Hey!

Thank you for all the amazing reviews! They blew my mind.

I'm sorry this chapter isn't too long. I wanted to give you a little gift for Christmas but unfortunately wouldn't let me login yesterday. I hope you don't mind it being a day late.

This chapter is unedited so please be kind.

The title is taken from the song by Placebo with the same title.

Thanks to approvesomuch on tumblr for the amazing cover!

Remember to leave a review, please!

I hope you had an amazing Christmas. Happy New Year to everyone. The next update would be in 2014!

Much love!

Anna


The Innocence of Sleep

24th December 2013

There was a shift in the winds. Everything was calm. There was peace in the world. There was no sorrow or unrest. There was contentment and acceptance. Happiness in small quantities but happiness just the same. Sadness was a story of the past. It was serenity and peace. Bliss.

The illusion was shattered in an instant by blinding pain. It was a throbbing pain coming from some place far away, but it was felt. It was a mystery to feel pain from some place detached. It made a thumping noise that only she seemed to be able to hear; a harsh contrast to that beeping sound that seemed to be coming from somewhere else.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by sounds. There were far too many of them. The thumping in her head, the beeping of something strange, the tapping of silent footsteps that seemed to be slightly muffled, the clicking of what seemed like a pen, the tapping that sounded like impatient fingernails on glass, the squeaking of new shoes on freshly cleaned floors. There were far too many.

She ached to see the world around her, to see where the sounds were coming from, but she didn't seem to know how to do so. Her body didn't seem to be responding to her command. The pain seemed to be getting closer to her and more acute. Not unbearable but definitely not pleasant.

Consciousness dawned quite slowly. Her body was lethargic. She could feel time passing as she tried to pry her eyes open, the inability of doing so causing such alarm within her. When she finally managed to open her eyes she was met by a blinding white light. It burned into the back of her skull adding to the pounding in her head. Through tiny slits she tried to make sense of the world around her but to no avail. Her eyes tried to see past the white but it hurt too much to keep them open for more than second. But she was persistent.

The light finally dimmed to reveal a bland looking room with a large windows adorning one wall. The blinds were partially drawn letting in minimal light. There was a large flat screen television on the wall directly opposite her. To her right was a plush couch in beige which looked like something she wouldn't be able to afford in a million years. She looked to her right and noticed a complicated looking monitor that was attached to her by a wire of some kind. It was then that she realized where she was. She remembered that fall she had taken onto the icy pavement while running after Matt. She remembered watching the snow fall onto her face, waiting for the stinging cold to meet her skin. She remembered her job and the horrible Christmas that she had had.

She took a closer look at the hospital room she was in and fearfully realized that it wasn't like any hospital room that she had ever been in. It looked expensive and exclusive. It even had an en-suite bathroom!

Her train of thought was broken by a nurse who entered the room carrying a tray with an assortment of cups on it.

"Morning, Mrs. Salvatore!" she said brightly. "How are you feeling this morning? Does anything hurt?"

Her innocent greeting spurred a dozen questions within her. She called her a Mrs. something. Immediately she looked down to the forth finger of her left hand and gasped in shock, her eyes wide. Her finger was circled by an expensive looking band of gold and a large diamond that seemed to be emitting light of it's on. It was one of those classic engagement rings that she had seen on the fingers if high profile celebrities in magazines. Beside the ostentatious symbol was another band of gold. This one plain and simple.

"I'm married?!" she shouted in a whisper.

The nurse stilled her movements at her question. Well adept at keeping her worries concealed, she analyzed Caroline's face as she stared at her hand, holding it up and away from her face as she began to sit up.

"Mrs. Salva-"

"Caroline," she said sternly. "Call me Caroline."

"Very well, Caroline-"

"How long have I been out?" she asked turning to the nurse who stood frozen beside her large bed.

"A couple of hours." She replied honestly. "Mrs…Caroline, what's the last thing you remember?"

Caroline breathed heavily as she thought back, willing her brain to remember how the hell she ended up married overnight.

"It was Christmas. I was at that club. The new one that had just opened. The one that was closest to The Guild. My boyfriend, Matt, was supposed to pick me up but he arrived late. We argued and he walked away from me. I chased after him. The footpath was frozen and before I knew it, I was slipping. I bumped my head, I think. And well…you should tell me the rest."

The nurse looked at her calmly and asked "Caroline, can you tell me what year it is?"

"2010." She replied automatically.

"Mrs. Salvatore," the nurse said slowly, "it's 2013."

Caroline began to panic at the news. She had forgotten three years of her life. She was married to someone she didn't remember!

"It's alright, Mrs. Salvatore." The nurse said soothingly as she rubbed her back. She looked like she had a lot of experience in such cases. "It'll be okay."

"What happened?" Caroline choked out as she tried to keep her breathing in check. "Please!" she said looking up at the nurse, pleading with her. "Tell me everything."

"Mrs. Salvatore," she said slowly, "you were in a car accident a couple of days ago. You bumped your head against the windshield. It wasn't serious but you husband wanted you to get checked out. He insisted that you get a private suite."

Caroline sat frozen on the spot, trying to process everything that she was being told.

"And my husband," she urged, "what is he like?"

The nurse remained quiet for a while. "It isn't my place to say Mrs. Salvatore but I can tell you that he loves you very much. You are very lucky to have him in your life."

The world seemed to slow as the nurses words resonated in Caroline's mind. It was like a dream. A dream that everyone hopes for but no one wants to live. Was this perfection or was this a nightmare? Caroline couldn't quite decide. Her mind willed her to look at this in a positive way. A second chance at life. A chance to rediscover herself and what she was worth. But her heart was gripped with fear. Fear of what her new life was like. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what had transpired in the last three years.

"Why don't you rest for a while?" the nurse suggested soothingly. "You're husband will be here in a few hours and everything will be alright."

Caroline welcomed the suggestion and lay back down on the soft bed. Her head rested on the fluffy pillows, her hand beside her head. She stared into the luminous diamond on her perfectly manicured fingered. she watched the light glint of the rock as she drifted off to darkness, dreaming about her ideal man in the form of her husband.


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