Rescue me

[squillyfer]

Hi Hope you like this new story, after all the misery of my Faith series I thought it was about time i wrote something happy lol. Here is the basic plot. If you like it I'll post the first bit later.

Rescue me

Set in modern day America when William and Ella share a passion filled night together he cant wait to tell her how much he loves her. The only problem is just as he's about to she dissapears from his home and from his life. What will happen when he finds her and more importantly how will he cope with the fact that she doesnt even remember him?

[squillyfer]

Chapter 1: The Dream

"I've never done this before," she admitted tiredly as William rolled them to their sides. She lay comfortably against him, her head pillowed on his chest.

"Which part?" He asked, smiling down at the blonde girl-woman in his arms.

"Sex with a stranger," she giggled.

He couldn't help the smug smile that crept on his face. "Well, I'm not a
stranger anymore."

"That's one way of looking at it."

He kissed the top of her head as his hand found hers and entwined her
fingers with his. Perfect fit. They seemed to fit in everything. He held her
tighter against him. "We've known each other for five days now; almost a
week. How long does it usually take for you to…?"

"At least a month."

He grinned broadly.

"You're grinning like a Cheshire cat right about now aren't you?" She
accused him teasingly.

"I won't deny that I am."

She looked up at him and he mentally noted for the thousandth time how
beautiful she was. Even more so now with her lips swollen from kissing him,
her blond hair mussed from their bouts of love making and her face glowing
from passion and exertion. Her green eyes seemed to shine and he smugly
knew it was because of him. He'd been with many women before, but none
had captivated him as this one had. He felt himself stir to life again as he
beheld her. He leaned over and captured her lips with his, bringing her
closer to him and tasting her sweet mouth.

William lay back against the pillows, spent. He watched as she made her way
to the bathroom, looking over her shoulder and blowing him a kiss. He
smiled as he took in her slender, toned form and looked up at the ceiling as
she closed the door. He was going to have to move to Boston. He wanted to
leave his stint as an attorney and pursue teaching instead. It was what he
wanted, and Elle made him feel as if he could do anything, even move
mountains. And for her, he would.

He would have to make a lot of changes and arrangements, but it wasn't
even a sacrifice. He found his future; he found his life. It was all her. He was
going to have to tell her first, of course. But how could she say no? She had
to feel the same way. Didn't she?

"Idiot. You haven't even told her you love her yet, how could she possibly
know? Once you say it, she will too." He told himself. He looked toward the
bathroom. What was taking her so long?

"Elle?" He called out. No answer. "Love?" Nothing.

He rolled out of bed and started for the bathroom. Was she okay? His overactive imagination started going
into over drive and he knocked on the door. "Elle? Are you all right?"
Nothing still.

"I'm coming in," he opened the door tentatively and found the light off. He
furrowed his brow and flicked on the light.

"Elle? Where are you? Elle?" He shoved aside the shower curtain and
found it empty. He stormed back in the hotel room and found her clothes
off the floor—all traces of her were missing. Throwing on his jeans, he
stormed out the door. There wasn't a single soul in the hallway.

"Elle!" Spike called out before waking up.

His blue eyes shot open he groaned. The same dream again. He sat up and
turned on the lamp on his nightstand. He grabbed his cigarettes and lit one
up. He inhaled deeply and stared across the room. How was it that one
woman could turn his entire world upside down in just five days? How is it
that said woman could just disappear? Well, no, she hadn't disappeared like
she did in his dream every night, but when he had reached for her in the
morning; she had vanished.

He had to get over it. He told himself that at least a hundred times a day.
All right, so he met someone while visiting Rhode Island. All right, so he
spent five of the best days in his entire existence with that someone. And
yes, he'd fallen completely and hard for her as well. He ran a hand through
his blond locksand shook his head. How long had it been now? Two months. He hadn't even mooned over his ex-wife like this. Actually, he'd been happy of the reprieve. Now he was haunted by the elusive Elle Summers.

The plain and simple fact was he had to find the woman who turned his life
upside down. He had to find the woman who stole his heart and possessed
his soul. He had to find the woman who brought him to ecstasy time and again on that fateful night he kept dreaming about. He had to find the owner of the beautiful green eyes he couldn't erase from his dreams; the smile that was etched in his brain.

