Page 9 of Help Me Remember
Eric chose to ignore me as the doctor raised a brow in response. “What? I might not be a doctor, but I’ve seen enough head injuries working here that I know what to keep an eye out for. And I also happen to be the only person around here who knows him…or who he was. And I actually care about whether or not he keeps breathing.”
“It certainly would make me feel better,” she said with a shrug.
I straightened. “That’s not—”
“No,” Eric interrupted, jabbing a finger at me. “You’ve said and done enough, thanks. What other option do you have that’s safe, huh? You’re going to wander around until you find somewhere to stay?”
“I have money,” I told him with a scowl.
“But not a card,” he said.
“And how would you know that?”
“Because if you did, you’d have known your name before you came in.”
I opened my mouth and snapped it shut, realizing he’d made a point I couldn’t counter. From the smirk on his face, he realized it as well.
“And unless you’re going to the shadiest, seediest place in Port Dale to stay, you’re going to need a card. Not a prepaid card either, an actual card,” he told me. “So unless you figure out how to open an account and get a card in a few hours without knowing your personal information, you’re shit out of luck for a place to stay.”
I turned my head away to glare at the wall. “I don’t even know who you are. You can say you know me all you want, but I don’t know anything about you.”
“Then maybe you should start using what brain cells you have left in that addled head of yours to figure out if you believe me or not,” Eric shot back. “Take a moment to stop being stubborn and puzzle out if you think I’m at least telling the truth about caring about you.”
“Is this how you’re supposed to treat a mentally-addled patient?” I demanded, still scowling.
“At the moment, yes,” he said, looking completely unbothered.
I noticed the doctor had kept quiet the entire time, her eyes twitching between us but remaining expressionless. Not that I needed her to say anything, she’d already thrown her hat in the ring and agreed to Eric’s plan.
As much as I hated to admit it, there was a certain logic to his counterpoints to my less-than-stellar plan. I might know my name and the name of the city I was in, but that was pretty much all I knew. My resources were limited, and there wasn’t anywhere I could turn, anyone else I could feasibly trust.
Then again, his plan required me to trust a man I knew next to nothing about. My options were limited to either trusting a stranger or taking my chances in a world I wasn’t sure I could navigate in my current state. Perhaps if I weren’t so badly injured, I’d have a better chance, but I retained enough previous knowledge to know the world was not a kind place to people who were on their own, especially the weak and helpless.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I want to know more about who I am or who I was.”
Eric snorted. “I get you to go along with my plan, and all I have to do is rehash old stories? Easiest deal I ever made.”
I could only frown harder, and the doctor laughed. “I think you accepted his condition a little too easily.”
“Not my problem,” Eric said with a shrug.
“Oh, it’s exactly your problem,” she chuckled, patting Eric on the shoulder. “Don’t even bother finishing your shift. Just get this one home.”
It was enough to remind me that I didn’t even know if I had a place of my own to go home to. That thought was enough to take what little stubbornness I had left and dissolve it immediately.
Eric frowned. “Doctor Reagen…”
“Go,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’m sure we can handle whatever comes through those doors. Just deal with this for me.”
“I’ll get my keys,” Eric said with a sigh, then pointed at me. “And you stay right there, you understand me?”
“I have a brain injury. I’m not a child,” I told him.
“Good. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll get you back to my place. Then you can sleep as long as you want.”
* * *
The ride to Eric’s place was quieter and more awkward than I expected. I figured once Eric got what he wanted, he’d be more than happy to talk my ear off like he had when he first saw me. Instead, he lapsed into complete silence while he drove.