by Tia Siren
CHAPTER 21
LIAM
The restaurant I had chosen was a quaint little Italian spot located in Brooklyn, just over the bridge. It was the type of restaurant that had been owned and operated by the same family for as long as that family had been in America.
The inside was run down but clean. The chairs and tables looked as old as the octogenarian that served us, and the menu was written on sheets of stained, yellow paper that smelled like they had been in use since the day the restaurant opened its doors.
Despite all that, the food was divine. Clint had shown me this place years earlier. And he had been shown it by an old girlfriend whose family used to live in the area and swore by the place. It was the best in the city, they claimed. The food really was the best. It was as authentic Italian as one could find this far from the old country, and I had no hesitation in taking Kate there.
"Quaint," she said as I led her through the doors and into the dusty room.
I had booked a table for lunch, but as we entered and I saw how empty the place was, I realized that was a pointless precaution.
"Just you wait and see," I responded with a smile.
I knew that Kate actually liked little holes in the wall like this. I knew that because I had brought her here before, and she had fallen in love with the place. And, on top of that, I knew that once she bit into whatever she ordered, her opinion would do an instant 180.
"I put my faith in you," she responded as we took our seat at a table.
The man who served us was in his late fifties, with a bushy mustache and a charming smile. Although he was clearly American in every sense of the word, he spoke with a thick and often exaggerated Italian accent.
"To drink?" he asked, keeping that big smile on me and Kate.
"The house red will do," I answered. "And we'll probably be ready to order in a few minutes, too."
"Of course," he said as he gave us a bow and hurried away.
"A few minutes?" Kate scoffed. "You know I take hours to pick. Call it a weakness of character."
"You? A weakness of character? I didn’t know you had any. Besides. This place is so good that you can pick anything, and you'll come out on top."
"And you're getting?" she asked as she looked down the packed menu.
I hadn't even picked the menu up. I always got the same thing when I came here. Boring, maybe. But it was both a safe option and just happened to also be my favorite meal of all time. So I could never really see the point in changing. "The spaghetti and meatballs," I answered. "The best I've ever had."
"Oh," Kate responded in what sounded like surprise. "I forgot that was your favorite food."
"It is," I answered. "Although truth be told, the meatballs aren't cooked quite the way I like."
"And how is that?" she asked, abandoning the menu as she focused all her attention on me.
"It's silly, but I prefer when the meatballs are cooked in–Oh, here we are," I said, spotting the waiter.
He had returned with the bottle of red, making me completely lose my train of thought.
"How? I mean, how do you like your meatballs cooked?" Kate ignored the waiter as he poured our glasses for us.
"What? Oh, never mind. I'll tell you later. Come on, let's order."
It was probably my imagination, but I could have sworn that Kate let out a soft sigh as I dodged her question. I didn't dodge it on purpose, obviously. I just didn't think it was important. I wanted to order so we could get our food straight away. I was more than a little bit hungry.
There was actually a reason for having lunch that day, and I had taken the day off work especially for it. I had been taking more and more days off work since meeting Kate. I just couldn't help myself. Not only did I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but I also didn't want to make the same mistake I did the last time we dated.
And that was kind of the point of the lunch, too. I had a question that I wanted to ask her. One that I hoped she would say yes to. I had been thinking that our relationship needed one more strong kick in the right direction. Once I gave it that, then I was sure I would be able to tell her about our past, and she would forgive me. But first, it needed that kick.
"Kate, I've got something I need to ask you," I began. We had just finished our food and had also polished off the bottle of wine. I figured that to be a more perfect time than any.
"Oh, can I duck to the bathroom first? I had one too many glasses I think." She slowly got to her feet. I nodded a yes, not wanting her to be thinking about the bathroom while I asked her the big question.
Once I was alone, I leaned back in my chair, trying to stretch myself out. For some reason, I was actually a little nervous. I didn't think she would say no, but I couldn't be too sure. It was because I was leaning back, stretching my legs out that I accidentally kicked Kate's handbag over.
"Shit," I muttered, leaning forward to scoop it and its contents back up. As I did that, I picked up the lipstick that fell out and other bits and bobs. I distinctly noticed the corner of a small book sticking from the inside of the handbag. Not just any book either, but one of her journals.
My breath caught in my mouth when I realized what it was. Why did she have that on her? Had I not taken them all? I quickly looked up to the bathroom across the room, making sure that she wasn't coming. When I was sure that I was clear, I grabbed the journal from the inside of her handbag.
I knew it was a shitty thing to do, but I’d already stolen the other journals. There was no going back now. This was just one more morally gray act in the service of true love.
Judging from the dates, it was the last journal that she had written in before we broke up. I flipped to the last entry, skimming what was written. As predicted, the journal chronicled up to just after the two of us had broken up.
I looked to the bathroom door again, making sure that she still wasn't coming before going back through some of the earlier entries. I wanted to know if she had been reading them, and if she had, what she had found out. Was there a chance that she knew who I was? Was my full name or anything else mentioned in these pages?
