Page 19 of Amnesia

His teeth flashed in a quick smile. “We’re in Maine. A very small town up north.”

“Maine,” I murmured to myself, mulling it over, deciding if it felt familiar to me or not.

It didn’t.

“That’s on the East Coast, right? It’s cold here?” I asked, wondering where that information came from and why all the other more important details weren’t so easily reached.

“Yeah, but it’s not cold right now. It’s August. End of summer is coming, and it will start to get chilly soon.”

“And there’s a lake here?” I asked.

Eddie bobbed his head and pushed at the unruly hair on his forehead. “Lake Lochlain. Everyone calls it Lake Loch, though.”

“Is it a big lake?”

“Yeah, it’s big, bigger than the town actually. It’s a quiet kind of place, kind of off the map, not as modern as most places nowadays.”

“So women washing up onshore isn’t an everyday occurrence?” I joked, attempting to lighten my troubled thoughts.

“No,” Eddie replied, averting his gaze. His body shifted farther into the chair, though, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of relief that he wasn’t about to leave.

I guess I could add something else to the list about me. I liked company.Or maybe it’s just Eddie.

“What about your shirt?” I gestured to the blue fabric covering his chest. “What’s Loch General?”

As if to remind himself of what he was wearing, Eddie looked down. “Loch General Store. We don’t have a big chain grocery store or anything for about twenty-five miles. We just have Loch Gen. It’s the town grocery store.” Plucking at the fabric of his shirt, he added, “I work there.”

“What do you do?” I said, curious.

“Bag groceries, run the register, handle payroll, stock shelves, inventory…” He laughed. “I pretty much do it all.”

My cheeks grew warm as I listened to him speak. He had a way of keeping my attention. Everything about him was interesting.

“Do you live nearby?” I blurted out, wanting him to keep talking.

“Yeah, I have a tiny cabin on the lake.”

“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” I murmured, my thoughts turning inward. I didn’t have a place to live. Or a job.

“Actually, it’s not.”

I blinked, surprised. Eddie laughed. “It was half falling down when I bought it. That’s how I could afford it. I’ve been slowly fixing it up.”

“That sounds kinda fun.”

He smirked. “It wouldn’t seem so fun after about eight hours of sanding wood and painting walls.”

“It’s better than this hospital bed.” I sighed.

Eddie sat forward. I thought he was reaching for my hand but changed his mind and pulled back. “Can I bring you anything? Anything at all?”

My life.“I think saving my life was more than enough. I’m the one who owes you.”

“No.” He spoke quickly and emphatically. “You don’t owe me a thing.”

“Did you see anything that night, Eddie?” I whispered. “At the lake? Was anyone else there?”

He didn’t answer at first. Instead, his forearm rested on the side of the bed and on it, his forehead. He stared down at the floor, and I just waited, thinking maybe he needed time to gather his memory. When he lifted his head, the azure shade of his irises was bleak.

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