Chapter Five

He grabbed Berry's leash and sped-walked to the park. He found a tree to sit under and tried regulating his breathing.

He'd seen her. That couldn't have been his imagination.

Will leaned back and felt the rough texture of the tree trunk rubbing against his back.

He leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes. He could feel Berry pulling at the leash beside him as he sniffed around him, probably looking for squirrels.

Not too far from where he sat, he could hear a group of women talking as they exercised. To his right, he could hear a father and his son playing 'catch'.

His hands came to rest on the neatly trimmed grass beneath him. The grass gave way to the weight of his hands, bending every which way. He needed the distraction.

Will sighed.

He needed to find that woman because he was starting to go crazy.

He had to. He couldn't go on not knowing what happened to her.

"I wish I remember you," Will mumbled to himself.

"I'm going to find out what happened to you. I promise." Will opened his eyes just as the south wind blew his hair into them.

He sighed, sitting up.

He spent the rest of his afternoon, just observing people living their lives, while he felt like he was stuck in the past.

He'd unleashed Berry a while ago and was worried that he might have gotten lost.

He stood up, dusting his behind and stretching his legs. He adjusted his glasses and grabbed the leash.

He walked across the park calling out Berry's name.

"Excuse me, have you seen my dog?" He asked a couple nestled under an oak tree, quietly enjoying their picnic.

"He's alsatian and has a rather obvious brown streak on his tail." Will quickly added not wanting to intrude more on their private moment than necessary.

Sometimes, he wished he had someone like that to talk to, of course, he had Matt, but it was different.

He craved a female companion.

The man affirmed that he'd seen Berry a while back and soon pointed towards the south end of the park.

Will thanked them both and continued on to his destination.

A smile of relief crossed his lips when he saw Berry's tail peeking out from behind a tree.

What was he doing, interrogating a squirrel?

The dog was so preoccupied with what he was doing that he didn't realize that Will was right behind him.

"Gotcha!" Will crouched down grabbing him from the side.

He heard a startled yelp.

Surprised, Will turned his head in the direction of the sound only to see Hope's honey brown eyes staring bewilderedly up at him. Her hand was on Berry's head, she'd been petting him.

"You startled me," She looked down at Berry, "is he yours?"

Will was short of words, so he only nodded.

He took her in- it was refreshing seeing her outside the office and out of work clothes.

She was wearing a flower printed gown and had a straw hat on to keep her face from the sun.

She was resting against the oak tree looking aesthetic like a finished art piece.

She really was beautiful. He wondered about the slim chances of them meeting and he couldn't believe it; he definitely didn't want it to seem like he was stalking her again.

Hope noticed his mesmerizing stare and she blushed. His blue eyes were wide in the cutest way and seemed to sparkle as they danced.

His hair looked slightly messy, and how he managed to still look attractive, she'll never know.

"Thank you for watching him for me," Will said. Berry whined beside Hope as he moved away from her into Will's waiting arms.

"I'll leave now." He said quickly, already about to leave.

He didn't want to disturb her and he also didn't want to make a complete fool of himself.

Where was the confident guy who hadn't been afraid to tell her she was beautiful?

He was already giving himself a mental lecture when he heard her soft voice,

"Wait,"

Will turned back and their eyes met. He held his breath,

"Since this happened," she gesticulated between them both- referring to the unusual circumstances that made them meet, "would you like to sit with me and enjoy the rest of the evening?" she whispered softly, half expecting him to say 'no'.

"Yes." he found himself saying almost immediately, "I'd love that."

"I love your glasses."

She said smiling and he returned it.

"Thanks."

Will came around the oak tree and sat beside her. He looked at her and felt a warmth he couldn't explain.

He couldn't control how he felt even if he tried. He was all nerves and he felt absolutely every emotion she incited in him.

She smelled so good too.

"So, what are you doing here? Didn't know you came to the park." Hope started. Will smiled, feeling even more comfortable around her.

"I do." He said quietly.

"Do you enjoy it?" she asked.

He chuckled,

"Yeah sorta, I think I do."

He watched her chew nervously at her bottom lip and he had to look away so he wouldn't embarrass himself.

"You're kinda strange you know Will." he heard her say.

The corner of his lip tilted up in a smile. That was the first time he would hear her call him 'Will' and it felt pretty good. It was always 'William'.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. You're alone most of the time, I mean I've never seen you with anyone," she said sheepishly.

Will couldn't help the slight smirk.

"You sure?" Hope gasped turning now to look at him.

"I'm with someone now..." he boldly said.

Smooth!

He stared into her eyes. This was a good time as any to tell her how he felt.

Her mouth was opening and closing and she looked like a fish out of water but she would have been the most beautiful fish that ever lived.

He'd shocked her.

Hope looked shyly at her hands rested on her laps. For some reason, he became bolder and held her hand. She looked at him.

"Hope," he began, swallowing, "I've liked you since the first day I met you, "

"I don't know what it is about you but I find myself looking forward to every single day at the office, and it's because you're there," he said admitted quietly.

