Page 42 of Screw Christmas
“Why were you at my apartment that night?”
“I was there because I was living with you. Aaron came over on New Year’s Eve drunk. We’d just gotten home from watching the ball drop at Times Square.”
I frowned. “When did we decide to live together? There isn’t a thing at my place that shows you lived there.”
“I showed up on Christmas Eve. Have Kevin check the guest records. It should be in there.”
“Why? After all these years…You know I hate you.”
He flinched. “You did hate me. We’ve gotten past that. I’ve apologized, but if it takes me apologizing a million times more then I’ll gladly do it.” He reached across the table and took my hand. My first instinct was to pull my hand away but didn’t. I needed to be pushed a little bit, and hopefully the truth would reveal itself.
“Do you have pictures of us together?”
“Damn. No, I don’t. Pictures exist of us, but not on my phone. You have some on yours though.”
“My phone is gone.”
“I heard. The last time you had the phone was at the apartment. I’m pretty sure it was on the coffee table charging, but I can’t swear by it.”
“I’ve checked the entire apartment. It’s not there.”
Dylan shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Aaron about that. He had access to your apartment. When his buddies carted me off to jail, he gathered all my stuff and took it to the station. His whole plan was to get you back. My guess is that once he knew you couldn’t remember the past year he jumped on the opportunity.”
“Why did we break up, me and Aaron? The last thing I remember was that we were together. This doesn’t make sense.”
“He was cheating on you with some other cop.”
“What was her name?” The name Annie jumped into my mind again. Annie. Annie. Annie. That name wouldn’t go away.
He growled softly. “I think it was Amy… Angie…”
“Annie,” I supplied, not meaning to.
“Yes! That’s it.” He slapped the table in triumph. “She was working undercover as a hooker. He left you for her.”
Annie! Yes, it was Annie. An image of a woman in uniform began to manifest in my mind. It was Annie, I was sure of it. Rage filled me. He’d cheated on me. The story rang true to me. I couldn’t remember the details, but my gut told me it was the truth.
“Maya.” He gave my hand a squeeze gaining my attention. “You were kind enough to allow me to stay when I showed up on Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be temporary, but we began to realize that regardless of the past we belonged together. I know this is hard for you and I won’t push you, I promise. I just ask that you give me a chance to help you remember what we had.”
“So we’d only been together a week?”
“It’s all we needed. The night of the accident, we’d decided to make the living arrangement permanent. Yes, the relationship is new and it’s kinda crazy, but we were falling for each other. Maybe on some level we’ve always loved each other. We were finally getting that chance to nurture those feelings.”
Wow! My mind was racing. Images kept popping into my head, but I was having a difficult time deciphering them. What was real, what was fake—I couldn’t tell reality from fiction. There was one thing I clung to, however, and it was the fact that I believed the man sitting across from me. I’d spent a lot of years learning to read people and leaning how to spot the truth from bullshit and what he was saying was the truth.
“How did the audition go?” The moment the words came out of my mouth, I jerked back in my seat. Where in the hell did that come from?
“You remember!” Dylan looked happier than a kid at Christmas at this moment. “The audition. Dammit, baby, you remembered.”
“I’m not sure what I remember. It was just a thought that came to my mind. It was out of my mouth before I could even think about it.”
Before he could respond to my question, the waiter arrived with our dishes. The meal smelled divine. I’d been stuck with take-out for the past few days, served cold and soggy by the time it arrived to me. This being fresh out of the kitchen was a nice change.
Releasing my hand, he sat back and allowed the waiter to place the plates of food in front of us. “Is there anything else I can get you two?”
“No, thank you.” I gave the elderly man a smile. “I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure.” Turning on his heel he took off and disappeared into the kitchen.
