Chapter 6

Dave came to visit Annie early the next morning. She was shocked when she saw the bruises on his face, his black eye and the painfull way he nursed his left arm.

"Oh my God! What the hell happened to you?" Annie asked, her unreasonable fear of Dave tempararily forgotten.

"That bastard Matt happened to me, that's what!" Dave shouted. He was obviously furious. Annie wondered why he had come to the hospital.

"What?" Annie asked. She couldn't believe that Matt could have done this.

"He came over and started having a go and punching me!" Dave shouted. He realised how much like a whiney little kid he sounded and took a deep breath. "I know you think he's all sweet and nice Annie, and I expect I see like the bad guy, but I'm really not," Dave continued in a calmer voice.

"I know," Annie said. Actually, she wasn't at all sure.

"Really?" Dave asked, leaning forward and reaching up to touch Annie's face. His hand was cold and clammy.

"Yes," Annie said. She was surprised at how easy it was for her to lie to him .

"Thank you. That you so much," Dave said sincerely.

"No problem," Annie said and shrugged her shoulders. Dave kissed her quickly on the lips. Annie wanted to push him away, but resisted the temptation to do so. She would habe felt guilty if she didn't let Dave kiss her for a second after she had let Matt kiss her over and over again, not to mention letting him grope her. After all, Dave was her husband (so they all told her), not Matt.

"Great! Well," Dave said. He slapped his knees with his hands as he seemed to wonder what he could say next. "Have the doctors told you the good news?" he asked.

"What good news?" Annie asked, proving that they hadn't.

"You can come home on Saturday!" Dave said happily. "I mean, you have to come back for a checkup on Tuesday, but home! You can go home!"

"Great," Annie said, her voice strained. She could tell Dave expected her to be more excited, but she didn't know what there really was to be excited about. Home, he had said, home. But where was home? Annie couldn't remember. The only place she knew was the hospital bed she lay in now. And she didn't really feel at home there. But it was still the only place she knew.

"Whats the matter?" Dave asked with a frown. Annie wished Matt was there. She couldn't tell Dave how she was feeling, but she felt like she could have told Matt. She trusted Matt.

"I don't know how soon Saturday is. What day is it today?" Annie asked. She forced herself to smile so that Dave wouldn't keep asking her what was wrong.

"Todays Wednesday," Dave said.

"So I go home in three days time?" Annie asked. More for somehting to say than that she wasn't sure.

"Yep. Listen, I gotta go. I'll come back tomorrow or Friday, and I'll be here to pick you up on Saturday of course," Dave said. He stood up and moved as if to kiss her again.

"Is Matt coming to see me today?" Annie asked before he could.

Instead of answering, Dave kissed her hard. He forced his tongue into her mouth, which Annie hated because he wasn't Matt. "You don't need him. You have me," Dave said. Then he left. Annie noticed the confidence in the way Dave walked. Even with his injuries, he was handsome and he obviously knew it.

Annie figured Dave had had time to walk down the corridor when the door opened again. Her first thought was that Dave had come back for something he had forgotten. But he hadn't it was Matt who stood in the doorway. He looked nervous and a little guilty, probably because he realised Annie knew what he ahd done to Dave.

"Dave was here. You just missed him," Annie said coldly.

"I know. I saw him in the corridor," Matt told her. "I guess he told you what happened," he said after a pause, "His version at least."

"Uh huh. Matt, tell me its not true, please," Annie begged, Matt had the decency to look ashamed at least.

"Well, I did throw a couple of punches his way," Matt confessed. He couldn't bear the let down look on Annie's face, so he came and sat down next to her bed, determind to make her understand that he had done it for her, but at the same time, that it wasn't her fault.

"So I heard," Annie said drily. She had to keep a distance (emotionally, as well as pysicallly) between her and Matt. She wouldn't trust herself with him otherwise.

"Yeah, I thought he'd come running here to tell you all about it," Matt said meanly.

"Don't blame me," Annie said defensively. "Please," she added in a softer tone. "I'm getting out of here on Saturday," she said.

"I know. Its great. I guess you'll be going back home with Dave, huh?" Matt asked.

"I guess so," Annie said quietly. Matt leaned forward and touched her cheek, then as if he suddenly remembered the awkwardness of the situatiojn, he withdrew his hand. Annie couldn't decide whether she was glad or not.

