His bones ached as he tried to sit up. The room was cold, he didn't remember coldness before, but then again he didn't remember much from before. The room he was in was dark, curtains had been pulled and no light had managed to creep in through them. There was a dark shadow sitting in the corner, shivering. Shivering from the cold? or was the figure scared.
"Who's there?" he called out

"You're awake. That's good, we were starting to worry. You were in a horrible accident and my sister and I found you brought you here, to our home. We hope you don't mind." the voice replied.

He groaned in pain as he tried to sit up more. "I can't see anything. Can you open the blinds for me?"

"I can" the figure said but still not moving from her spot.

He groaned as he feel back to his pillow. "Will you open the blinds for me please?"

With this the person moved towards the window and opened the blinds. He had to shield his eyes from the bright light that came pouring in through them. In the light he saw a girl about his age with long brown hair. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and looked almost scared of him.

"Who am I?" he finally asked her.

"You don't know?" the girl proceeded to ask him.

He snapped at her, "if I knew who I was would I ask you?"

She retreated back to her chair and stood behind it, afraid again. The look in her eyes showed that she was afraid of something that had to be more than him, he couldn't be that terrifying could he? She picked up something on a table next to her and opened it up.

"It says here your name is Nick Carter."

Nick Carter, he thought to himself, that name doesn't sound familiar, but if that's what it says in my wallet then I suppose that's my name. "Wanna tell me your name?"

"My name is Harmony, my sister is Autumn and she'll be back soon. She said I'm not supposed to get too close to you cause you could be dangerous."

"Even if I was dangerous I wouldn't remember it, and I don't think I could do anything to anyone with the pain I am in. Do you have anything for the pain?"

"Autumn went out to get it, she should be back soon."

Nick rubbed his head and wondered if he would make it that long. He was in strange house with strange girl and she was the one afraid of him. He couldn't keep his eyes open much longer and soon he drifted away to sleep.

*****

All he could see was water. Water next to him, water under him, even water above him. A face, a face unknown to him looked to be shouting at him through the water. He could not hear and he could not understand. Soon he was out of air and he struggled to get back above the surface of the water, but something was holding him down, something he couldn't see or feel. Next he could only remember blackness.

*****

Nick opened his eyes again and saw Harmony leaning over him. "Harmony.." he muttered

The girl scoffed at the sound of the name. "Sorry bub, you got the wrong sister. Name's Autumn and you have the pleasure of sleeping off your pain in my bed." She smirked at him. "Yer a mighty cute guy, you know that?"

Nick tried to make a quick movement away from this sister, but the pain brought him crashing back down onto the bed.

"You've had a nasty bump to your head there Nicky...mind if I call you Nicky?" she asked not waiting for response. "I brought you some pain killers for you head. I hope you don't have any allergies, it's a long drive to town."

She helped him sit up so he could take some pills.

"Yer on the Braton farm. We used to own all the land around here, till that damn civil war took our families slaves away and my kin had to sell off the land piece by piece. Now my sister and I have about two acres and this house left. Betcha don't want to hear my families history though huh? After all we just met, we got lots of time to get to know each other still."

Nick's eyes started to droop as he watched Autumn walk around the room carelessly. She started to get undressed which would have made Nick get up out of bed and protest, but the pain killers were starting to get the best of him. He was almost asleep when he felt her get in bed next to him.

"Now don't think you are getting lucky on yer very first night here bub" she whispered in his ear. "but with you in my bed, where do you expect me to sleep? on the floor? I hardly think so."

Harmony wanted to go watch Nick sleep, she liked to watch him sleep, but she did not dare go into Autumn's room. Harmony wondered why Autumn never let her go anywhere or do anything, she was beginning to feel trapped. She was beginning to wonder if the people in town thought she was dead since Autumn did all the shopping and was always the one to go to town when anything was needed. Harmony longed to show up in town one day and show everyone that she was still around. It wasn't always this way. Harmony remembered when she would be the one to go into town or even when she and Autumn both made the venture together. Those were the days Harmony liked to remember, when they were all together; Mama, Papa, Autumn, Raymond and herself. During this time, Autumn also had a beau named Bill as well. Those days had passed, Mama and Papa had long since passed away and Raymond moved away and had his own family. Harmony had no idea what happened to Bill and Autumn's plans to wed, but ever since the accident they haven't been together.
The accident was something that Harmony tried to forget. She had lost her mother and father that day and could only thank God her sister had not been taken as well. She shuddered as she remembered broken glass and screams of pain.

"Harmony are you thinking about it again?" the voice of her sister brought her back to reality.

"No, I was just thinking of what to make for breakfast." she replied while grabbing a spoon to show her sister she meant what she said.

Autumn turned towards the refridgerator to grab some juice. "That guy we found is sure attractive. I am going to make sure he wants me before too long."

Harmony couldn't help looking let down. If both she and her sister wanted him, her sister would most definately win. Harmony did find the stranger attractive, but since her sister just laid claim, there was nothing that she could do to win his affections. A guy was certainly not the reason to cause friction between two sisters, so Harmony would rather let her sister win then fight over him with her.

Autumn turned back towards her sister and with a sly grin said, "He has the cutest little mole right below..."

"...what would you like for breakfast Autumn?" Harmony interrupted.

"Just make something, I'll eat it, you know me." Harmony watched as her sister sashayed out of the room and back towards her room, now noticing that she had two cups of juice in her hand. A look of disappointment came over her face as she turned toward the cubbards to prepare breakfast for the three of them.

*****

Autumn couldn't contain her laughter when she was far enough away from the kitchen. Her sister could be such a nitwit sometimes and she made sure to take every advantage of her naivety. Sure she loved her sister extremly, but living in the middle of nowhere made Autumn restless at times and the only person to keep her entertained for so long was her sister. Now, though, she had a new plaything, this Nick Carter boy would make a great playmate her for.

She bumped opened the door with the side of her hip and walked in her room. "Rise and shine." She said loudly as she placed the juice glasses down on her wicker table and threw open the shades. "It's a beautiful morning and there is lots to do and you have to earn your keep buddy."

Autumn watched as Nick rubbed his eyes awake and smirked at him when he realized that he was not dressed. "How did this happen?" He asked her confused.

"I thought you might get a little hot in here during the night, especially since it's summer and you were sharing a bed with me. So I did you the curtesy of undressing you while you slept. It was no trouble really, there is no need to thank me." She turned her back towards him so that she could allow him to find his pants again without her eyes watching his every move. She knew he would feel more secure this way even though she had seen it all the night before.

She grabbed the glasses of juice she had set down and moved to where she was across from him. He was still shirtless when she handed him the glass of juice. "Here's to today." She said as she held up her glass for a toast. Uncertain as to what to do, Nick clinked his glass against hers and watched as she started to drink it down, this was his clue to do the same.

