I unlock the door to my apartment and walk inside, flicking the lights on as I go. I sigh as I toss my keys onto the granite counter and place my purse on the leather chair. I walk into the kitchen and turn on the coffee maker, smiling when I see the wonderful tasty liquid dripping slowly into the pot. I stand there for a moment, daydreaming I suppose. i keep thinking that I am forgetting about something, or someone. I race down the hall and open the door, an apologetic look on my face. I stare at Stephan's smirking face before I step aside and open the door wider. He has to duck slightly so he doesn't hit his head on the door frame.
"Your name is Hannah, I presume? That's what Amy said your name was," Stephan says, looking around the medium sized living room.
"Yeah, it is. Hannah Cortello. Hey, would you like some coffee?" I ask, heading back to the kitchen.
"It's six o'clock, Hannah. You're gonna be wide awake by the time you go to bed," Stephan says, an incredulous expression on his face.
"Hey, it's never too late for a cup of coffee!"
"It is when you don't get enough sleep," STephan mutters, looking down.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I come back into the living room and sit on the couch with my knees pulled up next to me. i kicked my shoes off and settle back into the couch pillows. "So, how do you know Amy?" I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.
"We are childhood friends; I can't remember a time when we weren't together," he says, walking over to a picture where Amy and I are laughing together. He takes it in his hands and smiles sadly.
"You know, she never talks about her past. Whenever I ask her about it, she puts her walls up and snaps at me. So, I just stopped asking. In the beginning, when she first moved in, should would wake up screaming about someone named Alex. After awhile, that stopped and everything was normal, but then she started sleep walking and talking. I have to sleep on the couch to make sure she doesn't walk outside."
"Must be the imprint," Stephan mutters.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"He's her brother," I hear Stephan whisper.
"What?" I ask, confused,
Stephan looks up format eh picture to me, a painful expression on his face. "Alex, that's her little brother. He's fourteen, and he looks exactly like his dad, Sam Uley. He's really smart, like Amy, but when it comes to directions, it's disaster. Amy let him drive her once when he was thirteen and they were lost for four hours. Sam was so mad, grounded each of them for a month. He's a little taller than Amy, and always jokes about it. Honestly, when it comes to their appearances, though, the only thing they have in common is their eyes. It's weird, really, their eyes are really brown with a tint of green around the pupil. Emily's sister's eyes are like that, and so is her niece, Claire.
"About four months ago, there was an accident, and he got hurt. Alex was in a coma for a month and couldn't remember a thing when he woke up. Amy was hysterical, she's really protective of her brother. Her parents tried getting her to talk to me, but she refused. I understood why, I mean like, I did kind of start the accident...but still, I was hurt. She wouldn't let me apologize to her and she wouldn't let me anywhere near her brother.
"Two weeks after her brother woke, he suddenly got his memory back.. THe next day, Amy's parents found a note on the outer that said Amy had run away and not to looking for her. Sam, of course, didn't listen and he sent me to look for her." Stephan says, placing the picture back on the bookshelf and sitting down in a matching chair. He passes his right hand over his hair, sighing.
"Oh," I say, looking down at my now empty cup of coffee; I get up to our some more. "Why did Amy's dad send you? Why not call the police?" I ask when I come back.
"Well, you see, Amy and I, um, have a, uh, special bond. I guess would could call in that, yeah. And the elders didn't want the police to get involved, but Bella's dad, Charlie, found out form his granddaughter, Rosie. He's called every police station in the state and sent 'missing person' pictures to them too. They haven't found her yet, and neither had I until tonight," he says, looking down at his fidgeting hands.
"What's your last name, Stephan?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him. He looks slightly familiar, I think.
"Boulder. My name is Stephan Boulder," he says, a confused expression taking over his face. "Why?"
I can practically feel my popping out of my. So this is the man who Amy talks about in her sleep. And who she draws all the time; there are, like, twenty different pictures of him in her sketchpad.
"What are you're feelings towards my friend, Stephan?" I ask cautiously.
He looks at me with shock, saying 'um' occasionally before he says, "I love her."
I smile at that, and then I say, "Well then, let's get to work."