Page 94 of Bind Me

“Drink?”

“Na, thanks though.”

We sat, and I hated the tension that hung between us. We’d always been so relaxed around each other, but I realized like a punch to the gut that she wasn’tmyNee anymore. To her, I was a stranger.

Twisting in my seat, I tried to push some more space between us before I spoke. “I’m sorry about running out on you last night. It was a lot.”

“I know. Try living with it,” she laughed softly.

“Sorry…”

“I’m joking, Archer. I can still do that. Apparently I used to be funny, right?”

“Right. But… how do you know that? That’s what I don’t understand.”

She didn’t say anything but pointed to a beautiful wooden box on the coffee table, nodding when I reached out to open it. Inside there was a battered notebook, the corners curled and obviously well thumbed.

Afraid to touch something that was important to her, my hand hovered.

“It’s okay. I want you to read it. All of it.”

Lifting it carefully, I flicked through the pages until I realized what was in front of me.

“You wrote this for yourself?”

“Old me was a smart girl,” she murmured.

My eyes fixed on the words. “Did it help? Did it make things easier?”

“I don’t think I could have recovered as well as I have without it. It makes me feel like I’m whole and not just this empty vacuum. Like I kind of know who I am.”

Reaching the last page, I came across my photo with the message to never contact me written below. Pain sliced through my chest as I realized that she’d cut me out of her memories completely.

“I can see why you thought I was a bad memory.”

Her brown eyes blazed. “I’ve been thinking about it all night… why would I miss you out of my past? Why didn’t I include anything about us?” She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. “Did you hurt me? Is that how I ended up in the hospital?”

Hearing her words, I couldn’t keep from touching her. I reached out, taking her hand and wrapping both of mine around it. “Never. Not in a million years. You were my everything. I’d rather rip out my heart than see you hurt. I need you to believe that.”

She rolled her lips while she considered my words. “But you said we were in a park, there was a crowd… why would there be a crowd? What did they want?”

I couldn’t contain my smile. “You never did have a clue who I was. I’m glad that’s not changed.”

Her head tilted in a silent question.

“I’m in a band. Alchemy Myth. You’ve not seen me on TV? Heard me on the radio?”

“Since my op I get overwhelmed by things—TV, music. I mean, I don’t even own a TV.”

I glanced around, noticing that her sofa faced the ocean, which I guessed was a much nicer thing to watch all day.

“We’re pretty well known around the world and we’re here on a mini PR tour. We’re playing a gig tomorrow night at Hard Rock Live and then we leave first thing the next day.”

“You’re leaving that soon?” she exclaimed.

“’Fraid so. We’re playing a few more places before we head back to the UK in a couple of weeks.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then closed it again.

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