REMEMBER ME: GODS OF CHAOS MC (5 page)

CHAPTER TEN

Grace

I slept like a brick.  No dreams, no tossing and turning, just good, solid sleep. I woke up at noon, according to the clock by Ryde
r’
s bedside.  I felt terrible for taking his bed again, and I was
n’
t unaware of the fact that it had been days since he had last slept in his own bed.  But he had made me nervous about what lay outside the door of this room, and after looking for hours through missing persons with Riot last night, I felt like I had been hit by a truck.  There was no way I could face whatever was waiting for me on the other side of his door.  Not the clubhouse.  Not the world.  Not my past.

I was weak, sore and exhausted.  But when I finally woke up, way too many hours later to be polite, I felt almost as good as new.  I was stiff from spending so many hours on Ryde
r’
s lumpy mattress, but other than that, I felt strong.

Sunlight streamed in through the only window in Ryde
r’
s room, and I spent a peaceful few moments alone before I heard a knock at the door. 

“
Come in
,”
I said.  The door opened, and instead of Ryde
r’
s face like I was expecting, two women, who could
n’
t have been more opposite from each other, walked in.  The short, curvy orange-haired lady smiled at me through her gum-smacking, red-painted lips, her hands holding a pile of clothes.  The other girl was younger, taller, her dark hair framing an innocent looking face.  She held up a pair of sneakers, hanging from her hooked fingers.  Her arms crushed her breasts together to form an obscenely magnificent display of cleavage that threatened to bust out of her tiny pink crop top.

“
Hi, there, darli
n’!”
The older lady cooed as they strode towards me.
 “
W
e’
ve been dyi
n’
to get close to you, I mea
n…
to meet you. W
e’
re so glad yo
u’
re awake! 
I’
m Cherry, and this is Tiff
.
”

They were standing in front of me now, as I stood next to the bed.  Their gaze traveled up and down my body as they laid the clothes and shoes beside me.

“
Hi,
I’
m - um, u
m
…
”
Well, shit.  How do you introduce yourself when you ca
n’
t even remember who the hell you are?  My eyes welled up with tears for the first time since I had cried myself to sleep last night.

“
Oh, honey!  I
t’
s okay, we know, we kno
w
…
”
Cherry patted my back as Tiff stood to the side, nodding and sucking her teeth.
 “
W
e’
ll figure out a name for you.  Ryder told us everything, do
n’
t worry.  You do
n’
t have to explain yourself at all
.
”

I nodded gratefully, and sat down on the bed.

“
Thank you
,”
I said quietly.
 “
I
t’
s nice to meet you
.
”

“
Oh, yes, you too. Ryder said you might need some clothes, so we gathered up a whole bushel of stuff here for you.  Just go ahead and dig through and use whatever you want, darli
n’
.  Some of i
t’
s mine, and some of i
t’
s Tif
f’
s
.
”

“
Thank you
,”
I said again.

“
Of course, darli
n’
, of course
,”
Cherry said
.“
Oh, bless your li
l’
heart
,
” 
 
she drawled.

She seemed older than me, her slightly wrinkled face just starting to show her age.  She was gorgeous, though.  You could tell that she was a knock-out when she was younger.
 “
Alrighty, so listen, w
e’
re about to make breakfast for the whole crew, so you should join us
.
”

I smiled, and Tiff sat down next to me on the bed.

“
So
,”
she said, peering at me curiously
.“
You ca
n’
t remember anything at all, huh
?
”

“
No, I -
,
”

“
Tiff!  Do
n’
t be rude, now
!
”
 
Cherry admonished her.

“
No, no, i
t’
s okay
,”
I said, smiling at them, grateful for the chance to be around some feminine energy.  I turned to Tiff and answered her question.

“
I ca
n’
t remember anything about who I am, no
,”
I said.

“
Well, like, what do you remember
?”
she asked.
 “
Like, do you know what year it is? Or who the president is
?
”

“
Yeah
,”
Cherry said
,“
maybe we can help you remember.  Not all at once, or anything, but you know, maybe we can jog your memory with little things or something.  I saw something like this once on an episode of CSI.  A woman got hit on the head, forgot everything about herself, but she knew all about the world, and different facts about different cultures, and she was an expert on astronomy all of a sudden!  And she woke up knowi
n’
how to speak French, of all things
!
”

I shook my head as I listened to her rattle on.

