Chapter 2 - Ana

Please leave. Please leave, Ana whispered.

All this time her mind yearned for some company, yet the moment she saw someone else her conscious flipped a switch and warned her to be wary. In an unknown place all by yourself with no memory at all was sad. But to be alone with a stranger was a breach of safety. Ana panicked quietly.

With the very obvious sign that she was no longer the only roaming soul in this place, she wondered who the mystery man was? Did he share the same predicament as her? Why has he come here, out of all the places he could have gone? Had he seen her watching him from the booth outside? The insanity of questions wildly consumed her.

Out of sight and crouched down behind the tall counter, Ana listened to him as he paced the tile floor. Walk, walk, pause. Walk, walk, pause. It was almost rhythmic caring a personal beat. He continued to wear out a path on the floor for about a few minutes before her heart leaped into her throat. Crash!

Unable to see what he was doing, the sound had made it clear. The metal stools with the maroon cushioned seats that lined the counter went toppling over bumping into one another violently one by one. Each crash startled her and she gasped loudly quickly covering her mouth knowing it was no use. Any sound she made right now would only be lost in the tirade she could not witness.

If he was going through what she was experiencing, she could understand his frustration and why he lashed out. He had every right to lose his mind because it wasn't hard to when every time you thought your mind only came up blank. Honestly, a part of her wanted to join, but she remained hidden with her legs curled up close to her chest.

After what seemed like a never-ending battle with the objects in the diner, his rage subsided and she let her shaking hand drop from her mouth. Her heart thumped vigorously.

A low groan escaped him and she listened to his every movement and breath like her life depended on it. How could she reveal herself now after the temper tantrum he had just performed? Slightly terrified by what his reaction might be Ana bit her lip hard contemplating the situation.

"What the fuck?" An exhausted sigh echoed from the other side. His voice low and tired.

Short and panicked, the sound of her breathing became sensitive to her ears. The littlest noise was about to give her away. Coward!, her inner thoughts screamed. Here she was hiding from what she had asked for, but wasn't it fair for her to do so? Completely out of her element, lost, and thrown into something she had no prior knowledge about had her on edge. This idea of the unknown rattled her bones and suffocated her without warning. Every where she looked and turned it followed her. Surrounded by a long list of question marks and unfamiliar scenery was enough to let her drift away and give up. It was overwhelming and now as another person had entered the picture, she was spiraling with madness.

But there was hope, right?

There had to be answers. The light would shine at the end of the tunnel. Deep down in the pile of panic and worry, she knew it. Somewhere in this mysterious universe she had stumbled into was the answer to everything. It was waiting for her to find it, and yet she continued to hide from it. A part of her, the part that stayed in the shadows of her former self told her that she was not one to run from her problems. How she knew this was beyond her, but it tingled inside of her anxious wary.

Ana closed her eyes and counted to ten. The only way she would find clarity in this situation was to stop hiding and make progress, which she couldn't do behind the counter.

Giving herself a quick pep talk, Ana began to rise from the floor holding her breath. It was now or never to make her grand introduction. As she did, she felt the sharp edge of the countertop make contact with the crown of her head. The contact between the countertop and her skull was loud and she cursed wincing in the instant pain it caused. "Ow, ow, ow, ow." The common phrase associated with such pain followed suit. Oh, fuck!

What once separated them from knowing of each other was no longer a barrier. A pair of eyes were upon her hunched over body as she held her head wincing at the pain. Under the palm of her hand a knot swelled and a headache formed. Just her luck. In her attempts to be brave, she had failed miserably.

Ana slowly shifted her gaze upward. When she finally met his stare she saw grey and wide eyes that conveyed the appearance of utter shock. The corners of her lips were forced to rise and she blinked furiously trying to collect the situation at hand.

"Do you work here?" He asked.

"Uh," Ana rubbed the sore spot on her head. Did she? Was that why she gravitated toward this place? The clothes on her body said otherwise. "I don't think so. No."

"Who are you?" His tone laced with power and demand.

"Um?" Shit! Who was she? That was the million dollar question.

Searching into the depths of what little memory she could conjur a name snuck past her lips as if it had been on the tip of her tongue all this time. "Ana." She paused soaking in how easy it was for her to say it. This was her name, Ana. She peered over at him waiting for him to say something in return.