"You make my boring life a lot brighter. Your smile is what I long to see every day. I know I'm a nerd and that I should have told you a long time ago but you were just so beautiful I couldn't even dare." His oceanic eyes didn't leave hers as he wanted her to see that he meant every word.

She looked shocked as he kept on looking at her, making her heart flutter.

But suddenly, something came in, almost tangible, and split the peace between them.

He saw an unknown emotion pass through Hope's eyes and he was dumbfounded at the feeling of deja vu that instantly took over him:

'William...'

His eyes widened. Not again...

His vision blurred and his environment faded away and morphed into another scene.

A woman was smiling up at him. It was her.

Blinking rapidly, he'd unknowingly pulled back from Hope.

"What's wrong?" Hope quickly asked. He shook his head. Without warning his head pulsated with pain, from the front of his skull to the base.

He groaned holding his head. He bit his lip to keep from screaming.

"They're not good people Will. You don't understand. They're after you!"

"Who's they? All I care about is your safety. I'll call the police."

"They are the police. They are the law, the government, they see everything."

"Will you're in danger, we have to go."

The images were blurry. He remembered her grabbing his hand and taking him out a door.

"I know people, people that will keep us safe, you need to tr-"

All he heard next were her screams as static filled the space.

He could hear someone else's voice from a distance and vaguely he realized that it was Hope.

Suddenly, he heard a giggle-he froze.

It was the same one from the shower.

You're starting to remember. We can't have that.

Sleep William. The voice whispered.

Another skull-cracking headache hit him again and he felt his eyes fluttering close as everything went dark.

{¶{¶{¶{¶}

"We're going to church today." Her voice rang sweetly in his ears. Her smile was contagious.

"Get up silly."

He groaned in bed and reluctantly sat up.

"You should have gone without me, you shouldn't have come by." He mumbled sleepily about to go back to bed.

"William Robert, so help me God, I will suffocate you with this pillow if you don't get up." He didn't budge.

She hit him once with the pillow.

"Ow!"

"I'm up, I'm up. Jesus." One glare from her made him shut up. He pulled the sheets back to reveal him shirtless.

His hair was a mess but he was handsome nonetheless.

Blushing she looked away.

"I'll be in the living room. You have five minutes. Next time be ready so I won't have to come by your apartment to wake you." she said, shoving the pillow in his face.

"We've been going out for six months and you still haven't even seen me shirtless," Will mumbled under his breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing dear."

It took him an extra minute to get ready and she was already tapping her feet against the wooden floor.

When he was done, she smiled appreciatively up at him.

"At least you clean up nicely," she said.

Will came up beside her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Thanks love. Let's go." He held her hand and together they left for church.

He'd never been a strong believer. But ever since she came into his life he'd gotten to see a lot of things in perspective.

He'd believed once but his dad and the world made him lose hope in humanity but ever since she came into his life, suddenly everything had more meaning and made more sense.

She taught him how to love and care for others and the love he felt for her was not the kind that could be explained.

She was light and she illuminated his world.

Spilling coffee on her was the best mistake he'd ever made and he was glad that a woman like her would even give him a chance.

He felt blessed.

They got to church and they enjoyed his service. They were preaching love and about the future kingdom. It was fascinating how the pastor preached.

Every single one of his words carried a power than he could not explain.

He wanted to know more about Jesus.

So after coming to church for the first time in ten years, he came out for the alter call. He tried focusing on nothing else but the words of the pastor.

"...He'll grant you the newness of life. He'll abide in you and you in Him. The Holy Spirit, our comforter shall make His home in you and no power of darkness shall prevail over you."

He prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit and Will believed he'd received it.

After the service, Will felt a joy he hadn't felt in a long time, and seeing her proud smile only increased it a hundredfold.

He went to see the pastor to thank him. He left the pew and slowly made his way to the altar where the pastor was. His name was Pastor Feranmi.

He was talking to someone. Will waited so he wouldn't seem rude.

Will smiled and the pastor returned it.

When it was his turn, he greeted the pastor and they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, sir. I really enjoyed your sermon. It was- uplifting."

The pastor gave him a strange look as he shook his hand then said;

"I see a lot of darkness in your future. They'll come for you. You have to be strong."

Then the weirdest thing happened -

Will's hand began to smoke. His hand became so hot, it erupted into flames.

The pastor's eyes were wide but it could not mirror Will's shock.

Will screamed when he saw his burning hand. People quickly brought sanctified water from the entrance of the church, but it did more harm than good because the hand erupted into more flames.

"Stop!" It was her.

Her eyes were wide as she ran up to meet him. Everything was happening in slow motion.

Will saw the alarm in her eyes as she took his hands in hers regardless of the fire and started to pray.

Will had frozen because of shock but all he remembered was her mouth moving as she prayed.

She didn't get hurt. Not one part of her skin got burnt not did she retain the smell of smoke.

When the fire had been quenched and his hand restored, he stared into her eyes.

There was something there that gripped him. He saw the answers to secrets, to questions, to everything.

He was trapped by her gaze and he realized then that his girlfriend was far from normal.

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