Ugly Beautiful (6 page)

'Would you like a drink of water or something?' whispered Jason, but the young woman was already taken by sleep and couldn't reply even if she wanted to. Jason turned towards the bedroom doorway and quietly left, closing the door over behind him.

CHAPTER seven

The next morning a tired and sore looking Jason returned to the cottage from his not as eventful as yesterday's morning run. After an invigorating, therapeutic and refreshingly cold shower he knocked upon the mysterious young woman's bedroom door. It had been eighteen hours since their last conversation. He'd checked in on her last night before he'd retired to his own bed, and surprise, surprise she was still sleeping soundly. Surely to God she would be close to a wakeful state now?

There was no answer from his knocking, so like he'd done the previous night, he entered her room anyway. This time he was carrying a cup of tea and some buttered toast which he placed down beside a surprisingly empty mug of soup he'd left for her last night. Jason opened the bedroom curtains to reveal yet another glorious sunshine day. The young woman stirred from her sleep, half opening her eyelids as the warmth of the golden rays of sunshine melted over her face.

'Hey there sleepy head' said Jason cheerfully. 'That was some sleep you had yourself there. Almost twenty hours and counting.'

The woman nodded and began stretching herself out from underneath the cosy big double duvet. Jason glanced towards the tea and toast.

'I made you some breakfast. It's not much, but it's edible.'

'Thank you.' the woman replied sounding more like she were hung over from a wild party. 'But I still don't feel very hungry.'

'Well maybe that's because my delicious soup filled you up during the night.'

The woman let out a bewildered stare.

'I never... I never had any of your soup during the night.'

Jason picked up the empty mug and turned it upside down to show the young woman its null contents.

'Maybe you drank it in your sleep then.' continued Jason letting out a wry smile. 'Look, just eat what you can okay. Get some strength in you and when you're ready, I'll show you how to use the shower. You can wash. I'll lend you some clean clothes. Then maybe we can get you some fresh air before deciding just what the hell to do with you today. Now how does that sound?'

The woman stared long and hard at Jason with a blank and confused expression.

Twenty minutes later the woman was inside the cottage shower. She stood almost motionless with her eyes tightly shut as the steamy, warm and soothing spray of water splashed down all over her naked body. After some time standing eerily still she leaned forward slightly to rest her forehead gently against the cubicle wall. She'd never felt a feeling like it before. It was amazing and so, so refreshing. She could stay in that shower forever she felt. And she almost did. For at least another forty five minutes anyhow.

***

Later that afternoon the young woman and Jason finally stepped out of the cottage and into the gentle heat and golden sunshine of the warm Scottish summer air. The woman was wearing a pair of Jason's stone washed jeans and a baggy light blue sweater. She took a moment to glance around in awe at the vast and magnificent highland countryside that surrounded her. Then she raised her eyes towards the heavenly blue skies above.

'Everything around here is so... it's just so...' the young woman paused, searching her entire shallow memory banks for a word that would best describe her new surroundings and the feelings it was creating inside her. Only one word came to her hazy mind though. '...beautiful.'

Jason put on his sunglasses and shook his head. He let out a gentle smirk at the woman's childlike innocence and naivety. She was acting as if she were seeing all of these wonderfully rich blue and green colourful surroundings for the first time. Jason walked ahead of her letting the woman take in and enjoy the surrounding scenery and calm fresh air as best she could. It wasn't until a few over stretched moments later that she noticed Jason moving off in the direction towards the hill with the single shabby oak tree on top. And just like that curious little child she reminded him of, she excitedly followed.

Once they reached the top of the hill Jason led the woman past the oak tree and over towards the other side. He led her right up to the steep edge and pointed down towards the very bottom to where her unconscious body lay only a day before. Right in amongst the long whip-like grass and rows of jagged bushes and stingy nettles

'That's where I found you. Right down there at the bottom.'

The woman was thinking hard. Blank memories and foggy thoughts continued to cycle through her head, but no one single firm image came to her.

'Nothing rings a bell with you about this place, no?'

'No.' replied the woman, quiet as a mouse again. Then, as if deliberately distracting herself, she turned back towards the oak tree. The sight of the isolated tree rooted at the top heart of the hill all by itself, filled her with a great feeling of serenity and joy.

'Could we just sit over there beside that tree for a while.' the woman asked, almost jumping and glowing with excitement.

'Sure, we can do that.' Jason replied smiling at her simple request. He led her back to the tree where they sat underneath its bushy, overgrown branches for a long time. The woman seemed more relaxed than her previous edgy self, maybe too relaxed for Jason's liking, but he was okay with that, for the time being. As they sat beside each other in the gorgeous sunshine, Jason couldn't help but notice the woman's raw and natural beauty which positively thrived and radiated in the fresh air and golden sunshine. A beauty which soon penetrated all the way through his thick and hard shell exterior. It also occurred to him that he hadn't spent this much time in the company of an attractive woman before without so much as a kiss or even an attempted feel underneath her shirt. He had never, at any point in his life, had any platonic female friends that he could remember, even back at school. To him women had always been in his life for one thing and one thing only. An object of sex and desire. If he had ever been sitting on top of a hill before with an attractive woman who he hadn't bedded yet, then you could bet your top pound that the only thing on his mind was when and how to make that first sexual advance. Yet now… Now seemed to be a different story entirely. It was a situation that Jason wasn't all too familiar or comfortable with.

