Page 39 of Amnesia

“Eddie,” I beckoned.

A soft groan filled his throat, and I stretched up on unsteady feet toward him. His eyes darkened, chin lowered.

A loud crack filled the area around us.

I jerked so far, so fast I would have tumbled onto my ass, but Eddie held on, keeping me upright.

“What was that?” I feared.

Wrapping his arms around me, holding me fiercely, his eyes search over my head, and his upper body swiveled as he took in our surroundings.

“Must have been a branch falling off a tree,” he said after a moment.

Slowly, he eased back. I didn’t want him to go.

“You’re sure you saw someone?” he questioned.

“I swear.”

He nodded. “Well, whoever it was is gone now.”

I bowed my head. Just when I thought things were getting better… that maybe that night in my room had been a one-time thing…

“C’mon. Mary Beth said they need us inside.” He nudged me softly.

I bunched up my nose. “For what?”

“Let’s go see.”

My shoulders slumped. For more than one reason. He was going to kiss me just then. I wanted him to. I wasn’t ready to go back in the hospital. I would drive myself crazy thinking about what just happened, and I’d never sleep tonight.

“Wanna hold my hand?” His words snapped me out of my inner pout.

He held out his hand between us, wiggling his fingers as if to entice me. Giggling a little, I surrendered my hand, and he pushed his fingers between mine, gripping them firmly.

On the way back through the garden, I couldn’t help but linger on the edges of the area, peer into the darker bushes, and glance behind us every few steps.

Someone was out there. Watching me. Probably wanting me dead.

Why?

Another important thought then followed…

Someone knew who I was.

I resisted the urge to touch her often. It was one of the most difficult challenges I’d ever known. And now, after those few minutes beneath the trees, it would be infinitely more so.

She was thin, too thin really, but still she filled my arms. The gentle way she pushed close and the sound of her indrawn breaths were like steel shackles around me. There were so many unanswered questions, but there was also one endless answer.

I belonged to her.

I almost felt as if I couldn’t exist without her. That if she somehow vanished tomorrow, most of who I was would also disappear.

It’s why I believed her when she said someone was out there watching her. Watching us. I felt a threat, too. Someone wanted to take her. I didn’t know why. Hell, I knew barely anything.

I just knew I wouldn’t lose her. Never again.

We held hands the entire silent ride up to her floor, stepped out into the hall as one unit, and walked a few steps. Amnesia halted abruptly, and my torso rotated to see what was wrong.

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