The sun was beating down upon his back as he pulled a weed from what he guessed was the flower garden. He hadn't seen any flowers yet, only weeds, and he began to wonder if there were flowers planted here or if that Autumn girl just wanted to watch him work up a sweat. He tossed the weed aside in the pile he had made over time and stood up straight, wiping his brow.
"Nick, I'm going inside to relax. It's too hot out here for me, I'll be back in a couple of hours to see if you have finished yet." With that she stood up off her lawn chair and waltzed inside.

Nick stood watching the doorway she entered with disbelief. She was going to treat him like a servant, or worse yet, a slave. He rubbed his eyes and then turned back to his task at hand. With no memory as to who he was or have any clue as to where he was he was pretty much in these girls hands for help, he had to show them he was grateful. Doing this kind of work wasn't that tough, just tedious. Nick got back down on his knees and grabbed another weed and began to tug at it.

Forever seemed to pass while he jerked the weeds out of the ground. He leaned back to sit down to rest noticing a shadow hover above him.

"I'm sorry Autumn, I'll finish this soon I promise." Nick stammered.

"Nick, I'm Harmony." She smiled down at him then moving to the side, took a seat next to him.

"I'm sorry, you two look so similiar, I bet you get that all the time though. You know, people confusing you."

"Well we are identical twins. I'm used to it, but Autumn gets frustrated with it. Ever since we were little she would get terribly upset when people would call her by my name. She is such an individual person, I think that's why it bothered her to have someone elses face. We are the best of friends though."

"I'm surprised you sat down with me, you seemed to be frightened of me earlier."

"Well a strange man in my house, what do you expect of me?" Taking an extra second to look into Nick's eyes, Harmony smiled. "Would you like something to drink?"

Nick's eyes must have answered her question because without a word she got up from her spot and was back a minute later with a tall glass of ice water. Nick thanked her and gulped down the liquid, savoring the coolness as it went down.

Making a sound of satisfaction, Nick handed the glass back to Harmony wiping his mouth and thanking her again.

Harmony smiled at the blond boy sitting in front of her happy to see her smile returned. Harmony looked at Nick longingly and soon her smile faded. "Autumn just called me, I have to go or she'll be upset I was out here with you. She's always looking out for my well-being... "

As quickly as she had arrived, she was gone again leaving Nick wondering how she heard her sister. He had heard nothing but the breeze rustling the leaves.

*****

There was silence as Nick sat across from Autumn while they ate dinner. The silence finally got to Nick and he spoke. "How come we aren't eating with Harmony too?" he asked.

"Well she ate before you were done with the yard and is now taking care of the animals."

"Oh" was all he muttered for a response. Nick picked up his knife and began to cut his meat when he felt something on his leg. At first he thought that it had been an accident on Autumn's part but when he felt her hand rubbing his knee he knew that it had been no accident. He sat ignoring what was happening, hoping that if he ignored it then she would stop.

Slowly Autumn stood and moved over to the side of the table Nick was on, taking a seat on his lap. Taking a grab of Nick's head, Autumn pulled his head backwards and took him in a deep kiss. "Dessert"?

The water was all around him again as he struggled to get back to the top. He could swim, he knew he could, why was he struggling to get to the surface now? Faces. He could see faces looking at him through the water. Were they scared were they happy? Why did they just watch? Why weren't they helping him? He started to struggle more and more. The more stuggling he did the more caught in the water he felt. An image flashed in his head before he finally awoke from this nightmare.
"Nick? Are you okay?" a voice in the dark was asking him.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a face hovering slightly over his. Which girl is this? Nick asked himself. He tried to get a better view of the face, but the light streaming in the room was casting a shadow on her face and beaming light in his eyes. He decided to answer. "I think I'm alright."

"You are completely entwined in your covers." the voice told him as she moved across the room and pulled the shades down slightly.

Nick sat up and looked at the covers. She was right, he was so wrapped in his sheets that it would have been hard for him to move at all while he slept. Maybe this is why I felt I couldn't move in my dream? Nick's thoughts were buzzing with thoughts of his dream and what it could mean.

"Did you have a bad dream?" the voice asked as she approached his bedside. Nick squinted and looked at the girl as she came closer. He was determined to be able to tell these two girls apart if it killed him. This girl was dressed in a sun dress and had her hair pack in a ponytail.

"Harmony?" Nick finally put his guess out there, but couldn't help but question his decision.

"Yes? Are you hungry?"

Nick had finally figured out how he was going to tell these two girls apart, they dressed in different styles. At least until he go to know them better, that was how he was going to have to do it. "Breakfast sounds great."

Harmony disappeared for about ten minutes, but reappeared with the smell of eggs and hasbrowns. "How did you make that so quickly?" Nick had to ask.

"I have a confession. It was ready long before you awoke, I just reheated the potatoes and fried a couple of eggs." Harmony shrank back a tad waiting for Nick's reply.

"Well it smell delicious, and I'm sure I need my strength today. No doubt you have picked out another task for me to complete outside again."

"Autumn asked me to have you mow the lawn in front of the house and in back of the house. She's in town again."

Harmony excused herself saying that she needed to clean the kitchen up and giving Nick time to eat in peace and reflect on what exactly happened last night. He remembered the kiss that Autumn had given him, but did anything else happen? He was unsure and that made him feel all the more uncomfortable. He ate his food at a rapid pace and started to pull on his pants. He thought for a second that he had been wearing the same pair of underwear for quite awhile now and was grossed out by the thought of wearing them another day.

Watching the door closely, Nick took off his pants and slipped out of his underwear. Quickly he pulled his pants up around his waist and looked at his shirt with the sweat stains of the previous day. Shuddering at the thought of wearing it again, he considered going shirtless but with a hard day of labor outside in this heat, it probably wasn't a wise idea. On went his sweat stained shirt and out the door he went.

Nick took one look at the lawn and just about gave up hope. It looked as if the grass had not been cut in years. Finding the mower, Nick couldn't help but feel discouraged, he stood looking at a push mower.

*****

Autumn turned the truck up the drive and saw Nick pushing the mower, sweat glistening on his face. "That boy is something else" She said to herself as she stepped out of the cab. Grabbing the bags from the back of the truck, she made her way to the house.

"Harmony, I'm home with more food. I'll bring it into you." She shouted through the door. "Nick hun, it's almost time for lunch, you can join me if you wish."

Using his shirt, Nick wiped the sweat off of his face. "Lunch sounds nice." He replied.

"I bought you something." She growled in a sexy voice.

Dumbfounded, Nick stood squinting in the direction of Autumn.

"I'll call you in when Harmony has made us something." She called to him as she walked through the door and out of the heat.

Baffled as to what he was expected to do as he waited, Nick sat on the steps to the porch. He thought that Autumn might appreciate it more if he wasn't so sweaty when he ate with her. Nick tried to remember the last image he saw in his dream, but he was so tired that he couldn't make out what the last image was.

