Page 19 of Come Back to Me
“I love you, Mia, and I wish I could fill in all the blanks for you, but I’ve been warned by Grace. Your memory will come back, and I promise it will all be worth the wait.”
“Well, tell me this. Was I happy? Because honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was truly happy, Alex.”
“Oh honey, you were spectacularly happy. I remember that very clearly, and you will too.”
“I want so much to remember!”
“I know. How was the appointment today? What did the doctor say?”
“Basically to try and trigger my memory by carefully revisiting my past.”
“Interesting. Well, not tonight. Come on! We need liquor and eye candy. Put on something skanky. We are hitting the town!” Alex walks out with a flourish and dials someone on her phone. I laugh because I don’t own anything remotely skanky, so I put on jeans with a cute top and some strappy heels. I do my hair, put on some make up, and give myself a nod in the mirror. I can do this. I can go out and have fun like a normal person. I’m a smart girl, I look good, I can figure all of this out tomorrow. Tonight is for carefree living!
I grab my jacket off the bed and the letter floats down to the floor. Alex is right, what if it’s important? There’s a voice in my head, ever so faint, saying,What if he figured out where you are… I grab the letter off the floor and rip it open. Inside is a small, folded note. I open it to see, “I miss you” written on the inside. As I weigh the options for who sent this to me, Alex walks up behind me.
“Ooohhhh, looks like someone is feeling sad,” she says in a sing-songy voice over my shoulder. She’s right, it’s from Jack… not Carter!
“I mean, this is sweet and all, but one little note does not erase what a jerk he was.”
“Totally! I agree.”
“Seriously, this note is ridiculous. What exactly does Jack expect from me?” I start to crumple it up.
“Are you sure it’s from Jack?” Actually, I’m still nervous it’s from the psycho stalker who tried to kill me.
“What are you talking about, Alex?? Who else would…”
Alex starts to giggle and gyrate, “Yep! Love triangles can be very tricky!”
“Quit it! I am not in a love triangle. First off, you need to love both other people, which I don’t. Second, I am positive Cole Parker did not send this note.” I filled Alex in about Cole the night I came home from the dinner party at Mom’s place. Alex listened to the whole story silently until the end, and then all she said was, “Delicious!” Honestly, I’m not sure I could have found a better word myself.
“Be honest, though. The idea of being with Cole Parker is so awesome, right??”
“I mean, yes…okay, yes. I have a gigantic crush on someone I barely know,” I say, throwing my hands in the air.
“Ha ha, you never know, maybe he’s the one.”
“Careful, Grinch, your romantic side is showing.”
I take my purse as Alex grabs her bag and we are both laughing as we walk out the door.
“I guess I’m just a believer in true love after all,” she says.
In the cab we fight over where to go, Alex wanting to hit up some trendy joint with live music, and me preferring a low key tapas place. Of course she wins. We pull up to the club and it is definitely a popular place. People are lined up around the corner waiting to get in, and you can hear the beat from inside bellowing through the walls. The energy is frenetic, with a buzz of excitement and bass. I unexpectedly love it! We move past people to the front of the line. Alex is famous for knowing people. She has a thing for buff, burly types which works out well for us, since they usually work door security.
“Hey beautiful,” says the hulk at the door.
“Hey yourself! Long time! Sooooo… this line?” Alex waggles her eyebrows.
He throws his head back and laughs. “Not a prob, good lookin’. You girls have fun.” He pulls the rope back to let us in, much to the dismay of the people waiting. I smile apologetically as we pass. I’m not actually sorry, but it seems polite to at least pretend to be embarrassed.
“This band is awesome, the last time I saw them they played for an hour longer than scheduled. It was amazing!” Alex yells over the music, linking her arm into mine.
I nod, looking around the venue at all the people swaying and moving to the music. As I scan the large room I spot a gorgeous back on a man standing with some friends.Yummy.
“DRINKS?” Alex yells, being drowned out by the crowd.
I nod my head, not hearing her because I’m a bit too fixated on the guy with the nice back.