Do You Remember?

Chapter 8

THREE DAYS LATER

I was constantly filled with frustration at not being able to recall simple things like what my job was, where I lived, and where my family was. The worst thing was that I couldn’t recall why I was in the hospital in the first place.

The only thing that I had been told was that I had been in a car accident.

What didn’t make sense was how the man factored into my life.

Everyone assured me that he was not related to me.

They said he was a volunteer, but he seemed too familiar to me.

The only answers I got about him was that he was an officer and volunteer who had come to sit with me every day.

Why would someone do that? What was his interest in me?

I didn’t think he meant any harm, or at least I doubted that he did.

I didn’t sense any danger coming from him.

Actually, whenever he was around, I felt warm and protected.

There was something about his presence that spoke of authority and security.

“Do you know him?” I asked Waverleigh when Deuce got up to use the restroom.

“I’ve come to know him since you’ve been in the hospital, but I didn’t know him before then. I’d just seen him around here at the hospital.”

“And yet, you authorized him to be added to my visitors’ list.”

“I did. Other than him being a volunteer, he was one of the officers at the scene of the accident that night. He’s friends with a couple of the doctors and some of the nurses.

There have been other volunteers who dropped by to visit, but he just stuck around.

I believe you touched his heart. If you ask me, I think it’s romantic,” Waverleigh declared as she unfolded another blanket to place over me.

“You would.” I laughed, and Waverleigh turned and squinted her eyes at me.

“How do you know that?”

Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know. I just do.”

She smiled and jumped on the bed. Grabbing my hands in hers, she exclaimed, “I think you’re getting your memory back.”

“Honey, I hope so, because this hasn’t been any fun at all.”

When a worried look crossed her face, and she bit her bottom lip, my heart tugged a little. “What are you worried about?”

Waverleigh shook her head. “Nothing, honey. Nothing at all.”

“Do you think that I could honestly trust him?”

“Who? Deuce? Yeah. Like I said, I've seen him around the hospital in the past volunteering. I'm sure he's a great guy, and he's a cop.”

“You've always been naive, believing there's good in everyone.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t known him for long, but over the last month, I’ve gotten to know him. At least, whenever I am in town.”

“Where have you been?”

“Well, my mom has a lot of health issues. I know that you don’t recall that, but she does. I have been taking turns with my sister traveling to help Mom out.”

“Hadley and Jackie. Your sister and your mom, right?”

“Right. Aww, honey.” Waverleigh threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.

“Anyway, he’s been here the entire time.

He texts me and calls me to keep me updated on everything.

He LiveTimed me to make sure that I could see you, and you could hear my voice.

He’s so sweet with all the reading he does for you, massaging your arms and legs, exercising them, and he even brushes your hair the way that he’s seen me do.

He really has been here for you all along. ”

“His voice is so comforting, familiar, and soothing when he reads to me.”

“Well, he was doing that while you were in the coma, too, which is why it may have felt so familiar.”

“And you’re sure that I didn’t know him before the accident?”

“Listen, honey, unless you had him hidden in your pocket somewhere, I’m absolutely certain.”

“Why?”

She hesitated but then shook her head. “We shared everything with each other. We didn’t hold anything back from each other. You would have told me about him.”

I suspected that she was about to say something else, but she changed her mind. I wondered what she was about to say. Before I could press the issue, the door opened, and Deuce stepped back inside.

“What?” he asked, smiling as we both stared at him.

“Nothing,” I declared.

At the same time, Waverleigh smiled and replied, “We were just talking about you, Officer Fullwood.”

“I hope it was all good.”

“What else would it be?” Waverleigh asked.

“What were you saying?” he asked, handing Waverleigh a coffee and a juice to me. “Confiscated these from the breakroom.” He smiled a beautiful smile.

“I was just telling Sevyn what a great support system you’ve been, especially while I was out of town,” Waverleigh explained.

I took a moment to check him out while they chatted about what he had done while she was away. He was staring at me the entire time he talked, only glancing at Waverleigh once or twice.