A few more minutes passed before Nick heard Autumn calling for him again. "Nick, come here I want you to see what I got for you."

Rising off the porch, Nick made his way inside to meet with Autumn, alone, for lunch. Walking through the door the image he had been searching for flashed through his mind; a stage.

Nick and Autumn sat eating lunch across from each other. They said little since Nick had already thanked Autumn for picking up some new clothes for him. Autumn finished eating first and sat, watching Nick eat.
"Would you humor me and try on the clothes I bought you?" she asked him.

"Now?" he asked before taking a bite of his roll.

"Yes, now." smiling to herself she got up and started to pull clothes out of the bag they were in. "Here let's start with these, try them on first." she tossed a pair of boxer shorts at Nick who was wearing a look of disbelievment.

He sat holding a pair of knit boxers with fish on them. All he did was hold them and continue to look at Autumn with a confused look upon his face.

"Well," she started, "put them on. I'm waiting to see what you look like in them."

He stood up and started for the bathroom, which adjoined the room, but Autumn blocked his path and shook her head at him. She had every intention of watching him undress in the room, in front of her, and then watch him put the new boxers on. With a look of sheer embarassment, Nick started to undo the button on his pants, then slowly he took down the zipper on his pants. He thought about turning around to face his back to Autumn, but he knew that she would either walk around to face him or turn him around herself. He closed his eyes, thinking if he shut them he wouldn't really be seen by Autumn, and dropped his pants.

"Wooo, no underwear today huh? Feeling a bit kinky are we?" she asked him as she spotted that he was bare below his pants. She started to advance towards Nick. Noticing this, Nick pulled on the boxer shorts as quickly as he could.

Placing her hand below the waistband of the shorts, Autumn pulled Nick closer to her. "I like you without the shorts." she said before grabbing his head and pulling him down towards her and locking his lips with her own. Still locked in a kiss with Nick, she moved them towards her bed and moved to be lying down, making sure Nick stayed on top of her.

*****

Harmony decided to make a pitcher of lemonade for later when Nick would be thirsty. She had just finished stiring the jug when she heard Autumn's room door open. Pulling a glass out of the cubbard she was pleased to see that Nick had emerged from the room. He must have changed into the new clothes Autumn bought for him, she thought.

"Would you like some lemonade before you go back to your chores?" She shouted to Nick.

A confused Nick walked into the kitchen and simply nodded his head. Scratching the back of his head, Nick finally asked Harmony what was on his mind. "Where did you sister get off to? I fell asleep and she was gone."

"Nick, you didn't sleep with her did you?" She asked.

"Well," Nick could feel Harmony's eyes pleading for him to answer with a negative answer. "No, I fell asleep after lunch and she was just sitting there watching me, now she's gone." He answered purely for Harmony's sake. A feeling of guilt swept across him as he realized that Harmony only asked because she had feelings for him. Not being able to be in the same room with Harmony and his feeling of guilt, Nick turned from the kitchen and went back outside to finish the lawn.

How could he have been so blind? He had only been here a few days, but he should have picked up on it sooner. These twin sisters both liked him. Autumn showed it more openly then Harmony, but he was sure she felt something towards him as well.

Pushing the mower through the lawn he thought about his few days at this house and with these girls. He thought about the memories that tried to surface. What could a stage mean in my life? he asked himself. Lost in thought, he continued with his task at hand while he thought of all the different things that deal with a stage. Was I involved in theatre? Was I an actor? A stagehand? Did I work with plays or did I just enjoy going to them? Maybe I just saw a lot of plays or ..concerts? Yes that was something else that happens on stages, people sing. Was I a singer? Maybe a roadie? I was probably just a person who sat in the audience frequently, I couldn't have been anything important. He thought and questioned himself as he finished witht he lawn and put the mower away in the shed.

"Nick." a voice called from the house. "It's time for dinner. Autumn is still out, so you get to eat with me tonight."

A smile crept across his face as he imagined a dinner where he wouldn't have to worry about the other person making advances towards him. He also wanted to eat dinner with Harmony, he enjoyed her company.

That night they had dinner was not the last time Nick and Harmony spent time alone. Autumn seemed to find something in town most nights that kept her away. Harmony and Nick talked about Harmony's life and her experience before the accident. Since Nick had nothing he could remember before meeting Harmony, he mostly listened. After they got to know each other better they discussed their feelings about the world and all the hopes they now had for their lives. Nick continuously wanted to remember who he was, but it didn't alwasy bring this up in conversation. Months passed and Nick found himself falling in love with Harmony. When he finally acknowledged his feelings to himself he tried to find ways to express his feelings to Harmony. Anytime he got close to her, she moved away. She seemed frightened of being touched by him. Nick reserved himself to merely talking with Harmony.
The nights Autumn was home, Nick had a way to release his sexual desire for Harmony. They were identical after all, so he simply pretended he was with Harmony instead. He was satisfied with these differing relationships for the most part, but he still had a lingering desire to know who he was before he met thiese wonderful women who took him in, cared and loved him in their own ways.

His life at the moment was as perfect as he could have hoped for. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as perfect.

Stretching awake, Nick was looking forward to the sixth month anniversary party that had been planned that night. Each girl had something special planned for Nick that night. Full of confidence he wasn't sure he felt before, he was thrilled to be the center of both girls affections. He was so happy with his life at the moment he couldn't care about his previous life, he was sure it wasn't nearly as interesting as the life he led now. He couldn't remember the last time he had a dream about his life before and he'd just as soon forget what he had already dreamt.
"Nick, darling, are you awake?" Autumn purred.

"Yeah. I'm just looking forward to tonight."

"Oh yes, tonight." Autumn licked her mouth. "Here's a preview of that." Watching her disappear beneath the covers, Nick smiled knowing exactly what his preview was.

He re-awoke a couple of hours later, to an empty bed. Autumn was gone, leaving beside him a list of chores for him to work on for the day. This was nothing new to Nick, he received a new list every morning. He glanced at the list reading only small odd jobs that were his usual tasks every morning. His day, more or less, was his to do with what he wanted.

The smell of breakfast brought him out of the room and into the kitchen where he watched Harmony move in such fluid movements she looked like a dancer.

"You had to have dance lessons growing up." He finally broke the silence.

Smiling, Harmony turned around. "Good morning. And yes, Autumn and I took lessons together until the accident, then we had no more time or money to take the lessons. I still practice in my free time, but I don't know about Autumn."

Nick sat and watched Harmony finish making breakfast, then they sat down together to eat.

"Are you looking forward to today?" Harmony asked while Nick took his first bite.

Quickly swallowing, Nick answered. "I can't wait to see what you have planned for me."

Harmony simply smiled and started to eat her own food.

