes open, so he stopped fighting it and let sleep pull him under.
Tessa and Megan sat on the couch in the office while Eric, Sienna, and Marcus attempted to handle their anxiety as they waited for Ian to tell them how Ben was doing.
Tessa wasn’t handling things very well herself. Confusion was her middle name, and she needed some sort of clarification as to how Ben, or should she be calling him Adam, was still alive.
Tessa leaned forward. “Can someone please explain to me how this is possible? I don’t understand. You said Adam’s remains were in the cave. How can he still be alive?”
Eric sat across from them, tapping his hands on his thighs. “We found a large pool of blood that Ian confirmed was Adam’s DNA. And since he left behind his necklace wrapped in the bloody note about failing and the pile of ash, we thought it was Adam.”
“Ash?” Tessa asked.
“If we die while in our dragon form, we turn to ash. Ian tested the ash and confirmed it was dragon DNA, but we normally can’t determine who specifically it is.”
“So whose ash is it?” Megan asked.
“It must be the dragon who was sent to kill Adam,” Marcus said from his spot across the room. He was standing as stiff as a Buckingham palace guard. “We were never able to find out who it was.”
Tessa shook her head. “I treated him like a criminal. Told him he was going to have to face what he’d done to Adam and the clan.”
Megan reached for her hand. “You couldn’t have known. We all thought Adam was dead.”
“Ian is spending a long time with Adam.” Sienna paced on the side of the room. She had come to the office after Ian had kicked her out of Adam’s bedroom so that he could give him an exam. The only way she would leave was to have Ian promise to give them a report when he finished.
“I’m sure he’s being thorough,” Eric said, more than likely trying to calm his sister even though his hands hadn’t stopped their staccato beat on his legs since he sat down.
As if in answer to their comments, Ian opened the door and stepped into the office. Eric shot to his feet. Megan and Tessa joined him.
Sienna rushed over as well. “How is he?”
Ian set his bag down. “He’s relatively healthy. He’s dehydrated and hasn’t been eating or sleeping much the past few days, so he is going to need to recuperate from that. He has some severe scars on his side that are more than likely from his attacker in the cave.”
“His memories?” Marcus asked.
“I took blood so I’ll do a wide array of tests to make sure there isn’t anything else going on, but I think it’s like your memory loss of those events last year, Eric, but at a complete level. He doesn’t remember anything about himself or what it means to be dragon.”
Tessa cringed. He’d told her that, and she hadn’t believed him. She’d mocked him. Would he ever want to talk to her again? Could she blame him, even if it made her want to cry?
“I’m not surprised. He flew in front of me and took the brunt of the witch’s memory spell.” Eric rested his hand on the pendant around his neck. “I need to give him his necklace back. It helped my memories return.”
Ian held up his hand. “Let’s hold off on that for now. He’s trying to get some rest, and then he’ll need some food.”
“Marilyn is already preparing his favorite foods,” Sienna said.
“Let him sleep and remember to take things slow with him. I know your emotions are high right now, but he’s overwhelmed.” Ian picked up his bag. “I’ll stop by later tonight just to see how he’s doing, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Marcus showed Ian out, and Sienna plopped onto the couch as if her energy had finally left her. Eric sat next to her, and they hugged each other.
Tessa and Megan left the office to allow them some time alone.
Megan rested her hand on Tessa’s arm. “Finding Adam alive is a miracle. How are you doing?”
Crappy. “It’s a lot to take in. I was with him for days and didn’t know. What if we hadn’t tracked him down and he left again? We would never have known he was still alive. I’m usually really good with faces, and I didn’t recognize him.”
Megan shook her head. “The only picture of Adam you ever saw was the family portrait we took down a year ago. That picture was over ten years old, and he didn’t have a beard. You can’t blame yourself.” They stopped in the foyer. “I’m going to check on Bella. Do you want to come?”
She didn’t think that even Bella’s smiley face could help. “Not right now. I need to sort some things out.”
Megan squeezed her arm before she headed up the stairs, leaving Tessa standing in the middle of the foyer trying to decide next steps. Should she leave? She had already caused enough chaos today, but she couldn’t get herself to walk out the door. To leave without checking on him, even if she was the last person he wanted to see.
Instead she headed up the stairs and down the hall and stood in front of his closed door. Should she knock? Maybe he never wanted to see her again. She wouldn’t blame him.
Before she could decide, the door opened and Lily stood there grinning at her. Had she gone to the wrong room? Lily grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, shutting the door quietly.
Ben was asleep in the bed, and Tessa could see that Lily had taken over the couch with her crayons and sketch pad.
Tessa leaned down and whispered, “Are you watching out for him?”
Lily nodded and directed her over to the couch, and they both sat. From the couch, Tessa could see Ben’s face. He was still pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He had been so upset when he thought Lily’s drawing meant he would hurt her. That had been genuine—everything had been genuine, now that Tessa could think back to their confrontation in the hotel room. But it had been so far-fetched she couldn’t imagine he was telling the truth.
“Can I see your picture of you and him?” she whispered.
She flipped the pages to the drawing of Lily with purple wings and Ben standing next to her with his own set of wings. What would it be like to see him unfurl his wings? With his shirt off, of course? Stop! Bad Tessa!
He probably wouldn’t want her around after the way she’d treated him, but she couldn’t stop the protectiveness she felt for him. She didn’t know him as Adam, great dragon clan leader and business entrepreneur. She knew him as Ben, kind, funny, and oh so protective of a little girl. She wasn’t sure if he was one and the same or, if he got his memory back, if he would revert back to perfect Adam 2.0.
Lily patted her leg and held up a crayon to Tessa, interrupting her thoughts. “Do you want me to help you color?” she asked in a low voice.
Lily flipped to a blank page, and they got to work.
Why did Tessa get the impression the little girl was trying to distract her as well?