Page 16 of Help Me Remember
“Or actively sought it out,” I muttered.
Eric rolled his eyes, reaching out to tap on my plate. “Focus on eating your food. It’s hard to be miserable when you’ve got a full stomach.”
I wasn’t sure that was the case, at least when you were someone without any understanding of who you were while facing the very real possibility that you weren’t a good person. I didn’t want to infringe on Eric’s hospitality by being a miserable dick, so I did as I was told and put another forkful of food in my mouth.
“I think the best thing for you to do right now,” Eric said, gathering up his dishes and taking them to the sink, “is to try to relax. You’re not going to get your memory back by sitting around brooding all day. And it’s better for your body to take it as easy as possible. Right now, it doesn’t matter why you were there or what your intentions were. What matters is that you get better.”
“And if we find out I’m some psychotic killer or gangbanger?” I asked with a frown.
Eric snorted, rinsing off his plate. “Look, whatever you were doing there, I can promise you weren’t either of those things.”
“You don’t know that,” I contested with a huff. “You said yourself we grew apart after I left the city.”
“Right, and people don’t usually go through radical shifts in personality,” Eric said. He paused and then added, “Well, not unless something huge and life-changing happens.”
“Which I can neither confirm nor deny,” I said quietly. “So it’s still possible.”
“Well, like I said, unless something radically changed and you never said anything, then I’m working on the assumption that you wouldn’t be like that,” he told me, dropping his plate and silverware into a countertop dishwasher. “The guy I knew wasn’t that person, so…”
I couldn’t say why, but his assurances only annoyed me more. “And who’s to say you even knew who I was before? You never really know someone, no matter how long you’re around them. Just look at all those people who find out they’re married to a serial killer or people who go months or even years never knowing they were best friends with an addict.”
Eric rolled his eyes, and for a moment I contemplated throwing the plate of food at him. I held back because I was still starving, and I probably would have felt bad if I’d made a mess of the meal he’d made for me. “By all means, Dylan, feel free to keep trying to change my mind and convince me the world is a dangerous, scary place. Never mind that I’m working out of a clinic in easily the roughest part of Port Dale, and I’ve seen so much in the years I’ve worked there. Nope, I’m totally ignorant.”
“I never said you were ignorant,” I shot back, stabbing a piece of egg a little too aggressively. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t come off as really trusting.”
“And a good thing for you then, isn’t it?” he asked, arching a brow. “Otherwise, where would you be right now?”
If there was anything guaranteed to shut me up, Eric had managed to find it. He was right. If it hadn’t been for his trusting nature, I would still be wandering around trying to figure out what to do with myself. I would have been hard-pressed to find somewhere safe to sleep, and I probably wouldn’t have been half as comfortable or secure as I was while staying with him.
His expression softened, and he flipped the water off. “Look, I get it. You don’t know who you are, you don’t know what you’re like, and that’s scary as hell. For every moment I feel awkward or uneasy, you probably have ten of them, and more intensely. But even if the world is scary and dangerous a lot of the time, that doesn’t mean you should lose your faith in humanity.”
“Kind of sounds like I don’t have much.”
“Or, like I said, you’re just scared. So maybe let me have my faith in humanity. You might even find it useful.”
“Or annoying,” I grumbled, but my heart wasn’t in it. He had probably seen more than I would ever know, working and living where he did, and I doubted anything I had to say would dissuade him. If the world hadn’t managed to rid him of his faith, it probably wouldn’t go away anytime soon. “When do you work again?”
Eric grabbed another bottle of water from the fridge and opened it. “In a couple of days. I took a little extra time off to make sure I could be here in case you needed some help.”
“What time?” I asked.
He watched me, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Two till ten, why?”
“Just because you have faith in the world and people doesn’t mean I have to, especially right now,” I told him, picking up another thick piece of bacon and biting into it. “So I’m going to come get you from work.”
“I drive.”
“And I’m capable of walking. I saw the drive. It was only a handful of blocks.”
“Seriously? I think I can…”
“It would make me feel better. Plus, I’d be fucked if you got hurt or killed while I’m in the middle of depending on you. So just let me do this so I can at least feel a little better, more in control.”
As I predicted, Eric immediately stopped objecting, and the irritation on his face melted away. He sighed heavily, bowing his head and lightly rubbing at his neck as he walked out of the room. “Fine, alright. But you might end up standing around. Sometimes I have to stay over for an extra hour, sometimes two.”
“That’s fine,” I said, glad he couldn’t see my smirk as I grabbed another piece of bacon. I had no idea what my appetite was usually like, but now it was voracious. “I don’t know if it was true before, but I’m pretty sure I can stand outside for longer than planned.”
“You’ll wait in the lobby,” Eric called as I heard the door to the bathroom close.