Page 114 of When Hearts Remember

“Alexis, dinner’s on us. Take it home if you need to. The least we can do for you for putting up with this asshole.” Trey snickers.

The office lighting behind him flares and brightens. I wince, the halo making me dizzy. The jabbing morphs into brutal sawing and I bite my lip to keep from crying out.

“Alexis?”

“S-Sure. Uh. Anything Italian?”

Ethan murmurs, “Luigi’s then. It’s inside The Orchid too. Trey, get her a triple cheese lasagna. With gorgonzola crumbles on top.”

I freeze, his words temporarily distracting me from my burgeoning headache. Between the honey lavender iced tea and the lasagna, he’s either a clairvoyant or he knows my tastes.

Did I know him in those four forgotten years? Even so, it didn’t seem like we’d be close friends. Liam and Charles certainly said nothing about that.

Trey repeats the order.

I interject, “No gorgonzola, please. I hate the taste of it now.”

They say personalities or tastes sometimes change after a traumatic brain injury. I’m still learning who the new Alexis Vaughn is.

Ethan shifts next to me and I turn to him, finding those gray eyes roving over my face again. This time, instead of tethered fire, I sense sadness again.

“No gorgonzola. Got it,” he whispers.

“Sounds good. Don’t work too hard.” Trey raps his knuckles on the door and the sound reignites my pain.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The office lights flicker and the room spins.

“Stop it!”

“Give it to me. You know you have it.”

“No!”

Bang. Bang. Bang.

A white-hot spike drives into my skull, and this time, I’m unable to stop the cry ripping from my throat.

I clutch my ears, my head splitting apart. A fresh wave of pain buries me, and I brace against the table, dry heaving.

“Please, let me go!”

More lights. Screams. I can’t breathe.

Water. So much water.

“Alexis!” My name sounds muffled. Like it’s coming from far away. “Lexy!”

Someone shakes me, but I can’t respond. My head feels like it has been sawed open and mutilated.

Water. I can’t get out. Everything hurts.

I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the images to go away.

“Lexy!”

The smell of leather and amber reaches my nose. I rake in a greedy inhale.

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