218 First Hugs

by E. L. Todd

  “Yeah.”

  When Dino saw the leash, he started spinning in circles, excited as he wagged his tail.

  This was our life now, a kind of boringness that was exciting every single day. I loved coming home at the same time and still being together all the time. We never got sick of each other. I even missed him when I took a long shower.

  “I’ll come along,” he said.

  “You can finish your game. I don’t mind.”

  “Nah. I’d rather spend time with you.” He smiled as he walked toward me, six foot three of all man.

  I smiled back, more in love with him than I ever thought possible. “Alright. Let’s get going before it gets dark.”

  I walked outside with Dino while Cypress grabbed his sweater. Dino didn’t even need a leash, but I liked to put it on him just to be sure. I had just straightened out the leash when Dino spotted a squirrel and sprinted.

  “Dino!”

  He ran right into the street where he knew he wasn’t supposed to go. Thankfully, there wasn’t a car in sight, but that didn’t matter.

  “Dino!” I walked down the steps, slipped on the stone, and fell back. My head collided with the step behind me.

  And then everything turned black.

  * * *

  “Fuck.” Cypress’s deep voice filled the room.

  “Cypress.” Amelia’s soft voice came to my ear. “It’ll be alright. The doctor said she’s gonna be fine.”

  “What if she goes back?” he asked frantically. “What if she forgets everything that happened in the past six months? What if she forgets me…?”

  “Before we assume the worst, let’s wait until she wakes up,” Blade said. “Cypress, calm down.”

  “You calm down,” Cypress hissed. “This is my wife. I just got her back…” His voice broke. “I can’t lose her again. I can’t do it.”

  “Dude, it’s gonna be okay,” Ace said. “When we know more about the situation, then we can panic.”

  They finally went quiet.

  I was aware of the IV in my arm, of the catheter between my legs, and the beep of the monitor. My eyes were still closed, but I knew I was in a hospital room.

  Why?

  Why was I here?

  I forced my body to open my eyes, and they fluttered open until I could take in my surroundings. All the walls were white, and a blue curtain blocked the open door. My sister was there, along with all of my friends.

  Cypress was there too.

  He sat in a chair and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees while his head was bowed. A black ring sat on his left hand.

  I stared at everyone, feeling the blood pressure cuff tighten on my arm.

  Amelia was the first one to notice my eyes were open. “Bree?”

  Cypress’s head snapped up, and he stared at me. His eyes narrowed, and the emotion immediately leapt into his look. He rose to his feet but didn’t come close to me.

  “Bree, it’s me.” Amelia came to my side and rested her hand on my arm. “Your sister.”

  Blade stood up and was on my other side. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  “What year is it?” Ace asked.

  “Give her a second,” Amelia hissed.

  I blinked my eyes again and looked at Cypress.

  Cypress stepped back and angled his head, his chest rising and falling heavily. “She doesn’t remember me…” The tears burned in his eyes and reflected the fluorescent lights. “She doesn’t…”

  I blinked again, realizing I’d hit my head on the stairs. I remembered Dino running out into the street. I remembered Cypress yelling behind me. I remembered coming up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder on our wedding day.

  But I also remembered so many other things.

  I remembered the day he came to my house a year after we broke up. I remembered him apologizing and asking for another chance. I turned him down and ignored him, but he showed up at the café every single day for lunch and didn’t stop until I agreed to go out with him. Then we had dinner at Olives, and we split a plate of hummus.

  Then my memories shifted to all of my friends being angry that I was seeing Cypress again. Amelia was more pissed than everyone else. I kept sleeping with Cypress anyway until I couldn’t lie about it anymore…

  And then we fell in love.

  He earned my trust back.

  We were together for a year before we moved in together to my grandmother’s house.

  And then he proposed…

  And then we were married.

  I remembered all of it. I remembered realizing he was my next-door neighbor, only to find out about my accident that ruined my memory. When I hit my head again, it was fixed.

  But now I remembered everything like I’d never hit my head at all.

  I remembered everything. “Cypress…”

  He stood with his hands on his hips, eyeing me with uncertainty. He slowly walked toward me, his shoes tapping against the tile floor. He stopped when he was right beside the bed, looking terrified of whatever I might say next.

  My hand reached for his, and I felt his wedding ring. “I remember…”

  He took a breath so deep it could have broken both of his lungs.

  “But I remember everything else…I remember our wedding day. I remember when you proposed to me. I remember when you moved in for the first time. I remember when you asked me to forgive you.”

  Everyone exchanged looks, confused by what I was saying.

  “Wait…you remember everything that happened the first time?” Cypress whispered.

  I nodded then sat up in bed, tugging on the IV slightly. “I remember you made me fall in love with you…and then you did it again.” My eyes watered when I looked at my husband, the man I’d loved for the last four years. I had him back. I had all of my memories back.

  I had my soul mate back.

  That’s when I started to sob. “I remember…”

  Cypress sat at the edge of the bed and hugged me. “Oh my god…”

  “I remember everything.” I squeezed him hard and sobbed into his chest. “I remember…”

  Cypress cried with me, his chest heaving and falling. “Sweetheart…I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.”

  “I don’t think I have either.” I pulled away and looked him in the eye, seeing the tears match my own. “You stayed… You could have left, but you stayed.”

  “I would never leave you,” he whispered. “No matter what.”

  I wiped away my tears and sniffed. “You knew I would come back to you.”

  He nodded slightly. “And even if you didn’t…it wouldn’t change anything.”

  I cupped his face and kissed him, kissing the man I loved more than anything else in this world. Not only did I get him back…I got myself back as well. I remembered Rose’s fourth birthday party. I remembered our honeymoon. I remembered the first day we got Dino as a puppy. “I love you, Cypress. So much…”

  He squeezed me against him. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  Amelia sniffled as she stood beside the bed. Blade sat on the other side and rested his hand on my back. Ace came next to Amelia and rested his arm on Cypress’s shoulder.

  “Let’s give them some privacy,” Amelia whispered.

  “No.” I pulled away from Cypress and looked at all of them. “I missed you…I missed you all so much.”

  We came together for a group hug, all of us trying to fit on the bed at the same time.

  I hadn’t felt this much love and this much happiness at one time. I was unlucky enough to lose years of my life, but I was even more blessed to get all those years back, to get my family back. Now I had everything…everything I had lost.

  I had it all.

  Afterword

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading 218 First Hugs. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you could leave a short review, it would help me so much! Those reviews are the best kind of support you can give an author. Thank you!
<
br />   Wishing you love,

  E. L. Todd

  About the Author

  Subscribe to my newsletter for updates on new releases, giveaways, and for my comical newsletter. You’ll get all the dirt you need to know. Sign up today.

  www.eltoddbooks.com

  * * *

  Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/ELTodd42

  Twitter:

  @E_L_Todd