Page 7 of Please Remember

My biggest fear is never remembering. It sounds like I had a good life before this happened, and I'd really like to remember it. It might alsohelp me identify who my captor was. Something tells me it's someone I know. It'll be difficult to identify who that person is if I don't know anyone.

"I'm not positive. There is a chance, but there's also a chance that your amnesia is, in part, due to trauma. Many victims who have been held captive repress their memories because they're too painful. Something may trigger your memories of your life before the injury, but there’s no guarantee.”

"But she's okay otherwise?" Jax asks, fear on his face and in his voice.

I know without a doubt there's no way he could have had any hand in what happened to me. He may be a stranger to me, but I feel a connection to him. He also truly seems to care, especially about me. There’s no way I could believe he’d be capable of creating such vivid emotions without truly feeling them. I also don't feel like he can create such vivid emotions without feeling them. Everything comes across in the way he speaks or looks. Unlike Parsons, Jax appears completely sincere.

"The rape kit came back negative, and the only other injuries we found are the ones we've already treated. The cuts on your feet, arms, and face. You're severely malnourished, and we're giving you high doses of antibiotics because you have a slight fever. You do have some bruising around your ankles and wrists consistent with ligatures, but time will heal those."

Glancing at Parsons, I narrow my eyes. "I bet you think I shackled myself up and forced these bruises before deciding it was time for my miraculous reappearance, yeah?"

Jax snorts beside me. "You may not remember being Allie, but that is all Allie," he says.

"Allie, I do apologize for how I came across earlier. I would like to find out what happened to you and arrest the perpetrator," Detective Parsons says, and he actually sounds sincere this time. "Can we start over?"

"As long as I don't have to answer the same questions any more tonight. I'm really tired."

"We're keeping you overnight to monitor you, and when you're released, I'll prescribe you antibiotics as well as supplements to get your nutrients back up to normal," Dr. Westmore says.

My eyes widen, and I feel a strange sense of worry. "I... I don't think I have money to pay for that. I don't think I have money to pay for a hospital stay."

"Allie," Jax says, his hand taking mine as I start to panic. My heart races, and I can't breathe. "Allie?"

"It looks like she's having a panic attack," Dr. Westmore says and moves to the drawer to grab a bottle and a syringe.

"Don't give her that. She hates medication. Allie, look at me," Jax says, tugging on my hands until I do as he says. "You're okay. Don't worry about the money to pay for this. The only thing we're going to focus on is getting you better. Whatever it takes. Money isn’t an issue. Okay? Breathe, baby. Deep breath in and let it out slowly. It's okay."

I take a deep breath and let it out, and my heart rate starts to slow. "I don't like that feeling."

"Did she get panic attacks before?" Shields asks.

"Yes, but not this bad. She hated taking her anti-anxiety medicine, so she found other ways to cope when they'd come on. She'd always say she was overwhelmed or overstimulated, so she'd either focus on her breathing or something else to calm her,"he says.

"Oh, yay. My body remembers something from before, but my brain doesn't. It would have been nice if my body forgot this like I forgot everything else," I say.

This makes Jax chuckle, and I'm thankful he's here. I don't like the IVs in my arm, so I don't think I'd like whatever it is Dr. Westmore was about to give me. Although the thought of something calming me enough to truly sleep sounds very tempting.

"How do you feel, Allie?" Dr. Westmore asks.

Any embarrassment I feel lessens at the genuine concern in his tone. "I'm okay, Doctor. If I don't like pills, maybe that's what made me panic. The thought of whatever you're prescribing."

"It's very possible. It also gives me a little more hope that you'll remember your past. It'll likely come down to a trigger. Once you've found that trigger, things will come back. You said you followed your instincts, which is how you got out of the woods and to the house you remembered seeing?"

I nod and swallow. "Yes."

"Your body is in tune in ways we often ignore. Listen to what your body tells you and trust it. That's my best advice. Even as children, we'd get those bad feelings around certain people, an innate intuition that someone was bad or out to hurt us. As we grow, we stop listening to those feelings and try to reason with our minds."

If that's the case, I know for sure I can trust Jax. Something about him makes me feel safe and calm. "Since I don't have much else to fall back on, I think it'll be a little easier for me than not."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You may brush something off as just not knowing someone you used to. Try and avoid that if you can. At least until the detectives figure out who did this to you," he says with a smile.

How can Detective Parsons believe Jax could be the one responsible for this? If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have stepped in. He wouldn’t have calmed me. Someone who cares about a person doesn’t kidnap them and keep them hostage, do they?

A split second later, an older couple bursts through the doors, and the woman breaks down into uncontrollable sobs as she sees me. Both detectives look between me and the woman. I have no recollection of either of them, but based on what I assume their ages are, plus the reaction, I'm going to wager a guess that these are my parents.

I look at Jax. "My mom?"

He nods. "You remember?"

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