Home > Unravel Me (Unravel Me #1)

Unravel Me (Unravel Me #1)
Author: Kendall Ryan

Chapter One

I listened as my best friend, Liz, droned on about her latest fling gone wrong and his deplorable behavior. “I’m done with men,” she declared.

I choked on my latte, nearly spitting the lukewarm liquid on my computer screen. “Sure Liz.” She’d yet to understand that taking a guy home from the bar at two in the morning wouldn’t result in a real relationship. I wasn’t about to waste my breath explaining this to her for the umpteenth time. She was a contradiction in every way, despite being a graduate student; her social life rivaled one of those girls-gone-wild reality shows.

“I’ll just do what you do. Battery operated boyfriends never let you down, right Ashlyn?” She chuckled.

I roughly swallowed down my mouthful of coffee. Nice. It was good to know what she really thought of me. “I’ll be sure to buy stock in Energizer then,” I teased her back. If you asked me, Liz’s sexual needs were off the charts. The simple satisfactions of working my way through grad school one crappy lecture at a time and an occasional fling with my vibrator kept me content… for the most part.

A new email in my inbox caught my attention. It was from Professor Clancy, titled Possible Thesis Topic?

I pulled the phone from my ear, cutting out Liz’s rant to read over the professionally worded message, inwardly cringing that I’d just been discussing vibrators. The sad thing was, Liz was right. It was the only action I’d had in two years. I just didn’t have time for a relationship and casual sex had never interested me. I needed a connection before I’d get naked and share my body with someone.

“Liz, I’ve got to go. Call you tonight.” I hung up without waiting for her response, but could hear her laughter through the line as I ended the call.

I closed my laptop and dialed Professor Clancy’s office number since he could be counted on to be there practically at all hours. Professor Clancy was a legend on campus and in academic circles, and I was lucky to have him as my adviser. He picked up on the third ring.

“I got an interesting call from Dr. Andrews,” he said. His calls always began this way – no hello, how are you – just straight to the point. “And based on a patient he’s seeing, I might have a lead on a test subject for your amnesia thesis.”

We’d been brainstorming thesis ideas that would also secure me a grant and allow me to work on getting a paper published within my field of study, behavioral psychology. Ever since I was a girl, I’d been fascinated by amnesia. Sometimes I fantasized about what it would be like to have amnesia, to forget all the painful memories from growing up. I realized Professor Clancy was still speaking and I listened as he described the man who’d been brought in to Northwestern Memorial Hospital several days before without a single memory, not even his name.

“You’re a genius, Professor Clancy, that’s perfect!” I knew this assignment was meant for me. I could already see it – my name and an amnesia study printed in a medical journal. If that didn’t prove that I’d made something of myself, then nothing ever would.

“There’s one hitch though.”

“What’s that?”

“He’s under arrest for a murder he has no recollection of committing.”

I picked at my nails and waited for him to continue.

“He was arrested at the scene of a murder, standing over a man who’d been beaten so badly he had to be identified through dental records.”

I shivered involuntarily. “Geez.”

“Yeah… You might want to rethink this, Ash.”

“No. I want to work with him.”

“I figured you’d say that. I just wanted to warn you and make sure you understood what you’d be getting into.”

“Understood. Thanks, Professor. Have they discovered anything else about him?” I asked, anxious to learn all I could.

“He recalls nothing of his life before. Not even his name.”

“That sounds promising.” We’d been kicking around the idea of studying the effects of amnesia and its psychological impacts, but the access to subjects was limited. I wanted to write about something fresh and cutting edge, not just regurgitate the articles already published in tired old journals.

“I’ve arranged a visit with his attending physician, Dr. Andrews. You free in the morning?”

“Of course.” Even if I’d had plans, I would cancel them to meet the amnesia subject. My stomach tingled with excitement.

I reviewed the file Clancy had emailed over, and prepared myself for my first meeting with John Doe.

***

I balanced my mug of coffee on the edge of the pedestal sink, and finger combed my hair. Getting the long unruly strands to cooperate was a daily challenge. I usually opted for a ponytail, but today I needed to look professional, so I did my best to smooth it down and tucked it behind my ears.

I swiped tinted moisturizer over my cheeks and mentally ran through the information in the file Professor Clancy had emailed me. The subject was a Caucasian male in his early twenties, six foot one, one hundred ninety-two pounds, and most noteworthy of all, had absolutely no memory. He was suffering from complete amnesia. His file claimed he had emotional issues, which I expected as a result of the trauma. He had above average intelligence, and was articulate, yet had been uncooperative and withdrawn. He bore no distinguishing birthmarks, was in good health, had two tattoos, and was circumcised. It felt like an invasion of privacy knowing so much about him, but the prospect of meeting him excited me.

   
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