*****

That afternoon Nick finished his chores exceptionally fast and ran back inside cleaning up quickly. He could smell something wonderful cooking in the kitchen. His shower only took him a total of ten minutes, a record for him lately and, while still in his towel he shaved as quickly as he dared try. Earlier he had laid out his nicest outfit to wear that night with Harmony, he wanted the evening to be as perfect as he was sure she wanted it to be as well. Before leaving the room he checked himself at the mirror, winking at himself he started to walk out when the appearance of a face startled him.

Nick swirled around to see who was in the room, but no one was behind him. He looked back at the mirror and the face was still there. Rubbing his eyes, he hoped the face would go away. When he opened his eyes, slowly, the face was still there. He squinted to get a better look. The man had dirty blond hair and blue eyes. Nick could not help but feel the face was familiar, but he could not place a name to this face. Was this someone he had known before he came here? He shook it off and left the room trying to forget what just had happened.

Entering the kitchen he saw Harmony wearing a slinky red dress, her hair was done up in curls on top of her head. She was putting some finishing touches on something before turning around to place a wonderful looking cake on the table. A smile from ear to ear formed on her face as she set her eyes on Nick.

"You look wonderful" she said while pointing to a chair implying he should sit there.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Instead of taking a seat in the chair she pointed out to him. Nick pulled the chair out for Harmony to sit in, carefully moving it in as she sat. Then in quick strides he made his way to the other side and sat in the chair opposite her. They were dining early, but that night was Autumn's turn with Nick and Harmony wanted to make sure to get her turn in when she could.

They ate in silence but they could not help but ignore the looks of longing they would continually give each other. Finally they reached desert and Nick cut two slices of cake.

"This was a wonderful meal." Nick finally told Harmony.

Harmony could only muster a slight smile at the compliment.

Pushing his cake aside, Nick stood up and moved closer to Harmony taking her hand and pulling her upwards. "No need to be embarassed." Slowly pulling Harmony closer, Nick held her close to him.

Harmony let out of sigh of comfort before leaning her face upward towards Nick. "Kiss me." escaped her mouth in a whisper and Nick moved down letting his mouth cover hers. Hands no longer being able to control themselves started to roam all over Harmony's body, and she did nothing to stop him wanting him to touch her as much as he wanted to touch her.

Suddenly Harmony pulled quickly away from Nick. "She's home." She hissed. Harmony started to put the dishes in the sink ignoring Nick except for her final comment. "You better get ready to spend time with her now."

Sighing Nick moved to the bedroom and waited for Autumn to show up.

*****

"What were you doing with him?" Autumn asked. "Do you really think that he wants anything like that from you when he already gets that from me?" She laughed at her sister and slammed a dish in the sink forcing it to crash loudly.

Harmony jumped at the sound of the broken dish and only stood there hanging her head in shame. She reached into the sink to start to pick the dish up, a piece of the plate catching her skin and piercing it slightly, though enough to bleed.

"You twit" Autumn exclaimed. "One day I am going to make you go away." With that Autumn parades out of the kitchen and moves into the bedroom where Nick was waiting for her in the bed already.

Nick’s birthday had been something some men might dream about. Two women, different in their own ways but similar in appearance, each spent time with him. Yes, he spent not only his birthday, but all of his days lately with twins. The dreams still existed, but it was the same dream, nothing ever changed. He was underwater, he felt like he was being dragged and so on and so on. Nick was starting to get frustrated. He wished the dream or memory; whatever it was would show more or go away altogether. This was his life now and he needed to accept it.
Nick rolled himself out of bed and pulled on some clothes. He made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. Again, just like every other day, the smells wafting in the air smelled wonderful and the sight of Harmony making the food soothed Nick. He smiled to himself and took a seat, careful not to startle Harmony. He watched her cook, something he had come to enjoy doing every day. The way she scrambled his eggs, swinging her hips to some unknown tune. The ham spattering was the only noise in the kitchen, maybe she was hearing music in that? Finally she started to dish the food onto a couple of plates and picking them up turned to face Nick.

“Good morning Nick,” Her smile brightened when she saw him. Slowly she placed the food in front of him and took her seat across from him.

Nick watched her spear some of her ham before starting to eat any of his food. And since spearing her food was not something common of Harmony, he had to ask. “What is wrong this morning?”

She shrugged and stuck the ham in her mouth; she made him wait until she was done eating to reply. “I don’t know how much longer I can share you with my sister. I wanted to be the one to be with you last night on your birthday.” She kept her eyes diverted, making Nick all the more intrigued.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He whispered, careful so Autumn could not hear, though he knew that she was never there during the day.

“I really don’t want to upset Autumn, she has threatened to leave on a couple occasions and I really need her here to help me out. She’s the one that makes the money to pay on this place.”

“Let’s run away together. You and me, we could leave together and I could get a job and earn money.” Something snapped in Harmony at the mention of them leaving.

“NO! I mean I wouldn’t feel right leaving Autumn alone. We have been through so much together.”

“Alright then we won’t leave. How about we all sit down together and we can break the news about us to her.”

Harmony sullenly shook her head. “She knows I like you already, and there is no way she would accept the two of us having a relationship in front of her.”

Nick sighed. He couldn’t win with this girl. “Well I suppose we will have to have a secret relationship then won’t we?” Not like he wanted to be living in a secret with Harmony, but if Autumn wouldn’t accept it and Harmony wouldn’t part with Autumn then he would have to give it a try.

Nick looked at Hamony again sitting there and that's when he noticed the bandage. "What happened?" He said, indicating the bandage.

"Oh, a plate fell in the sink last night and I picked it up cutting my hand." She shrugged and looked down at her food meaning she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

They finished eating their meal in silence and then Nick started his chores.

*****

He was towards the back of the property, far enough away that he could not see the house and no one in the house could see him. He wondered how far away the town actually was. He wanted to see it, he wanted to see people. He suddenly had this overwhelming urge to talk with other people besides Harmony and Autumn. He wanted to talk to his friends. It was an urge he had not felt since the first week or two that he had arrived at the house. He still had no idea who his friends were but he wanted to talk with them. He was sure they would have some advice on his situation, he knew they were guys. That was all, besides his name and age, that he was sure of about himself and his past.

The woodpile was almost done, he did his chores faster then they were used to him doing them. That might give him enough time that he could actually make his way to town and then back again without them noticing his absence. He quickly finished off the last of the woodpile and made his way further and further from the house. He walked a short amount of time from the back of the property before he reached a street that lead to other buildings. This must be the town.

Slowly he made his way down the street, looking for Autumn's truck so that he wouldn't get caught. People started to stare at him. Some were wonderment others were in awe. A group of girls were giggling as he passed them by, and one with guts ran up to him.

"Nick Carter?"

"Yes." He wondered if Autumn was talking about him while she was in town.

"It is him!" She shouted back to her friends. Turning back to Nick she continued. "We thought you were dead." The girl started to blush at what she just said. "Since you are alive, can I have your autograph?" She thrust out a small piece of paper, probably something that she found lying around on the ground.

