Still with his head bowed, Eddie said nothing for long, silent moments. Paranoia ate at me, making my stomach knot. He didn’t believe me. He thought I was crazy, too.
When he pulled back slightly, disappointment crowded inside me. But he wasn’t pulling away. As he moved, he brought my hand up, lifting it so he could press a gentle kiss to the back just at the edge of the bandage. Warm tingles spread across the surface of my skin from the softness of his lips. The sensation seeped into my pores, creating a certain, quiet peace that spread like a tree rooting in the ground.
My heart skipped a beat, and an overwhelming emotion welled inside me.
True blue eyes finally lifted, meeting mine. “Why aren’t the police here, Am?”
“Am?” I tilted my head.
“Amnesia is a bit of a mouthful.” He shrugged, the side of his mouth lifting, a rakish appearance transforming his face.
“The staff didn’t believe me.”
His boyish expression was replaced with anger and disbelief. “What?”
“No one saw anyone enter my room or run out. Apparently, no one saw the person anywhere. When they found me, security searched the whole building.”
“They think you made it up?” he growled.
“They think I dreamed it all, and when I woke up, I was so scared I stumbled into the hallway. The shrink is probably on her way to see me now,” I muttered.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Eddie urged, scooting the chair even closer to the bed.
My hand was still in his. The way his fingers flexed around mine in such a protective nature stirred something in me. Some emotion I didn’t understand. It was a feeling I was scared of but at the same time craved.
“My mind hasn’t shut off,” I confided.
“Yeah, I know.” Again, he seemed to truly understand.
“It sounds crazy.” I warned.
The double dimples in his cheeks appeared, and just looking at them made me feel lighter. “I’d say this entire situation is a little crazy.”
“They were here,” I whispered forcefully, almost angrily. I’d cried when the nurses told me no one had been found. And nothing in the room or anywhere could prove I hadn’t just been dreaming. They tried to give me some pills to help me “rest,” they said. I took them like a good patient and then spit them out and put them under my pillow.
I didn’t want to be drugged. My head was confused enough as it was. I didn’t want muffled thoughts and a hazy cloud hanging over me when I was trying to make sense of my new reality.
“I did have a bad dream, but when I woke up, someone was in this room. I wasn’t imagining it. I wasn’t. It was too real… They wanted me dead.”
“Okay,” Eddie said, trying to soothe me. “I believe you. It’s okay.”
“You believe me?” I was surprised.
His eyes met mine, stoic and nearly intrusive. “I’m on your side. No matter what. I’ll always back you up.”
“Why?” I said, my voice trembling and wet. “Why would you be here for me, a complete stranger?”
His eyes saddened, the hold on my stare lost. “I don’t want to be a stranger to you, Am.”
My chest squeezed a little. I realized beneath his oozing personality, Eddie carried his own sorrow.
The door to my room swung in, and the clip-clap of the head shrinker’s high heels was like a hammer in my brain. “The staff told me you—” Her voice cut off when she saw I wasn’t alone. “You have a visitor.”
Gently, Eddie tugged his hand from mine and stood, offering it to the doctor to shake. “Eddie Donovan.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Donovan.”
“Eddie.” He corrected. Then he glanced around at me with a wicked smile. “Talking about me, are you?”
“No,” I retorted.
The look on his face made the doctor laugh, and I admit I thought about smiling, too. “From the staff.” The doctor corrected. “They don’t talk about the patients, but you, sir, are not a patient, and from what I hear, you’re at this hospital quite often.”
“I pulled Amnesia out of the lake,” he explained. He didn’t seem surprised at all the hospital staff would be talking about him.
I thought it was rude.
And slightly amusing. He definitely was a guy worth mentioning.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the doctor said formally. “I’m sorry to interrupt. However, I have an appointment with Amnesia.”
“We can do it later,” I said, in no hurry to see Eddie leave.
“My schedule is full today, and given the earlier events, I think we should talk.”
I opened my mouth to argue, suddenly ready to do just that.
“It’s okay, Am. I have to get to work anyway. The place can’t open without me.” His eyes met mine, his lips offering a reassuring smile.
I pleaded with my stare for him to not to leave me here.
His body language changed from relaxed and soothing to nearly formidable. Turning his back, he spoke to the doctor. “Can you give us a minute? I’d like to say bye.”
The doctor seemed mildly surprised, but she inclined her head. “I’ll be just outside,” she stated before the door latched behind her.
I fell back against the pillows.
Eddie sat on the edge of the chair again, positioning himself toward me. Lifting his eyebrows, he asked, “How long do you think it will take her to get tired of waiting?”
I laughed. “Two seconds.”
Eddie snickered.
“I thought you were leaving.”
His reply was so simple. “You want me to stay.”
A feeling of selfishness came over me. “I do.” I admitted. “But I know you can’t.”
“If it’s what you want, it will happen.”
I tilted my head, a chunk of hair hitting my chin. “Didn’t you say the store wouldn’t open without you?”
“I do have the key.” His voice was entirely ornery.
I giggled. “Go to work, Eddie.”
“What about you, Am?” he asked, searching my face with his stare.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, but I must not have been too convincing, because he called me out.
“Liar.”
“I just… They don’t believe me.”
Eddie thought about my words, sat forward, and held out his hand for mine. I surrendered almost immediately. His touch made me feel connected to something. To someone. “Do you believe someone tried to kill you last night?”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “I really do.”
“Then don’t let them change your mind.”
“Eddie?” I whispered.
He whispered back, “Am?”
“I can’t help but think…”
His fingers tightened around mine. “You can tell me anything.”
I believed him. With every part of me.
“The figure in my dream and the one here at the hospital… What if they were the same? What if whoever threw me in the lake is back to finish what they started?”
He sucked in a breath. Anger glimmered in his eyes. “I won’t let them hurt you…”
It was almost as if he wanted to say more but didn’t.
“What if that dream wasn’t a memory? What if I really dreamt everything?” I just didn’t know. I couldn’t remember.
The worst thing about all of this was not being able to trust even myself.
Eddie stood, leaning in close, and cupped the back of my head with his palm. The fullness of his lips pressed against my hairline, lingering for a gentle kiss.