It had been a whirlwind week. William Knightly had gone to Newport, Rhode Island to get away. Living the fast life in L.A., he wanted to go someplace where it was quiet, peaceful and people were kind and real, rather than rude and fake. The small New England town seemed the
perfect place. And it had been. He'd gotten away from the cutthroats and
the bimbo's who preyed upon the successful rich men in business suits.

He was burnt out with the job that had once brought him so much pleasure
and found himself at a crossroads.. His girlfriend at the time had split and
he suddenly found himself single. He went away to think, rest and plan.

Then he met Elle. The vivacious, precocious woman who was, for all
intents and purposes, still a little girl. He was ten years older, she being 26.

It wouldn't seem they would hit it off. He was older, worldlier and definitely
not naïve. It was hard not to be jaded when you lived in L.A. He'd seen
things and done things that the normal person probably never had. She was
naïve, yes, but wise too. The mix was intoxicating. She was jaded and
innocent all at the same time. He had been drawn to her complexity. She
had wormed her way inside, broken down his defenses and just when he'd
thought he'd found the missing link to his life, she'd disappeared.

[squillyfer]

above cont.

They'd met on a tour of one of Newport's famous mansions. Both were
alone. The first thing he'd noticed about her was how beautiful she was. He
was used to being surrounded by beautiful women, but she was different.
She was real. Nothing about her was plastic or fake. After spending the tour
watching her instead of paying attention, he decided to talk to her. What
did he have to lose?

At first, she was hesitant about starting any kind of camaraderie with him.
For one thing, he was a stranger. For another, he was from the west coast;
she was from the east coast, what could be gained from a friendship with
that kind of distance? Somehow, he'd convinced her to spend time with
him. She was funny, a touch cynical and yet idealistic. Idealistic…a trait he
thought he had lost with his youth. Somehow she had managed to make
him believe in the ideal yet again.

He still remembered their first kiss. She'd taken him to her favorite
restaurant and there had been dancing. The first time he held her in his
arms, he couldn't stop himself. He'd kissed her tenderly, whilst putting all
that he felt for her in that kiss. Then when she'd molded herself around
him, he knew that she had to feel the same way. They spent the next few
days together, a kiss here a kiss there. Then, they'd made love and
everything was the same as he dreamt it: Until the point where she'd
vanished in the bathroom. In real life he had told her he loved her as they
had lain there in post-love making bliss and she had been gone the next
morning.

He remembered the awful feeling he had as he went to her hotel to find
that she'd gone. He'd searched everywhere for her. He ripped Newport
apart and she was nowhere. Then, his time was up and he'd gone back to
L.A. He searched Boston directories for an Elle Summers. She was nowhere
to be found. In that time, he'd quit his job and started looking up teaching
positions in Boston. For all he knew, she wasn't even from there. The idea
that she could have lied to him sat like lead in his gut. It gave way to
bitterness. Try as he might though, he wasn't able to forget her.

Though he told himself to get over her and move on. Though he was angry
with her for running out on him, for disappearing, for making him fall in
love with her, for obviously lying to him—he had to know why. He felt as if
he were cracking up, for one thing. He had nothing to trace back to her
aside from his memories. It was as if he spent a moment outside of time
with her and was slammed back into reality where she didn't exist. Part of
him wanted to find her if only to ensure he wasn't going out of his mind. He
snorted. Out of his mind was very much where he was headed. Which was
why he hired the private detective to find his Ella. What he would do with
the information after, he wasn't sure, but at least he would know where she
was should he want to pursue it.

Grounding out his cigarette he found himself looking longingly at the empty
side of his bed. He would just enjoy not reaching for her every time he woke up.
¨¨¨

"Mr. Knightly? I have the information you've requested. If you could—"
Will snatched the phone up, out of breath. "I'm here."

"Ah, Mr. Knightly. Were you running?" Detective Shreb asked.

"To the phone, yes."

"Did I interrupt you?"

"You have some information?" Will rolled his eyes. He had sprinted across
his penthouse once he heard the familiar voice of the detective he'd hired.
He'd stubbed his toe in the process. His heart was racing for a whole
different reason now.

"Based on the descriptions you gave me and the, uh, drawing you gave
me…I'm faxing some photo's of what I think might be your disappearing
girl."