Not without confusion, Nick signed the paper. Why would they want his autograph? Was he famous? Did Autumn talk about him so much that people were starting to wonder? But what about the comment that he was dead? What did that have to do with anything? Were people in his past trying to find him? Of course, why didn't he think of it. He would have friends and family still trying to locate him after he went missing. How odd that he assumed that there would be no one looking for him, that his life with Autumn and Harmony was the only life he could possibly have now.

He watched the girl run back to her friends and they started to talk excitedly. He continued to walk, but now he was in a daze, more determined to find out who he was or actually who he is.

He found a little shop that had to sell some sort of newspaper or magazine. Hopefully if there was some story on him, hopefully too much time had not passed.

He stood there flipping through the pages of a magazine looking for anything that he could mentioning him. There wasn't appearing to be anything. As he put the People magazine back on the rack he spied a Teen Beat magazine with his name in the top right corner. He grabbed for the magazine and started to flip through the pages. He finally reached a page with his picture on it, there were four other guys in the picture as well and the caption said 'Backstreet Boys'.

He stood staring not wanting to read on when a voice startled him from behind.

"What are you doing here?!" The voice yelled.

He swirled around, dropping the magazine open to the page he was looking at, and stood face to face with Autumn. "Shouldn't you be doing chores?"

"I finished. I wanted to see the town, I wanted to see where you were all day, Autumn."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw the man behind the counter look at him strangely. Autumn grabbed for Nick, "We have to leave." Nick took her by her hand and started to walk with her to the truck. He felt something on the palm of her hand. He started to think about what it felt like. It felt like an unbandaged cut.

Nick paced in his room back and forth holding a pillow to keep him from pounding a wall or the door and hurting his hand. Autumn locked the door behind her when she left him in there and he was going nuts trying to find a way out.
During the ride back to the house, memories flooded back to him. These guys he was pictured with, he was a part of their group, The Backstreet Boys, and they would sing and dance. He knew that they had to be looking for him, those girls thought he was dead, did his family and friends think so as well?

Voices could be heard from the kitchen, Autumn and Harmony were arguing about Nick getting away. There were several loud crashes as dishes were thrown across the room at each other.

Nick started to wonder if he would ever see Harmony again. Autumn might very well keep him locked up in this room forever, and if he really started to get on her nerves, she might tie him up as well. Visions of the movie Misery flooded into his brain. He shuddered as he remembered Kathy Bates hobbling James Caan. He knew he would do anything possible to keep that from happening now, if Autumn already didn't have something as sadistic planned in her mind already.

He paced for a few more minutes realizing the yelling stopped, now he had to wait for Autumn's wrath to come down oh him.

A few hours passed and Nick sat down on the bed, tired of pacing. His eyes just started to close when he heard the lock click. His eyes flew open as quickly as the door did. As he sat looking at the girl in the doorway, he finally was able to remember how he ended up in this strange house with these girls.

He was on a boat with his friends and he decided to go for a quick swim. As he was swimming, something started to pull him down and away from the boat. He struggled to force his head above water, he called out his friends names, and they called out his. As he was pulled further under he remembered seeing his friends start to jump in after him, he turned to look at the thing pulling him under seeing the face in front of him now. She had a rock, smashed his head knocking him out.

"Well Nick, I suppose you are gaining more memories now that you saw a picture of your past." Autumn cackled. "It's a shame you had to find out. It was so much fun here with you in your ignorance. Now you are going to try to find anyway you can to get out of here aren't you?" She moved closer to the bed, Nick noticing a knife in her hand.

He shook his head fervently. "No, no I would never dream of leaving you and your kindness Autumn." He forced a smile and tried to avoid looking at the knife she carried.

"I wish I could believe you Nick." Autumn raised the knife and started waving it around. "You see I know you and my sister are 'in love' with each other Nick." An evil smirk found its way on her face and she continued to torment him by liberally swinging the knife around.

He inched away from Autumn, trying to move far away from the knife. He wondered what she was going to do with it, maybe she was just going to kill him now.

"My poor deluded lover." She left the knife fall to the ground and moved towards Nick. "I want to keep you here for always, you have been the best lover I have ever had. But I can't let Harmony come between us. I think that perhaps I should kill her so we can be alone together." Quickly she straddled Nick and pulled his face to hers kissing his lips fiercely.

"Autumn," his voice trembled slightly, "Autumn I would never dream of being with her over you. She is nothing but a distraction until you come home, you are the real thing, you are my reason for using your sisters body to learn new ways to please you." The bile rose in Nick's mouth as he spoke those words, but he knew no other way to please Autumn.

"Ha!" She laughed. "I'll take that as your answer for now, because I am too tired to listen to any more of your rambles." She ran her hand against Nick's cheek causing him to flinch a little at the scar on her hand. "You like that feeling? Let's just say it's a present from my sister."

With that Autumn got off of Nick and moved towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow lover, and we will see what we can do about making sure you don't stray from home again."

He could not help himself; there was no way he was going to fall asleep after Autumn's warning. His mind flooded with thoughts of what she would do to him to make sure he stayed put.
There had to be a way to get a message to the outside world, to let them know that he was alive and desperately in need of help. He would not be allowed outside any longer so trying to run into town again was definitely out of the question.

Then an idea struck him, he could ask Harmony for help. She could get a message out and then when help came they could leave together sending the police to pick up Autumn later. Now the only thing he had to work out was how to get Harmony's attention without notifying Autumn of what they were planning.

Quickly he started his search of the room, positive that Autumn would not be back that night. He was looking for something, anything that he might slip to Harmony for help. They were twins but when Harmony found out that Autumn is the reason he was there, the reason he had no memory, she was sure to help him and leave with him.

Finally, he spied a piece of paper and a pencil stashed in one of the bedside tables. He scribbled his message and shoved it into his pocket breaking the pencil and stashing both pieces at various parts of the room. When he went to put the eraser end of the pencil underneath his mattress, he saw a glint coming off the dark floor. He leaned down closer to it and realized that it was the knife Autumn left.

Carefully he picked it up, eyeing it carefully. A soft smirk crossed his face; he finally had a weapon to aid his escape. Autumn promised to come back the next day, now he could injure her and make his escape. He shoved it under the mattress along with the other end of the pencil, now he just needed to wait and form a plan.

****

Morning crept into the room and Nick slowly opened his eyes jumping back when he noticed another person in the room with him.

"Nick, it's just me." Harmony's voice soothed him.

"You scared me; I thought it was your sister in here. Where is she?" He looked around anxiously not wanting to anger her any more then necessary.

Harmony approached Nick placing her bandaged hand on his. "What are we going to do about her?" She shook her head as if nothing major really happened.

Nick's voice lowered and he moved closer to Harmony's face. "I need to get out of here."

