I blink my eyes open a few times, and it takes me a few seconds to focus on my surroundings. I realise that I'm lying on a bed, and Tobias is sitting beside me, holding my hand gently.
"Oh, thank god. I was so worried, Tris. Are you okay?" He asks.
"Where am I?" I question instead of answering him. Trying to sit up, I feel myself panic. What is happening? My heart beats double time as I look around the room.
"This is our home, Tris. We are in our bedroom." He says, his eyes still filled with worry.
"Tobias, I don't understand. I-" My breath catches, and I feel the panic rise in my throat.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay. Just breathe with me. Inhale deeply." He instructs me, and I try to copy his breathing, getting enough air into my lungs. "That's better."
"I still don't understand." I'm in a strange place, a million questions in my head.
"I'll tell you everything, okay? I can't hide it anymore. I was afraid that I had regressed your recovery, and was terrified when you passed out in the car. But when I checked your pulse, it was normal, so I brought you here." He says.
I look at him warily, waiting for him to speak up. He takes a deep breath in before starting.
"I know the last thing you remember is the accident you were in with Caleb. And then you woke up with a head injury and a broken leg." I nod. "That was four years ago, Tris." He whispers, squeezing my hand.
"What?" I gasp.
"Yes. You're 24 years old, not 20. We met three and a half years ago, and we've been together since, married for two of those. You got into a fatal accident a few months ago. You were on your way home in a cab when a truck hit you. You were unresponsive, Tris. I had lost all hope, but Natalie believed that you would wake up from the coma. When you did, I was the happiest man on earth, but all that went away in seconds when you didn't recognise me. Your memories of the past four years had been erased. All you could remember was your life before the accident with Caleb. I tried to make you remember, but your body went numb, you passed out, and I was scared to death. The doctors threw us out of the room till you were stable, and advised us to play along with what you remembered. It was too dangerous to try to make you remember, and I didn't want you to fall into a coma again." He says with tears in his eyes.
"But how is that possible? How could I not remember anything?" I shake my head.
"I don't know, baby. I was heartbroken when you didn't recognise me when you finally woke up. I couldn't understand what was happening, and we tried to talk to you, but your condition was very unstable and the doctor didn't want to risk any sudden shock to your body that would cause any permanent damage. So we had to make the choice to let you live what you remembered." He whispers.
"And my parents knew? Caleb knew? You all pretended to not remember anything, too?" I ask him, feeling betrayed. I pull my hand out of his and get up.
"Tris, it was the doctor's decision. I wanted so badly to tell you, to make you remember me. And when I saw you again after your recovery, all I wanted was to take you into my arms and tell you every damn thing, but I couldn't!" He follows me up, grabbing my wrist to stop me.
"Tobias, this is a lot to take in, I don't know what to believe, I don't-" I let the tears fall down my face.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I can't imagine what it's like for you. Can I hug you?" He asks me, his eyes welling up, too.
I hesitate a little, but then nod slightly, and he envelops me into a tight hug. I don't know if I trust him or not, but I can't deny that he feels safe. And my instincts say that he's speaking the truth. Then I remember something else he mentioned.
"Did you say we were married?" I ask him, pulling away a little.
"We are married." He smiles, letting me go as he bends to take something out from the nightstand.
Two rings. Wedding bands. A matching pair. I look at them unblinking for a while.
"I had mine in my pocket most days. I'd wear it when I wasn't around you." He whispers as he puts his ring on. "And here's yours." I look up at him, and then to the ring again. And then my eyes go to the fourth finger on my left hand. There it is, the unmistakable tan line of what can only be of a wedding ring. How did I miss it?
Tobias slides the slender band onto my finger, and it fits perfectly. He takes my hand in his, squeezing it gently. I look up into his eyes, a soft glow in them. They are sad, but also have an unfamiliar look in them. He's looked at me that way before, but I've never been able to place it. And now it hits me like a wall of bricks. It's love. His eyes are shining with love. For me.
My first instinct is to just run away far from here, not wanting to deal with any of the information I've received in the past hour. But I feel myself moving closer to Tobias, and then my lips are on his. I don't know what compelled me, but my body just moved on its own. My body has decided to trust him, and I let it.
Tobias kisses me back in a way that makes my heart race. He's practically devouring me. His hands hold my face, and then slowly travel down my shoulders and rest on my back. The kiss is unlike any we have shared together, or at least from what I can remember. When I pull away, his lips still follow mine, and I have to stop him by placing a finger on them.
"Tobias, I still don't have my memories." I murmur.
"I know, I just can't believe that you're here right now. I've missed you so much, baby. I've been so alone and lost without you." He leans his forehead against mine.
"You keep calling me baby." I state, noticing he did it more than a few times.
"You like it. You call me baby, too." He smiles. I remember that he called me baby on our first date, too. When I think about it, there were a lot of signs that I should have picked up on. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Tris." He whispers, wiping the tears off my cheeks.
"How could I have been so clueless?" I shake my head. "How did I not see what was right in front of me?"
"Because we all wanted you to stay healthy. We did what we could. And it broke my heart every day, but I said to myself that at least you were alive." He chokes on his words. "Because I thought I had truly lost you, Tris."
"I want to remember everything, Tobias. But my mind is blank. How do I get myself to remember?" I cry.
