Page 16 of Don't Forget Me
He’d come here right from the gala.
How?
He rubbed his eyes, wondering if Sherrie and the rest of the movie crew were freaking out yet. He’d planned an early return to the hotel from the gala because of a five a.m. call time. This morning’s scene was to take place at sunrise, and it was obviously long past that point.
Patting his pockets, he searched for his phone, wanting to call his agent. Beatrice would know what to do. She’d have him on a plane in an hour and returning to his life where everything made sense, where it didn’t all remind him of Stephen.
“Screw this.” He turned on his heel, his heart hammering in his chest with the need to get out of the house. It was the only way he could breathe.
His long strides took him to the glass slider, and he yanked it open, gulping fresh air as he stepped onto the dark-stained deck.
Just like the kitchen was Stephen’s territory, this had been Nick’s. The deck was the second improvement to the house they’d made. At the time, both brothers had loved the water and wanted to be near it.
“I have to get back.” He patted his pockets again, finding no telltale bulge of his phone. He searched the part of the deck where he woke up but still nothing.
That was when he noticed the quiet. On a normal summer morning, the familiar roar of engines filled the air as boats raced across the water.
But there were none.
He’d long since sold his own boat, and he stared down at the lonely dock sitting still with not a bit of wake lifting it up.
Turning, he froze. That’s what was missing.
Houses crowded around this part of the lake, their owners spending their summers on the water or renting to vacationers. There were always people around.
Only, this time, there wasn’t a house to be seen.
Whipping his head to the left, he searched for something, anything that would tell him what was going on. There was only one way to find out.
It had been a long time since he came out here. Maybe a developer bought the surrounding properties and demolished the old lake houses to build more extravagant ones. It wasn’t unheard of.
Forgetting about his phone, he stepped off the deck and trudged up the grassy hill toward the empty lot next door. The house that once sat there was a feat of engineering, its two-story structure more of a work of art with white metal arches and painted windows than it was a house.
But there was nothing there now, no sign a house once stood on this property at all.
Nick kept going. It wouldn’t take long to get into town, and someone there could lend him a phone.
When his deck came into view once more, he stopped, turning to look back in the direction he’d come. Had he made a loop somehow? He’d left from one direction and returned from another.
But how?
Panic built in his chest, squeezing his lungs as a thought came to him that was so ridiculous he couldn’t voice it even to himself.
And then, he saw him.
Stephen sat at the edge of the deck, facing the water with his legs dangling off. He rested back on his elbows, lifting his perpetually tanned face to the sun, a smile curving his lips.
Nick took a tentative step forward.
“About time you returned.”
He’d dreamed of hearing Stephen’s voice again for so long it didn’t seem real. His steps only faltered for a moment before he climbed onto the deck.
Stephen flashed a smile over his shoulder, the breeze blowing messy blond hair across his forehead. Bright ocean blue eyes fixed on Nick, and he couldn’t breathe. “I’m dead, aren’t I?”
A laugh rumbled through Stephen’s chest. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t funny. I’ve just missed you, little brother.”
Nick looked down at his older brother, the man who’d gotten him to where he was, who’d always looked out for him until he wasn’t there anymore. “Oh… I am, aren’t I?”
