Chapter 8

Alex walked on in brooding anger. She couldn't believe those two had the audacity to treat her that way. Shaking her fists at her sides, she continued on her path, unaware of her follower.

The first hint that someone was near, she turned in agitation, thinking it had to be one or both of her suitors. When she saw Seamus, however, she was shocked into complete silence.

He waved at her awkwardly from the distance between them. Alex noted that she had somehow managed to angrily walk about a mile past her intended destination into a narrow corridor used for truck loaders and the occasional dealer. The sun went behind a cloud, casting a gloom over the two.

"What are you doing here?" She finally asked.

"I saw you storm off, and I wanted to make sure you were ok." He said reasonably.

"I haven't seen you since Hogwarts and you just casually follow me home to see if I'm alright?" Alex asked, feeling uneasy.

Seamus nodded eagerly. "You haven't seen me, but I've seen you." He said cheerfully.

Alex's discomfort severely tightened in her abdomen. "Seamus, are you alright?"

He smiled pristinely and took a step closer, immediately she took one back. Seamus frowned.

"Why are you frightened?" He asked sadly.

Alex looked around her ironically. "Oh I don't know Seamus, you've cornered me in a dark alley way and admitted freely that you've been watching me, I should be at complete ease with you stalking toward me right now."

Seamus looked crestfallen. "All I've ever wanted to do was get to know you and you won't even give me the chance."

Alex bit her lip, feeling guilty, but also still feeling the need to run far away.

"It's not that I don't like you." She said reassuringly, edging toward the street.

"You're trying to escape." He pointed out.

Alex folded her arms across her chest, irritated. "I'm not escaping! I'm simply trying to put a comfortable distance between us because I don't feel right about this situation!"

Seamus's eyes went wide as Alex stepped off the curb, attempting to cross the street. "ALEX! NO!"

But the screams of protest were lost on her, the pain was so excruciating she lost consciousness almost instantaneously.

The truck driver got out in a panic, looking at her crumpled body in agony. Seamus ran to her and nearly cried in relief. "She's still breathing." He said, trying to stay calm.

Seamus stayed with her until the ambulance came and took her away. All he wanted was for her to be ok, but that's what got her hit by a truck in the first place.

Bright lights were swirling around her as she came to. What were those lights doing there? Everything looked so clean.

"Take it easy miss," A voice said to her calmly. "Don't try and move anything yet, you've suffered a major injury, and it won't do to upset anything else."

Injury? She was injured? Her chest felt heavy, and her arm throbbed.

"It's a miracle you weren't killed miss, it's not every day someone gets hit by a loading truck and lives on with just a broken arm." The voice said very gently.

Broken arm? Truck? She wanted to speak but her throat felt as if it were filled with cotton. How in the hell did she get hit by a truck?

She felt an incredible warmth spread through her body and her head felt stuffed with the same cotton that must have been in her throat. A deep sleep enveloped her and she couldn't think any more about where she was.

The nurse nodded with a smile. "Morphine for you love. That's it, sleep tight."

"She's coming around again." A different voice floated to her senses as the swirling lights above her came into focus once again. She felt strangely refreshed, except for the dull pain in her arm, she actually felt pretty good.

"She's healing incredibly well. It's only been two days." The same female voice she remembered was there too.

Blinking her eyes, she looked around. A tall handsome doctor was peering at her gingerly as an old, squat nurse fidgeted beside her.

"Good morning there." The doctor said kindly. "You've been quite a mystery around here miss. Can you tell me what happened?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide.

"Can you tell me your name?" The doctor persisted.

An unwelcome feeling spread over her. Name? What was her name? She pried into the deepest chasms of her mind and scraped at anything she could grasp, but there was nothing.

"No." She rasped, feeling scared. "I don't remember."

The doctor nodded knowingly and scribbled something on his pad. He leaned into the nurse and whispered something. The nurse hurried off and the doctor looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm afraid when you came in, there was no identification on you and no one accompanying you." He grasped at some comforting words but they eluded him. "I'm sorry miss, we're going to have to keep you here until we know who you can go home to."

She sat up gingerly and winced at the tightness of her body.

"I was hit by a truck?" She asked hoarsely.

The doctor nodded. "You're lucky to be alive really, it's quite astonishing." His eyes were wide and he smiled. "You've been here two days. A recovery from being hit by a truck should last months!"

She bit her lip. "I guess that's a good thing then."

The doctor was near to pacing, but he contained himself. This girl was a medical miracle, and he was dying to examine every inch of her to find out how it was even possible. She didn't even have a bruise on her today!

"I'll just let you rest." He said, resigned.

She nodded. Running a hand through her hair she stopped as she saw the tips of it and gasped, wrenching her hair into a better view.

"Is my hair pink?" She asked wildly.

The doctor pressed his lips together, obviously holding back the need to laugh. He nodded and quietly stepped out of the room.

She looked numbly out of the window across the room and noticed it was raining. She didn't know who she was, where she was, or if she had a family.

And why was her hair pink?