Harmony nodded. "Let's talk about something else; I don't want to chance the wall having ears." She winked at him. "How about you telling me what you would like for breakfast."

Nick noticed her hand stroking his, the rough bandage irritating his skin. "Maybe we should take you into town to get that cut looked at?" He questioned her hoping to change the subject from breakfast to escape.

"I was thinking of having pancakes and sausage. Would you like that Nick?" His concern for her hand was completely overlooked.

"Whatever you wish to make, but you really should see a doctor about that cut."

Harmony shrugged, "Autumn says it will be all right and I have no reason to doubt her, she had her cut looked at and the doctor told her if mine was like hers there was no reason to worry."

Nick nodded knowing that Harmony always listened to her sister.

They sat silent for a few moments watching each other, never wanting Autumn to come home, never wanting their peace disturbed. Unfortunately, peace never lasts. Some slight noise caused Harmony to jump up from her seat and start towards the door.

"I have to leave, now." Was all she said before she walked out and relocked the door.

Not even two minutes later, the lock to the door was being undone and Autumn came storming into the room wearing her usual outfit of jeans and a tight shirt. "Well, I see that you are awake." She grinned at him "Now about your punishment for leaving and trying to get away."

She walked slowly towards the bed, beads of sweat started to run down his face, anxious of what was going to happen.

"I know it was you!" He shouted at her inching towards the headboard of the bed.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned him. A smirk played on her lips as she sat on the edge of the bed running her nails up and down Nick's leg. "It was me that walked into your room? Were you expecting to see Harmony?"

He stared at Autumn in silence willing himself not to show emotion when Autumn spoke of Harmony.

"I remember that day now, the day that I arrived here. I remember seeing you dragging me under, knocking me out with a rock. Then I wound up here, far away from anything, in your dementia you thought you could keep me here forever. You didn't count on Harmony and myself showing any feeling for each other, you didn't count on me falling in love with your sister!" He spilled the words out as quickly as possible before he lost his nerve.

He watched as she sat there just staring blankly at him blinking. "Believe what you want to believe Nick my boy; you will soon learn the truth."

Somewhat relived, he watched as she stood from the bed and disappeared out the door. It wasn't until minutes later he realized she did nothing to him for running away; he must have struck a chord with her. It was a good thing too because Nick had no time to get the knife out of hiding if she were to attack him.

Autumn's last words confused Nick and he was left with nothing but to think about what they could mean. "…find out soon enough". He knew what happened, he remembered, what more was there to find out?

Soon the light was bright in his room and the door unlocked to show Amber standing in front of him, her arm holding a tray of food to her hip. "Brought you lunch, Harmony hopes you enjoy." She laughed and tossed the tray onto the floor, closed the door and locked it again.

Uncertain if it was safe to eat, Nick left the food alone on the floor. Autumn could have poisoned it from the time Harmony made it to the time that he ate it.

Out of boredom, Nick laid back down on the bed and fell asleep.

A loud smashing sound woke Nick from his sleep. Quickly he bolted upright and groped around for something, anything he could use for protection. He searched, in vain, for the knife unsure whether he put it back or left it out.
Suddenly Nick was aware that he was not alone in the room. With his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he was able to make out a figure in the corner of the room.

"Autumn, what are you doing here?" He asked, his voice quivering.

The figure moved closer to the bed, still hidden by the dark. "What were you looking for?" Her voice rang out.

"N...nothing."

"Are you sure you weren't looking for this?" Her figure moved suddenly and Nick felt a rush of air by his face a thump behind him made him aware that his knife, the knife he hoped to use as a weapon, had been discovered. Now he was weaponless, defenseless with a crazy girl in the same room as him.

"I found that hidden in your sheets as you slept." She continued.

"Autumn, it's not what you think. You left it here, and I picked it up to give back to you."

"Liar!" She screamed. "You were going to hurt her."

"I would never hurt Harmony." He said confused at what was going on now.

"I know how desperate you are to escape, to go back to your family and friends. I know how you want to leave and that you would do anything to leave, even kill her."

"Autumn!" He shouted, "I am in love with your sister, why can't you let us leave together, get some help for you. We could all be a family."

She stepped closer to the bed, light shining on her sundress.

Nick stopped for a moment, confused at what he saw. Autumn never wore a sundress; she would typically wear jeans or something more provocative.

"Harmony?" He questioned.

"Yes Nick, Harmony." She stepped fully into the light allowing him to view her face so like her sisters.

"What are you talking about, I thought you were Autumn."

She moved closer to the bed, her hair tangled and wild. Scratch marks were down her arms, the bandage finally taken off her wounded hand.

"She and I got in a fight." She spoke knowing what his eyes were looking at. "You are ruining us by being here Nick."

He looked at her aghast. "What? I thought you loved me Harmony, I thought you wanted to leave with me."

"I can't leave this house! Everything from my past is here. The only memories of my parents remain in this house. If I leave then their memories leave!" She shouted.

"Autumn can stay and keep their memories. And they will never be gone if you remember them." He was desperate, unsure whether or not anything he was saying would bring the old Harmony back to him.

"You don't get it! If I go, she goes too."

Nick shook his head. "I understand that you don't want to be parted from your sister, but we need to leave, we need to get out. You and I can start a life elsewhere; you and I can go back to the life she ripped me out of."

"Your life as a Backstreet Boy?" She asked him coyly.

"Did she tell you?" He asked. "She told you where I found a picture of myself. Did she tell you that I ran into fans on the streets too, that now people know I am alive and they will be looking for me? I don't want you to be caught up as the bad guy in this. We need to take action so that Autumn goes where she belongs."

"Autumn didn't have to tell me a thing." She smiled. "In fact, she was rather upset when you showed up here."

"I did not show up here, she clobbered me over the head and drug me here. I am sure she knew who I was and thought she could live out some wild fantasy." He paused quickly. "Wait, she has been living out some fantasy. Every night she's in here seducing me."

"And you never said no did you?" Harmony scoffed. "She tried to tell me but I would not believe her. She told me that every night the two of you would… would… well, the two of you would be together but I chose not to believe her, I wanted to hear it from you and you've confirmed it."

She grabbed her hair and pulled, frizzing it more then it was before. "She told me that you would not settle for one person because of who you were. She told me that you being here was a mistake. She told me and I did not listen, I wanted to be with you so badly. I thought that once you met me you would fall in love with me and we would be together forever."

Nick shook his head as Harmony continued to talk, not liking where her speech was apparently heading.

"She wanted to take you into town and leave you at the hospital, let your friends find you again, let you go on your way. I wanted you here; I wanted you to love me. But now I know all those words in those songs you sang were lies."

"No, Harmony, don't tell me these things. I don't want to know this." His voice was choked back; he continued to force himself to keep his tears away.

