Page 89 of Amnesty

Damn. Nothing like being in the hot seat.

I nodded. “Yes, Robbie’s a good guy. He and I both went through a really hard time when you were kidnapped. He helped search for you. We both felt so fucking bad.”

Next to me, Robbie nodded sagely.

“This wasn’t your fault, Eddie,” Sadie told me. Then she glanced at Robbie. “Thank you for helping look for me. And for coming here to visit.”

Robbie’s shoulders relaxed. “I really am sorry,” he poured out. “When I saw Amnesia, all the old guilt and shame came back. When she told me she didn’t blame me, I felt a weight lift I didn’t even know I carried. So when I heard you were found, I knew I had to come. I knew I had to tell you just how much I regret making that dare.”

“You apologized to Amnesia?” Sadie asked.

He nodded. “We thought you might be her.” Robbie grimaced and glanced at me. Out of the corner of his mouth, he said, “Was I not supposed to say that?”

I slapped him on the shoulder. “Nah, she knows.”

“Well, if she can forgive you, then so can I.” Sadie reasoned. It didn’t make much sense to me, but if it did to her, that was all that mattered.

“It’s okay, Robbie. I forgive you.”

I was the largest ass in the state because I wondered if she even meant it.

Robbie moved toward her, and she shrank back. I went forward instantly, sliding between the pair. “She’s a little shy still,” I said, trying to make him feel better about it.

“Of course,” he said, stepping back. “I’ll, uh, just go.”

I nodded. Talk about awkward.

He leaned around me to look at Sadie. “Thanks for seeing me. I’m really glad you’re back.”

“Thank you,” she answered.

“Be right back,” I told her as I walked Robbie to the door.

Out in the hall, he turned to me. “Dude. She hates me.”

“No. She’s just been through a lot.”

Robbie shook his head. “I know hate when I see it. You looked at me the same way once.”

“Yeah, and that changed. Give her time. She will, too.”

“I don’t know, man,” he murmured. “There was something about the way she looked at me. Something in her eyes yours never held. I don’t think she’s going to change her mind, and really, I can’t blame her.”

“Robbie.” I tried to think of something encouraging to say. I was coming up blank because I, too, saw the look on her face.

“I shouldn’t have come.” He went on. “It’s just… Amnesia made me feel better, less guilty. Maybe that should have been a clue she wasn’t Sadie. I should have known…”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Rob. This entire situation is fucked the hell up.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he murmured. He started to say something, then stopped.

“What is it?” I cajoled.

He shook his head, rubbing his palm over the buzzed top. “It’s just that, man, Sadie and Amnesia, they’re completely different.”

Yeah.

Obviously, they were two different people. Obviously, they wouldn’t be the same. It was still a shock. For all of us. It was hard to separate the two women at first because, in our minds, they were one in the same for so long.

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