Emily couldn't be more relieved when the film ended and Tom finally left. Throughout the film he seemed to have cooled down, because by the end he pretended nothing had happened. He even tried to kiss her again as he left.

"Well, I guess I'll see you next Saturday then," he said, before waving and walking out the door.

Emily's smile turned to a grimace as soon as the door slammed shut behind him. She buried her face in her hands and let out the frustrated scream she'd been keeping in all afternoon.

"Why the bloody hell was he my boyfriend?" she asked herself quietly. "What was it I liked about him?" Just another reason she had to get her memory back; so she could remember why she loved him. Because otherwise, this relationship was completely and utterly doomed.

She took a few deep breaths before making herself some tea in the kitchen and flopping down on the sofa. Suddenly, she heard the front door open and shut and Eddy came into the room, smiling brightly.

"Hey, honey. Has Tom left already?"

She jumped up to help him with the heavy bags of groceries he was carrying. "Yeah, he uh... had to go."

"Did you have fun?" Eddy grinned at her.

"Uh..." Emily hesitated. Her dad seemed to be so happy about her dating Tom. It was still possible that she was just wrong about him. Maybe she shouldn't shatter Eddy's excitement about her relationship like that. She could always tell him later. "Yeah," she said eventually. "Yeah, it was fun. We watched a film together."

"Sounds great," said Eddy. He put the last few bits and pieces away in the cupboards, while Emily finished her drink and put the glass on the kitchen counter.

"Do you want to help me with the dishes?" Eddy asked. "I'll make dinner after that."

"Sure," Emily answered, taking the tea towel from its hook. She waited patiently as he got the hot water ready and cleaned the plates and utensils. As she stared at the water, the questions that had been bothering her all day, came back once more. It was as if every time she had a chance to relax, they popped up in her head to relieve her of such things.

Who was that boy? What was that whole thing with the Others? Who were they? Did they really have magic? And why exactly did that make them bad people? How could an entire community of people be bad? Emily just couldn't seem to wrap her head around that.

As she took one of the plates to dry off, she cleared her throat. "Eddy, I was wondering..."

"Yeah?" he asked, tipping some glasses into the water.

"What exactly is the deal with the Others?"

Eddy was silent for a moment. His brightened face instantly turned sour. He obviously didn't like this subject.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone keeps saying they're evil, but what exactly did they do?"

Eddy slipped and smashed a glass against the side of the sink. He sighed deeply and started picking up the pieces to throw them in the bin. Emily decided to help him.

"They threaten people. They steal. They set other people's things on fire. A few years ago one of the farms on the edge of town burned down. The owners had to move away, because they couldn't afford to get it fixed."

"How do you know the Others have done that?" Emily asked curiously.

"Because the firemen never found out what started the fire. The Others used their powers to set it, there's no other way!" Eddy snapped, as he took out a piece of paper towel to get the smaller glass shards. "Why are you asking me all this, anyway?"

"I was just wondering," Emily muttered.

"Just stop worrying about it, please. As long as you stay away from the forest, you're fine."

Emily nodded. "How come I'm safe on this side of the forest? Don't they come here?"

"They don't, not usually anyway. I think they know they're outnumbered if they come here. They only seem to come here when they have targeted someone. I'm not sure how they choose their targets, though. Probably if people get in their way, or something."

"How would anyone know they are Others though, if they just walked down the street here?"

"Because of their tattoos. Have I not told you that yet?"

Emily shook her head.

"They've got these markings on their arms, black lines, they look a bit like elaborate tattoos. You can't trust anyone who's got their arms covered up."

On their arms? That was strange. Then again, it wasn't the first strange thing she'd heard since she woke up, and it wouldn't be the last.

Eddy's answers only brought about more questions, so she continued, "I was just wondering whether all the Others are bad, or whether it's just a few of them doing all those things."

"Ha!" Eddy scoffed. "Never has an Other done anything good. Never have any of them used their powers to help anyone. Trust me, Emily, they're all bad. Every single one of them!"

"Then why does the police not do anything about it?"

"Because the police need evidence. But when the Others burn down a building or steal something, it is impossible to prove it was them. Those powers don't leave any evidence."

"But if everyone knows it was them..."