It was as these thoughts built in my head that my eyes fell on one sentence in particular. It was probably because the page was bent that I had it opened in the first place. But by some form of divine intervention, I noticed a line that distinctly indicated my favorite meal as being spaghetti and meatballs with the meatballs cooked in coconut oil.
My stomach dropped out from under me as the gravity of that single line sunk in. I hurriedly put the journal back before she came back out, all the while thinking about what that meant.
She knew. She knew what was going on and what I had done. And if she didn't know, then she at the very least suspected as much. That was why she was so insistent on talking about my favorite food earlier. Shit! This was not good.
But as Kate came back from the bathroom and made her way toward the table, she offered me a warm smile, which made me realize that she most likely didn't know anything, at least not conclusively. Maybe she suspected, but luckily, she was still in the dark. I had to act fast.
"What was it you wanted to ask me?" she asked as she sat down at the table.
"Oh right," I said, shaking my head and forcing myself to concentrate on the moment. "Well, first I want to say that the last two weeks have been the best in my entire life. That cannot be overstated enough." I reached forward and took her hands in mine. She took them back and gave them a squeeze. "And I was thinking that maybe it was time that we took this relationship further. I think it would be a good idea if the two of us went away together. Like a weekend trip? What do you think?"
Again, if I even thought for a moment that she knew who I was, then that possibility was shattered by the reception of my question. She broke out in a big smile, lifting my hand to her mouth and giving it a soft kiss. "That sounds like an amazing idea."
"Really?" I said, letting off a sigh of relief.
"Of course! I'd love to go away with you. If you ca
n get the time off work."
"I actually already have," I said, smirking. "I asked for it off a few days ago in the hopes that you would say yes."
"Wow, that's pretty presumptuous of you. What if I had said no?"
"Then I would have taken Clint. He loves the Niagara Falls."
"Niagara? You're taking me to Niagara Falls?" She was unable to hide the big cheesy smile that was forming on her face. I knew that she had wanted to see the great falls for the longest time. It was a perfect date spot.
"Only if you'll let me."
In response, she threw herself across the table and pulled me into a big hug, further dispelling the possibility that she might suspect something. But either way and despite the reception I received, I was still nervous. She was getting closer to figuring it all out. And every day that passed only brought with it the possibility that she might wake up with her memory fully intact.
It was as a result of all of that that I made a sudden, somewhat impulsive decision. It was time that I told her the truth. Not there at lunch, but on our getaway weekend. The setting was perfect, and as we would be so far away from anywhere else, she would have no choice but to hear me out.
But when it all came down to it, really, I was also sick of lying to her. Every time I did, it made my stomach churn. She deserved better than that. My only hope was that her love for me was as strong as mine was for her.
If it was then maybe, just maybe, she would see it in her heart to forgive me. And if not, well, I preferred not to think about that. I really didn't know what I would do if I lost her again.
CHAPTER 22
KATE
I usually hated going to the hospital. It was a cold and isolating environment. I honestly didn't know how Liam went there for work every day and came home so happy and positive. If it was me, I would have been a constant wreck.
As much as I hated going there, I couldn't help but be just a little excited as I crossed the parking lot that morning, on my way toward the front doors of the building. My excitement had nothing to do with the hospital of course, but what waited for me inside. I was going to the hospital to pick up Liam so that the two of us could go to Niagara Falls for the weekend. Together. Just the two of us.
I had been ecstatic all week about the trip. As much as I loved the city, I also loved nature. Maybe it wasn't the nature that I loved so much, but the spectacle of it. I don't think I could have lived in the middle of nowhere, away from civilization, but I didn't mind visiting it every now and then. I mean, probably. For all I knew, I’d grown up in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. The old me might have hated living in the city. There was no way to know.
And the height of that excitement came from the fact that I was doing it all with Liam. The two weeks we had spent together before he asked me to go away with him were as perfect as two weeks could be.
And the week leading up to this day was even better. We didn’t fight. We didn't argue. We were like a lock and a key, made to fit one another perfectly. I felt whole when he was with me, and empty when he wasn't.
The whole thing with the journals had all but been erased from my mind. Not amnesia erased, but it had faded to a dim thought in the back of my mind. Every now and then, it did its best to creep back into my conscious, but whenever it did, I laughed it away. It was such a silly thought and a clear sign of self-sabotage. Just the idea that it might be something was ridiculous and, thus, wasn't worth thinking about. I was happy, so why try and find a way to ruin that?
The only real problem with the last week was that Liam had had to work more than usual. We had only gotten one date night in the past six days, and more often than not, I would go to bed alone. I didn’t hold it against him though. I knew he wanted nothing more than to be by my side. But still, I missed seeing him every day, which was all the more reason why this trip had me in such a state of excitement.
Even the hospital seemed warmer and lighter as I walked through its front doors. The people seemed to all be smiling, and the doctors appeared to be practically floating down the hallways.
"Hello, do you know where Doctor Morgan is?" I asked the nurse at the reception desk.
"I think he's in the break room on the second floor," the nurse responded in a merry tone. I thanked her and hurried along the hallway toward the stairs.