'It's so beautiful up here. Everywhere, it's just so... beautiful.' the woman said in a splendid, innocent glee and criminally overusing her newfound deep and rich word in Jason's eyes.

'So you keep saying.' said Jason with a teasing grin. 'You know, I've never actually met anyone who's lost their memory before. It's like the kind of thing that only happens to characters in those shitty soap operas and late night movies.'

The woman remained silent to Jason's comment. She then turned to face him with a curious stare.

'What… What's wrong?'

'Could I... could I try on your glasses please?' asked the woman coyly. Jason, a little surprised by the woman's request, casually took off his sunglasses and handed them over for her to inspect. Like a small child on Christmas morning, inspecting its new gifts, she curiously checked out her newly acquired item. She didn't seem to know whether to play with them or protect the fragile toy. Eventually she placed the glasses over her eyes, hooking the frame end over her ears, just like she'd seen Jason do before leaving the cottage.

'Wow.' she gasped, a little too excitedly. She smiled, beaming for the first time since Jason had known her. 'Everything is just so... so much more...'

'Beautiful?' interrupted Jason with a hint of sarcasm.

'Darker, and calmer.' replied the woman and smiling warmly too. She laid down upon her back glancing up at the darker sky and shaded sun above her. Jason curiously watched the strange woman's actions with a tender fascination until she broke the pleasant silence again.

'So do you live in that cottage down there all by yourself Jason? Is it your home?'

'Not really, no But kind of, aye.' he replied fidgeting. He was surprised and a little uncomfortable that she was the one taking charge of the conversation and asking the questions all of a sudden.

'So who does that cottage belong to then, if it doesn't belong to you?'

There was an awkward silence as Jason took his time to think. The only sounds were coming from a slight breeze rustling against the leaves of the tree branches above them. Then the sound of some nearby birds singing and chattering amongst themselves like they were auditioning for the wildlife version of the X factor.

'It's just my uncle's place.' answered Jason after a long reflected pause.

'So where is your uncle now? Is he around today?'

Jason, looking slightly agitated, took a deep breath, clearly not wishing to answer anymore of the woman's prying questions. He wasn't used to this type of deep personal intimacy, especially from a woman. He'd never talked about his Uncle with anyone before, especially after his death. Not even to Gary or his wife. In fact he couldn't even remember the last time he'd even had a deep and meaningful conversation with anyone before. Never, if he had to take a wild guess. The people, especially the male friends he had surrounded himself with in life just weren't like that. He supposed that was why he had got along with his wife so well. They never, ever got personal. She was so pretentiously shallow and superficial both above and below the surface and he was never the deepest of thinkers or talkers too. A match made in superficial heaven if there ever was one.

'My Uncle… He's dead now. He left the cottage to me.'

'So it is your place then?'

'I suppose, in a way, yeah. I just use it every now and again when I want to get away, you know.'

'Get away?' asked the woman, sounding confused.

'Yeah.' replied Jason with a one worded answer. He turned away from the woman trying to distract himself in the surrounding scenery.

'And do you have any other family Jason?' the woman pressed.

This time there was a longer delay in Jason's answer as he looked even deeper in thought. Horrific images of his dead pregnant wife and father slaughtered all over his bed haunted his mind again. Then his mind was swiftly invaded by more images of his late and tragic parents relationship, happy at first, but quickly followed by mostly sad, miserable times. He desperately tried to shake the thoughts away.

'No.' he finally replied.

'No wife or girlfriend even?' the woman enquired further like she were conducting a job interview. Jason sighed in annoyance before answering.

'No. No wife. No girlfriends.'

The woman wasn't taking the hint though and looked surprised that a ruggedly handsome bloke like Jason with an insecure, yet mysterious charm, should be single and fancy free.

'So what about your parents?' the woman pried and prodded further into Jason's mind. It was almost like she were subconsciously looking for some kind of emotional reaction or outburst yet without even realising her mistake.

'Parents?' said Jason, turning to her with a hard stare. This line of questioning had gone way too far. He felt shocked at how casually personal the woman had become.

'Yes. Your mother and father?' the woman replied with a warm smile.

Jason shook his head looking greatly agitated. He was ready to explode at any second. An image flashed through his mind of his late mother telling him how much she loved him, crying and sobbing as he walked away from her for the very last time. His domineering, gangster father looming threateningly over her in the background.

'They're both... They're both dead.'

'Oh.' said the woman. She sat up looking somewhat shocked by his answer. 'Can I ask what happened to them?'

Enough was enough for Jason. He sat upright in anger, almost getting to his feet, but he restrained himself for the tie being.

'No, you can't fucking well ask what happened to them, all right. I mean, what the hell is this? Twenty bloody questions or some other stupid fucking memory game, Jesus.'

Jason took a deep breath and desperately tried to regain his lost composure. The woman looked absolutely horrified and rocked to her core at Jason's sudden outburst. She looked petrified. It was so unexpected from her point of view.