Chapter 4

It was my mother. I mean, she looked like my mother. She sounded like my mother. But, I knew she wasn't really my mother. Not really. This woman, Amy Conweller, was a distinct product of early 2000s rainy Washington, wearing large teal rain goulashes and had thick black eyeliner, but she still resembled my Amy O'Conner of Tampa, Florida, where it counted. She was my mother in her honey colored eyes, in her light touch, and soul touching hugs. Her tone, always so sincere, was my mother's tone. Her hands were soft and delicate like lace, just like my mother's.

She sat hunched over the hospital bed, hugging me and smoothing down my hair. Her hands felt warm, everything about her felt warm and motherly. I felt loved by her. It was if she was connected to Amy O'Conner, somehow.

Alex and Anna Conweller, stood next to her by my hospital bed, and they also looked familiar and foreign at the same time. Alex tugged in the edge of his Radiohead T shirt and Anna chewed on her bottom lip as she watched me. Things my siblings would do.

"What were you doing that deep in the woods, Love?" My mother asked me after a long while.

Love. The name my mother, always called me.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, but in a strained whisper.

Her dark black eyes glistened as they studied me with concern. "What do you remember, Kim?"

I told her what I told the medical staff, that I didn't remember much. I could have laid it all out there and just babbled on about my theory that I was in a coma and they were all a figments of my imagination. How they were all fictional characters, but I felt the need to play a long. It seemed oddly crucial.

Sam appeared in the doorway to my hospital room, now clothed and donning footwear, his arm around a woman with a deep scar in her face.

I recalled that part from the movie. The mauled girl with the muffins.

My mother turned to him and immediately hugged him, her small frame barely able to wrap around his massive body.

"Thank you so much, Sam" she said as tears streamed down her face.

"Of course, Amy," he swallowed. "Was Sue able to give any insight? Have the fluids helped?" He seemed genuinely concerned. Worried.

She whispered to him, but I could still hear her.

"She wasn't drugged and there are no signs of a fall. She hasn't mentioned anything about a car. Just says she doesn't remember much. The doctors don't suspect a stroke or heart attack either. Sue mentioned there might be some metabolic imbalance. She sent some tests out."

Sam nodded and then looked over at me eyeing them.

"You take care kiddo, okay?"

I gave him a single nod, unsure of what to say. I assumed this was his goodbye to me, but once I was discharged, Alex wheeled me out of my hospital room and I saw them still there. My mom and Anna went over to talk to Sue again by the entrance of the clinic, but Sam and his girlfriend sat in the lobby still waiting, their faces tight. Paul sat next to them, perpetually grumpy and wary with narrowed eyes set on me. Next to him was a third person I didn't recognize. He must have been a teenager, but like the others he looked like a man: tall and broad shouldered with jet black hair, deep black eyes and the most stunning sun kissed, blemish free skin.

Jared.

My body buzzed in anticipation. An exhilarating chill ran up and down my skin and my jaw went slack.

This is the moment. He will look at me and the love magic will take hold. What was it called? Implanting? Inoculating? No…

I braced myself. Despite my strong belief that this was all a coma dream, I was still eager for someone to shower deep and unyielding love upon me. To be the center of a boys world. And a drop dead gorgeous one at that.

Would it feel real in a dream?

I had spent hours scrolling through #couplegoals stories, tik toks, reels and images, super imposing myself into fantasies, but I always believed that sort of love and adoration wouldn't be for an ordinary girl. I was decidedly a 5 out of 10 on a good day. Boxy body, unremarkable facial features, mousy hair. An other, an extra type of girl. One that could never participate in a hot girl summer, because I was not a hot girl. But now there was love magic. It would happen! To him I would be the most beautiful girl in the room. In the world! Even if it was a dream. Even if he didn't have a choice.

All of this swirled in my head as my brother rolled me straight toward them and as we got closer Jared started to look up. He brushed his hair away from his face and then looked dead at me, our eyes meeting. Would he double over? Didn't Jacob double over? Was there some sort of glow? I couldn't remember, but I waited for it. I waited for something extraordinary.

Jared looked at me, right at me with his penetrating gaze, and then gave me a… sad smile?

"Hey, Kim. Feeling any better?" fell out of his mouth like a nice guy checking in on a loose acquaintance who was down on her luck. I sat stiff. We're these the words of a love drunk teenager? I had no direct experience, but it didn't seem right.

I thought for a moment. It could have been that he wasn't a wolf yet. My face tensed and I looked him over and searched for a sign, when my eyes caught the tattoo popping out of his worn t shirt sleeve. The one that marked him as a wolf. I remembered that from the books too. He saw me eyeing it and scratched it. My eyes slid over to Sam and his girlfriend, and then Paul who had his arms crossed over his large chest. Once again Paul's eyes were drilling into me like I was enemy number one.

