by Linda Kage
Sometimes they’d take a break, just to lie against each other and talk about anything and everything. And sometimes they’d kiss some more. Exhaustion wore him down, but he was afraid to fall asleep. He didn’t want the night to end. And yet, a time came when he grew too tired to kiss and too tired to talk. He rested his face against hers and soaked in the feel of her body against his as sleep stole into his foggy brain.
“Thank you for coming back tonight,” he slurred, needing to say it before it was too late.
“Thank you for not getting mad at me for coming back.”
“Mmm.” God, even the feel of her hands running through his hair was drugging him unconscious. “I’ll always welcome you back,” he promised before he remembered nothing else.
When he woke briefly to catch a nurse checking in on him, he tightened his arm around Tess, prepared for a fight to keep her. But the nurse said nothing about his bed companion, and he sighed out his relief as she left the room. Tess slept on, so he closed his eyes and joined her.
The next time he woke, sunlight streamed into the room, and she was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
“LET’S GO BUG PAIGE at The Squeeze. Bet we can sweet talk her into giving us a free latte and muffin.”
When a distracted Tess didn’t immediately answer Bailey’s suggestion, but yawned instead, Bailey bumped their shoulders together. “Besides, it looks like you need a caffeine pick-me-up. Seriously, what is wrong with you? You got plenty of sleep. Hell, you went to bed before I did last night.”
Tess winced. She felt crappy for not telling Bailey about her midnight visit. But it was something special between her and Jonah.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled. “And I don’t really want to go into the food district quite yet.” That was where the massacre had taken place. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to walk over that ground again. She couldn’t believe Paige could go in to the coffee shop she worked at each day, either, though that probably had more to do with the fact she worked with Logan and got to see him there.
Bailey let out a depressed sigh. “Yeah, I had a feeling you’d shoot that idea down. So, how about that ice cream parlor on Lincoln and Pine? It’s completely off campus and has the best frozen mocha drinks.” When Tess didn’t immediately answer, Bailey growled. “Oh, come on. It’s beautiful out, neither of us has to work this afternoon, and we’ve just gotten out of our last class for the day. How can you say no?”
“I just…” Tess sent her friend an apologetic cringe. “I kind of wanted to head over to the sports complex and see if I could talk to the head football coach for a minute.”
“Oh.” Bailey let out a groan and rolled her eyes. “So, this is about Jonah…again.”
“Sorry, but I—”
“No, no. I get it. I’m out. Hunky football player’s in. Let’s head over to the sports complex already. You never know, maybe my cowboy will be jogging laps around the track or something.” She snorted, obviously not believing her own suggestion.
But Tess brightened anyway. “Really? You’ll come with me?” That was so un-Bailey-like.
“Well, obviously, if I ever want to spend any time with you again, I guess I better.”
Looping her arm through Bailey’s, Tess grinned and skipped them along the sidewalk in a faster walk. “You’re the best, do you know that?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m a damn saint. Now let’s get this over with before I get a cramp just stepping inside that dreaded building of exercise.”
It didn’t take them long to find Coach Whitely’s office in the sports complex, but a crabby secretary made them sit in the outer office for a good half hour before she let them in. And even then, he was talking on the phone so they had to wait another ten minutes, sneaking bored faces at each other until he hung up.
“What’s up?” he asked as soon as he disconnected, his tone harried to let them know he didn’t want his time wasted. He opened a notebook on his desk and began to leaf through it, not even glancing Tess and Bailey’s way.
Tess licked her lips and sat forward. “Jonah Abbott is still in the hospital from the school shooting, and I was wondering if you could take the time to visit—” he looked up at those words, his eyebrow arched, and she gulped and more hesitantly finished “—him.”
With an irritated sigh, he closed his notebook. “Let me get this straight. You want to me drop everything to go see some sick kid?”
His smug, arrogant attitude made Tess bristle, but it made Bailey snort. “Oh, whatever. It’s not even football season. How busy can you be?”
Coach Whitely seared Bailey with a narrow-eyed glare. “Little girl, this team lost three of its best players. So, yes, I have been that busy, trying to figure out a new lineup for next year while I’m setting up memorials for the ones I lost. Too busy to worry about the ones who’re doing just fine.”
“But he’s not just fine,” Tess jumped in, leaning forward in her seat even more. “Sir, he may never walk again.”
That seemed to get the man’s attention. “Who’re we’re talking about again?”
“Jonah,” she said. “Jonah Abbott. He’s a first string tight end and just beat the state record for—”
He held up a hand to stop her. “Yeah, yeah. I know who Abbott is.” Eyebrows furrowing, he muttered, “Well, that’s a damn shame.” Blowing out a long, harassed breath, he shook his head sadly. “That one might’ve actually made pro, too. He was a good player. Yet, as I recall, none of his teammates were very fond of him. Not very personable, if you know what I mean.”
Actually, Tess had no idea what he meant. Jonah seemed plenty personable to her. To her, he seemed amazing.
She wrinkled her nose. “How does his personality matter? He’s one of your players. You should feel some kind of responsibility toward him. He’s in room three-twelve at Granton Regional. And he needs someone to visit him. Badly.”
