A/N: Well I hope you liked that first chapter. This story has been in my head for forever and I think it’s about time I type it out. The first chapter worked out the way I wanted it to. Let’s see where the second chapter takes us…

Chapter 2: Not Me

Roslyn was groggy when she woke up. She felt soft sheets around her body and a fan blowing cool air on her face. Someone nearby was snoring and her right hand was being held. Roslyn remembered being hit on the head and realized she must be in a hospital. Tony must be there, worried sick about her. Even though she was older than him physically he was fifty years older than her mentally and always seemed to be taking care of her.

Roslyn wanted to open her eyes and wake Tony up to assure him she was just fine but her eyes wouldn’t obey her. Must be the drugs, she concluded and tried harder to make her body work. Someone sighed and Roslyn realized the sound had come from her lips. She hadn’t meant to do that. Finally her eyes opened and Roslyn relaxed. Looking around the room she realized she was in fact in a hospital. Looking to her right, Roslyn saw a man she didn’t recognize sleeping in a chair and holding her hand.

Roslyn panicked and squeezed his hand without meaning too. He woke up and looked at her with sleepy eyes. Suddenly his eyes brightened and he smiled with so much joy in his eyes it confused Roslyn. Her mouth returned the smile.

What was happening? Why was her body doing things she didn’t tell it to? Did she have brain damage?

“Rianne,” the man said. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine daddy,” Roslyn said. “But I’m sure that is just the medicine.” But it wasn’t Roslyn who said this. It wasn’t even her voice. And why was the man calling her Rianne? A thought came to Roslyn but she quickly dismissed it. She couldn’t be stuck inside someone else’s body. That was ridiculous!

The man laughed and Roslyn laughed also but it wasn’t her laugh. This one was much quieter and controlled. When Roslyn laughed she had a tendency to guffaw and occasionally snort. Her eyes traveled to her hand which was clasped in the man’s and with startling clarity she realized the hand wasn’t hers. She truly was in somebody else’s body. Roslyn faded out of consciousness.

“So how long have I been unconscious for? Does everyone know what happened?” Rianne was still conscious and a mild aching she had in the back of her head seemed to have disappeared.

“Well, the surgery was last night but it’s about three in the afternoon now. I would say around twelve hours,” Mr. Paul said.

“Is that bad?”

“Well, I’m not a doctor but you did just get a new heart. Considering you are awake now, I think you will be just fine. Let me go get your mother. She will be thrilled that you are awake,” he said before leaving the room. Rianne sighed contentedly and glanced down at her chest. It was covered by her hospital gown, an outfit she was now accustomed to wearing, but around her chest was a large amount of gauze and bandages and she could feel the stitches in her skin. Rather than get grossed out by the stitches, Rianne thought about the gnarly scar she would have.

After a major surgery like that they could hardly afford to pay a plastic surgeon to remove the scar. They had insurance but it was expensive insurance. Mr. Paul was already working two jobs, one at a factory that printed newspapers and another as a janitor for a major law firm. Mrs. Paul was a waitress and worked long hours. Rianne wanted a job to help pay for everything but her parents refused. If Mr. and Mrs. Paul could, they would lock their daughter away forever to keep her safe. She had already been hurt enough by her own body.

A knock on the door startled Rianne out of her thoughts and she looked up to see a group of her friends waiting tentatively outside her door holding flowers and balloons. “Well,” she said with a grin. “What are you waiting for? Get in here!” They all returned her smile and spilled into the room. There weren’t enough chairs for everybody so most of them had to lean against the wall. The room suddenly became claustrophobic but in a way so that Rianne was comforted.

“How are you feeling,” Anna asked, leaning over the bed to give Rianne a careful hug. Rianne returned the hug just as carefully; she had just gotten a brand new organ after all and didn’t want to mess anything up. Suddenly, the buzzing in the back of her head began again but Rianne ignored it.