"Whats the matter?" he asked gently.

"I don't know. Its just, I dunno. I don't remember 'home', you know? I don't remember where I live, or what my life was like, and that scares me. It scares the shit outta me Matt. I don't know who I am, or was," Annie said ernestly.

"Its okay honey. Its okay," Matt whispered. It wasn't until he wiped her tears away that Annie realised she had been crying. "You don't have to be the same person you were before. I'm sorry if I, or anyone else has made you think that, because its not true. Not at all. Annie, everyone who knows you is just happy you're alive and awake. We understand that you'll have changed. And we don't care. We love you just as much as we did before," Matt assured her, blushing slightly as he mentioned 'loving' her.

"Do I live with Dave?" Annie asked.

"Uh huh, why?" Matt asked. He didn't mind that Annie hadn't ackmowledged his little speech. She didn't have to. He knew she appriciated it, without her having to tell him so.

"I'm not sure. I guess, I just don't trust him as much as I trust you," Annie admitted, blushing. Matt laughed gently and hugged her.

"I tried to arrange for you to come home with me, but Dave wouldn't hear a word of it. Besides, you probably should be with your husband," Matt said.

"You wanted me to stay with you?" Annie asked touched.

"Well, I like to have you where I know you're safe," Matt said modestly.

"Sorry," Annie said.

"Don't be. I suppose I could go hit Dave a few more times, see if he changes his mind?" Matt suggested with a grin.

"I don't think that'll work," Annie giggled.

"Yeah well, much as I would enjoy punching our good friend Dave, I have better thinks to do," Matt said grandly.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Annie teased.

"Cheering you up for starters," Matt said, "then I have to take Molly for a walk."

"Who's Molly?" Annie asked. She was sure Matt hadn't mentioned anyone called Molly before.

"MY dog. She's a ladrador cross. Getting on a bit now, but she's still a good old lady. And she still likes playing frizbee in the park. You'll have to come with us one day, next week maybe," Matt offered easily.

"I'm there," Annie promised.

"Not yet you're not. You're here," Matt quipped. Annie groaned. "Sorry," Matt said amicably.

"I know you're just trying to cheer me up, but you might want to avoid making a total fool of yourself," Annie suggested.

"Tried that, doesn't work. Anyway, why bother? Annie, you don't know it right now, but we've been friends for, well, forever," Matt said, suddenly becoming serious.

So that was why Annie felt such a bond, or connection, or something with Matt. Why she trusted him more than anyone else. And also why he was the one who had been there when she woke up instead of her husband, and why Matt had hardly left her side since then.

"How long have I known Dave?" Annie asked curiously.

"Let me see, uh, you've been married three years, but you've known him for about seven years," Matt told her. "You're full of questions this morning," he commented.

"Yeah. Mattm why did you hit Dave?" she asked nervously.

"He deserved it. He deserves everything he gets and more," Matt said fiercely.

"Why? Whats he done to make you hate him, to make you want to hurt him?" Annie demanded. She paused then added. "I'm asking because I want to know, not because I'm defending Dave."

"I know honey. I'm sorry, but you don't need to know this. Knowing won't help you, it'll only make everything ten times worse," Matt said. He spoke quietly and stared into the distance (or he would have been if the wall hadn't been in the way), not looking at Annie. It was as if he was talking tom himself.

"Matt, what happened to me?" Annie asked the question she had been wanting to ask ever since she woke up.

"I have to go," Matt said evasively.

"Why? Why won't you tell me? Don't I have a right to know whats happened to me? Why I'm here in the first place?" Annie shouted. She knew she would regret it later, when Matt had gone and might never come back, but the knowladge didn't stop her.

"Shut up!" Matt screamed at her, leaning right over her so his face was only a couple of inches away from hers. For a second, she was reminded of the dream where the man was shouting at her and calling her names. But only for a second. "Shut up!" he screamed again. "Can't you see I want to tell you, I want to tell you so bad, but I can't! believe me Annie, you don't want to know! Go ahead and hate me for not telling you if you want, but I won't tell you! I can't!" Matt screamed. He was crying now. So was Annie. When Matt was done shjouting, he practically ran out of the room, without a backward glance.

"God! Whats the matter with him?" Annie asked the ceiling, but of course, she didn't get an answer.