Fake Love Trap

Synopsis

Pain. That was the first thing I registered as consciousness slowly returned to me. A dull, throbbing ache that seemed to radiate from every inch of my body. The steady beep of a heart monitor somewhere to my left provided a rhythmic backdrop to my suffering. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt impossibly heavy. The harsh fluorescent lighting filtered through my eyelashes, sending sharp needles of discomfort into my skull. Hospital. I was in a hospital. Memories flooded back in disjointed fragments. Headlights. Screeching tires. The sickening crunch of metal. My car spinning out of control on the rain-slicked Seattle streets. Then... nothing. How long had I been here? Hours? Days? The white sterility of the private room offered no clues. An IV drip was attached to my arm, and various monitors hummed softly around me. My body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder—bruised, battered, and utterly exhausted. Voices drifted in from the hallway outside my door, which had been left slightly ajar. I kept my eyes closed, not yet ready to alert anyone to my consciousness. The pain medication coursing through my veins made everything feel slightly unreal, dreamlike. "The doctor says she might have amnesia from the trauma." The voice was immediately recognizable—Brandon. My boyfriend of three years. The man I'd given everything to. "This is perfect timing, actually." Perfect