"Everyone here knows it was them," Eddy corrected her. "On the other side of the country, where the government is, people interfere with all this, while they know nothing about it. People have protested, to force the government to leave the Others alone, because 'they're just people'. Can you believe that?!" Eddy was all but shouting by now, rage twisting his face. He waved his hands around in abundant gestures, sending drops of washing up water everywhere. "Those people don't live here, so they have no idea what the Others are like. They have no idea what we're going through. And still they interfere! Still they manage to make it so that the Others can just do whatever the hell they like!"

"But, I don't understand," said Emily, trying her best to follow along with the information she had. "They are people, aren't they?" Surely an entire community of people couldn't be evil? She just couldn't understand it.

"What?!" Eddy snapped.

"I just mean, we have criminals, too, right? Aren't there just a few of those Others that do all those horrible things, while the rest is actually alright? They're people, aren't they? There's black sheep in every community."

"No, that is not possible!" Eddy shouted so loudly that Emily took an anxious step back.

Still, she kept pushing. She couldn't go back now; she had to know more. "But why not?"

"Because they killed your mother! A bunch of murderers is what they are! Just stay the hell away from them! I don't want to hear another word about it, understood?"

With her head in her hands, Emily sat on her bed, recounting what Eddy had told her. They killed your mother! This was the first time she'd heard that. Could that really be true? It would definitely explain why Eddy hated the Others so much. If it was true what he said, then the Others really were as evil as everyone kept telling her.

Murderers? They'd told her the Others were bad people, but murder was a big leap further down the Evil road. Why hadn't anyone told her that before?

And what did all this mean for the boy in her drawing? He couldn't possibly be an Other, that much was obvious now. He didn't seem to have powers and he definitely didn't look like a murderer. In fact, he didn't seem like a bad person at all. He just seemed sad, really. He also didn't have tattoos on his arms. His arms were bare in the picture and there was nothing to see. He wasn't one of them, she was sure of it.

If he wasn't an Other, then why was his whole existence a secret? Why was that drawing of him stuffed way back inside a mattress?

Emily groaned quietly, spreading her arms out and falling back on the bed. She had no idea how much she could trust people, or even who she could trust. She had no idea what she could tell people and what she should keep a secret.

Emily rubbed her eyes. Nothing was clear, nothing was just the way it was supposed to be. She had no idea who to trust or who to believe.

She needed to get her memory back. It was the only way to tell what things were really like. Right then and there, Emily decided she'd do anything, anything it took, to make sure she'd remember. She had to know everything there was to know about her old life. Only then could she figure out the truth. The real truth.

A quiet knock on the door sent Emily bolting upright on her bed. "Yes?"

Eddy opened the door and stuck his head through the gap. "Hey. I made dinner. Would you like to come downstairs?"

She hesitated only a second, before agreeing. Eddy held the door open for her with obvious relief on his face, leading her downstairs. As they sat down at the already-set table – Eddy really seemed to have tried his hardest, he'd got out the fancy plates – her dad apologised. "Listen, I'm really sorry about before. I should never have shouted at you like that. I frightened you and I didn't mean to, so... I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "It's fine. I shouldn't have pushed it like that." I should be able to ask questions, though.

Eddy nodded. "I just get so angry when I think about the Others. I still miss your mother so much, you know?"

Guilt hesitantly made its way up her spine. "Yeah, I understand. I didn't mean to make you angry. I'm just curious, because I don't understand this world very well yet. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet that the Others have special powers..."

"All the more reason to stay far away from that forest," said Eddy seriously.

Emily nodded and said, "You're right. I won't go there."

Eddy smiled and started on his dinner. Emily picked up her fork and pricked into the spaghetti, thoughts far away. After a few minutes, she hesitantly said, "Did the Others really kill her?"

Eddy looked up, pain seeping from his eyes. "You're so much like her, you know," he said. "Just like you're doing now, she always assumed the best of people. Even the Others. She always said that they're just like regular people, that they are basically good. She always tried to help them; brought them food and clothes and things like that."

Emily stared at him wide-eyed. Her mum had thought that the Others were good people? That changed everything... But Eddy wasn't finished talking quite yet.

"But that's exactly what cost her her life. She got too close. They had to get rid of her. That's why they killed her, I'm sure of it!" Eddy took a deep breath before continuing. "That's why I'm so scared of you getting too close. It terrifies me that you want to know more about them. I already lost your mother to them; I can't lose you, too."