"Autumn had nothing to do with you being here Nick. The one you remembered, it was me." She laughed. "I saw you out there with your friends, telescope you know, and the idea just came to me. I was sick of being here alone; I wanted someone else to be here with me."

"No, I can't believe it was you. She told you to tell me this so that I wouldn't love you anymore." Tears were starting to stream down his face making it harder to speak.

Harmony sat down in a chair near the table. "It's so quiet here, having you visit has been a great relief. But now you will not settle to live and I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

She leaned back in the chair and Nick watched her uncross her legs and relax, the way she sat looking at him changed. Her eyes no longer conveyed a betrayed hurt but a cool glance he was sure was not Harmony's look. If he did not know better, Nick would have thought that Autumn was sitting in the room, sitting in the chair, but he was told that Harmony was the one he was talking to.

"Nick, you are in danger and I cannot stop it. I tried to protect you both but now I can't do it any longer, she is becoming stronger in her anger."

"Autumn?" He questioned.

"Autumn?" he repeated. "Is that really you?"
"I don't have long, I can feel her coming back, you must get out, don't let her become a killer. Don't let her make us both killers."

Nick started unbelieving at Autumn he watched her legs cross and her mannerisms return to those of Harmony.

"What the hell is going on here?" He yelled. "What is with you?"

Harmony smiled. "I see Autumn couldn't stay quiet." She snickered carefully. "I told you about that accident long ago, didn't I? Well, my whole family was taken from me that day. My whole family, my mother, my father and my twin sister Autumn. On that day they all died and I was left alone to fend for myself."

Nick gaped at her, "But Autumn lives here, I've seen her, I've heard her… I've, I've…"

"You've had sex with her?" This time Harmony laughed loudly. "Ever wonder why you really couldn't tell much of a difference between us? Ever wonder why you never saw us at the same time?"

Nick gulped back any reaction. "Multiple personalities?" He heard about them, but he never met anyone with them, he started to assume that it really didn't exist.

"I don't know why I felt I needed her here, maybe because I was alone; maybe their accident left me traumatic. Anyway, she came and I've had someone to talk with since."

"All those times she was in town?"

"She never went to town; I always went late at night while you slept."

"Why did she keep me here, why did she use me? Why did she drag me back if she didn't want me here?"

"Because she wanted to placate me. Now the using you was a way for me to 'experience' you without losing my innocence. She became the slut so I could maintain my virginal ways and make more of an impression on you. She made you come back to town because once you got out; she knew they would come for me for kidnapping you. If I go to jail, she goes too, you get the point?"

"All those times Autumn acted the way she did?"

"Was to make sure I didn't do anything harsh to myself."

Nick started to think about his past months with these girls, with this girl. It was true, he never saw them together, and he only heard shouts from his room. Harmony always left him when she heard some small noise implying Autumn's return; he never heard a noise himself. And the cut on her hand, it was the same hand. He assumed that they both tried to clean up the broken dishes and cut themselves.

"Why did Autumn act so harshly towards me? Was that part of your plot to make me love you Harmony?"

Harmony shrugged at this point. "To keep herself from liking you? I really don't know that answer, some things she's done she's managed to keep secret from me."

"What's going to happen now, now that I know who I am?"

"Like I said, I can't let you leave. You might tell someone and where would that leave me and Autumn?"

"I promise never to tell anyone, you can continue living here; continue being here with your sister."

"I don't think so Nick." She finished her statement and turned to leave the room. "I will be back; I need you to write a suicide note now that people have seen you around." She turned to look at him apologetically, for a brief moment he thought she was in her right mind and would let him live.

"I'm so sorry you couldn't handle the pressures of fame." She grinned evilly at him slamming the door closed and locking it behind her.

He stared at the door in disbelief. The woman he fell in love with was the reason he was here and the reason behind his amnesia. The woman he thought he knew so well was going to find a way to kill him. The one he thought he had to worry about had no part of him being here, only kept him here to protect both the girls who shared one body.

Quickly the door sprang open causing Nick to jump. "Which one are you now?"

"It's Autumn. Listen Nick I don't have much time, she keeps getting stronger and I can't seem to get through. I've seen her plans; you need to leave however you can."

"You don't think I know that? How am I supposed to leave?"

"There is a secret exit in here; I've managed to keep it from her for all these years. Don't ask me why I thought I needed it, it's not like I can't go anywhere without her." She chuckled uneasily. "Anyway, you need to go now, I don't know how much longer it will take her to prepare." Autumn twitched her head to the side. "I have to go, please hurry, it's in the bathroom."

Just as quickly as the door opened it was closed again and Autumn was gone. Nick shook his head, unable to comprehend the situation fully. He bolted off the bed, made his way into the bathroom, and started to look for any kind of sign of an opening in the floor or the wall.

In what seemed like forever of searching he found to faint lines coming up from behind the toilet.

"Great," he mumbled. "Now I have to climb over the john for freedom." He shook his head sadly at his circumstance. The cracks were painted over so they would pry open easily. He sat on the toilet and thought for a moment at what to do next. Creaking footsteps made his heart stop, he turned his head towards the door, beads of anxious sweat rolling down his temple.

He continued to watch the door, waiting for Harmony to come bursting through the door to kill him. He knew he was bigger then her, but she was crazed and would probably be able to overcome him in the end.
Finally, the footsteps stopped and Nick stared at the bathroom door waiting but nothing came. Nobody barged in the bathroom, no yelling from the other room wondering where he was. Maybe the footsteps weren't coming into his room, but were going to another room. Harmony's room was on the other side of the house, perhaps she went there, tired from all that has happened.

Carefully Nick opened the bathroom door and scanned the bedroom. There was no sign of anyone, he sighed deeply, his eyes falling on the knife that Harmony still left in his room right where she had thrown it.

He moved towards the bed and grabbed the knife, ran back in the bathroom and began to pry the wood where the exit would be located. The wood crack making a loud sound that echoed in the bathroom. Nick stopped for a moment listening for footsteps. When he heard none, he continued prying away.

In what seemed like forever the boards were pulled away enough that Nick could make out the exit. Half of it was behind the toilet still so he would have to climb over the toilet in order to get into the exit. He started to climb on the toilet when he heard quick footsteps becoming loud. He froze for a second.

A loud crash told him that the room door was opened and someone was in the room. He quickly scurried into the hole and grunted when he hit the ground.

"Nick!" The voice in the other room yelled. He heard the creak of the bathroom door as he began to crawl along the bottom of the dark tunnel.

"Where do you think you are going?" A voice asked and when he glanced behind him, he could see Harmony's face lit by the light of the bathroom.

"Are you going to crawl around in the walls like a cockroach for the rest of your life? Eventually you will come out, or you will just die in there." She cackled.

Nick continued to move away from the room, Autumn told him that he could get out this way, but what if she was lying, what if this was a trap and at the end, someone or something waited to kill him? He had to take the chance; there was no way he wanted to allow Harmony to kill him. He knew who he was; he knew he had friends and family. He desperately wanted to be with them, he wanted this nightmare to be over.