The break room was just at the top of the stairs, and therefore, it didn’t take me long to reach it. That, and I practically ran down the hall towards it. I was about to burst on the scene and announce myself to Liam. I was going to run up to him and throw myself in his arms, cooing for him to take me away. But when I reached the doorway, I came to a grinding halt, frozen by what I saw.
There were only two people in the break room. One was Liam, with his back to me, sitting in a chair. The other was the very recognizable Sandra, with her long red hair. She too had her back to me and was also sitting in a chair. Right by Liam’s side.
What disturbed me the most about the sight was Sandra's arm and hand. It was strung across the back of Liam's chair, resting on his shoulders. And as Liam spoke, she threw her head back, laughing ecstatically. And as she did this, she squeezed his shoulder playfully, an act which he did nothing to stop.
And if that was it, if all that had happened was he had told a joke and she had laughed and flirted a little, then I might have been fine. But following that little display, it was Sandra's turn to tell a funny joke.
When she did, Liam burst into laughter, more than I had ever seen before. His hand then moved down and slapped Sandra on the thigh, cupping it and giving it a squeeze at the end.
"I'll miss you," I distinctly heard Sandra say, once the laughter calmed down, and I stepped a little further into the room.
"That's to be expected," Liam joked. It was a joke that out of context may have seemed funny and a little arrogant. But considering what I had just seen, it spoke volumes.
"Hug?" Sandra asked, holding her arms out.
Liam, not seeing anything wrong with it, obliged, and it was then that I had to make myself known.
"I'm not disturbing anything, am I?" I asked, leaning up against the doorway.
Liam was quick to react, instantly pulling himself from Sandra's grip. She was a little slower to let go. Seeing me, he was on his feet a second later, even going so far as to take a hurried step back from Sandra, as if there were a chance that I hadn't seen anything.
"Kate!" he exclaimed, looking extremely guilty as he did. "I didn't think you were... I thought I was meeting you downstairs?"
"Sorry for the inconvenience," I said bitterly.
I would have snapped a little harder, but Sandra was watching both of us with a very obvious look of satisfaction on her face. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing us fight, the bitch.
"That's not what I meant,” Liam said. “I just thought... come on. We should probably get going."
He walked right past Sandra without so much as a glance. When he reached me, he pecked me on the cheek before heading out the door.
I made sure to throw Sandra an icy glare before following Liam out. I actually hadn't minded Sandra up until that point. She had always been nice to me. But now, I knew exactly why she had been so nice. She just wanted to stay on Liam's good side. It was clear that she wanted Liam for herself, and the thought of her getting to spend all day, every day with him made me physically sick.
I probably shouldn't have been as mad at Liam as I was, but I just couldn't help it. I was in such a good mood until I stumbled upon the little scene in the break room. The shocking, unexpected nature of it did much to plunge me into an icy cold state that I maintained for the entire car trip to the Falls.
To Liam's credit, he tried to put me back in a good mood as we made the six-hour drive north. He joked, he chatted, and he laughed, even when I wasn't. But try as he might, my mood did not improve.
Every time it came close, I thought again of Sandra and her beautiful porcelain skin and breathtaking red hair. I thought of those big green
eyes and how she most likely batted her lashes at Liam every day.
Stupid man-stealing whore. Find your own goddamn man, and leave mine alone. I wasn’t a violent woman, but I kind of wanted to punch her in her stupid, pretty face.
For the last two hours of the trip, we drove in silence. I was too lost in violent revenge fantasies, and by that point, Liam had gotten the hint that maybe I wasn't in the mood to be cheered up.
But despite this, he wore a cheeky grin on his face the whole way. He didn't seem put out by my mood but rather excited by it, as if it were some sort of challenge to overcome. If anything, his attitude only made me angrier.
The place that Liam had booked for us was a small cabin in the woods. It was a part of a bed and breakfast establishment with dozens in the area, but it had been built and designed to look as if it were a one of a kind, isolated in the wilderness.
"Ta da!" Liam exclaimed as we pulled up to the log cabin.
It was the kind of cabin that one would expect to find in the forest in the middle of nowhere. The roof was covered in moss, there was an old rickety porch out front, and the entire thing was surrounded by dense forest.
As he leapt from the car in excitement, grabbing my bags from the back, he went on about the place and how happy he was that we were there. "Tomorrow, we can go and see the falls. It's only a short drive. After that, we can hike through the forest. There's meant to be a small waterfall only a few hours in. Plus, there's a fire place inside."
Despite myself, I found my attitude warming up to him. His excitement was infectious, and the whole thing did sound rather pleasant. Plus, I was starting to become aware that I was in danger of ruining the weekend. I wished that he would just apologize so I could forgive him and we could move on, but chances were he didn't even know what to apologize for. I mean, was he going to say sorry for having to work every day with Sandra?
If there was any chance of me staying mad at him, it instantly evaporated the moment that we entered the log cabin. The inside was designed to look like a hunting lodge, with antlers on the walls, a bear rug on the floor, and a huge fireplace near the bed. A fire already roared in the stone enclosure.