Page 13 of Never Let Me Go

“Good,” he answers with a grin. “I was starting to worry about you. You’ve barely been eating anything since you woke up.”

“Um, because it was terrible.”

He laughs and nods as he grabs his beer and takes a sip. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

As we eat our dinner, I ask him about where he grew up and he tells me about his hometown in California. When he shares with me that both of his parents have passed away, my chest aches but I also feel a connection with him that wasn’t there before because I know exactly how he feels. He tells me more about the night of the charity event where we met and I can’t help but smile as he admits how hard his heart was beating in his chest when he approached me and hearing him describe the two of us dancing the night away sounds like something out of a dream. By the time we finish, I’m more relaxed than I’ve been since waking up in the hospital and his eyes are drooping more and more with each minute that passes.

“Can you point me in the direction of the shower? I want to wash the smell of the hospital off me.”

He nods and stands up from the island. “Of course. I’ll show you where everything is.”

Taking my hand in his, he leads me past the kitchen to a long hallway that opens up into a gorgeous master bedroom. Another wall of windows gives the space an ocean view and I suck in a breath as colors splash across the sky with the setting sun.

“Oh, that’s incredible.”

He smiles. “Isn’t it? I can’t wait for you to see how gorgeous it is in the morning.”

I nod, gazing out at the water for a moment before letting him lead me into a massive en-suite bathroom. It’s all white marble again but there are little pops of blue that remind me of the water below and it feels more like me than the living room or kitchen. I eye the giant tub in the corner before turning to the walk-in shower along the back wall. Gavin releases my hand and walks across the room to a cabinet. He pulls two towels out and hands them to me.

“Okay, I guess I’ll leave you to it. Just yell if you need anything.”

I nod, wishing I could usher him out of here without being rude. That shower looks too damn inviting and I didn’t realize how badly I needed one until he led me into the room. Finally, he turns and leaves me alone. I make sure the door is locked before stripping out of my clothes, my body aching but I fight through it. Once I’m naked, I walk across the room and set my towels on the bench next to the shower before changing my mind and turning toward the tub. With my aching muscles, a nice long hot bath sounds perfect. Besides, how in the hell could I pass up this amazing tub?

Turning the water on, I set it to the perfect temperature before grabbing a jar of what looks like bath salts. After prying the lid off, I bring it to my nose and moan as the scent surrounds me. It’s vanilla mixed with something fruity and I can’t resist the urge to dump a scoop or two into my bath. When the bath is halfway full, I step inside and sink into the water, letting out a loud sigh. The warm water washes over my muscles, relaxing me and if I laid my head back, I think I could fall asleep right here. Leaning forward, I turn off the water and lie back, closing my eyes.

As tension seeps out of my body, my mind begins working overtime, thinking about the past four days, about how much I miss Baton Rouge and Mercedes and how weird I feel living in a house with a man I don’t know. How is any of this supposed to help me? I just can’t understand. The doctors kept saying how being in my own home with my things would help me and relax me but the pressure to be who Gavin needs and wants me to be in immense and I don’t think I can handle it. Maybe I should just book a flight to an island and go relax in the sun until my memory returns… if it ever does. Even that doesn’t sound as appealing as it should, though. The only place I want to be, the only place that’s given me any kind of comfort in the last four days, is Baton Rouge.

Sighing, I pull the plug and stand up. My head spins and I grip the edge of the tub for a second, taking deep even breathes until it passes. When I’m feeling steady again, I grab my towel and wrap it around my body as I step out of the tub. The house is quiet as I unlock the bathroom door and peek out into the bedroom so I tiptoe over to the closet I saw on the way in before realizing how stupid that is. It’s my damn house. Why the hell am I tiptoeing like I’m a guest?

In the closet, I find a satin tank and short set that looks comfy and slip it on before venturing out into the living room in search of Gavin. As I step into the living room, I stop and smile. Gavin is splayed out on the couch, one hand thrown over his head and the other pressing against his chest as he snores quietly. Based on how hard he has been pushing himself these past four days, I’m surprised he didn’t pass out sooner. I know how badly he needs the sleep so I grab a blanket off the back of the couch and lay it over him before returning to the bedroom.

