Page 11 of Please Remember

Jax shakes his head and barks out an incredulous laugh. "She found me."

"What?"

"I walked out of the house, and she was just... standing there."

"Does she know where she was?" Natalie asks, but Jax doesn't even look in her direction. Or mine. We stand right next to each other, andmy fiancé can’t even bring himself to look at me. That says everything right there.

I force a smile on my face as a few of the people in attendance give me sad, pitying looks. I want to punch them all in the face, but I won't because I'm too damn passive. As much as I wish I could tell them all where to go, I don't.

"She knows nothing," Jax says. "She doesn't remember anything prior to being abducted."

"Wait," Sage says, and I would like to punch her most of all. "Does she know you?"

"She doesn't even know herself. Didn't know her name until I told her,” he says.

"But she's okay? Allie's okay?"

He nods and swallows. "She has cuts from running barefoot through the woods when she escaped whatever hellhole she was held in. They're keeping her overnight and have her on antibiotics and fluids. She's severely malnourished, and she's really pale. But she's alive, and she's here."

"Why doesn't she know who she is?" Jax's mom, Lynn, asks.

I stare at the woman who would be my mother-in-law had I decided to elope in Vegas with Jax like he'd suggested. This whole situation would be different if I hadn't been so selfish. I wanted this big wedding and to show everyone I finally got what I've wanted for almost twenty years, but I could've had it already. He would've been mine, legally.

"She has a..." he says and touches the back and right side of his head, "six-inch gash that healed improperly or something. Either hit her head or was hit with something, and it's likely affecting her memory."

"Is it permanent?" Drew asks, his eyes wide.

Drew's the only one who even remotely seemed to support us, but I know he's on Team Allie. Everyone is on fucking Team Allie. Just as I'm about to get everything I want, she comes back? I know it's terrible to think, but I always kind of hoped she was dead. I didn't want her to be suffering, and I wanted some closure for Jax. Her being alive just ruins everything.

"It's possible, but the doctor is optimistic that she may regain her memory. She remembered the house, which is where she went when she got out of the woods. She ran from wherever it was she was being kept, and she was just right there. Because of that, he thinks there might be a trigger that will bring back everything. Right now, though, she doesn't remember anything other than her time with whoever it was that took her."

His mother pulls him into a hug. "At least she's here, and she's safe. She's alive, and she'll be fine, right?"

Nodding, Jax lets out a shaky breath. "Yeah, she will. They’re keeping her in overnight, and I'm going to stay with her. She had a fever, so they're giving her antibiotics through an IV. She should be released tomorrow, and she's coming home with me. Hopefully, the familiar surroundings will jog her memory."

And just like that, he guts me like a fish. He's bringing Allie back totheirhouse. My dreams are gone like fucking balloons in the wind. So close, but so far.

"Are the cops planning on keeping an eye on her? I mean, whoever did this is still out there, right?" Benji asks.

Sage's eyes widen. "Yeah, whoever it is can't be happy she's gone. Is she in danger?"

"The cops will keep a round the clock eye on Allie. They’ll have a car outside our house at all times, and if she goes anywhere, she'll havea police escort. There will be cops posted outside her hospital room tonight, too. Part of me hopes whoever did this shows up to try and take her back because I'll save the city money on a trial when I see this asshole," Jax says.

Scratching his head, Drew sighs. "She just walked to the house? From the woods? She was on the other side of the woods? That's like, three miles deep."

"I don't know the details. The detectives kicked me out of the room when they talked to her, probably because I'm still a suspect, but from what I gather, she escaped. And she just ran. When she hit the city, she followed her intuition, and she told me she saw our house in her dreams every night. The red door. I fucking love that red door. Thank God I was late tonight, otherwise I would've missed her."

Late. Toourengagement party. He still hasn't acknowledged it or me. Three times he’s glanced my way, and each time, it’s like he’s looked right through me. I'm used to feeling invisible because I'm not outwardly pretty like Sage or Allie. No, I've been referred to as a "butter face." And the only reason I get attention is because of my fake tits. Without them, I only ever ended up with men who were drunk. It's how I learned about beer goggles. They're very real.

"And she didn't know her own name?" Sage asks. "What did she call herself?"

"I don't think she had a name. When she spoke to me, it sounded like she hadn't said anything in years. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse. She didn't even know how old she was or how long she'd been gone. Telling her was the weirdest feeling in the world."

Sage’s lip trembles, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. I'd worry people would feel I'm being petty, but literally no one is even looking in my direction right now. I'm at the back of the crowd, forgotten. No, don'tlook at the poor fiancée of the man talking about the love of his life coming back from the unknown.

"She doesn't know anyone, but she's in there.” Jax taps the side of his temple and a wry smile forms on his lips. “The way she looked at her mother, the way she spoke to Detective Parsons, and the way looked like she was putting a puzzle together as she tried to figure out what she should do is all Allie. Whether she remembers it or not, she's still there."

"It's a miracle," Sage whispers before bending down and hugging her knees in a sob. "She's alive."

---