Page 56 of Zane

Once again, his gaze drifted to where Kelsey sat with Rori and Carisa. She’d changed out of the pretty dress she’d been wearing earlier, into clothes that were more appropriate for sitting outside in the cooling night air.

Nothing was going to be accomplished that night. He wasn’t in the right mood to pursue another conversation with her. Frankly, he wasn’t ever really in the right mood, but he needed to put that mindset aside. But not that night.

Later, his head ached terribly as he prepared for bed, and Zane wanted to rail against everything. Absolutely everything. It felt a bit like a vicious cycle. The pain made him angry and on edge and being angry and on edge increased the pain.

Though he was exhausted, Zane made the effort to cover his cast completely, then took a long hot shower, hoping the water would help to ease the pain. Only, just like every other shower he’d taken, it didn’t do anything except exhaust him.

Finally, he left the shower, dried off, and got dressed in a pair of sleep shorts and a T-shirt. Slumping down on the edge of his bed, with only the bedside lamp lighting the room, Zane concentrated on calming himself, trying to quiet his emotions before climbing under the covers.

Please, God, help me.

He didn’t even know what help he wanted. If he was honest with himself, he was a little worried about what he’d discover if his memories returned.

Rather than continue his prayer, Zane settled onto the bed and dragged the comforter over him. He reached out to turn off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

Finally, he felt his body relax.

There was no one watching him. No one judging him for his reactions. No one trying to sort out the mess his life was currently in.

And thanks to the darkness, evenhewasn’t able to see himself. Which was what he needed in order to fall asleep.

Oblivion, sweet oblivion.

It ended up being a limited time oblivion, which was pretty much the norm these days. Zane woke several times in the night, so when his alarm went off in the morning, he was still tired. But he couldn’t linger in bed that morning, so he dragged himself out from under the covers and stumbled into the bathroom.

After washing his face and brushing his hair into some semblance of order, Zane pulled on a pair of shorts. He chose one of his nicer T-shirts since he was going to be seeing non-family members that day.

When he walked into the kitchen a short time later, Kelsey was already there, sitting at the breakfast nook with a cup of coffee on the table in front of her. Her hands were cupped around it as she stared out the window beside her.

He wasn’t silent in his movements thanks to the crutches, so as soon as he walked into the kitchen, she looked in his direction.

“Good morning,” she said, then let go of her mug and got to her feet. “Want some breakfast and coffee?”

He hated having to be dependent on others. But since it was a challenge to do stuff for himself while on crutches, he had no choice. “A bagel and coffee would be nice. Please.”

Kelsey made quick work of toasting a bagel and slathering cream cheese on it, then she filled a large mug with coffee, doctored it, before carrying both to the breakfast nook. He’d taken the seat across from her, so she put the mug and plate down in front of him.

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate you making this for me.”

“You’re welcome.” She sat back down and wrapped her hands around her mug again. “You’ve made enough meals for me, so it’s only fair I make some for you when I have the opportunity.”

“Are you still up to driving me to my scan and appointment this morning?”

She’d offered to drive him to his appointments once he’d moved to the house. Before that, his parents had been taking him. He’d thought they’d still want to do that, but he decided that maybe it would be better if he and Kelsey went on their own this time.

“Yep. I’d planned on it.”

He had to go to Coeur d’Alene for his appointments with the specialist and to get any scans that he needed done. It was a bit of a pain he couldn’t just have Gareth take care of his medical needs.

“I guess we’ll need to leave in about forty-five minutes.”

Kelsey nodded as she lifted her mug and took a sip of her coffee. “Will they have the results from your scan right away?”

“I’m not sure. But probably not,” Zane said. “I’ll still see the doctor today, though, He’ll probably just get in contact with me if there are concerns from the scan.”

“How have the headaches been?”

Zane was honest with her about how he was feeling physically. His mental and emotional state, however, he kept to himself.

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