"All right, hold on." William was off sprinting to his office now. The fax was
just starting to come through. He could see paper start to come through
and he stared at it as if it were his lifeline. It felt very much as if it were.

"Mr. Knightly? Are you there?"

"I am."

"If this is your girl, then her name is Eleanor Summers. She's not directly
from Boston, but rather a small town outside of Boston. She just moved to
Cambridge, Massachusetts three years ago. She isn't listed in any
directory—"

William inhaled sharply as the photo came through and the detective
stopped. "It's her. That's my—that's Elle." He stared at the photo until he
had to blink and he gripped the edges of it as if he were afraid that too
would vanish.

"I'm glad, Mr. Knightly. May I call you William?"

"Yeah, sure, that's fine. So, her name is Eleanor, you say?"

"Yes. She lives with her brother in Cambridge, a city just outside Boston."

"She told me she had a brother," Will whispered as he remembered the
fond gaze that passed across her features as she told him about her
brother.

"She was fairly easy to find. Well, for a professional anyway. It seems she's
spent a lot of time over the past couple months in the hospital."

William furrowed his brow. She never told him she was sick. "She sick?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I didn't delve in too deep. You said you wanted a
girl found, I found her." He sounded offended.

"Right, right. Thank you. Do you have her address? Phone number?"

"Yes, I am faxing that as well right now. I also have her job address and
phone number."

William stared at the fax machine, willing the information through. His
hands were shaking he noticed.

"What do you plan to do now that you've found her, Mr., uh, William?"

"I'm going to get her," Will replied simply. "I found my girl and I'm going
to get her."

"Suppose she doesn't want to be ‘gotten'?"

Will glared into the phone. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Seems
to me she has a lot of explaining to do, running out on me like that—and
why am I justifying myself to you?"

"Just curious as to what you would do now. You seemed unsure when you
first asked me to find her."

"Now that I've seen her face and know she's real and I'm not just cracking
up—I want some answers."

"Are you in love with this girl William?"

"I feel very many things for her at this moment in time, Shreb. I suppose
until I see her in the flesh, I won't be sure what any of them are."

"Seems it must be something for you to travel across the U.S. for her. To
hire me to find her—"

"Yes, well, thank you for finding her." Will rushed on. He didn't want to
hear any analyzing from another person about how he felt about this girl-
woman. It was bad enough his friends were concerned about the depth of
his obsession for her. He was already concerned for himself over it, he'd
already done more than enough analyzing—and dreaming—of her to
warrant worry about his own sanity, he didn't need assistance. But now,
now he held the information he sought in his hands. Now that he had a
picture of her lovely face, he found he couldn't stop here. No, he had to get
the girl who haunted him and make her explain to him why she'd left him.
After that, he wasn't sure what his plan would be anymore. Hopefully, his
obsession would be cured by then. He hoped, but something inside him
doubted that highly. Especially if the way his heart was aching in his chest
was any indication to how he felt just gazing at her picture.

¨¨¨


Leaving L.A. wasn't a problem. After many lectures—many concerned lectures on his rash decision to travel to the east coast for a woman who'd jilted him no less, he managed to convince one of his good friends to keep an eye on his penthouse for him. He was gone exactly one week after receiving information on Ella.

He hadn't spent much time in Boston and the first thing he noticed was the
chill in the air. It was October in Beantown. The weather was crisp and
refreshing. He smiled to himself. He remembered Buffy had been
flabbergasted that he'd never experienced fall. She had gone on and on
about the beauty of changing seasons. So, he looked at the temperature
through her eyes. Summer giving way to fall. Hot to cold. It would be nice
to experience something other than hot days and nights. He rolled his eyes
at himself. Great, now he was extolling virtue on the weather. Thank you
Elle for turning me into a sentimental fool.

Now that he had arrived, and was fairly settled into his hotel room, he had
no clue how to go about ‘getting' Elle. He was beginning to think he should
have listened to his friends when they told him not to bother. What kind of
person travels across the country after someone? A stalker, that's what
kind of person. The stalked don't exactly shower their stalkers with
encouragement and talk of how romantic they are. No, that's why things
like restraining orders existed. He sighed heavily and took out the pictures
he had of her. He smiled then. No, he had to find her. He had to know why
she just up and left him like that. His smile vanished. What is was just a
game? Just something she did for fun? She never seemed like the type.
Yeah, Will, because you knew her oh so well. Five days does not
constitute knowing what kind of person she was. Yet, he truly thought he
did know. How could anyone act that much passion and sincerity? He
snorted, a really good actor, that's who.