The coach merely sniffed. It was more than obvious he didn’t like being told what he should and shouldn’t do. “As I see it, if he can’t walk, he can’t play. So, that makes him not one of my players, now doesn’t it? If you ask me, some people get what they deserve.”
Tess’s mouth fell open as he turned away. What a total bastard.
“What the hell does that mean?” she demanded. Her own voice kind of startled her. She’d never spoken so rudely to someone in authority. “How can you be such a pompous, self-serving son of a—”
Bailey slapped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else. Smiling stiffly at the douchebag coach, she pulled Tess up to her feet, even as she firmly kept her quiet.
“Thank you for your time, sir. We’ll be on our way now.”
She didn’t release Tess’s mouth as she dragged her backward toward the door. Wanting him to know clearly what she thought of him, she lifted her hand, showing him the new sparkling red polish on her middle finger. His eyes narrowed as Bailey shoved Tess into the hall and slammed the door.
Tess scowled and pushed away from her. “What did you do that for?”
Folding her arms over her chest, Bailey answered, “You’re welcome.”
“For what? I was just getting started.”
“Oh my God. Who are you? You were just about to get us both in trouble. I saved your butt.”
“Whatever. That jackass was a complete moron who doesn’t know an amazing guy when—”
“Shh.” Bailey tapped her lips to hush her. “Something fishy is going on here. No one’s visited your boyfriend since he’s been in that hospital, and the people you tell he’s there don’t give a shit. What do you think that means?”
“That the world is full of some truly crappy, insensitive people?”
She opened her mouth to rage on, but Bailey glanced at a picture on the wall and hurried to it, ignoring her. She scanned the four-foot panoramic picture of the entire football team until she murmured, “There.” Pointing, she pressed her finger against the chest of one, specific player. “Is that him? Is that your Jo
nah?”
Squinting, Tess leaned forward until she was staring at a mini-portrait of her fake boyfriend. “Oh my God. How did you…?” She turned slowly to stare at Bailey with wide eyes. “Who is he?” she whispered. Dread chilled her skin.
“That right there is the head bully, the one who always led the race when people were chasing Einstein down the halls. He’s the one Paige took to the ground with a single twist of his finger the night you got plastered.”
“No.” Tess shook her head and took a step away from the large photo, unable to believe it. “No. He couldn’t be.”
“He is.” The sympathetic look on Bailey’s face proved she wasn’t joking. “I’m sorry, but that is definitely the guy.”
“But…” Covering her mouth with both hands, Tess shook her head a little bit more adamantly.
Jonah wasn’t a bully. He just wasn’t.
“Tess—” When her friend took a step toward her and reached out as if to comfort her, Tess threw up her hands.
“No! He’s not.” No way. Impossible. The Jonah Abbott she knew couldn’t be a bully if he tried. And yet her insides twisted with misery even as she denied it. Clenching her teeth, she scowled at Bailey, blaming her for all of this. “Why would you even say that?”
With a sad sigh, Bailey shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t remember him at all. Every time we saw Einstein running from a group of people, he was right there, yelling the loudest. He was the worst of them, the—”
“No. Don’t even. Did you actually ever see him hurt Einstein?”
“Well, no, but none of them physically ever really touched him, Tess, and he still lost his damn mind and shot up half the campus.”
“But…no. Not Jonah. You’re wrong. You’re just—” Tess huffed out a frustrated breath. “You’re just jealous.”
“Jealous?” Bailey propped her hands on her hips. “Of what?”
“Of…of…of all the time I’m spending with him. You don’t like that there’s someone else important in my life, taking up my time and attention.”
“Oh my God.” Tossing her hands into the air, Bailey spun in a circle before coming around and muttering, “Will you listen to yourself? Important? Shit, Tess, this guy is a complete stranger. You’ve known him less than a week, and what you know is that he remembers nothing about himself…if that’s even true. Hell, if I were him, I’d conveniently lose my memory too.”
“Oh, no you did not. Take that back.”
“Take what back? That I think he’s faking his amnesia? Wouldn’t you if you were responsible for twelve people’s deaths and I don’t know how many—”
“He is not responsible! Jonah is completely innocent. He would never…he’d never…” Not sure what else she wanted to argue, she narrowed her eyes and sucked in a long breath. “Who was it last night that said he was perfect for me?”
Bailey growled. “That was before I learned he was the head freaking bully of Granton University. The guy’s bad news. He’s practically Satan’s little brother.”
“No, he is a good person. And I’m going to prove it.”
With that, Tess spun away and marched off. Bailey called after her, but she ignored it. She wanted to be pissed. She wanted to rage and yell at Bailey some more, but somewhere inside her, she knew her buddy was coming from a good place, so she just couldn’t release any of her fears and anger on her. But the growing concern in her swelled until she began to tremble.
Knowing Bailey wouldn’t like it if she took her car for another Jonah visit, she found the nearest public transportation pick up spot and waited nearly an hour before she found a ride to the hospital. Her emotions had settled themselves enough that she didn’t want to scream and cry at the top of her lungs anymore, but she couldn’t stop shaking.
No way could she tell Jonah what he used to be. He wasn’t that person anymore, and it seemed impossible that he ever could’ve been.
