Page 35 of He Will Come for Me

He shakes his head. “Happy to help. I’ll be by in a few days to check in. Nurse Millie will be by tomorrow to check on Anna. And I’m sure Dr. Pearl will be happy to hear you’ve had another memory.” He walks out and I curl even deeper into Phoenix’s chest. I’m exhausted.

The next day Phoenix has business to attend to, so he leaves right after breakfast. Phillip is in the kitchen prepping for Thanksgiving, and I watch him as I sip on another cup of coffee.

“Phillip?” He turns toward me, giving me his full attention. “Would I be in your way if I made a few desserts for Thanksgiving?” I ask.

He walks to me with an encouraging smile and pats me on the hand. “I love having you in the kitchen.”

“You do?”

He nods as he goes back to the bread he’s making from scratch. “Yes. We always had so much fun in the kitchen.” I smile at him, glad that he’s sharing this with me.

“Really?”

He turns back toward me. “Yes. When you showed interest in baking, I went out right away and bought you the KitchenAid mixer.” My eyes fall on the mixer I’ve been using for the past several weeks.

“That’s mine?” I ask.

Phillip chuckles as he places a damp paper towel over the bowl and pushes it aside. “It is, and the day Clara took you on the tour and you noticed it right away, she was practically giddy. She was convinced your amnesia wouldn’t be permanent. That your memories are just suppressed.”

I nod slightly as I stand and walk to the refrigerator to take out some eggs and butter so they can be at room temperature when I need them. “I’m beginning to feel more hopeful, too.”

“We’re all glad you remembered you’re married to Mr. Stone. That was the hardest thing not to acknowledge after he rescued you.” He takes cornmeal and flour out of the cupboard. I’m assuming he’s making cornbread next. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen him smile.” He pats my hand again. “Just in time for the holidays.”

He puts his finger up, letting me know he’ll be right back as he walks into the pantry to get other ingredients he needs. When he returns, he begins to prepare the batter for the cornbread.

“Who all comes over for Thanksgiving?” I haven’t met anyone outside of Rex, Clara, Phillip, Nurse Millie, and Dr. Chamberland. There are other staff here, but they don’t really talk to me. It seems like they avoid me. I wonder if they were instructed to ignore me.

“I think it’s just going to be us this year. We’ve had a lot of guests in the past, but Mr. Stone doesn’t want to overwhelm you or Anna.” I want to protest, but I remember what it was like the first few weeks after I was rescued. Anna needs time to recover.

“I think I’m going to go for a walk real quick. I’ll be back in just a few minutes to begin baking.”

“I’ll call Clara to go with you.” He grabs his cell phone out of his pocket and I shake my head.

“No, it’s alright. I know she’s busy trying to get everything prepared.” He hesitates, but reluctantly nods as he puts his phone back in his pocket.

“Don’t go too far.”

I wave my hand at him in an attempt to tell him not to worry. Grabbing my coat, I put it on and walk out the patio doors. Staring at the pool longingly, I continue past it toward the lake. I’ve tried a couple of times to get to the lake, but I still haven’t made it all the way down the hill.

I could probably make it down the hill, it’s getting back up it that I’m worried about. Maybe I can try later when Phoenix gets back. He can help me if I need it.

I get further, but finally give up about halfway. I rest on a bench that blends in well with the surroundings and pull my jacket around me tighter as the breeze picks up. It looks like it may be cold this Thanksgiving.

I watch two birds in a tree chirp at each other. It kind of sounds like they’re having an argument. I can only imagine what they’re communicating. One of the birds looks at me. It’s a little eerie how he’s watching me. “Why is she mad at you? Did you forget to put the toilet seat down?”

I snort at my dumb joke and the birds fly off. This land is so beautiful. Another breeze blows across the hill, it causes a chill to race across my spine. Something at the edge of my brain tingles, kind of like déjà vu. Like I’ve been in this exact same spot, resting, trying to gain some sense of control.

Why would I have felt that way? I understand why I feel that way now; I lost my memories. But what could have happened in the past that made me feel that way?

Standing, I walk a few more steps down the hill and fear overwhelms my senses. Similar to the fear I felt when I was chained up, but worse.Why?I turn slowly in a circle, taking in my surroundings again.

“If you don’t come with me, I’ll kill you, but first I’ll kill Phoenix and I’ll make you watch.”

Chapter 16

Irun up the hill. And by run, I mean walking at a very fast pace. When I make it to the kitchen, Phillip and Clara are laughing about something. I’m trying desperately to catch my breath as they turn their attention to me with looks of concern.

Clara walks over to me, pushing my hair off my face. “Miss Kenzie? Are you okay?”

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