Pulling out the file of both her home and work address, Will decided it
was time to do what he came to Boston to do. Find the girl; get the answers,
close the chapter, and go back home.

[di marco]

fab! :D wow thats really good, youre such a great writer, its brill! cant wait to read more of it

[Chloe-Elise]

Thats so good :D Its brilliant, more asap please :D

[squillyfer]

Hi guys, thanks for the comment here's part 2

Chapter 2: Reality

"You're late," Elle scolded her brother as he settled himself in the booth across from her. "I said to meet for lunch at noon. I've been waiting for fifteen minutes." Her tone was stern, but the smile on her face indicated that she wasn't all that bothered.

"Did you see your boss?" Andrew Summers asked, ignoring her scolding.

"Nice to see you too, brother."

He smirked. "You know me. Right to the point."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know."

"So?"

"I start back Monday," she answered him, nervousness laced in her tone.

He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "You're going to do
fine, Elle."

"Thanks. I know. Just first day back after . . . everything."

He eyed her, concerned. "How you feeling?"

She smiled. "I'm all right. You don't have to keep asking me that, Andrew."

"You're my sister and I worry about you. Is that a crime?"

"I suppose not. But you just saw me this morning," she pointed out.

Andrews chocolate brown eyes glinted with amusement. "If you can call that
‘seeing'. You're a bear in the morning."

She shrugged. "Not all of us can be morning people."

He shook his head and elle noted how the gel he put in his dark brown
hair made it stiff as a board. "I wonder if the wind would jostle that hair,"
she mused.

He pointed at her. "Watch it, young lady."

"What are you going to do? Hit me over the head?"

Andrews handsome face darkened. "Not funny Elle."

"Sorry," she whispered, glancing down at the opened menu in front of her.
"Shall we decide?"

Andrew nodded grimly and grabbed a menu from behind the napkin holder.
He opened it and then snapped it shut. "You don't remember anything at
all about what happened?"

"For the millionth time, Andrew. No." She was trying not to get angry, but
she was so tired of people asking her—namely her family—what happened
to her. All she remembered was waking up in the hospital bed with Andrew
hovering beside her, his eyes tired, his usual tall and postured gait,
slouched with worry. She'd had no recollection of how she'd ended up there.
Lindsey Taylor, her boyfriend, said he'd come home from errands to
find her at the bottom of the stairs in a heap. She had no recollection of
falling down those stairs. It seemed pretty cut and dry to her aside from
the fact that she hadn't broken anything; just a few bruises here and there.
He'd said she must have fallen on her way down and not clear from the top.
It was a good thing those stairs were carpeted with extra padding or she'd
probably be in real trouble. If Lindsey had found her there, then obviously
she'd fallen down them, thus the head injury. So then why did Andrew insist
upon asking her day in and day out if she remembered? He knew she didn't
remember anything at all.

Andrew held up his hands in surrender. "All right. I see the resolve face. I
know what it means. This discussion is over."

"For today," she muttered.

Tight lipped, Andrew said noting and instead opened up the menu, holding
it up so that she couldn't see his face.

Sighing with frustration, Elle did the same.



A few blocks from the Al's, the greasy diner in which Elle and Andrew were
sharing lunch at, William found himself in front of the Museum of Fine Arts,
frustrated beyond belief. He'd gotten lost three times in almost two hours.
Boston was not an easy city to find your way around in. In fact, he
remembered Elle telling him that streets seemed to magically disappear. He
thought she was exaggerating, but after he'd tried to retrace his steps twice
and ‘lost' the street he had come down on, he realized she was right. And
really, how many "One Ways' could one city have?

However, as he looked up at the grandeur that was the MFA of Boston, he
saw the charm instantly. Manicured lawn, and an impressively large brick
building greeted him. The Newport mansions had nothing on the vastness
of this building. However, he supposed since she worked for the museum as
events coordinator all things old impressed her. He wasn't sure if that was a
narrow way of looking at it or not, but he didn't care at that moment.

What he did care about however was the fact that his palms were beginning
to sweat and his heart rate was accelerating with every step to the
entrance. His breath hitched as soon as the door opened as if he expected
Elle to jump out and greet him, or walk idly past him at any moment.

