Raphael woke up in the backseat of a car with absolutely no memory of who he was or how he got there. It wasn't an awakening like he had previously been asleep and just now his amber-colored eyes opened. It was like he had never even existed before that moment and suddenly he was there, aware and very confused. To his knowledge, his eyes had never even closed, let alone have reopened. He just wasn't there and the next second he was, amber eyes scanning his surroundings and trying to make sense of what his brain was telling him. All in one moment, he became aware of the leather seat underneath him, the blurred shapes of trees and landscape passing the view of the rolled-up window on his right, cracked open just enough at the top for the wind to lightly blow his raven-colored hair into his eyes.
He blinked once, then twice, trying to force his mind to move as quickly as the car he was in, wanting it to grant him information that seemed to slip right out of his grasp. He knew his name was Raphael, though he had no idea how. It was the one piece of information that was allowed into his focus and it somehow felt right when he thought of himself as such. Raphael. That's all he was, he couldn't even remember how old he was. Not that that was the most pressing problem at the moment.
"Hey Raph, you okay?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he instinctively looked to the stranger in the driver's seat. Warm-colored eyes similar to his own looked back at him through the rearview mirror. They narrowed in concern when he didn't answer right away.
"You're not getting sick, are you?" The deep voice spoke again, edged slightly in concern. "You know, you don't have to go if you don't want to, Bud. There's always next year."
Raphael blinked again in confusion, trying to draw enough information from his fuzzy mind to create a response. He concluded that 'Raph' was short for 'Raphael' so the man was indeed speaking to him. What he couldn't figure out, however, was who this man was and how he knew Raph's name. Heck, he wanted to know what he was doing in this stranger's car driving to who-knows-where and why the heck couldn't he remember anything?
It was all getting very frustrating and Raph could feel his anger boil at every passing second he remained without answers. With no idea how to answer, his mouth decided to answer for him.
"Why are you carrying a gun?"
Raphael frowned at the question that had slipped his lips and just then did it register the small glint of metal at the man's side. Did he see that before? He must have or he wouldn't have asked about it. He waited to see the man's reaction.
To his surprise, the man automatically started laughing, sliding his hand subconsciously to his side where the gun lay.
"Good one, kiddo." He chuckled. "You almost had me there. Well, if you're joking then you must be fine. I'm going to miss that dry sense of humor these next eight weeks, though."
Raph was still confused as heck, but he suddenly found himself smirking. It felt good making the man laugh and Raphael had a feeling that it didn't happen often: the man laughing or him saying something funny enough to make someone laugh. He didn't know what was particularly funny about his question, but then again he also didn't know why he had asked it to begin with. He had enough sense to know that guns were dangerous and guns could kill/injure people, but for some reason he wasn't fazed at all by them. For reasons he couldn't explain, Raphael was certain that if a gun was shot at him that he would be able to handle it. Not that he felt this man would ever shoot at him, though.
Suddenly and without warning, the car came to a stop and Raph realized they had reached their destination. The man quickly got out of the driver seat and walked around the car to open Raphael's door for him. Raph hesitated for a second but, deciding he had nothing to lose, stepped out of the car.
The first thing that washed over him was the smell. The scent of dry, cracked wood, pine leaves and lake water filled his nose and for a moment a flash of an old withered farmhouse lit up his memory, before fading just as quickly. Raph blinked rapidly, becoming dizzy as the aroused memory came and went from his brain.
"Whoa there, Buddy." The man was suddenly beside him, grabbing his shoulders to steady him before Raph even realized he was swaying. The dizziness passed quickly, along with the memory, and Raphael found himself looking up into the man's concerned face.
"Maybe you should stay home, Raph." The guy said slowly. "You don't look so good."
Raphael found himself shaking his head before he could figure out why. "No," he answered, again without thinking. "I'm good."
The man didn't seem convinced, but he let it slide anyway. He shrugged. "If you say so, Bud. But remember it's just summer camp, nothing to get sick over."
Raph looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Summer camp? He thought with surprise. That's where they were? Now that he thought about it, there were plenty of kids moving about and making enough noise for this to be a social setting of teenagers.
He blinked. That's what he was, right? A teenager?
"Hey Alex!"