Besides, lots of people came out of amnesia to turn into someone totally different than they were before. Didn’t they? Or was that only in books and movies?
It didn’t matter. Jonah wasn’t a bully, and she knew that to be true from the core of her being. Breathing out a steadying breath, she stopped by a convenience store to buy a Snickers bar. She’d promised him one, after all. Tucking it snugly into her huge purse, she marched into the hospital to see her boyfriend. Okay, fake boyfriend, but over the past week, it didn’t seem so fake anymore.
As soon as she stepped off the elevator and onto the third floor, she turned toward room 312 only to catch sight of someone else entering it. Someone not wearing scrubs.
With a gasp, she jerked to a halt and stared until she recognized the back of Coach Whitely as he opened the door and strolled inside.
He’d come. He’d actually come!
Thrilled she’d somehow managed to convince Jonah’s coach to visit him, she took off sprinting and was out of breath by the time she reached the door and yanked it open.
Flying inside with her wild hair streaming behind her, she was full of smiles until she saw who else was already in Jonah’s room with him and his coach. With their backs to her, two uniformed officers stood next to Coach Whitely, surrounding Jonah’s bed.
“On the date in question, do you remember—”
“What’re you doing?” she burst out, making all four males in the room swivel their attention her way. “You can’t ask him questions. He has amnesia. He doesn’t remember anything.”
The coach huffed out a breath and crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes while Jonah grew very pale. Both cops studied her a moment before they turned back to Jonah.
“Is that true, Mr. Abbott? Do you have amnesia?”
Jonah stared at the one who’d asked him the question for an overly long moment before he licked his lips and quietly said, “No. I don’t have amnesia. I remember everything.”
Tess covered her mouth with one hand and used to other to reach out and catch the wall to support her. She wasn’t sure how she remained standing. It felt as if her legs gave out and crumpled to the floor, but somehow she stayed upright.
Jonah didn’t look at her even though she willed him to with all her might to send her one glance, any signal: a wink, a smile, an apologetic wince. Something.
But he didn’t.
“And who’s this?” The other cop asked, motioning to her. “She your girlfriend?”
Still, he didn’t look her way. “No,” he said, ripping her heart from her chest. “She’s just some volunteer they had come in to keep me company. I never met her before I ended up here.”
“If you wouldn’t mind stepping out into the hallway, then, miss. This is official police business.”
She nodded, but felt too numb to move. When Coach Whitely glanced at her with a searing glare, she finally stumbled into reverse and pushed into the hallway. But the door remained open and didn’t fall shut. It let her stand there, just out of sight, and listen to everything being said inside.
“Did you know it was your gun that was used in the Granton school shooting, Mr. Abbott?”
This time her knees really did give out. Pressing her back to the wall, she sank to the floor in dazed shock as Jonah’s rough, choked voice answered with a terse, “Yes. I knew.”
She gulped, not certain she could sit here and listen to this, and yet unable to move as she soaked in every word.
“Did you give Anthony Morris the gun?”
“What?” Jonah exploded. “No! Hell, no.”
“Did you know he had your gun?”
“Yeah.” From his bitter tone, Tess could picture Jonah glaring at the officer who’d asked the question. “About two seconds before he aimed it at me and pulled the trigger. And I have no clue where he found bullets. It wasn’t loaded.”
Her chin trembled, and a tear splashed against her cheek.
“So, you didn’t give it to him, let him borrow it, show it to him at all?”
“No,” Jonah snarled. “I didn’t even know he kn
ew I had one. I never brought it up to my room. He must’ve…I don’t know…he must heard me talking about it on the phone or something. Or broken into my truck and found it. I don’t know! But I had it locked in a case under my back seat inside my locked truck.”
“If it was locked away so securely, then how could he have gotten to it?”
“Probably because he was my roommate. I hung my keys on a hook by the door. Both keys were on the same key fob. He could’ve taken it any time I wasn’t looking.”
“What the hell were you doing on campus with a gun anyway?” his coach demanded. “School policy implicitly prohibits firearms on campus. There are signs everywhere—”
“I target shoot,” Jonah cut in moodily. “Okay? I compete in target shooting competitions. And I usually keep my gun at a friend’s house. But I’d been to a competition recently, and I kept forgetting to drop it off again. I had honesty forgotten it was back there.”
“So, you’re saying Anthony Morris stole your gun?”
It was still so bizarre to hear Einstein called by his real name. Tess had only known him as his nickname until he’d gone crazy. Then she’d heard his real name spread all over the news and that helped ease the shock. She could almost pretend someone she’d never met before had done all that horrific damage.
“He had to have,” Jonah said, “because I did not give it to him. I would’ve never let that kid near it.”
A buzzing started in Tess’s ears. Huddled on the floor, she hugged herself and tried to digest everything that was happening. But it hit her like a tidal wave. She couldn’t believe he had his memory back; he remembered everything. Did that mean—?
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back to thump it against the wall behind her. With every kiss and touch and shared intimacy, he’d known she wasn’t really his girlfriend. Why had he played along then? Why—?
“Am I going to be arrested for owning that gun?”