Instead, a ticket booth and a gift show lay in his wake and the attendants
behind the desk smiled at approaching attendees. All right, he told himself,
good place to start. They could get her to come down, hopefully, and then
they'd have themselves a chat.

He hesitated, feeling suddenly guilty. Was it right to do this at her work?
Probably not. He took a deep breath, noting how every museum seemed to
have that ‘old' smell. The scent of fried food wafted to him and his stomach
rumbled. Must have a cafeteria here. Maybe if he stuck around long
enough, he'd see her and wouldn't have to ask. He checked his watch.
Twelve-thirty. Lunchtime. Girl had to eat, right? And so did the boy.

Realizing he had to purchase a ticket in order to get to the cafeteria, he
forged forward anyway. He could stroll around; take a look at the museum.
See the place where his Elle worked. See the place she talked about so
lovingly. No one he knew ever talked about their job like that. He wanted to
feel closer to her, felt as if he would somehow know her even better, and
understand her. He snorted. His friends were right. He was obsessed. Well,
the only way to cure his obsession was to face it head on and purge it out of
his system. Or was the best way to move on and forget about it? Like he
could do that.

Purchasing a ticket – in which he now understood how it was kept so lovely
by the price – he sauntered into the cafeteria trying to appear calm, but
instead taking in everyone around him, looking for Buffy. He ordered a ham
sandwich, waited for it to arrive, then sat down in the back where he had a
clear view of the entrance. He shook his head. He was definitely a stalker
now.

[squillyfer]

Above cont.

After finishing his sandwich, he decided it was time to walk around. Finding
where the Greek artifacts were, he made his way there, all the while
keeping his eyes and ears open for Elle. After walking around for an hour,
he was getting antsy. So when a tall, leggy brunette strolled past him with
the badge "STAFF" on her white lab coat, William stopped her.

"Excuse me."

The woman stopped and looked around her.

Will smiled. "I am talking to you."

The woman smiled shyly and let out a little giggle, pushing her glasses up
her nose and turning her shoulders inwards. Definitely shy.

"I was wondering if you could help me," Will started.

Her head cocked to the side. "With?"

"I'm looking for someone that I believe works here. In fact, I know she
does. See, she used to be an old friend of mine and I'm wanting to surprise
her."

"How nice," she gushed. "Who is she?"

"Elle Summers."

The girls smile faded. "Oh dear."

William felt sick all of a sudden. "What is it?"

"Just that Elle isn't here . . . she's been out for quite a while. She'll be back
though. On Monday."

"Is she all right?" Will asked, remembering Shreb had told him of her
stay at the hospital. Was she sick? Is that why she'd left him? Because she
was dying and didn't want to hurt him. His heart ached and his stomach
churned at the prospect. He'd stay with her. He'd stay with her until . . . No,
he'd hire the best doctors around and take care of her, make her well again.


"She had an accident. I'm not really at liberty to say . . . how long ago did
you know her?"

"Uh, high school."

The woman smiled then. "Oh then you should—I mean, she'll probably be
really happy to hear from you."

"I want to surprise her though, please don't tell her uh—"

"Nancy. Nancy Burton and I won't tell--?"

"William. Nice to meet you Nancy," and he held out his hand.

Blushing profusely, she shook his hand lightly. "If you'll excuse me," she
said looking down and smiling.

"Thank you," and he moved out of the way so she could get by. He sighed.
Monday. He wasn't sure if he could wait a whole weekend to find her. Next
stop: Her home.



Tenacity was his middle name, however, he felt he had to regroup and plan.
Look at the facts the way any good attorney would do and make a plan
based on those facts. Fact number one: Elle had a brief stint in the
hospital due to an accident. Fact number two: The brief stint in the hospital
had been bad enough that she had missed work. Fact number three: Nancy
had acted funny when he asked about her. What was he walking into and
did it have anything to do with why she had left?