A new voice startled him out of his thoughts and Raphael's eyes immediately settled on a young woman who was approaching them, smiling and waving. The man by his side instantly reddened as the woman stopped right next to them.
"Hey Emma," He replied, his voice rising just a little higher than before.
Raph felt himself roll his eyes.
'Emma', as she was apparently named, smiled even wider at his greeting. Her blue eyes then focused on Raph.
"This must be Raphael." She said sweetly, eyeing him up and down.
Raph stiffened under her gaze, a small voice in the back of his mind screaming at him that the gaze could only cause him harm and the he should run, attack, do something. He held his ground though, his uncertainty about the whole situation forcing him to wait and see what happened, if only to discover more information.
"Yeah, this is him." Alex answered for him when Raph remained silent. "We call him Raph, though 'hothead' and 'kiddo' works too. He usually is pretty talkative…" he trailed off, glancing at Raph in a concerned manner.
"He's probably just nervous." Emma said cheekily and Raph decided then that he really didn't like her. "This is his first year here, right? Why such the long wait? You could have afforded for him to come at twelve-years-old."
Alex sighed. "I've wanted to, but there have been…" He glanced at Raph again. "… complications."
He then chuckled. "But hey, what do you expect from my only son, huh?"
Alarm bells went off in Raphael's head. Son? Son! Raph was… this man's son?
He closed his eyes as another wave of dizziness and memories washed over him. The words 'my son' were familiar, as familiar and comforting as his own skin, but not from Alex and certainly not with the word 'only' in the middle of them. He didn't know how he knew this, but Raph was certain that he wasn't an only child, wasn't an only son, and that Alex wasn't his father.
Father… there was another word that held meaning, so much emotional and physical, but Raph didn't understand why. What he did understand, though, was that if Alex wasn't his father that meant that Raphael wasn't his son, which meant that Raph didn't belong with him, summer camp or not.
He narrowed his eyes. He needed to find a way to escape, to get away.
Emma smiled again and Raph had to hold off his sudden urge to sock her in the face.
"Well," She yipped, as if she was an annoying puppy. "Complications or not, we are all very glad to have Raph join us this year. We have plenty of other sixteen-year-olds that this is their first year as well, so he should fit right in."
Raphael scowled, though he supposed he should thank her for telling him how old he was. He still didn't like her though.
Alex nodded, smiling at her and glancing at Raph out of the corner of his eye. "Okay kiddo, I think this is it. Anything else you need from your old man before I take off? Your stuff has already been sent to your cabin."
Yeah, Raph thought bitterly. Tell me where's my real old man?
But he said nothing, merely giving a small shake of his head in response.
"Alright then," Alex finally turned towards him and, to Raph's great surprise, pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"You have fun, Buddy. If anything goes wrong, you can call me and I'll be here to pick you up, morning, noon or night. Okay?"
Raphael was just about to shove the man off him, when he heard the sincerity of his words. Alex may not be his real father, but he certainly cared for him. Raph closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, feeling his own arms encircle Alex in a returning hug.
"Okay," He sighed slowly. The starting of a smirk then crossed his lips. "Have fun shooting things." he teased.
Alex laughed. "You know that's a part of my job, Buddy. Can't be a policeman without it."
He released Raph from his hold and glanced at Emma. "Take care of my kid, Babe. I'm glad you two will finally be able to spend some time together."
Emma smiled, slipping her arm through Raph's and pulling him close. "So am I. It's almost a crime you've kept your girlfriend and son apart for so long. You should arrest yourself, Alex."
Raphael blinked as his "father's" "girlfriend" pulled him into a quick embrace, her eyes remaining locked on Alex's. He wanted so badly to flip her over his shoulder and pin her arms behind her back, (which for some reason he knew he could do quite easily) but the proud look in Alex's eyes as he watched them stopped him. He wasn't sure why, but even though Alex wasn't his real dad he didn't want him to be disappointed in him and Raph had a feeling that Alex really wanted his "son" to get along with Emma.
Emma seemed to sense the same need because after she broke the embrace, she planted a kiss on Raphael's cheek.