Roslyn was groggy but knew one thing for certain. She was trapped inside this girl Rianne’s body and didn’t know how to get out. Desperately, Roslyn attempted to control any part of Rianne’s body and felt triumphant when the girl murmured, “Stop.”

“What,” Anna asked but Rianne just shook her head.

“Sorry, I just have a bit of a headache,” Rianne admitted. Mr. and Mrs. Paul walked in as she said this Mr. and Mrs. Paul entered the room.

“I think this many people might be overwhelming Rianne. Maybe you all can come back in a few days when she is feeling better,” Mrs. Paul said protectively. Rianne didn’t argue because she was feeling a bit exhausted. Roslyn watched as the kids began to file out and realized how young this girl must be. She must still be in high school!

“When will you be back in school,” a boy turned around to ask Rianne, confirming Roslyn’s suspicions.

“Two weeks,” a doctor answered the boy as he walked into the room. He was old, maybe in his sixties but his eyes still had life in them.

“Bye Dylan,” Rianne said as the boy left. “What’s up doc,” she asked as Dylan closed the door behind him.

“Well, the surgery went very well. At the most you will have to spend two weeks in the hospital but I think we can get you out in one if no problems arise. You will have to stay home for another week after that and I am banning you from surfing for the next two months at least,” Dr. Jake explained.

Roslyn was getting very bored with the conversation and drifted off again as the family discussed how careful Rianne was going to have to be for a while. They talked about things like physical therapy and medications but Roslyn didn’t start listening again until the Rianne asked the doctor, “So what happened to the person whose heart I got?”

Roslyn perked up and noticed the parents had left the room. Dr. Jake seemed concerned that Rianne was asking this question and was a little afraid to answer. Was it scaring Rianne that she had a part of someone else inside of her? He decided that Rianne had a right to know though.

“Well she was killed last night by blunt force trauma,” Dr. Jake said quietly. Roslyn knew this was just a fancy term to describe someone getting hit on the head and she began to panic.

“What was her name,” Rianne asked. She felt an urgent need to find out as much about this person as possible. Please let it not be me, Rianne thought but then paused. Why would she think that? Of course it hadn’t been her who died. Where had that stray thought come from?

“Roslyn Gates,” Dr. Jake admitted and when Rianne’s eyes brimmed over with tears he realized he had made a mistake. He sat there awkwardly as Rianne began to sob and worried that she had known this person.

“I- I don’t know why I’m crying,” Rianne admitted through her tears. “I g-guess I sh-should be happy I got her heart but I just feel s-s-so bad.” Roslyn was feeling similarly realizing she was dead and her heart was now in this girl’s body. She wanted so badly for it to all be a dream but knew it wasn’t. She was supposed to be gone but was holding onto the last living part of her body.

Rianne pulled herself together and wiped her eyes. Dr. Jake offered her a Kleenex from the box in the room and she accepted it thankfully. “Did she have any family,” Rianne asked. “Do they know I have her heart?”

“She didn’t have any living relatives. She wanted her body to be donated. I’m sure Roslyn would be happy that her heart went to such a fighter like you,” Dr. Jake tried to reassure Rianne. She nodded and ran a hand through her hair. It was so strange, having a part of someone else inside of you. Rianne felt like she should miss her heart but really she was glad it was out of her. It had never done anything good for her.

Roslyn actually wasn’t happy at all. She was dead; what was there to be happy about that? Sure she was glad this girl had gotten her heart so Roslyn was still at least present but it wasn’t the same as being alive. Roslyn faded away again, this time afraid she wouldn’t come back.

A/N: Well hello there my lovely readers. I hope you are enjoying this story because I am. I promise there will be more action in the next chapter so please don’t let this one discourage you. But this chapter was also pretty interesting (or at least I think so). Rianne is pronounced like Ryan not that it really matters but that is how I think of it. Anyways leave me a review to let me know what you think. I would really appreciate it!