He had an athletic build with very muscular arms, chest, and shoulders. Tattoos covered his arms and neck. He wore his curly hair in a low cut and faded on the sides. I shifted in the bed trying to find a comfortable position, and he immediately rushed to my side.

“Let me help you,” he offered. He reached behind me and repositioned my pillows behind my back. In that moment, I not only inhaled his cologne, which had a fresh, crisp, and clean scent, but I also could see a very light sprinkling of freckles on the cheekbones of his cashew-colored skin.

“Thank you,” I replied after he situated my pillows.

“Is that good? You sure?” he asked, leaning back and looking into my face with those hooded, chocolate brown eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, not because I wasn’t certain, but because the piercing look in his eyes caught me off guard. He lifted a thick eyebrow at me in question, and I couldn’t help but notice how curly his eyelashes were.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Good,” he replied, licking those soft looking, bow-shaped lips of his.

He turned back to Waverleigh and scratched his jaw. The hair of his mustache, beard, and soul patch appeared to be just as curly as the hair on his head.

“You’ve got an earring,” I remarked while he was mid-conversation with Waverleigh.

He turned back to me and smiled, and it shot straight to my heart. “Yeah.”

“Did you just get it?”

“No. I don’t always wear it. Whenever I’m coming directly from the station, I never have it in. I don’t wear any jewelry when I’m on duty. Today, I was off, so I’m wearing it. Does it . . . does it bother you?” he asked.

“No. It looks nice.”

“Thank you.” My face grew warm under his scrutiny. He stared at me with a quizzical smile before he turned back to Waverleigh, who asked a question. But I did not miss the wink she shot me before he turned around to face her.

When they finished talking, I asked the question that had burrowed into an uncomfortable space deep inside of my brain. “Why did you choose me?”

“What?”

“To visit, support, and be here for. Why did you choose me, and why do you come every day?”

He looked somewhat uncomfortable as though he were hiding something, but then he finally answered.

“You had no one else, and I couldn’t leave you all alone.

Everyone needs someone by their side, whether they’re remaining in this life or being ushered to the next one.

I wasn’t sure what you were going through, but I didn’t want you to suffer through it alone. ”

“I’m sorry. Sometimes I just wonder if we knew each other before. Your face looks so familiar. But this damned dissociative amnesia I’ve been diagnosed with is driving me insane.”

“We didn’t know each other before your accident. I know that it can’t be easy, but your memories will continue to return. Just be patient with yourself, Sevyn.”

“I don’t know. It just feels like I know you already.”

“I’ve talked to you a lot since you’ve been here. Do you remember anything that I’ve said? Maybe that’s why I’m familiar to you. I feel like we know each other too.”

I smiled, but I replied, “No. I don’t recall anything you might have said.”

“It’ll come.”

“Do you have a big family?”

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“I feel like maybe I heard you, but I didn’t retain those memories. I mean, the sound of your voice is familiar and comforting. But I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything you said.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s like being asleep. You aren’t aware of anything that happened around you while you were. Nothing to apologize for.” He shrugged and smiled reassuringly at me.

“I remember someone playing music though.”

Waverleigh grinned and clapped her hands, and Deuce smiled.

“Do you remember what it was?”

“My favorite singers: Solemn, Novi Joelle, and Chris Perry.”

“That was me. You heard me playing the music.” He seemed excited and reserved at the same time. “That’s great.”

“Yeah, it is,” Waverleigh agreed.

“That makes me feel good,” he stated.

“I’m glad. Now about your family?”

He laughed. “Okay. I’ve got a sister and a brother who are both married with kids of their own. My brother and his wife have seven kids, and my sister and her husband have three kids, two of which are twins.”

“Seven kids? That’s awesome. I love that you come from a big family. Apparently, this loneliness that I feel is something I have to grow accustomed to,” I stated in a somber tone.

“Or enjoy the fact that you don’t have to remember lots of birthdays or buy plenty of gifts for Christmas,” Deuce teased.

Waverleigh and I laughed. “I guess. But still, it has to be nice and not so lonely. I would like to marry and have lots of kids one day.”