In a moment of hesitation, he thought about the knife on the bathroom floor, would Harmony use it against him now? He sighed in relief when he put his hands in his back pocket and felt the knife handle sticking out. He remembered to grab it, now he had to be careful he didn't puncture himself in his escape.

After what seemed like forever, light started to seep into the tunnel from the other end. Nick didn't know why but he continued crawling even when he could no longer see Harmony's face. He found it strange that she did not crawl in after him, especially since she was so adamant about making sure he died.

The light came closer and closer and finally he managed to exit the hole, blinking at the bright light. He scanned the area curious as to where he was. Then he spotted it, the reason Autumn kept the passage way hidden and eventually sealed it away. A car sat in the field, the front end and driver's side were crushed, not horribly bad, but enough that anyone sitting in those spots would be seriously injured or dead. He moved closer to the car and turned towards the hole he crawled from.

He stared back in silence, his skin turning pale as he looked at a headstone marking the hole.

'Here lies Autumn Spalding, beloved sister and friend.' Nick choked back the bile that rose in his throat. He crawled through Autumn's grave, a grave that connected to Autumn's bathroom. Harmony dug Autumn's grave and then Autumn dug herself a way into and out of the house.

He searched the horizon for the house seeing it somewhat in the distance. A lone figure stood on the back porch looking towards him; he could see the dress sway slightly in the breeze. He continued to watch knowing that Harmony would charge after him if she could.

He saw her hand reach into the sky and wave back and forth at him, his hand, in response, rose slightly and waved back towards her, assuming it was Autumn at this point. Nick watched as the figure brought her arm down quickly and moved off the porch towards him, running.

He slapped his head, he gave himself away or Autumn couldn't hold Harmony at bay, he didn't know what was going on in that head of hers anymore. He did know that he needed to get moving. He turned and tried to find the road, the way that he could get to town and away from this place forever.

Finally, he spotted what appeared to be a dirt road and ran towards it as fast as he could. Quickly he whirled his head around to see where Harmony was noting that the truck was speeding towards his location.

Before he realized where he was going he turned his head and before he could stop, fell into a hole twisting his ankle on the way down. Desperately he tried to climb out of the hole, ignoring the pain in his ankle.

"Shit!" He yelled as he heard the truck approach.

"Oh did my poor Nicky fall in the hole I dug for him?" Harmony cackled gleefully. "What a shame, you took all the fun out of it for me. Now I don't get to kill you with my own hands before burying you." She leaned on the handle of a shovel as if lost in thought. "Oh well, at least you will be gone and I will get to move on with my existence."

Harmony moved to a pile of dirt and started to shovel some over Nick as he sat nursing his ankle.

He coughed from the first few tosses of dirt and prepared himself for the next toss. He was close to escape; now he was going to suffocate. A few minutes passed and nothing was tossed, he dared himself to open his eyes and look towards the opening. He cringed slightly at the view of Harmony leaning over the pit.

"Nick, take my hand, quickly, I must get you out of there." Her voice rang out.

"Autumn?" He questioned, more confused then ever.

"Yes, now quickly, Harmony is extremely pissed that I am here right now. She knows what I am doing and is putting up a strong fight to get out."

Nick grabbed Autumn's hand and climbed out of the pit. "Thanks Autumn," He said hugging her tightly. "I can't say I will ever forget you."

She smiled at him and let him go, "Please leave."

He moved as fast as he could through the forest that separated the town from Harmony's property. He never looked back when he heard a scream of frustration rise from where he left Autumn. He never looked back as Harmony re-appeared and started to cuss out her sister and him. He never looked back when the sound of the truck engine roared up again.

Through the branches of the trees, Nick started to make out the outlines of buildings. He was getting closer, a smile slowly spread across his face. He would be home with his family and friends at long last.

As the trees thinned, the view of the town became clearer. He limped along as fast as he could, stopping shortly when he saw an old truck appear in his view, Harmony exiting the driver side and charging towards him.

"Nick!" She screamed. She charged towards him, something shiny in her hands. He froze when he realized she was holding a hammer.
"How dare you." She continued to yell. "I told you that you had to die; now I will have to drag your body back to where this started. Do you know how heavy you are?"

She raised her arm with the hammer and swung at his face. Nick moved back as quickly as he could but still felt the impact across his eye and stumbled to the ground. He felt his blood trickle down his face, vision out of the one eye blurred.

"See what you've made do? I didn't want blood involved. I wanted your death to be a clean one, but you had to leave, you had to go when my sister helped you." She advanced towards him, hammer raised slightly. "And my sister, after giving her another chance at life, this is how she repays me."

Nick felt the hammer connect to his elbow and the pain seared through his arm. Through his blurry vision, he saw her raise the hammer again. With his good foot, he swiped it forward knocking her over, forcing her to release the hold on the hammer. He stood quickly and started to limp towards the town again hearing whimpers behind him.

"Nick, I'm sorry I put you through this. I just wanted to be loved."

Nick heard the words and stopped for a brief second, long enough to shout back to her, "I did love you Harmony."

*****

"Nick," a female voice called.

For a second a slight chill crept over Nick as he turned towards where the voice was coming from.

"Nick, honey, are you going to come outside with the rest of us?"

He sighed in relief as he saw his best friend's wife, LeighAnne walk around the corner. He smiled at her and took her hand as she helped him rise.

"You know this party is for you, so it wouldn't be very polite of you to stay inside while the rest of us celebrate your return."

He nodded at her briefly, but remained silent. She continued to help him outside where cheers from the rest of the guests filled his ears. He smiled broader, glad to be home with his friends and family. They were glad to see him as well. Constantly they asked him where he had been, what kept him away for so long. All he told them was he had amnesia and couldn't remember who he was until a few weeks ago. They all accepted his answer and did not push him anymore realizing he did not want to be pushed.

Nobody asked him where he got his injuries, nobody asked him why he looked so forlorn and kept his eyes alert at all times. They were just glad to have him back.

Nick watched as his friends and family sat around talking and laughing, eating their food. His mom fixed him a plate and poured him a drink, but it sat in front of him untouched. He watched those around him a little frightened, after what he went through he was afraid to trust, afraid to get too close to anyone.

He watched as Brian and LeighAnne held each other close and nuzzled each other, he watched Kevin and Kristin touch each other when they thought no one was looking. He thought about Harmony before she went crazy around him. How would he ever learn to trust a woman in love again? How would he know that she would not turn out to be like Harmony?

He looked towards the back of the yard, a slight breeze blew a sundress into his view, and he squinted to catch a better look at the person wearing the dress half-hidden by the crowd of people there to welcome him back.

He froze, the color draining from his face as he watched Harmony walk across the backyard, smile at him, wave slightly then walk out the back gate and towards the beach.