“
Have you tried that
?”
she asked.

“
Tried what
?”
I replied.

“
Speaking another language.  Maybe yo
u’
ll be able to now, you know, unless you did already, but I guess you would
n’
t know that, huh?  Shit.  You know, I read about this other man that woke up knowi
n’
how to play the piano like a virtuoso! Can you believe that?  Well, I tell you, i
t’
s crazy, ai
n’
t it
?
”

I nodded, listening to her words, and wishing she was right. 

“
At this point,
I’
d be happy to learn anything about myself, whether I knew how to do it before or not
,”
I said to them.

“
Oh, bless your li
l’
heart
,”
Cherry said, patting my knee.  They were both sitting on the bed beside me now, sandwiching me in a three-way hug of concern. 

It felt good.

“
Is the president Barack Obama
?”
I asked Tiff.

“
Yep
!”
she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up enthusiastically.
 “
That is exactly right! See, you did
n’
t forget everything.  Ther
e’
s hope
!
”

I smirked.  She was right.  I was just getting started, and hopefully everything would come back to me quickly.  I just needed to fill in some holes, tha
t’
s all.

“
Yes, I believe there is, Tiff
.
”

“
Oh, tha
t’
s just wonderful, ai
n’
t it
?”
Cherry said.
 “
Okay, so le
t’
s leave you alone to get dressed in somethi
n’
that might fit you better. You sure got yourself a pretty little figure, do
n’
t you? All right, when yo
u’
re ready, just come on out to the kitchen, to the right of the hallway.  Breakfast wo
n’
t take long to cook.  Do you
,”
she paused before reconsidering her question.
 “
Well, my goodness, I was goi
n’
to ask how you like your eggs? Well, ai
n’
t that somethi
n’
? Maybe you do
n’
t even know, honey
?
”

“
Scrambled. Hard scrambled
,”
I replied, without thinking about the answer first.  I gasped, and put a hand over my mouth in surprise.  A slow smile crept across my face.

“
See
!
”
 
Tiff said again.
 “
Ther
e’
s hope
!
”

“
Well, alrighty then, there you go
!”
Cherry said.
 “
See you in a bit. Do
n’
t take too long, now, you hear
?
”

“
Okay, sure
,”
I replied, watching them walk out the door.
 “
Thank you
.
”

Alone again, I rifled through the pile of clothes they brought.  I found a pair of jeans that thankfully fit me well.  A plain black t-shirt replaced Ryde
r’
s white one that had allowed everyone else a plain view of my nipples so far.  A clean pair of socks and the sneakers Tiff had brought made me feel almost normal.  The girls had
n’
t thought to bring me any underwear, but I was grateful for that, because the thought of wearing someone els
e’
s underwear was
n’
t appealing.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.  Peeking out, I saw nothing but an empty hallway that led to a big, open room.  The smell of bacon   hit me first, and my stomach growled.  I was ravenous.  Throwing caution to the wind, I walked down the hall.  Rounding the corner, I saw men scattered everywhere.  Talking, laughing, drinking, eating.  All shapes and sizes, but the one thing they all had in common was that patched leather vest that was flung across their backs.  The same one I had seen Ryder and Doc and Riot wearing.  And tattoos. They were slathered in so many tattoos, it made me wonder if they had an in-house tattoo artist.

Cherry and Tiff saw me and ran over, guiding me to the kitchen table.  The clubhouse was a real house, and the kitchen opened up to the living room where most of the men were situated.  I watched from the table as people circled around me, not paying me much more attention than an occasional curious glance. 

Riot was standing in the corner, talking intensely with a skinny guy with a crooked grin.  Doc was sitting in a worn leather recliner by the window, wearing glasses and reading a newspaper.  Everyone else was moving through the living room on their way to somewhere else.  It was busy, but not the chaotic scene I had imagined from Ryde
r’
s description.

Ryder. 
Where was Ryder?
I wondered.