Page 133 of Amnesia

When both doctors were gone, I turned and looked at Eddie. He was standing just behind me, his azure irises bouncing between mine.

“So now you know,” I told him, my stomach knotting.

His forehead wrinkled. “Know what?”

“That I tried to kill myself.” I glanced down at the floor, feeling oddly ashamed, even though I remembered how I felt in that moment. How ready I’d been to die. I whispered, “Does that change how you feel about me?”

Eddie was silent for long moments, longer than I expected.

Nervously, I found the courage to lift my chin, meet his eyes. “Does it?” I echoed.

He swallowed thickly, nodding once. “Yes.”

“Yes,” I told her. Her face fell, but I lifted it back up with the back of my hand. “It makes me love you even more, something I seriously had no idea was possible.”

Amnesia’s lips parted with a small intake of breath. “What?”

I smiled, a lopsided grin, making sure my dimples were on full display. “C’mon, Am. What kind of guy did you take me for? I ain’t no pansy that can’t handle my girl’s drama.”

I sputtered. “Suicide is not drama.”

I chuckled. The pink blooming on her cheeks was a welcome sight. She’d been too pale for too long. “I know,” I replied, sincere. “I just wanted to see your face.”

Her eyes grew round, shock registering on her face, but then it gave way to a beautiful smile.

“There it is,” I murmured, swiping at the corner of her mouth with my thumb.

“That was a serious question,” she scolded.

I felt my eyes soften. “And I gave you a serious answer. I love you even more. Remembering that you tried to kill yourself doesn’t make me think of you as anything but the strongest girl I’ve ever known. You’re a survivor. You prove it over and over again. I’m so goddamn lucky to have you, and I’m never, not ever, going to give you up.”

Her voice was watery, and she sniffled. “Really?”

I made an X over my heart. “Cross my heart.”

Am flung herself into my arms and cried all over the stupid gown they made me put on. I didn’t mind, though. Anytime she was in my arms was perfect.

“I love you,” she said, pulling back. Her eyes found the mess she made of my “clothes,” and she winced.

I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, tugging on the ends of her still-damp hair. “Hey, you sure you want to go see her?”

Am nodded sagely. “I have to see her. I have to be sure she’s not just faking to avoid being thrown in jail.”

“She’s going to jail no matter what,” I intoned. I didn’t care if I had to drag the old hag there myself.

“I feel kind of sorry for her,” Amnesia confessed, low.

Shock rippled through me. My body jerked backward, and I glanced down at her as if I hadn’t heard correctly. “What?”

She shrugged. “I know I shouldn’t. But the way she was acting… almost like she was brainwashed. And she was scared of him, too. He beat her because she hadn’t been able to bring me back.”

I tried to find a shred of sympathy in my body. There wasn’t any. Maybe it all leaked out in the hole she put in my head. “She hurt you,” I growled, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her close. “I’ll never forgive her for that.”

Amnesia laid her head on my chest, and I hugged her close for long minutes.

“I should go,” she said, pulling back.

“I’m coming with you.”

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