Making his way through downtown Cambridge, he did the first law of
driving in Boston: He parked at the first parking spot he saw. He didn't care
if it took him an hour to find Elle; he wasn't willing to risk taking two just
backtracking. On foot seemed a safer bet. Besides, the walking would
maybe clear the cobwebs from his muddled brain and he could plan what
he was going to say to her when he saw her. First, he knew he wanted to
make sure she was all right. Then he wanted her to know that he came in
peace. He chuckled to himself. What was he? An alien? He grimaced, he
sure felt like one. Taking out the address, he headed into the first
convenient store he found to buy a pack of smokes, get something to drink
and ask directions. Strolling down the aisle to the coolers, he was perusing
his options when his heart stopped.

Elle.

She was standing in front of the one of the long coolers, just staring at it.
God, she was beautiful. Was it possible that she had grown even more
beautiful than when he'd last seen her? He always thought that your
dreams had a tendency to embellish and exaggerate even more than what
had actually happened, than what you had in reality seen. Not the case
when it came to Elle. Sure, he could see just her profile, but it was the
smoothness of her skin he remembered, but did not do her justice in his
dreams and memories, the way her cheeks were naturally pink without the
aid of makeup, the way her nose was oddly shaped and so adorable, and her
hair, how it shone. It had gotten longer, he noted, passed her shoulder and
grazing her shoulder blades. He noted how the ends naturally curled. She'd
also gotten thinner. He frowned. While her clothes weren't hanging off her,
there was noticeable room in them.

Realizing he couldn't cheat himself of the chance to talk to her, he sidled up
next to her. "Know what you want?"

"No," she sighed. "Sorry, I was zoning. Am I in your way? I'll move," and
without even looking at him, she started to walk away.

He grabbed her arm. "Elle."

She froze and turned to him. Her eyes were wide with apprehension. Fear.
What was this? He'd expected shock, but not this. He suddenly felt like a
git.

"How are you?" he asked, releasing his grasp on her arm.

"Fine. How are you?" she asked cautiously.

"I've missed you," he told her honestly and then wanted to kick himself for
it. Way to scare her off, Will.

"Oh? How long has it been?"

"About two months, give or take the time it took me to come down here for
a visit."

Now she looked downright despondent. "Two months huh?"

"Yeah, Elle, can we go somewhere and talk? I don't want to yell at your
anything. I just need to know what happened."

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you that."

"Why not?" now he was getting a little angry. First she'd acted afraid of him, then sad that she'd seen him and now she was just going to be no help at all?

"Look, whatever happened with us—"

"'Whatever' happened with us?" his voice rose.

"I'm sorry, but—"

"You're SORRY?"

"Listen," she said forcefully, her voice rising now. "I don't know who you
are."

"What?"

Her bottom lip trembled. "I don't have any memory of the past three
years of my life."

Now that, he didn't expect. "What?" he whispered.

"I had an accident a couple months ago-- which I must have just met you before that – and I suffered a head injury. I have a condition . . . "

"Amnesia?"

"That'd be it. So if I met you in the timeframe of the past three years, I
don't remember you."

[di marco]

fab! :D oh poor elle, hopefully will can help her. more very soon please

[squillyfer]

Chapter 3: The Story

William was in complete shock. He stood there staring at Elle, motionless, in the middle of a convenience store unable to wrap his mind around the bomb she’d just dropped.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, whatever I did or didn’t do –what did I do?” she asked him.

He sighed. He couldn’t lie to her, on the other hand, how
could he tell her? She was obviously distressed by the fact
that she couldn’t remember him, how would she react to the
truth of what had happened between them? It would
definitely upset her.

“Elle,” he started hesitantly.

“Don’t lie to me please. No matter what it is, you have to tell
me the truth or I’ll never be able to rebuild my life and one day
remember what happened.”

His eyes snapped to hers. “God Elle that sounds so
awful,” he breathed. She grinned warily.

“It does, doesn’t it?”

“Is there anything I can do—please, I want to help.”
“You can tell me your name,” she smiled.

“William Knightly. I go by Will though.”

She raised her eyebrows. “If I had my memory, I doubt I’d
forget a name like that. Very high class”

“I used to be an Attorney. You sort of have to use your full name”
“Used to be an Attorney?”

“I quit.”

“Why?”

“Wasn’t happy. Decided to take a chance and make a
change.”

“To?”

“Teaching.”

Her eyes widened.

“That is quite a change. Less money
too.”

“I don’t care about that part.”

“Less cut throat I imagine and less stress.”

“Exactly.”

“You could probably still bring your interrogating to
the classroom depending on what grade you teach.”