Oh man, he wanted to punch her…
Smiling and ruffling Raph's dark hair, Alex said his last good-byes and then got in his car and drove off, leaving Raph standing in the middle of a sea of teenagers with who he considered, in the ten minutes he could remember, to be the most annoying woman on the planet by his side.
Raphael was fairly certain he had never felt so completely alone.
Once Alex's car was out of sight, Emma's smile faded and her waving arm lowered quickly. She turned to Raph, frowning and raised an eyebrow.
"Now what am I going to do with you, my dear Raphael?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't suppose you could be paid off to give a good report to your father?"
Raph glared at her. "Depends," he growled. "Can you be persuaded to go jump in a lake?"
Her frown deepened and turned into what could almost have been considered a scowl. "You don't know anything about love, brat. And even less about marriage."
Raph shrugged. "Maybe. But isn't love and marriage supposed to be about more than just sex?" He smirked at her knowingly. "And I'm positive it's more than money."
Raphael wasn't certain how he knew all this, ten minutes ago he was pretty sure he didn't exist, but as his sharp eyes had caught the smile both she and Alex exchanged, the way she was stroking his arm and even as she pulled Raph into a hug her eyes had landed passed Alex to his no doubt expensive-looking car they had drove up in… well, let's just say he could put two and two together and figure out what Emma wanted. She may have Alex wrapped around her finger, but Raph could see right passed her. Almost as if he had seen her type a million times over, and maybe he has.
Emma's almost-scowl deepened and she almost looked offended. Then she suddenly smiled almost sweetly, though the ugly look in her eyes still remained.
"I guess your father has underestimated you, Raphael." She said. "You're far more grown up than he gives you credit for."
Raphael opened his mouth to correct her, tell her Alex wasn't his father but that he would defend him against the likes of her, but before he could get a word out Emma turned away and started walking the opposite direction with a flip of her dark brown hair.
"Your cabin's the third on the right." She called back over her shoulder. "And don't even think about messing with me and Alex. There's nothing you can do about it."
He watched her go, feeling a burning feeling in his stomach as his anger boiled. He wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about the whole situation, (again, Alex wasn't really his father) but for some reason he felt as if it was still his responsibility to protect and defend the man when he was obviously being played.
Raph shook his head and turned towards his cabin that she had pointed out. It seemed as if he was going to be staying here, at least for a while, and would have plenty of time to deal with the problem that is Emma. The very thought brought a smile to his face as he walked up the steps and opened the door.
The place was simple, two bunk beds (four beds total) and a dresser at each end of both beds. His amber eyes settled on the grey backpack that sat on the bottom bunk on the right near the door.
Seems as if he already had a roommate.
He leaned over and glanced at the nametag stitched onto the front.
Donatello.
Raph frowned. Not even a last name. Strange, he felt as if this bag was completely wrong for someone with that name. A different color flashed across his mind's eye and he had to blink a couple times to clear his vision.
"Purple," he muttered, still looking at the bag. "It should be purple."
Finally tearing his eyes away from the stranger's baggage, Raphael turned to his own luggage, a dark black backpack that sat on the bottom bed of the bunk across from the one Donatello had chosen. He knew it was his because of the red letters of his name scribbled across the front.
Sighing, Raph walked over to what would apparently now be his bed and plopped down next to his bag. It was then that it occurred to him that, although he had woken up less than an hour ago with absolutely no memory of who he was or what he was doing, he was surprisingly very calm and indifferent to the whole matter.
The little flashes of insight and instinct he had received since he woke up were appreciated and for some reason Raph knew they wouldn't be the last. He was going to get his memory back, that he was sure of. What he was going to do until then was less clear, but he already knew it would involve Alex and Emma. He wasn't the man's son, but he would have to pretend to be if he wanted to find any answers.
He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed again tiredly. Why did his brain feel as if it was being split in half? One side was telling him this was his life, while the more stubborn other side told him his life was something totally different, something better.
Raph leaned back onto his pillow, propping his tennis shoes upon the blankets, an action he was half expecting someone to pop up and scold him for.
Shaking his head, he brought his hand up to his face to pinch his nose in frustration, when he froze. His amber eyes scanned his pale skin across his palm and mentally counted each appendage.
He closed his eyes again and groaned.
Now he was questioning his own species. Great.
