nothing ,” I replied. “ I slept like a log. No dreams, nothing at all. My mind is still a complete blank . ”
“ Tha t’ s too bad ,” he said.
“ It might help if I could ask someone some questions? Some basic stuff? I was supposed to do this with Ryder today, but he seems to have disappeared . ”
“ Oh, okay. You can ask me. Ryder had to take care of some club business. H e’ ll be back later . ”
“ Oh, okay, sure . ” My head had been filled with a million questions since I woke up last night. And now, I was drawing a blank. What did I need to know to pull up the important stuff?
“ What are the questions ? ”
“ Well, okay, where are we exactly ? ”
“ W e’ re in the Tillamook Forest. Just west of Portland, Oregon . ”
“ Right, I knew that, I guess. So ,” I hesitated .“ How far away from things are we? You know, like a police station or a hospital ? ”
His eyes squinted curiously.
“ I hope you are n’ t thinking of going anywhere, Miss. Yo u’ ll need to talk to Ryder about that . ”
“ What ? ” His answer caught me off guard. Was I thinking about going there? Even if I was, I did n’ t realize I needed to clear it with anyone. “ Um, no, I was just trying to figure out where the nearest town is . ”
“ Oh, well that would be the coastal town of Tillamook. Home of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. Ever heard of squeaky cheese? Ring any bells ? ”
“ Hm m… no, not at all, actually. Why does the cheese squeak ? ”
Riot laughed.
“ Hell if I know. I just know when you bite down, it squeaks. I t’ s fucking weird. And i t’ s weird for a town to be known for a cheese factory. There are some amazing beaches there, though. I t’ s right on the coast. And just north of that is Manzanitaand Cannon Beach, and Seaside, and then Astoria . ”
“ Shit, none of that means much to me at all . ”
“ Tha t’ s okay. Le t’ s take a look through the missing persons listing for the neighboring states. W e’ ll check California, first. It might take a while, but I do n’ t have anything else to do today ,” Riot said. He smiled mischievously. “ Do you ?” he asked, laughing.
I rolled my eyes at his joke.
“ Well, if I do, I guess you could say i t’ s slipped my mind. I have a good excuse . ” We laughed together, and I realized it was the first time I had laughed about anything since I woke up.
It felt good to laugh. Some of the heaviness lifted from my chest and I shook my head as Riot laughed with me.
“ Okay, le t’ s see what we can fin d … ” he said, clicking furiously on his keyboard.
We spent hours searching through the listings, and before we knew it, it was late afternoon. I had already slept late, and the few hours of the day had flown by.
Riot was nice. I was comfortable with him, and despite his intimidating appearance, he was a warm, easy-going guy. We spent hours looking through faces of missing strangers, and I was grateful for his patience. We found nothing at all, though.
Nothing sparked even the slightest bit of recognition for me. It was frustrating, and there were times when I grew upset and overwhelmed at the enormity of my situation, but Riot was kind and calm and sat there patting my leg reassuringly and doing his best to make me laugh throughout the day.
And tha t’ s exactly the scene that Ryder walked in on. We were huddled on the couch together, the laptop in front of us, but Riot had just made a funny comment about someon e’ s name we had come across, and I laughed out loud just as Ryder strode through the door. Rio t’ s hand lay firmly on my knee.
The look on Ryde r’ s face made my heart skip a beat. What was that I saw? Surprise, jealousy, hunger?
I think it surprised all three of us, because within seconds Riot
“ Tha t’ s too bad ,” he said.
“ It might help if I could ask someone some questions? Some basic stuff? I was supposed to do this with Ryder today, but he seems to have disappeared . ”
“ Oh, okay. You can ask me. Ryder had to take care of some club business. H e’ ll be back later . ”
“ Oh, okay, sure . ” My head had been filled with a million questions since I woke up last night. And now, I was drawing a blank. What did I need to know to pull up the important stuff?
“ What are the questions ? ”
“ Well, okay, where are we exactly ? ”
“ W e’ re in the Tillamook Forest. Just west of Portland, Oregon . ”
“ Right, I knew that, I guess. So ,” I hesitated .“ How far away from things are we? You know, like a police station or a hospital ? ”
His eyes squinted curiously.
“ I hope you are n’ t thinking of going anywhere, Miss. Yo u’ ll need to talk to Ryder about that . ”
“ What ? ” His answer caught me off guard. Was I thinking about going there? Even if I was, I did n’ t realize I needed to clear it with anyone. “ Um, no, I was just trying to figure out where the nearest town is . ”
“ Oh, well that would be the coastal town of Tillamook. Home of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. Ever heard of squeaky cheese? Ring any bells ? ”
“ Hm m… no, not at all, actually. Why does the cheese squeak ? ”
Riot laughed.
“ Hell if I know. I just know when you bite down, it squeaks. I t’ s fucking weird. And i t’ s weird for a town to be known for a cheese factory. There are some amazing beaches there, though. I t’ s right on the coast. And just north of that is Manzanitaand Cannon Beach, and Seaside, and then Astoria . ”
“ Shit, none of that means much to me at all . ”
“ Tha t’ s okay. Le t’ s take a look through the missing persons listing for the neighboring states. W e’ ll check California, first. It might take a while, but I do n’ t have anything else to do today ,” Riot said. He smiled mischievously. “ Do you ?” he asked, laughing.
I rolled my eyes at his joke.
“ Well, if I do, I guess you could say i t’ s slipped my mind. I have a good excuse . ” We laughed together, and I realized it was the first time I had laughed about anything since I woke up.
It felt good to laugh. Some of the heaviness lifted from my chest and I shook my head as Riot laughed with me.
“ Okay, le t’ s see what we can fin d … ” he said, clicking furiously on his keyboard.
We spent hours searching through the listings, and before we knew it, it was late afternoon. I had already slept late, and the few hours of the day had flown by.
Riot was nice. I was comfortable with him, and despite his intimidating appearance, he was a warm, easy-going guy. We spent hours looking through faces of missing strangers, and I was grateful for his patience. We found nothing at all, though.
Nothing sparked even the slightest bit of recognition for me. It was frustrating, and there were times when I grew upset and overwhelmed at the enormity of my situation, but Riot was kind and calm and sat there patting my leg reassuringly and doing his best to make me laugh throughout the day.
And tha t’ s exactly the scene that Ryder walked in on. We were huddled on the couch together, the laptop in front of us, but Riot had just made a funny comment about someon e’ s name we had come across, and I laughed out loud just as Ryder strode through the door. Rio t’ s hand lay firmly on my knee.
The look on Ryde r’ s face made my heart skip a beat. What was that I saw? Surprise, jealousy, hunger?
I think it surprised all three of us, because within seconds Riot
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