"How long have you been here?"

"You sure do ask a lot of question." She teased and stood up as gracefully as she could. Those penetrating grey eyes stared at her as she removed her hand from her head.

Blinking a few times to let her hazy vision come into focus, she took in the sight of her company. At first glance he was every bit good looking, but up close and personal he was breathtaking. Tall with his shoulders held back, he gazed at her tiny figure too. They were both surveying one another with careful ease.

From her previous observation of him before she could only make out very little of his features. Now she noticed his dark copper colored hair and beautiful grey eyes. The white linen button down shirt that hung out of his black dress pants ruffled his perfect image that she assumed he tried to portray daily. A man of his beauty and stature would care about his looks to a degree.

He had a strong jawline that was covered in the tiniest hint of a beard. A five o'clock shadow as most men called it, but he wore it very well. Ana continued to study him, but her eyes naturally locked with his penetrating gaze. How had she been so lucky to be graced with the presence of a Greek God? But the reminder of his major mood swing that had him tearing this place a part broke her stare and she dropped her gaze to the floor bowing her head with it.

"How long have you been here?" He asked once more as if he did not wish to ask it again.

"Long enough to hear you have quite a temper." The words were out of her mouth before she could speak. Her eyes flickered up to him to see his reaction briefly before a dizzy spell won her over.

The diner spun and her body floated down and hard. She had no control over it either and she hoped the impact of her fainting spell would be kind to her because since she found herself awake in this place, it had not been.

A few hours later.

Flourescent lights greeted her as she drifted from her sleep state and awoke in a maroon colored booth. She rose quickly from it and scrambled to make sense of where she was and how she had got here. She knew she had fainted, but how she had made her way to a booth across the room was a mystery.

Outside the large windows of the diner it was dark now. The streets were illuminated by the lights strategically positioned every few feet to keep the roads and sidewalks well lit. Buildings that surrounded them that once seemed dull screamed with life as they were lit up for all to see. Ana took in the magnificent beauty that this place had become within hours of when she had last seen it.

Suddenly, the pounding and throbbing of her head welcomed her to reality as the beautiful lights became less wonderful and more annoying. She squeezed her eyes shut and laid her head on the table. Touching her head, the bump from before had grown two sizes too big and she wondered how long it would be a nuisance. Her and her uncoordinated luck.

Trying to not focus on the pain, she drew in a deep breath and inhaled the pleasant smell of breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs. Her stomach growled with hunger again. If only she could rectify what her stomach and taste buds longed for.

The door to the kitchen of the diner flapped open violently on cue almost as if her thoughts had been read. It alerted her awake and momentarily she forgot about the amount of pain she was in.

Out through the door came the copper haired man with two plates steaming with breakfast delights. Ana slouched in her seat and watched him carefully as he walked around the counter and toward the booth she occupied. He slid a plate in front of her and he took the seat opposite of her not breaking his gaze that seemed to be mesmerized.

"Eat." He ordered.

She stared down at her food. It looked delicious, but the distraction that sat across from her had made her appetite disappear.

"Do remember what happened?" He asked. Unraveling the neatly wrapped fork and knife from a napkin, he prepared to feast.

Ana glanced up at him. The swelling pain returned. "I know I hit my head and fainted." She responded shyly. "Everything before that is a complete blur."

She tried to think hard to remember the life she had before this moment. Nothing. The overwhelming panic from before rested in her chest again.

"Why can't I remember?" She murmured to herself.

"You too?" His voice was softer than how he had spoke to her before.

Lost and confusion, she recognized that look of desperation to find a solution, a answer, anything to make sense of it all. The tension in her body washed away and she found the courage to look at him and those intimidating grey eyes. His facial features had softened just like his speech. The way his mouth curled ever so slightly into a smirk made her heart flutter as if it had wings. She wasn't sure what was coming over her, but this man had something to do with it.

"I'm Christian." He introduced himself.

She nodded her head and smiled resulting in an full blown smirk from him.

In his cool, calm, and collected voice he said, "I think you and I both have some remembering to do." And he took a bit of his pancakes.