I tried to calm down as I cleaned my wound and replaced the bandages with some gauze I found in the bathroom cabinet. But the more I tried to be rational, the more nothing made sense. I started hyperventilating and having clear signs of a panic attack. So I followed my own advice for once and decided to take a walk to clear my mind.
I walked out the door, not even noticing I didn't have shoes on. I followed the hall my room was in; it led to a sitting area. I saw countless other halls until I finally found the grand stairs. My pain was nowhere to be seen, and my body was on overdrive. I knew I needed to get out, or this house would crush me. I had no idea where I was or if anyone saw me. I didn't care. I just ran down the stairs and out of the main entrance.
I didn't feel any pain anymore, not from my wounds or my naked feet. I just walked. The house seemed to be located in a clearing, and there were other houses surrounding it. All of the houses were extremely big and beautiful, perfectly blending with their environment. Most were fancy, big chalets and had similar infrastructure, all but the mansion I just exited. I realized now what it was. It was gigantic, almost as tall as a building but broader and prettier. I stopped focusing on it and started walking in the opposite direction.
I had no idea where I was going, which, I admit, wasn't very smart. But there were too many thoughts racing through my head. A bite? All of the wounds on my body looked like they were made by a wild animal. But how can a wild animal undress a person? And why would it? I knew the answer to that, difficult as it was to accept it. I was raped and left for dead, probably drugged as well. The wild animals saw easy prey and took advantage of the situation. This was the only logical conclusion, even though some bits still didn't make any sense. I had treated rape victims before. I had seen all the repercussions of this act—the pain and suffering that lasts for years. Then my amnesia was a defense mechanism my brain employed, as it was unable to deal with this at the moment. I had dissociative amnesia. And even though I knew all of this, I didn't know how it made me feel. So I kept walking.
I kept walking and walking until my legs gave out. I didn't know how to react. Everything was happening all at once. I placed my hand on a tree for support. But the pain hit me out of nowhere, like my wounds were on fire. The world started spinning, and when I came to, I was in his arms.
First, I heard someone breathing. Then, as I noticed the strong and steady grip this person had on me, I opened my eyes. I was being carried.
"Finally," a deep voice said. I turned to look at him with surprise. My head was laying on his shoulder. The world was still spinning. Was this a dream?
"Who are you?" I sheepishly said.
"A guy that's stuck with you." His grip on me was strong; I could feel his arms around my back and legs. They were robust. Even his neck seemed muscular.
"Who are you?" I asked again, slightly irritated this man I had never seen before was being so rude. What did he mean, stuck with me? It's not like I can see his face, but from his voice alone, I'm pretty sure I had never met this man before.
"Why do you care?" he said rudely, and I officially had enough of him.
"What is wrong with you? Put me down, please," I said, annoyed.
He said nothing as he kept walking.
"I said put me down, please," I repeated myself, convinced he must not have heard me.
He sighed. "I heard you the first time." I separated my head from his shoulder so I could take a look at his face.
"I just chose to ignore you."
I started squirming, and that must have been the last straw for him, because he simply dropped me to the floor.
"Ow!" I said. My legs were still sore from the attack, and now my ass was killing me.
"What the hell—"
"You asked me to put you down. I did," the man responded, not even offering me a hand to help me stand up before he kept walking.
"Get up. You're tough enough to venture out in the woods by yourself; you don't need my help getting up," he said, reading my mind.
I got up so fast my whole body protested, but I managed to saunter over to him and finally look him in the eye... What was I going to say again?
"You..."
The brown and gold of his eyes seemed to completely distract me. Why did those eyes seem so familiar? There was a certain command in those eyes, a silent order to stand down that had me taking a step back. I managed to rip my gaze off of his eyes and almost fell down once I looked at his face. I had never seen a more handsome man.
The dark brown of his short hair made his eyes stand out more, and his face was perfectly symmetrical. His skin was ever so slightly tanned, as if he spent his time working outside. White people in Canada never get tanned, so it was like encountering a rare specimen.
"What?" he said, sounding slightly irritated, towering over me with his ridiculous height.
It took me a second, but when I snapped out of it, I simply snorted at him.
"What is wrong with you?"
He just rolled his eyes in response and kept walking.
"Would you at least have the decency to answer me?" This guy was getting on my nerves. Because think about it—you pass out, and when you wake up, you are in somebody's arms. A very handsome guy, yes, but a very rude one as well. I just want some context. What'd I miss?
He, again, said nothing. And I discovered I just about had it with him.
"You have to be the rudest person I have ever met!"
He snorted right back.
"Really? What a coincidence—I have never met someone more stupid than you," he said with a cheeky smile.
I felt so flabbergasted I audibly gasped. How could I ever think this man was in any way attractive? He was an absolute prick.
"Excuse me?" I said almost immediately.
"One would have thought that once one was attacked in the forest, one would learn not to wander off again," he said, rolling his eyes.
"That's twice I've saved your ass."
Saved my ass? Who the hell is this man?
"What do you mean? I've never seen you before in my life."
He rolled his eyes, acting like he was annoyed he had to explain himself.
"My brother and I found you in the forest last night." He crossed his arms.
"And I found you once you passed out from exhaustion after acting like a goddamned child and running off without telling anyone."
"I didn't realize I needed anyone's permission to leave," I snapped at him as I looked him dead in the eye.
"Believe me, nobody wants you gone more than me." He took a step forward.