Numb(er)

Chapter 1

Italics is Shion thinking.

All at once, my eyes flew open, revealing the darkness of the apartment's ceiling, a scream held in the back of my throat. I could feel my heart racing, making it extremely hard to breathe normally. The nightmares are back, I thought bitterly to myself. God damn it. The doctor said the new meds would help suppress some of the memories, but I guess when he said "some," he really meant "some". I hoped that when he said some, he meant all.

I took a few deep breaths, calming myself down, as I sat up. I put my right hand to my forehead, feeling a migraine forming. I groggily threw my legs over the side of my small bed, getting up to go to the restroom. As I swiftly walked towards the bathroom, I glanced at the clock. It said 6:30am. Well, I only have a half hour till I was supposed to wake up. I guess I'll just stay up the remainder of the time, before work, I mentally sighed to myself.

After I took care of my business, I whipped out the pain killers the doc gave me, fished out three of the giant horse pills and popped them in my mouth. I filled up a glass of water, downing it as I swallowed the three pills. Now, all I have to do is wait. But in all honesty, waiting SUCKS. Especially with a damn freaking migraine.

I wandered out of the bathroom, going to the middle of the small living room. I plopped down on the couch, groaning as my head throbbed constantly. I flipped the tv on, with the volume on near silent. I watched the news for a bit, before looking at the clock again. 7:04am. Time to get ready for work.

By the time I was showered, dressed, and ready for work, my migraine had subsided for the most part. There was still a twinge of pain, when I hit a big bump as I rode my bike to the Augustana History Museum, where I worked nearly every day, all day. I had to pay my rent somehow, since I dropped out of school with no idea of what I wanted to be. I just chose the first part-time job I could snag, and it ended up turning into the career I adore.

At the museum, I give tours to anyone who wants one. Including the annoying elementary school kids, but it didn't really matter - as long as I was able to show my love for history. History kept me sane. Really, it did. I was able to focus on the world's past, as opposed to mine. As long as I don't remember my past, it's all good… I mumbled to myself.

I skidded to a stop at the side of the museum, walking my bike the rest of the way towards the back. I quickly locked my bike to the bike stand, before running into the museum. I glanced at my watch, it said 7:58am. Two minutes until my shift started. I went to the store room and put my employee vest on, looking strikingly handsome if I did say so myself. Which I did, of course.

When the Augustana History Museum's giant clock struck 8, I was dressed and in my position, ready for the first tour of the day. The first tour would start at 8:15, and last until 9:15. The tour covered different things, depending on the tour requested. The ones I hosted were usually a general history of the entire world, or more specific histories of the United States, Canada, or Japan. I knew those 4 tours by heart. At the end, I would always get compliments on how good of a tour-guide I am, always showing my extreme affection for the past.

If only they knew my past, I bet they wouldn't show "extreme affection", I muttered quickly to myself, before standing up straight as the first tour group came towards me. This time, it was a couple pairs of parents and their kids, ranging from what it seemed to be 4-10. I sighed, and flashed them my best tour-guide smile. I ushered them further into the museum, explaining how European settlers first came to America, and their relationships with the Native Americans already living there. An hour later, I concluded the United States tour with the explanation of the first black president - Barack Obama. The little kids were extra enthusiastic, no idea why, but I do think it's pretty neat that I was alive to witness the election, I rambled to myself, smiling at the children's enthusiasm for history.

It's always great to see someone interested in history. I sighed.

After the 8:15-9:15 tour, I walked around the museum, showing people where to go for certain things, or explaining some events, giving insight, or anything I could do to be helpful. I kept that up until 10, my first break. I used this 15 minute time span before the 10:15 Japanese History tour to go to the restroom and get a snack. I sat in the lounge for a few minutes, munching on my cookies I bought from the vending machine. Once I finished, I stood up, making my way out to observe the crowd.

I opened the door from the lounge to the hallway with the bathrooms and vending machines, before accidently bumping into a young guy, about an inch taller than me. "Sorry," I mumbled, before starting to go back to my tour position. As I walked down the hallway towards the gallery, I looked back to see a young man seeming very uninterested in being at the museum. I frowned, finding it annoying whenever someone wasn't interested in history. That was before I noticed who he was standing next to - a police officer. I stopped in my tracks, observing the scene before me with more care, searching for all the details.

The young man, he looked a few years older than me, maybe 21? 22? I didn't know, but instead my eyes traveled to his facial features. He had a distinct jawline, sharp and ending in a quick point at his chin. His eyes, though I didn't look into them directly, were light gray and had an air of superiority of them. The next thing that caught my eye was his hair - it was shoulder length, longer than how most men wear it. His hair was a dark grayish-blue color, the front hanging down the sides of his face, framing his sharp facial features, with some bangs almost covering his piercing eyes. Behind that, his hair was tied up, probably using his own hair, as it looked a bit ragged.

The more I looked, the more I noticed about him and the scene itself. The guy looked rather annoyed, nodding and shaking his head at the police officer and museum manager. Suddenly, his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed, glancing angrily away from the two other men. Unfortunately for me, his eyes landed on me, staring me deep in the eyes. I could have sworn he was seeing right through me to the wall. A sly smile formed on his face as his eyes wandered down to my employee vest, and back up to my eyes. His smile grew larger and winked at me before turning his attention back to the two guys.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! I'll do it, just shut up, okay? Your annoying voices are giving me one hell of a headache," the young man announced, loud enough for me to hear. The police officer and manager looked at each other and shrugged. The museum manager pointed to the store room, and said something I couldn't make out. Maybe he's here to do some remodeling? Or he's going to organize the store room? I thought, but knew that neither of those scenarios were true. What about the police officer? What was he doing here?

I took a quick look at my watch, before yelping and scrambling back to my post. It was 10:17, and I was late! I'm never, ever, ever, ever, late. Even by two minutes. I groaned out loud, rushing towards the group of people gathered for my tour. I introduced myself as Shion, their tour-guide for the Japanese History tour. I gave them my most charming smile and started on the tour, babbling on about the Kofun period, from Ancient Japan, and how it was named after the burial mounds that started appearing at the time.

Though I was focused on my touring, as I always was, my thoughts wandered to the guy. Why is he here? Why did he wink at me? I wonder what he did, if anything, to be escorted by a police officer. The thing that was stuck in my mind the most, though, was his piercing gray eyes. His eyes knew something. I didn't know what, but those eyes were quite wise, and has witnessed past events I wouldn't dare to imagine, I could feel it. If I didn't know better, I might've thought he could understand my past.

What are you doing here?...

End of Chapter 1