Page 23 of Awakening

“So, I have a man who loves me and wanted our baby, but I can’t remember him, and I can’t even remember being pregnant,” I say as I break into sobs.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chloe says, reaching out to rub my arm.

“No. It’s not okay at all, Chloe. I can’t even remember having a baby inside me,” I say as I wipe away my tears. “I can’t even bring myself to see her yet. I don’t know what to do with this.” I bury my face in my hands and cry.

“You need Ethan, Olivia. He needs you, too. He’s been beside himself since you went missing. You can figure out how to get through this together.”

“But, I don’t even know him. This man is a complete stranger to me. I don’t even know what he looks like.”

“Well,” she says, “I can help with that.” Chloe pulls out her phone. “I can show you a picture, if you’d like.” I nod as she swipes through images on her phone. “Here we go.” She hands me her phone. “If you keep going there are a few more.”

With his dark hair and crystal blue eyes so light they’re almost gray, he might be the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. And that smile—I can see why I must have fallen for him. That’s definitely me with him in the photos, and Chloe is right. We look very much in love.

“Wow,” I say. Anthony comes up behind me to take a look and says nothing, but sighs and walks away. I know this is hard for him. The reality is that we haven’t been together for years, but I’ve noticed the way he looks at me, and the care in his touch.

“He doesn’t know we’ve found you yet, but I need to tell him as soon as possible,” Chloe says. “He’s going to want to see you right away, Liv. He’s going to want to bring you home.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Anthony says. “No one is going to push her into doing anything. I mean, where the fuck has he been? No one even filed a missing person report for her in the state of Colorado. We checked. And, if she’s engaged, where’s her engagement ring?”

“I assure you he’s been looking for her,” Chloe says, her tone firm. “He’s been using private resources that he believes can reach further than local police, and he’s been out there right alongside those search parties looking for Olivia himself. Nick has been with him.” She turns to me. “He hasn’t stopped looking for you since you were taken, Olivia. And,” she says taking my hand and looking at where an engagement ring should sit, “your ring is at home. Ethan found it on the ground after you were taken.”

“Tell me more about that. Do you know who took me?”

“It’s a long story, but Ethan has this cousin, Ian, who is unstable. We can’t be absolutely certain it was him, but we’re almost positive. Ian kind of despises Ethan, and he’s attacked you a couple of times in the past, using you to try to hurt Ethan.”

My heart beats hard in my chest. “Why would he want to use me to hurt Ethan?”

“I don’t really know how to explain it, but he’s just kind of obsessed with wanting everything Ethan has, and what he can’t get for himself, he wants to take away from Ethan.”

“And you want her to go back to that toxic environment?” Anthony shakes his head. “No. Fuck that.”

Chloe glares at Anthony again. “I can assure you that Ethan has taken every possible precaution to be sure Olivia is protected.”

“Obviously not enough,” Anthony says, crossing his arms.

“Olivia’s security guard became extremely ill,” she says, then turns her attention back to me. “He was supposed to be watching guard in the hallway by the restrooms when he got sick. That’s when you went missing.”

Feeling my eyes widen, I ask, “I have a security guard?”

“Just out of an abundance of caution,” Chloe says.

“Where is this Ian person now?”

“Ethan has teams of people searching for him,” Chloe says.

I look at Anthony and he shakes his head. “You don’t have to go anywhere you feel unsafe, Liv.”

Turning back to Chloe, I ask, “Did we live together…Ethan and I?”

“You do, yes.”

“Like I said,” Anthony interjects, “if Olivia doesn’t want to go with him, she doesn’t have to go. Liv, you are welcome to stay with me as long as you want.”

Chloe’s eyes practically shoot daggers at Anthony. “Anthony, I would think you would want to reconnect Olivia with the man in her life who loves her. She feels the same about him too, let’s just remember that.”

“Only I don’t remember that,” I say, “but I do need to see him.”

“I don’t like it that there’s some fucking psycho out there who could take her again if she goes back there,” Anthony says.

---