Home Sweet Home

John moved slowly as he got to his feet for only the second time since he had been there. 

Earlier that morning, he had been able to walk around to be sure that there were no other symptoms present. He passed with flying colors. The nurses had told him multiple times how much progress he had made despite the state he was admitted.

The nurse stood next to him, offering support in case he felt unstable while he walked to the bathroom. 

"Let me know if you need anything else," the nurse gently said before leaving him to himself. 

John had retrieved the bag Sophia brought with her and, when he was alone in the bathroom, he stared at what was inside. 

Inside was a casual outfit. There was a white T-shirt and black jogger-style sweats. Luckily, all the items seemed to stretch or he wasn't sure they would all fit him. There was also a pack of boxer briefs. The shoes were athletic slides that would be enough to get him by for now. However, he couldn't complain considering Sophia had gone out of her way to get those things for him. 

Once he was dressed, the shirt was the only thing a little bit tight. The joggers were comfortable and the shoes were loose but comfortable. As he walked out of the bathroom, he was met with Sophia saying that they were finally allowed to get out of there. 

Sophia couldn't help herself and her eyes looked at the outfit she had chosen for him. The material of the white shirt clung to his muscles and she found it hard to pull her eyes away. She feared she would blush if she looked too hard at the joggers and she opted to keep her eyes on his face.

He would likely need other clothing but she wasn't sure of his size. All they were doing that way was leave the hospital anyway. 

"No turning back now," she said with a nervous smile.

In no time, they were on their way to her townhouse inside her red Mini Crooper with a black roof. She hadn't considered the fact that the man she was bringing home was so large and her car was so small. It was the perfect size to get around the city but didn't entirely take into consideration the size of the riders inside. She only stood at 5'3 and never had any issues before. 

The ride was less than ten minutes. It could have been even less if they walked but they had to stop at lights and let pedestrians cross. 

Occasionally she glanced at her company and saw him wearing a contemplative expression. In the morning light, he looked even more handsome than under the harsh hospital lighting. His eyes were a striking shade of blue.

When they arrived, she drove down the alleyway and opened her garage. She turned the car off and shut the garage door. 

Somehow Sophia missed Grant's BWM car pulling away after snapping a shot of the two of them on his phone. 

"You're sleeping with my boss, Sophia?" Grant uttered through clenched teeth. "Is this your way of getting back at me?" 

He sped off, wondering how he was going to confront her about this.

Meanwhile, Sophia stepped out of the car and John did the same.

"Home sweet home, I guess," she said with a small smile.

The garage entrance was just off of the kitchen and, when they made it inside, they were met with her bright white kitchen with modern elements of stainless steel throughout. The floors throughout the entire townhome were light wood. On the stairs and the levels above, a plush carpet covered all the other floors except for bathrooms.

When she was certain John had walked inside, she turned to him and pointed to various things around the main level. 

"There is a bathroom on this level with the kitchen and living room," she explained. "Upstairs are where all the bedrooms are. The second floor is my office and bedroom while the top floor is my roommate, Ethan's, master suite." 

John's eyes scanned the area. 

He had no measure of what was nice or not but the space was clean and nothing seemed out of order. However, what he noticed the most was the same scent he smelled on her throughout the place. 

He found it familiar and comforting. Was it because it was the first thing he smelled when he woke up? Since he didn't have anything in his mind to refer to, maybe he was simply clinging to the first person who showed him kindness or wasn't paid to take care of him. 

He silently followed Sophia up to the second level where she showed him the combination guest bedroom and office which is where he would stay. There was a full-sized light wooden bed inside of it with white bedding and a few black and white or brown leather pillows on it. 

On the opposite wall underneath a large window was a desk with white double monitors on it and a few notebooks and pens in a glass holder. Otherwise, it was perfectly organized like everything else through the house. 

"This bathroom is one that you will use," she explained. "The other door on the opposite end goes to my room so let's just agree to knock before we use it." After tapping on her chin thoughtfully, she thought of one last thing. "We have a third floor as well but it's mostly Ethan's space so I don't need to go up there." 

John nodded, silently taking in the environment he was meant to call his home for the time being. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't know how he felt to be there. Nothing about it felt familiar to him. Nothing about anything did. 

He looked down at the woman who was looking up at him expectantly. 

"I don't know what to do next," John admitted in a quiet voice. 

"The doctor said you should rest," Sophia suggested. "Do you feel hungry?" 

She hadn't eaten yet and wanted to make something for an early lunch. People usually liked her food, but she wasn't sure what the man in front of her liked, and neither did he. 

"I could eat something," he admitted. "I didn't like whatever I ate in the hospital." 

"Oh! That's a good start," she said. "What did you eat there that you didn't like?" 

"Tasteless food," he answered. 

They started walking out of the room as they spoke to one another. Eventually, they made it back to the main floor of the townhouse. He further described what he didn't like about the food. 

"I'll cook you something well-seasoned, then we can go from there," she said. "You can watch TV if you would like to. Maybe it will help you remember something." 

Sophia went to get him the remote and gestured to the armchair he could occupy while she cooked.