Ugh. Why was he so hostile toward me?

I wanted to give him the finger, but suppressed the urge. I was too consumed with the fact that the man to his right, who should have been imploding with love for me, seemed deeply uninterested.

"Thanks again man," Alex said to Sam in a very dude way, reaching over and slapping his hand. Alex was always a bro at heart. He then looked down at me.

"I'm gonna get the car, sis. Hang here for a sec., K?"

I nodded as Alex walked away. I looked back over at Jared. He glanced around the room, people watching and the corners of my lips frowned is disappointment.

Did I some how mess this up? The thing that was just suppose to happen? I mean, this was Kim's big thing. She was the girl that got the guy. And for me…nothing.

I stared at Jared, wondering if maybe he was fighting it or maybe he didn't really look me in the eye. Maybe he really needed to look at Me. To really see me.

"Jared" I said softly, beckoning. He looked over at me, dead in the eye.

"Yeah, Kim?" He spoke causally. Politely. And that was it. Politeness. Nothing more.

I held his gaze, waiting for this thing to happen that clearly wasn't going to happen. What was this thing called? Not instigating. Not ingraining. I scrunched my whole face up in thought. And then I finally remembered:

"Imprinting," came out in a whisper.

With those words out of my mouth, all four of them turned to me in shock (Sam); confusion (his girlfriend, who I still couldn't name); bewilderment (Jared) and then of course rage (Paul).

"What the fuck did you just say?" Came spitting out of Paul's mouth.

I pursed my lips at him. Why was I dreaming up such a dick? I just stared back at him.

"You said imprinting."

"I did? I'm not really sure what I said. I'm not myself." True facts. I'd probably be a stammering mess if some dickwad spoke to me like this in Tampa, but this wasn't real. No way was I going yo let my own brain intimidate me.

They all stared at me. Paul shot up and stalked over. He looked at me like I was a prime suspect in the murder of the century.

"You know you said it." He growled, staring me down like he was Lord Voldemort and I was Harry Potter. "How do you know that word? Why did you say it?"

Jeez, this guy was grumpy. Captain Crabby was getting on my last nerve.

Do not take shit from something you're imagining.

I squared my shoulders, lifted my chin and give his glare right back to him.

"Listen here, Vincent Van Bro, Your village called. They said they lost their idiot." I saw that on a tik too about burns, hopefully whatever part of my mind was fueling Paul forgot that. "Why don't you back the fuck off, okay?"

He winced a bit, startled by my assertiveness.

Sam motioned for Paul to sit down, but he still stood, his massive body dwarfing me.

"Kim," Sam's gentle voice cut through the tension oozing between Paul and I. "How do you know that word?"

I looked over at him and released a sigh.

"I…I have been thinking about it since I woke up in the woods." This was also true.

"Do you know what it means?" His voice was soft as he stroked his girlfriends hand that hung in his. I didn't say a word but looked over at Jared. Then, as if it was synchronized move, they did the same.

Jared seemed a bit horrified.

"Jared did you imprint on Kim?" Sam's girlfriend asked.

Jared stiffened. "Um, no, Emily," He said affirmatively, no question in his tone.

My face fell. Some how I fucked Kim's whole story line up and my coma dream was going to be a big epic nothing. Even in my dreams I wouldn't experience being someone's sun.

They were all still staring at me. Paul more dubiously, Sam more pensively.

Finally Jared broke the silence, directing his attention to the others, as if I wasn't there.

"Maybe she heard us talking about it in class. I mean we she, Paul and I have Science together. It's totally possible we used that word in reference to Sam and Emily…"

"I didn't." asserted Paul.

"You might have," came from Jared.

Paul's eyes were locked onto me. I thought about giving it all up then. Letting them all know I wasn't their Kim. But if it was all a dream, why would it matter. Couldn't I just do whatever I wanted? Could I fly or turn invisible?

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate and see if I could fly out of there. Nothing. When I opened them again, all I saw was Paul with his ever present hostile scowl, drilling into me.

"Will you quit it?" I spat at him. This aggressively belligerent part of my mind needed to fuck off. "I get it. You're not a fan. Stop scowling at me."

He pursed his lips as the rest of them looked on in surprise. I guess the Kim they were use to didn't talk back.

But before anyone said a thing Paul's eyes left mine and shifted over to my mother and sister who had finished speaking with Sue and came back over to us.

They rolled me out to the curb where Alex was waiting with the car. I didn't say good by to Sam, Emily or Jared. I didn't look back, but I could feel the wake of the buzz I had left behind. They knew that I knew something and one of them for sure wasn't going to let it go.