Will chuckled.

“Very good point. I was thinking college
level. I don’t feel at my age I’d have the patience for a
younger crowd.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty – six.”

She smiled,

“You’re still young. You could do it.”

“I guess I like the idea of my students being more
responsible.”

“Just because they’re in college doesn’t mean they’re more
responsible,” she pointed out.

“True, but, most of them want to be since they’re paying
for it.”

“Or on a free ride from their parents and don’t care.”

“Gotta take the good with the bad I guess.”

“Don’t I know it,” she said wistfully.

“How did it happen?” he asked carefully, not wanting to
upset her.

“I fell down the stairs,” she replied, meeting his eyes.

“Do you remember at all?”

She shook her head. “No. And my brother asks me at least
twice a day if I do.”

“It must drive you crazy.”

“You have no idea.”

“I remember you mentioned a brother when we met,” William
said thoughtfully.

“Can you tell me how and when and where?” she asked
hopefully.

“Elle, I don’t think I can,” and it pained him to say it.

“Why?” she asked, a hard edge to her voice.

“Because I don’t want to put any undue stress on you.”

[squillyfer]

above cont.

“If you don’t tell me then I’ll just wonder and then stress
anyway. So you might as well tell me to give me peace of
mind. It might not look it, but I’m made of tough stuff here.”

He grinned, “I don’t doubt that.”

She looked up at him hopefully. “Then tell me?”

“We were close.”

“How close?”

His eyes met hers. “Close enough.”

“Were we – were we dating?”

“You could say that.”

She sighed heavily. “Impossible.”

His eyes narrowed. “How is it impossible?”

“Because I have a boyfriend.”

He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. “For how
long?” he asked incredulously, and a bit louder than intended.

She took a step back, frowning. “According to what I’ve
been told, for the past three years. According to my
timetable, one month.”

William sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “You
never told met that when we—you never told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just part of the mystery that is Elle Summers.”

“Tell me about it,” she said dryly.

“Christ, I can’t say anything right!” he exclaimed in
frustration.

“It’s all right. I’m learning to roll with the punches. I didn’t
mean to be so skittish when you tried to talk to me, it’s just
that it gets hard when people know who you are, but you
have no recollection of them.” She sounded tired and weary
and it made him want to just gather her in his arms and
soothe her.

“It’s like you’re famous,” Will tried to joke.

“Without any of the perks,” Elle added wryly. “I just hate
disappointing so many people when they start talking to me
and bringing up things I don’t know anything about . . . its
hard to see the hurt expression on their face.”

“You care,” Will said, almost in awe. It wasn’t just her
she worried about; it was others.

She nodded. “Look, I don’t really know what to tell you right
now . . . “

“Elle, you’ve been through a lot and I’m not asking for
anything—“

“Which is good because I can’t give you anything.”

“What about your friendship? I’m thinking of relocating to
this area and I could use a friend.”

“William, I don’t know you at all and if what you said is true—
“

“It is.”

“I have a boyfriend,” she reminded him.

He ignored that comment. “You do know things about me. You know my name, you know I used to be an Attorney, I’m 36 and I want to be a teacher.”

She started to laugh. “Okay, okay, stop.”

“So you’ll be my friend?”

“Can I think about it?”

“I don’t want to lose you again Elle.”

“You’ll have to stop saying things like that.”

“What? The truth?”

She sighed. “All right then. Fine. I want to know more about
our relationship then.”

[Chloe-Elise]

This is brilliant :D More asap please :D

[di marco]

fab! :D this is really good, really well written. more very soon please

[squillyfer]

Chapter 4: The Start Of A Beautiful Friendship

Following William out of the convenience store, Elle wondered what the hell she was thinking. She had enough on her plate with missing the last three years of her life, the last thing she needed to do was add to it by asking William about their supposed
relationship.

She supposed it was the stark honesty in his blue eyes. The way they shone at her, and the tenderness written in his face as he beheld her. He'd never hurt her, that's what his face told her. Not to mention the fact that he was, well, gorgeous. Tall and lean with sharp cheekbones. He was a man, but at the same time resembled a boy, he appeared an angel, but his nickname suggested a devil. He was a mystery. As if she didn't have enough mystery in her life.

