Page 18 of Broken Bonds

“I have no fucking idea who you are. Get out of here.”

My stupid knees refuse to work, my legs barely support me. I’m sure if he could get out of that bed and get me out of here himself, he would.

“Look, miss, ma’am or whatever, you’re nothing but a swindler. Get out of here before I call security.”

I’m about to fall to the floor when I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders support me.

“About time you decide to wake up,” Ethan states the obvious to Lionel. “The next time you need a vacation, choose a quieter destination. They say Bali is beautiful this time of year.”

“You want to explain to me what the hell is going on here?” Lionel rasps, it wasn’t a request.

“Stella,” this time Ethan speaks to me. “Alexandra is in the hall. Go talk to her while I speak to Lionel. The doctor said no more than twenty minutes with Lionel. He needs to rest, and so do you.”

Ethan lets go of me, but not before making sure I can stand on my own. But my body refuses to move. Lionel’s words have turned me into a pillar of salt, but instead of curiosity when looking back causes me to transform, it was his indifference.

“Go,” he rushes me, this time giving me a gentle nudge. That makes me move.

Without daring to look at Lionel, I leave the room, closing the glass door behind me. I let myself fall against it, sliding until I touch the floor.

“The floor looks very uncomfortable. Don’t think I’m going to sit there with you,” Alexandra jokes. She’s dressed in green pants and a blouse with big white dots, and heels so high, I would never dare to wear them. My lips tug up slightly, although mine is a sad smile. “Take my hand,” she says as she extends it out to me and somehow, I find the strength to do what she tells me to do.

I’m standing, but my spirit is still on the ground. I feel overcome by deception.

Shattered.

“Let’s go for coffee,” she says, taking my arm for me to move because I’m still an immovable object.

“I don’t want anything,” I whisper. “I want my life back.”

That’s the truth in a nutshell. I want to go back to a time when I was happy.

“All in good time,” she replies, as she pushes me to walk down the long hallway with her.

She doesn’t take me to the cafeteria, but to the same private waiting room where I’ve been waiting for hours. Who could say that such a small woman would have so much determination inside her? Anyone who doesn’t know her might think she’s a delicate and sweet girl, but in the few days I’ve known her, I can easily say that Alexandra has a firm determination and a will of steel. Right now, I envy her.

I feel like a tree that has been left to fend for itself in the midst of a tornado.

I tell Alexandra everything that’s happened since Lionel woke up, or as much as I can because the tears silence me at times. From her elegant purse, she takes out a bottle of water and passes it to me, along with a small package of tissues.

I wipe my eyes and nose, then take a few sips from the bottle as she looks at me with compassion in her eyes.

“I think he’s confused. Didn’t the doctor say the hit caused some swelling in his brain? I’m sure that’s it.”

I wish I had her optimism. But she wasn’t there, witnessing the way Lionel spoke to me.

“I don’t know, the way he looked at me, he looked so different. It was like being in front of another person. Like being in front of a stranger.”

She smiles at me and pats my leg gently. “Don’t be silly, he isn’t a stranger. He’s your husband. But you’ll see, as soon as he gets some rest, everything will be fine. It’s impossible for a man to forget the woman he loves.”

“Amnesia? Wow, that’s a pretty convenient way to get off the hook.”

She laughs a little. “No, not amnesia, but what happened to him was traumatic, maybe some things are still a little fuzzy.”

Again, that seems like a poor excuse to me.

How is it possible to forget about the last six months of your life?

What we’ve been through together.

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