Finding Christina (Wild Rose #2) Read Online Free Page A

things she knew. Her brain took her to dark places. She wondered if she was some kind of prostitute, or if she was a good person. Dr. Cotter had removed the bandages on her hands and she was able to write much better without the thick wrappings.
     
    Dear Diary,
     
    I guess the thing that scares me the most is what ifs. What if I can’t remember who I am? Will I just live the rest of my life not knowing? My kid has to have a last name. What if my husband or boyfriend is out there wondering where I am? Surely I have a boyfriend. I don’t think I’d be the type to just sleep around. Then again, I was in a position I possibly got raped, so I don’t know. That’s the biggest problem. I don’t know who I am. I’m sitting here now twelve weeks pregnant, with AIDS, and I have no clue how I got to this point in my life. It’s a pretty low point, right? All I can remember is being in a dark car and this man with big hands. I don’t know anything else about myself. Just that my name is Christina. Nothing else. Hattie says my memories will come back. Until then maybe I can figure out who I am on my own. Who knew I didn’t like lime gelatin? Not me. Dr. Cotter says my face is almost back to normal, so that’s a good thing, I guess. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll figure it out, right?
     
    Christina
     
    Hattie walked in as she closed the journal. “Good morning, Christina, up writing again?”
    “Yeah, Hattie, I’m just struggling trying to piece my life together. Sometimes I think I have a piece almost in place and it all comes undone again.”
    “It will come, honey. Just be patient. Sometimes it is the brain’s way of protecting you until you can handle it all.”
    “Has anyone put in a police report looking for a girl named Christina?” Hope tinged her voice, even as she knew what the answer would be.
    “No, honey, not today. But you know what? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I won’t be coming in tomorrow, but I wanted to give you this for your little baby.” Hattie pulled a tiny blue teddy bear from her purse. “Merry Christmas, Christina.”
    Sobs wracked her slender frame as she clutched the tiny bear to her chest. “Thank you,” she managed to choke out through her wails. Hattie’s pudgy arms came around her and she took comfort in the embrace.
    “I’m gonna go, sweetie. I need to get home…” Christina stared up at the kind woman’s face.
    “Don’t let me keep you. Go to your family.” Tears filled her eyes again as Hattie left and she rolled to her side in the hospital bed. Squeezing her eyes shut she begged her brain to remember. Something, anything. A scrap of a memory, a thread of something to hold on to. She sobbed herself to sleep.
    When she woke later, a cafeteria worker was smiling softly as she placed a tray of food on a table. “Here you go, honey. Dinner.”
    Christina thanked her and tucked into the unappetizing plate of food. The turkey stuck in her throat and the mashed potatoes tasted like wallpaper paste. Pushing the table away, she sighed in disgust. Her palm came to rest on her belly, and she rubbed the barely there pooch absentmindedly as she stared out the window of her room. The sky hung heavy on the horizon and it grew darker with each moment that passed. Flurries struck the window and as though she’d been jolted, she saw a man’s face in her mind.
    The man meant nothing to her. At least she couldn’t remember him meaning anything. Closing her eyes she focused harder on his features, imprinting them in her mind. Suddenly a flash came through her brain of her being with him in a car and flying down the road and it snowing. Wrinkling her nose she pushed harder, frustrated tears leaking from between her lashes. Remember!
    Her breath caught as the scene played on. His hand gripped her thigh. She was saying something but the words wouldn’t come to her. The car had stopped. Why is the car stopping? Fear chilled her and she shivered as he ripped open her jeans, and suddenly her