"I don't know. I would have tried anything, baby." He caresses my cheek, and then his eyes light up a little, looking around the room. "Maybe if I show you around the house, it could help."
I nod my head, looking at the room properly. But nothing special draws me to it, it's like a typical bedroom. That is when Tobias pulls me to the other side of the bed, picking up a picture frame. He looks at it fondly before handing it to me. And then all the air is knocked out of me. I feel every single emotion all at once looking at the picture.
"The day we got married." He smiles.
I'm wearing a white lace dress which has a long train, my hair is rolled up into a bun, and a veil hangs over my shoulders and down behind my back. Tobias is in a formal black suit, looking all polished. He has the biggest grin on his face as he stares at me, but what catches my attention is the red tulip boutonnière pinned to his chest. We are facing each other, but I can still see the genuine joy all over us.
"How did we meet?" I ask him, suddenly curious.
"At the bakery. Just like the second time." He says. "I tried my best to recreate some of the big moments of our lives. I thought something would jog your memory."
"That was almost four years ago?" He nods. "And we got married two years later, so I must have only been 22. Why did we marry so young?"
"Because when you find the love of your life, there's no reason to wait." He whispers.
The words hit me hard, and I look up at him. Our eyes stay locked, and I see the intensity of his love burning in his. Wow, no one has ever looked at me that way before. Clearing his throat, Tobias tugs on my hand. "I'll show you the rest of the rooms."
We walk out of the bedroom, and across is a small office space. He says that he works here some days. Further down is another room, but when I open the door, I find it empty.
"This is reserved for any future babies we might have." He says, looking at me carefully.
I feel a blush creep over my face at the mention of babies, especially ours. Then my mind remembers the fact that we are supposed to be married, so we most probably have had sex. I blush even harder at that, and an image of being tangled up in his arms comes to the front of my mind, making me gasp.
"Tris?" He questions, and I shake my head. "What is it, tell me please."
"I just, I had this dream a few weeks ago, and we were, um, we were..." At this point my whole body is a deep shade of red.
"We were making love?" Tobias grins shamelessly.
"Yeah." I nod.
"Tell me what it was, maybe it's more than a dream. It could be a memory." He asks, and my eyes widen. "Tris, it's okay. It's only me."
"Um, we were at the lakeside. And it was really dark, probably night time, and we were...you were..." I trail off, my eyes going everywhere but not meeting his.
"We did make love at the lakeside. It was a while ago. That could definitely be a memory, Tris." He smiles widely.
"Really? So does that mean I still have a chance to regain all of it?" I ask, hopeful.
"We will have to talk to your doctor, but I'm holding out hope." He says. "Come on, let's go downstairs."
He leads me down the stairs, and we walk into the living room. It has a big spacious couch, in front of it is a TV, and there are glass windows on one side, with a fireplace and a mantel on the other. I walk closer and look at more pictures of the two of us placed there. There are a few of us kissing, one where I'm on his lap, and others from our wedding.
My heart aches looking at all of them, and I desperately want to remember the life I had. Tobias notices and kisses my temple, caressing my hair. Letting out a sigh, I walk out of the living room and into a small space where the washer and dryer are. Then Tobias leads me into the kitchen, and my breathing stops.
"This is your favourite room in our house." He chuckles.
"I can imagine why." I touch the smooth marble countertops, mesmerised, and then look over at the perfect kitchen. It is huge, with an oven, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, and everything else I could possibly need. Opposite the counter is a dining table, and it again is perfect. "This is amazing."
"Yes, it is. You decorated it. In fact, you decorated the entire house." I turn to look at him, my eyes getting teary again.
"I want to remember everything, Tobias." I cry, and he rushes to me, hugging me close in his arms.
"I want that, too. More than anything. But we just have to take one day at a time, okay?" He kisses my head. I try to calm my breathing, blinking away the tears.
"When did we get this place?" I ask him.
"We moved in here when we were together for about 10 months, I think." He says.
"I'm guessing we didn't wait long for anything." I smile.
"Nope. I knew I wanted you. So we moved out of our separate apartments and got this place. And we got lucky finding it so soon, too." So that is why I haven't been able to go back to my old apartment.
"Are there any more rooms?" I look around.
"There's just a backyard. We have a swing." He says.
We walk out the back door, and I realise that it's already dark out. How long have we been here? I look around the place and find it absolutely perfect. But then, it is my taste.
"I didn't realise it had gotten so late. Are you hungry?" He asks.
"Yeah, I am." I don't even remember what I ate last. Then I realise we came here from Susan's wedding. Looking down at myself, I see that I'm not wearing the black dress anymore. Instead in loose pants and a full sleeved shirt. Wow, I didn't even notice. "Did you change my clothes?"
"Uh, yeah. I wanted you to be comfortable, so I put on the clothes from your closet upstairs. I forgot to show it to you." He scratches the back of his neck. "I hope you don't mind." I don't know how I feel about that, but he's obviously seen me naked before, so I let it slide.
"Can you take me back to my parents'? They must be worried about me. We can get dinner on the way." I ask him.
"Are you sure?" He hesitates.
"Yeah, I need to talk to them, too. Figure it all out." I say.
"Okay, let's go." He agrees.
A/N: Are you guys enjoying it so far? What do you think of this chapter?