Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul
If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn
Chapter Forty-Seven
Jess was just drifting back to consciousness when she heard the door to the room open. She opened her eyes a fraction and watched as the blonde male came in carrying a paper bag. Her heightened sense of smell told her it contained a hamburger and French fries. She warily followed his movement across the floor as he set the bag down on the small lamp stand beside the bed.
“Hungry?” he asked.
She stared at him silently and he frowned a little.
“Do you understand me?”
When she still said nothing he switched to French then Italian, but she continued to stare at him blankly and he sighed. “If you’re not speaking because you’re afraid, I understand, but I promise we mean you no harm. I can only imagine what you’re dealing with…Christ I don’t even know if you realize what’s happened to you. Maybe you believe you’ve lost your mind. We really want to help you deal with this…”
He watched her for a reaction and when she gave none he looked away but continued, “If you need anything we’ll be in the living room, just outside the door. We rented a couple of movies so…” he made a frustrated noise and turned away. He started to leave then looked back at her. “That you survived is an enormous feat. And if there is still a functioning brain inside your head, well that would be a spectacular miracle. My brothers and I would protect you with our lives, we would never ever hurt you.” He looked at her for a moment more then left the room closing the door softly behind him.
Jess let out the breath she’d been unconsciously holding. Was he telling the truth? If he didn’t look like he’d just stepped out of a gothic horror flick it would be easier to believe him.
Naturally they would consider her a miracle but….no he had to be lying about his motives. None of the vampires associated with the ones who’d taken her could be good. She wondered where the females were, where the one called Paulo was. Probably they knew she would never trust them so they’d sent unfamiliar faces to confuse her. If they found out she did have a functioning brain they would use her. Either to get to Anna or for other purposes.
Then again if they decided she was just an animal they might use her in other ways. What do I do?, she thought helplessly. She felt tears threatening again but became distracted by the smell of the food he left.
She sat up and looked at the bag figuring there was no reason why she shouldn’t eat, it wasn’t as if they could poison her. There was a soft drink as well and she found herself eating and guzzling with relish.
A half an hour later she strongly regretted the decision as she realized normal bodily functions accompanied such mundane acts as eating and drinking. She would have no choice but to leave the room now.
She could make out the sounds of a television and she hesitantly stretched her hearing. The actor John Cusack’s voice filled her mind and she recognized the movie. She couldn’t hear anything else and decided they must be watching it.
She opened the door a crack and peered out but all she could see was a hallway and an adjacent wall. She pushed it wider and stepped out softly.
Three heads swiveled towards her from their places on a large sofa. She froze and would have retreated back into the room if her need to pee wasn’t gaining in strength. She stood there trying to decide what to do next. How the heck was she supposed to convey her need to use the bathroom if she “couldn’t speak”?
Okay, I need a new plan, she thought in growing frustration. I lost my memory. I can’t remember anything about who I am. Why not? They didn’t know what to expect from her, it was perfectly reasonable that her memory was lost. And in the movies amnesia did not always or even usually include things like speech, often it was specific like not remembering who you were. Particularly if the memory loss was related to trauma and they couldn’t doubt she’d been traumatized.
She walked towards them slowly then stopped realizing they could hear her even if she whispered. She took a fortifying breath. “I need to use the bathroom,” she said quietly.
There was a heartbeat of stunned silence and then the blonde breathed out, “Oh…My…God,” and they all came to their feet.
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