Page 30 of Amnesia

He whispered back, “Am?”

“I can’t help but think…”

His fingers tightened around mine. “You can tell me anything.”

I believed him. With every part of me.

“The figure in my dream and the one here at the hospital… What if they were the same? What if whoever threw me in the lake is back to finish what they started?”

He sucked in a breath. Anger glimmered in his eyes. “I won’t let them hurt you…”

It was almost as if he wanted to say more but didn’t.

“What if that dream wasn’t a memory? What if I really dreamt everything?” I just didn’t know. I couldn’t remember.

The worst thing about all of this was not being able to trust even myself.

Eddie stood, leaning in close, and cupped the back of my head with his palm. The fullness of his lips pressed against my hairline, lingering for a gentle kiss.

“One day at a time, Am.” His lips brushed over my skin as he murmured, then pulled back.

Lifting my eyes, I watched him stay close, lean down, and tug the sweatshirt closer around me. “Hang on to this for me, ‘kay?”

I nodded.

Our stares bounced between each other. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “We’re going to figure this out. Someday you’ll remember.”

I couldn’t help but feel there was something specific he wanted me to recall.

“I’ll bring you dinner tonight.” Eddie promised, pulling away from the bed.

“Wait,” I called out.

He returned instantly.

Delving my hand beneath the pillow, I fished around until I found the two pills I’d pretended to swallow earlier. “Throw these away for me?” I asked, dumping them into his hand.

He laughed when he saw them. “Refusing medication? You bad, bad girl.”

I smirked. “I don’t want anything that’s going to make it harder to remember.”

“These aren’t pain meds, are they?” he asked, frowning at the tablets.

“No. I swear.”

Eddie tucked them into his pocket and smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

The second he was gone, I pushed my arms through his sweatshirt and took a deep breath. It smelled like him.

How easily I could grow attached to him.

The thought was a beautiful one but one I couldn’t allow to take root within me. In a world where I knew nothing, could trust no one, and might very well be the target of a faceless murderer, growing attached was the most foolish thing I could do.

But oh, if I were able to trust anyone… that someone would be him.

I was a punctual guy. Not today, though. Today, I was late for work. It was the first day in what had to be at least ten years that Loch Gen didn’t open at precisely nine a.m. Not that I could claim perfection for those last ten years. I wasn’t quite old enough for that.

A lot of those years and the honor of always opening on time went to my father, the owner of the general store. Loch Gen was the family business. Before my father, my grandfather had run the place and his father before him. Even though Dad was still the official owner, over the past few years, I’d been doing more and more. I knew all the work, and he was basically grooming me to take over completely.

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