He stood before her, his bleached blond hair nearly white in the sun, nearly blinding her with its brilliance. With the sun behind him, it was as if he was surrounded by a golden light. Now he was the angel.

"Do you really want to know what happened with us?" he asked, cutting
right to the chase.

The million dollar question. Did she really want to know? Despite how he
seemed, how could she really trust him? The only person she felt
comfortable and safe with was Andrew. So why was she following this
stranger out side, this stranger who said they'd had relations while she was
supposedly with Lindsey, this stranger who'd tracked her down?

"No," she blurted out, surprising them both. "In fact, I think it might be
best if I just walked away. I'm sorry for what I did –or rather didn't do, but
I just –can't." She started to walk away and the stopped in her tracks when
Will jumped out in front of her.

"I told you I lost you once and I wasn't going to do it again, princess."

"What do you want from me?"

"Just a little bit of your time."

"Like right now?"

Something passed over his face that she couldn't define. "Let me amend

that. A little bit of your time everyday."

Her breath hitched. "William, I don't think that's a good idea," she shook
her head and started to walk away.

"I know that Newport is your favorite place aside from Boston," he called
after her. She stopped, frozen, as he continued. "I know that it's your
favorite because you remember going there on family vacations with your
parents when you were young. You and your brother used to plan taking
one of them over and moving in together. I also know that as happy as it
makes you to visit, it also makes you sad."

She turned around. "Because my parents are dead now."

He started walking up to her and she kept her eyes trained on him. "Elle,
I'm not asking for a lot here. Think of it this way: I'm rebuilding my life and
so are you. Why not do it together?"

"Because my boyfriend might have something to say about it."

"He might have something to say about us being friends?"

She smiled warily. "Do you want to be just friends?"


"If it's what I can get, then yes."

[squillyfer]

"I still don't know William. You claim we had something, but obviously I
don't remember it. And I'm pretty sure that I'm very loyal, so it doesn't
add up that I would cheat on Lindsey—"

"Lindsey is your BOY friend?"

She narrowed her eyes and tapped her foot, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yes. You have something to say about that Will?"

He grinned. "Little tigress in there," he tucked his tongue behind his teeth
and grinned. Elle tried not to notice how sexy it was, despite how
annoyingly cocky it was at the same time. "I like it."

"As I was saying," she said pointedly, "No one else in my life knows you. I
would have known by now, wouldn't I have?"

"We met in Newport, at one of the mansions. The Breakers—your favorite
mansion."

She looked down. He knew way too much about her to be making it all up.
"Did you hire a detective?" His eyes shifted away from her. "You did, didn't
you?"

"No. I did my own detecting."

His eye was twitching.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Continue."

"You were alone, I was alone."

"And?"

"And the rest I will tell you in time."

"That so?"

"If you agree to meet with me at least once a day, I'll tell you a little bit
more about what happened. But you have to agree to meet me."

"I could just walk away right now."

"But you won't, will you?"

She studied him. "Where did you come from?"

"L.A."

Her eyes widened. "You came across the country for me?"

He reached out and caressed the side of her face with his knuckles, his face
taking on the tender look she'd seen earlier. "What can I say? You made me
want to come and see the city you love so much. I've only been here a day
and I think I already love it."

Her breath hitched at that and she grabbed his hand to take it off her face,
but he maneuvered his hand so that now he was grasping hers in his.
"Ella. I'm asking for an hour—I'll even settle for a half hour—of your time.
What have you got to lose?"

"My sanity?"

"I'll help you regain it."

"How? You know something about me I don't remember."

"And I'll tell you about it all."

"Why should I do this?"

"Because despite how strange it is, you're curious. Because something
about me and the situation has piqued your curiosity. And, because you
can't be mean to the newbie in the city. I might get eaten alive."

"Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point," she said dryly.

"Trust me."

"I only trust Andrew."

"Brother?"

She nodded.

He smiled, "I'd like to meet the guy. You spoke so highly of him."

"He'd pummel you into next week if you ever hurt me."

"I wouldn't Elle, I would never hurt you."

"I don't know you well enough to believe that."

"There's only way to find out."

She stared at him, at his earnest eyes, his hopeful face. His big warm hands
held hers tightly, yet gently enough that she could escape if she wanted to.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Do you have a car?"

He nodded.

"Nearby?"

"Yes."

"Well then. You can give me a ride."