The sun is down now and the stars are starting to peek out over the water, shimmering off the surface as lazy waves roll toward the shore. It’s a peaceful night and a part of me wishes I could just go sit down there and let the water lap over my toes. With my luck, though, I’d probably get lost and not be able to get back home.

Sighing, I sit on the bed. I wish there were more personal touches in the apartment, something to help me piece together my life but it’s like all of it is hidden away. My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I look around the room. It’s got to be hiding around here, somewhere, right? I glance around the room again before landing on the closet. That’s the first logical place to look for clues, isn’t it? With a nod, I stand up and walk over to the closet as I listen for sounds of Gavin stirring in the living room. Once inside, I stand in the middle of the large room and look around at the various racks of clothes before turning to what is clearly my side. Half of the wall is divided into shelving for shoes, bags, and accessories and the other half has two bars for hangers. I drop my head back and smile when I see boxes up on a shelf above the clothes.

Bingo.

There is a step stool tucked into the corner and I grab it before positioning it under the shelves and climbing up. A fine layer of dust covers the top of the old shoe box and I blow it off as I climb off the stool and sit down on a bench in the middle of the room. Sucking in a breath, I pull the lid off and smile at the photo of Mercedes and me from the day we met sitting on top of a stack of other photos. I pull out a chunk of them and start going through them. They are all from my college days and most of them contain Mercedes and me doing something crazy. The longer I stare at our smiling faces, the more my heart aches. God, I miss her which doesn’t make any sense to me. As far as I can remember, I saw her just a few days ago even if I know that’s not true but it doesn’t matter because all I want is to hang out with my girl and tell her about the craziness that is my life right now. A tear streaks down my cheek and I flick it away before shoving the photos back into the box and slamming the lid down on top. Looking at old photos and reminiscing about all the good times we had isn’t going to help me move on with my life now. No matter how hard it is, I have to try to move forward.

Chapter Five

Sawyer

The truck rumbles through the parking lot of the apartment complex and my gaze sweeps over each car, checking for a threat hidden from view despite the fact that there is no reason to be on the lookout for danger today. We are just here to help Sammy move into her new place but after seven and a half years with the Bayou Devils, I’ve trained myself to always be hyper-vigilant. I can’t help looking for trouble behind every tree or in every parked car. The guys like to give me hell for it but I can’t stop either. I’m always alert, always watching even after the threat is eliminated because the one thing I hate more than surprises is failing one of these girls, something that hasn’t happened often but each time it does, it’s like a punch to the gut. To be honest, it’s kind of exhausting to always be “on” but it’s also necessary to keep everyone safe and nothing is more important to me than that.

Fuzz pulls up in front of one of the buildings and whips the truck around so he can back into the space in front of Sammy’s door, allowing us to move boxes into her new apartment easily. I scan the second floor of the building adjacent to hers before turning to inspect the parking lot again. There is a fit older woman in pink spandex walking her yappy little dog along one of the walking trails between two other buildings and a man at the end of the building in front of us carrying his groceries up the stairs, his face contorted into a grimace as he struggles to cart a mountain of bags up in one trip. Scoffing, I watch him, mentally betting myself that he drops a gallon of milk before he makes it to his door.

“Twenty bucks says that milk ends up all over the stairs,” Fuzz says, his gaze locked on the man stumbling up the stairs with a smirk on his face. I scoff.

“Pretty sure that’s a bet you’re going to win.”

The man stumbles a few times before finally managing to make it to his apartment door without losing any of his food. I sigh and scan the parking lot again. Despite the fact that it seems like a large complex, it’s fairly quiet which will be good for a girl like Sammy after the hell she’s been through.

“Moose, give it a rest,” Fuzz says, sighing as he runs a hand through his dark hair and checks his phone. “Sammy is safe now.”

I nod, his words not quite sating my suspicion but I ignore it. “Nice place.”

“Yeah, Streak hooked her up and made sure it was safe. Plus, it’s close to the clubhouse so she can make it into the shop easily for work.”