Page 8 of Never Let Me Go

“Love you, baby,” he calls to me as he heads for the door and I nod, watching him until he closes the door behind him. When Nico and I are finally alone, I release a breath.

“Okay, so how is it really going?” she asks after a second and I shrug.

“As well as can be expected, I think.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I know you don’t remember this but we’re like best friends and I know when you’re bullshitting me so how about you be real with me, chick.”

“I don’t know. It’s all so weird. He seems very sweet and devoted to me since he hasn’t left my side since I woke up except to shower but I don’t know him. I can’t remember how we met, our first kiss, or our first date. I have no idea how he likes his coffee or which side of the bed he sleeps on and it’s just a lot to take it all at once.”

She nods as she grabs her bag off the floor. “I get that. Which is why I brought pictures for you and I happen to know all the answers to your questions because when you met Gavin, you could not stop talking about him.”

“Really?”

“Oh, absolutely,” she says as she sets a folder down on my lap. “I spent hours last night putting together as much of the last five years as I could get my hands on to maybe help you remember.”

Tears sting my eyes as I glance up from the folder and meet her eyes. “You did that for me?”

“Of course.” She points to herself before pointing to me. “Best friends, remember?”

“How did we meet?”

She grins. “We met in a coffee shop, actually. It was about two years after you started your company and you were getting a little overwhelmed with the business side of things because you just wanted to design and make jewelry.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to that story?”

“Because there is,” she answers with a laugh. “You walked in to get a drink and I was right in the middle of chewing out the barista for screwing up my order for a second time that day. By the time I got around to instructing him on how to better organize his workspace and make himself more efficient, you said you knew I was perfect for the job.”

I drop my head back on the pillow as I laugh. “I have no trouble at all seeing that.”

“What can I say? I see a problem and I just have to fix it.”

“How is the company doing now?”

She beams. “Phenomenal.”

“Really?” I ask, my heart feeling lighter than it has in days. She nods.

“Absolutely.” Leaning forward, she opens the folder and points to a stack of papers on the left side. “Articles, features, designs, and photos about the company are all on this side.”

I pull out a stack of papers and start leafing through them. There are a few articles that mention the start of my company and a few more that talk about its growth before I find one that names me on a hot businesses on the rise list. After the articles, I find a few of my designs and tears well up in my eyes as I study them. When I was in college, I always dreamed of starting a jewelry line and I would spend hours drawing up designs and dreaming about the day that I could walk down the street and see someone wearing one of my pieces. It’s just a shame I can’t remember any of that now. The first tear drips down my cheek followed by a few more and I set the papers down before clamping my hand over my mouth. I’ve cried so much in the past few days, over my situation and missing my father which led to thoughts of my mother and that always leads to more tears.

“Whoa, what’s wrong?” Nico asks, her brows knitted together in concern and I shake my head.

“I’m so sorry, Nico. I really appreciate all this but it’s just… a lot. This business was my dream for so long and I just wish I could remember it.”

She shakes her head as she stands up and wraps me up in her arms. “Hey, don’t apologize to me. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now and I just want to help however I can. We’ll just go as slow as you want and we’ll have you remembering in no time.”

“Thank you,” I whisper as she pulls away. “I can tell what a great friend you are even if I don’t remember you.”

Shaking her head, she sinks back into her chair. “Aw, babe. Honestly, I always think about how lucky I am that you found me and decided to take a chance on me. I absolutely love working with you and I’m even happier to have you as a friend.”

“Oh, God!” I shriek, wiping the tears from my face as I shake my head. “Enough with the sappy stuff.”

Nico laughs. “You may not remember her but you’re still the same girl you were before the accident.”

“You don’t know how much it means to hear you say that. I feel so out of place, all the time. It’s like I want to just go home and feel safe and comfortable but it doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Sure, it does. It would just be home from five years ago.”