Waverleigh looked at me somberly and then smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I closed my eyes for a while before I popped them open again.

“So, you’re not married, Deuce?”

“No. I’m not.” He had the same somber look that Waverleigh wore only moments before.

“Do you ever want to be married? Have you ever been married?”

“No, I haven’t been married before, but I think that someday I would like to be married. Need to be in fact.”

“Why is that?”

“Just because of my beliefs. Besides, coming from a large family, I would want to have one of my own one day. I don’t want to be single or without children.

I’m getting older, and I definitely want to have kids before I’m too old to play with them, or I’m attending their little league games, school conferences, and graduations on a cane. ”

I laughed so hard at that. “Please try that with someone else. You’re way too handsome and young looking to be talking about walking around on a cane any time soon. I’m sure you have plenty of time to have children. How old are you?”

“Thirty-seven.”

“You look good for an old man. I thought you were ten years younger,” I teased.

“Old man?” He choked on his laughter.

“Still handsome.”

“Oh, you think that I’m handsome, huh? I think you’re beautiful, gorgeous,” he teased me.

“Yeah, I caught that, too, Deuce. Look at you flirting with the man,” Waverleigh stated and winked.

My cheeks felt warm as Waverleigh stood and grabbed her purse.

“I’m not flirting. I don’t even think I know how,” I replied in embarrassment.

“You were doing just fine right then, my friend.”

“You’re leaving?” Panic filled me at the thought of being alone. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to be alone with Deuce after that little exchange.

Waverleigh leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I’ve got to head out. My shift starts in fifteen minutes, and I need to do a couple of things before I head downstairs.”

“Which floor do you work on?” I asked.

“Downstairs on the fifth floor.”

“Okay. Would you stop by to see me before you leave?” I asked.

“I will, honey.” She pressed a kiss to my cheeks and hugged me again before she left.

When I was all alone with Deuce again, I felt awkward, unsure of what to say.

He scooted his chair closer to my bed. “Hey. Don’t feel any type of way about what just happened.”

“Oh, I wasn’t,” I lied.

“Good. Because for the record, I do think that you’re a beautiful woman. I wasn’t flirting, just paying you a compliment.”

I smiled again and rested my head back on my pillows.

“I know that it probably isn’t my business, but I’m guessing that you don’t have a girlfriend since you seem to spend so much time up here with me.”

“No, I don’t. Outside of the rather large family that takes up way too much space in my life and brain, I have the force, and my best friend, Blake, who owns a boxing gym.

If it weren’t for you, I’d be returning home to my very lonely house to watch TV.

You’re much better company than the voices on the TV and those boring four walls. ”

I laughed again. “I don’t know what I would be doing if I weren’t here. But for some reason, I think that I would be volunteering. It feels like that is something I would do, working with those less fortunate, or advocating for someone’s rights.”

I sighed. “Maybe when you get out of here, I could take you to a few volunteer opportunities. We could see how that felt to you, maybe it would jog a memory or shake something loose for you.”

“That would be nice. Do you volunteer?”

“Yep. I volunteer here and for the police force. My mom actually brought us here to volunteer for the first time when I was in the police academy. Every three years, she finds us a new place to volunteer. I just kept returning because so many of our victims end up here.”

“What types of volunteerism do you do with the force?”

“Charity softball games, community cookouts, basketball tournaments, silent auctions, things like that.”

“That’s pretty cool—and you participate in all of them?”

“As much as I can. When you get out of here, how about I take you to the next event?” Deuce looked like his invitation surprised him as much as it surprised me. Based on the large smile on his face and the light in his eyes, I could tell that he didn’t regret it.

I hesitated briefly as something warm grew inside of me. Smiling, I replied, “I would like that very much.”

“Then it sounds like we need to get you healthy soon. We’ve got plans.”

He winked at me, and I grew flush all over.

“I guess I do.”

“Listen, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. But now that you’re awake, is it okay if I continue visiting you?”

“Of course. I would love that,” I replied, realizing that I would miss him if he wasn’t here.

The minute that he left my room, I immediately felt the impact of his absence.