Page 17 of Our Moon
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I wish I could say ‘you’re not alone’ and have you believe it, but I know it’s probably going to be very hard for you to feel any differently as long as you don’t have your memories.”
I nod against his chest, a tear escaping my eye. It’s like he knows just what to say. “You sure you haven’t had amnesia before?” I joke.
He laughs. “No, why?”
“Because that was a good answer. Or non-answer, rather.”
“I just don’t think it would do any good to coddle you or pretend that everything is going to be okay, when we all know it’s a very real possibility that you may never get your memory back. We just need to help you through it and not try to fix everything.”
I lean back and look at him questioningly. “You a psych major or something?”
He lets out a big laugh and pulls me back into his chest. “No. I might’ve read a couple books on amnesia since you’ve been diagnosed.”
My breath catches. He did that? For me? “Wow, Chase. I don’t know what to say.”
“I just want to be here for you. As your friend, or whatever.”
“Or whatever? What’s that?” I ask, hoping the ‘whatever’ is something more, but knowing it’s probably be too good to be true. I’m not sure if his silence is because he’s considering my question, or ignoring me.
“That’s yet to be defined,” he finally answers. And while his answer is as vague as the initial statement was, it gives me peace anyway.
Chapter Eight
On Saturday, Evie came to pick me up in her adorable little red Volkswagen Beetle for our shopping trip. The car suits her sassy personality to a T, especially the eyelashes over the headlights.
“Thank you so much for taking me shopping,” I tell her. “Trevor or Alex would have, but shopping with them is just awkward. Either they get recognized, and we’re swarmed, they complain that I’m taking too long, or they have something to say about every single thing I pick up.”
Evie laughs, “I grew up with four older brothers. Trust me, I more than understand what it can be like.”
I realize I don’t know much about Evie, aside from her relationship with Joey and her ever present spark. “Are you from around here?” I ask her as she backs out of the driveway.
“Nope, Texas.” I thought her accent was a bit different than the rest, more of a drawl than I’ve heard from the guys. “That’s where Joey and I met, when they were playing a show in Dallas.” “Playing” comes out like “playin.’” I could listen to her smooth drawl all day.
That’s right, I remember the guys saying they met at a tour stop on the road, but I don’t recall if they mentioned where. “Is your family still there? That’s a long way from here.”
“Yeah, they have a ranch. I was not cut out for that kind of life,” she laughs, and I think to myself that I can’t picture her on a ranch so I can see her getting out of there at her first opportunity. “I was always a city girl at heart, even though I sound totally country,” she laughs, and I laugh with her.
“Do you miss them?” I wonder.
“I do,” she nods. “I miss the people, not the place though. Joey and I’ve been back to visit a couple times since I left. So that helps.”
“Do your parents approve of your relationship with him?” Not that it’s any of my business, but nothing seems to offend Evie.
“They didn’t in the beginning. My brothers were more of an issue, actually. But I sat them all down and told them how I felt. I’ve never been shy about my feelings, ever, so I just laid it all out. They knew I wasn’t happy living on the ranch. That was a given. They all supported my need to see the world, but they weren’t crazy about the fact that I’d found me a man to do it with.”
I can imagine that Trevor and Alex would probably react the exact same way if I met a guy and wanted to basically run away with him. “So what changed?”
“They met Joey and saw the two of us together. My momma said it was like seeing two halves become a whole. She still wasn’t crazy about me running away with him, but she could tell I was happy and she couldn’t argue with that. Again, my daddy and my brothers were a tougher sell, but my momma told them to take a real look at me and how happy I was, and asked how they could try to get in the way of that? They couldn’t, and they knew it. I was the baby, and they all did everything they could to make me happy. They were just sad that they maxed out their abilities, and I needed someone else to carry it on.”
“That’s kind of sweet,” I say.
“It is. I love them all, and we talk almost every day. I miss them like crazy, but they know I’m still happy, probably more so than ever before, so it’s all good. And I know that their door is always open to me, not that I willever need to use it, but just knowing they’ve got my back is a good feeling. Don’t get me wrong, leaving home was terrifying, but I know I made the right choice, and I couldn’t be happier.”
I wonder if I ever considered leaving home. I know I planned to go to The Art Institute after high school, so I must have liked it here in Charlotte, but was I going to stay at home or find an apartment in the city? Was there a person involved in my future plans? Or was I planning to go it alone?
“You okay over there?” Evie asks, pulling me out of my head. The car is parked and I look up to see we’re already at the mall.
“I’m just wondering if I was happy here. I mean I guess I was since I wasn’t planning to go very far for college. But I wonder if I’d made plans after high school with any friends. Was I going to continue living at home? I wish I could remember.”
