Page 35 of Screw Christmas
“Okay, while you change, I’ll finish up in the kitchen then be to bed soon.”
“Sure.” I forced a reassuring smile to my lips as I stepped away from him and went to the bed. It wasn’t until he left closing the door behind him that I got undressed, put on my pajamas and slid into bed. Fluffing up the pillows there was a faint cologne smell. It wasn’t Aarons. Where in the hell did it come from?
I didn’t have time to mull it over. The door opened and Aaron stepped inside undressing as he made his way to the bed. “You’re okay with me staying the night?”
“You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?” I asked him with a teasing tone, but I legitimately had doubts. But what would he have to gain from playing some sort of game with me if he wasn’t? I’d find out and then I’d hate him for lying.
Flipping open the covers, he slid inside and pulled me into his arms. Cozying up against him, his cologne teased my nose. It wasn’t the same scent that was on the pillow, he had deeper notes of musk. But he could have more than one cologne. That meant nothing.
“I just feel like nothing feels right… Does that make sense?”
“It does. It will though. Just get yourself some sleep and I’ll be here for you in the morning. I’ll be sure to run to the store and grab some breakfast items. I know how much you like my omelets. If nothing sparks your memory those should.”
“I do like your omelets.” That much I did remember. These suspicions were all in my head—they had to be. Aaron was a good man, and I was being suspicious for nothing. Closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep without another thought about it.
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Chapter 17
Maya
One moment I was having a delightful dream involving puppies and lots of cold noses and puppy kisses, then the next my consciousness was pulled into a darkness with whispers and murmurs in the background. It took me a moment, but with some focus I was able to make out the voices even though the words were still unrecognizable—Aaron and a woman… I listened intently, not sure if I was awake or still dreaming, but not interested in opening my eyes just yet. The female voice finally became clear—my mother!
Just as the realization that my mother was here came to me, I felt a soft, light touch on my cheek. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
My eyes fluttered open, and I smiled, the first full, genuine smile I’d made since waking up in the hospital. “Hey Mom. I tried calling you from the hospital.”
“I know honey, I’m sorry. I tried your phone a few times, but it kept going to the machine.” Her soft smile soothed me. Leaning forward, I gave her a long, tight hug. It had been way too long since I’d seen her and seeing her now reminded me of that, making me feel ashamed it took something like this for me to be with her again.
“You look good, Mom.” Her dark hair was cut into a pixie style, styled to perfection with flecks of silver throughout. There were more creases at her eyes that I hadn’t remembered being there before, but aside from that she looked exactly as I remembered.
“Thank you.” She brushed a lock of hair from my eyes as I sat up with my back against the headboard. “How are you feeling?”
“Confused. There’s a huge chunk of my life that’s missing.”
Aaron cleared his throat diverting our attention to him. “Listen ladies, I gotta head to work. If there’s anything you need, your mom has my number. Maybe we can get you a new phone in the next day or two if yours doesn’t turn up.”
“Yes, thank you Aaron.”
Not missing a beat, Aaron crossed the room and gave me a brief kiss before straightening and leaving the apartment, pausing momentarily to look over his shoulder at me. When the door closed, I released the breath I’d been holding.
“What’s wrong, honey?” my mother asked, her eyes searching my face as if the answer was written there.
Chewing at my lower lip, I attempted to gather my thoughts before replying. “Well, I’m missing the past year. Maybe more, I can’t quite pinpoint where my memory drops off.”
“It’ll come back dear. Aaron told me the doctors were optimistic.”
“Yeah, I just…” Heaving a heavy sigh, I shrugged. It was hard to put into words the turmoil that was ravaging my mind since I’d woken up; confusion, upset, anger, hopelessness—there were so many emotions bubbling beneath the surface and none of them were good. “Something doesn’t feel right about me and Aaron. And Dylan… What is going on with Dylan?” I curled my nose up at her. Dylan just showing up demanding money or whatever it was he wanted didn’t make any sense. “Aaron is being very vague about what happened. Did he say anything to you?”
“Well, I wasn’t there, sweetie. I don’t think I know any more than you do.”
“Okay. Well, tell me this… Me and Aaron are we really together? It doesn’t feel right. There’s something in the back of my mind, like an itch I can’t scratch that is saying something is off. Did we break up and then get back together? Or…” The look of confusion on her face told me all I needed to know as far as she knew we were happy and in love.
“As far as I know you two are together. You’ve never spoken poorly of him. If you two had broken up, I’d hope you would have told me.” She leaned into me, lowering her voice, to what purpose I wasn’t sure since we were the only ones in the apartment aside from Buster. “I shouldn’t be saying this, Aaron asked me to keep it between the two of us, but I think this might help clear things up. He said he’s going to ask you to marry him! Isn’t that great?”
I wished I could match her energy over the news, but I couldn’t. If anything, the idea of him asking me to marry him, sent a surge of panic through me. I didn’t know much, but I knew that wasn’t what I wanted—at least not for the time being. “I’m not sure. I’ve lost so much of the past year; I don’t even know how I feel about it.”
Her smile faded. “Should I speak to him and maybe suggest that he put off the idea of proposing for a bit?”
