The Complete Perfect Series

by Lindsey Powell

  We drive the rest of the way in silence, listening to the radio. When we get to the flat, Lydia parks the car and then comes round to the passenger side to help me get out. She refuses to let me carry anything, so I slowly make my way to the building. Climbing the stairs to the flat is certainly challenging and it seems to take me forever to reach the relevant floor. It’s only a couple of flights of stairs, but that is more than enough. At this moment in time, I wish that there was a bloody lift in this building.

  By the time we reach the front door, I am exhausted. Lydia instructs me to go and put my feet up whilst she makes us a coffee. I don’t need telling twice, so I head straight to the lounge. I gingerly sit down on the sofa and survey my surroundings. I love this flat. It is so cosy and homely.

  I prop my feet on the coffee table as Lydia comes in with the drinks. She hands me my cup, and I gratefully take it from her.

  “Thanks, Lyd.” I take a sip and I appreciate the taste of decent coffee. The coffee that they have at the hospital tastes like cheap stuff.

  Lydia takes a seat on the chair, opposite me. “So,” she says, “Are you going to tell me why you haven’t seen Jake for the last few days?”

  Oh God, here we go with the twenty questions.

  I groan at her. “There’s nothing to say, Lyd. I don’t know the guy.”

  “But you do. You guys are perfect for each other.”

  “Yeah, so perfect that I got stabbed because of him.” I roll my eyes and sarcasm drips from my tone.

  “Oh, come on now, that’s not fair. Jake wasn’t to know what that crazy bitch would do.”

  “Yes, I know.” I sigh. “But, I did get stabbed because she was jealous. I mean, if I had never met him, then none of this would have happened.” I feel exasperated by it all.

  “Stace, you’re not being fair. You were head-over-heels for Jake before you lost your memory. I know that you don’t remember that, but it’s not going to hurt to spend some time with him. It might bring something back to you.” She sips her coffee and looks at me expectantly.

  “I don’t know, Lyd. I was pretty mean to him when I last saw him.” I doubt he will ever want to see me again to be honest.

  “You were confused and frustrated. It’s a lot to get your head around. He will understand that.” I really wish Lydia would drop this topic. I don’t have the energy to talk about this right now.

  “I don’t mean to be blunt, but I don’t want to talk about Jake any more. I’m just so tired of it all.” I finish my cup of coffee, put it down on the coffee table, and slowly stand up. “I’m going to go and lie on the bed.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, if you need anything then just give me a shout.”

  “I will.” I smile at Lydia as I leave the lounge and walk to the room that is my bedroom. I don’t bother to get changed, I just climb straight into the bed and look around at my things in the room.

  Even though I didn’t want to talk to Lydia about him, my mind shifts to Jake, and it isn’t long before I drift off to sleep, thinking about those caramel-coloured eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  Stacey

  I don’t get up until ten o’clock the following morning. I really needed a decent amount of sleep after being in the hospital, and there is nothing like an uninterrupted night.

  It takes me an hour to get up and get dressed. There is really no way that I can rush around, but then I have no need to rush around at the moment. My side is throbbing, so I go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I take two of my painkillers and fill the kettle to make myself a cup of coffee.

  I sit at the kitchen table and look through the pile of trashy celebrity magazines that Lydia buys. She loves to see what the celebs are up to. I have tried to tell her that she shouldn’t take any notice of what she reads in them, but she never listens.

  The kettle boils, so I make up a pot of coffee instead of just one cup. As I sit back down at the kitchen table, Lydia comes waltzing in.

  “Morning, babes. I need coffee, I am caffeine deprived.”

  “I’ve just made a fresh pot,” I say as I point to the pot on the side. Lydia busies herself getting a cup and making her drink. When she has finished, she sits opposite me at the kitchen table.

  “Are you really looking at my magazines?” she asks in disbelief.

  “I was just flicking through. There isn’t much else to do if you have a stab wound and partial amnesia,” I reply sarcastically.

  “It’s only temporary.”

  “Hmm.” Until I start to regain some memories, I am dubious. “Lyd, you know that you said that you would help me to try and remember?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well…” I’m not quite sure what reaction I am going to get at my next choice of words, but I need to say them. “I was wondering if… If you would come and see Charles with me?” I squint, unsure of what she will say.

  “WHAT?!” she screeches, obviously in shock at my question. She stares at me open-mouthed.

  “Hang on a minute, hear me out before you start shouting at me.” I sip my coffee as I wait to see if she can remain calm whilst I speak to her.

  Lydia closes her mouth and clears her throat. “But he’s an asshole, Stace. Why on earth would you want to see him?”

  “I don’t particularly relish the thought of seeing him, believe me. I just think that, as he is my last memory, it might jog something. He was also a big part of my life for a while. I just need to try something. I need to get my life back, Lyd, and if I sit around here waiting, that could take forever.” I hope my explanation has worked, and that she agrees to come with me.

  “I don’t know, babes. What about Jake?”

  “What about him?” I sigh as his name gets mentioned again.

  “He’s not going to be particularly happy that you are visiting your ex-boyfriend, is he?” She raises an eyebrow at me.

  “Lydia, Jake doesn’t own me. I can make my own decisions, you know? I don’t know Jake. I don’t know what it is that Jake and I are supposed to have had together. I need to focus on myself right now, not some guy that I don’t bloody know.” I feel angry. I understand that he must have been part of my life, but I need to find out for myself what it is that we had.

  I just need people to stop trying to force me to be with Jake.

  I need to make my mind up on my own.

  “I don’t like this, Stace, but if it is going to help you with your recovery, then sure, I will go with you.” I smile at her, but she doesn’t look happy at what I have asked her to do. “But if he starts being a twat towards you, we’re leaving. No arguments.”

  “Deal.”

  “I know that you probably don’t want to hear this, but I think you should tell Jake that you want to go and see Charles.”

  “What? Why?” What is her obsession with Jake?

  “Stacey, he loves you. It would be cruel to keep him out of the loop on this.” I stare at her, flabbergasted. “And when you do regain your memory, you are going to wish that you had told him.” Her stern look tells me that her opinion on this matter isn’t going to be swayed.

  “Fine. I will tell him, but only after we have been to see Charles.”

  “Why not tell him now?”

  “Because I don’t want to tell him now. The only reason I am going to tell him at all is because you feel that I should.”

  “Stacey––” She sounds unsure as she says my name, but I cut her off before she can continue.

  “Look, Lyd, I get that Jake was a part of my life before my memory was wiped, but until I am able to piece things together, can you just support me in my decisions? Please?” I say. I shouldn’t have to justify my choices or my actions.

  “I will always support you, Stace, you know that.” At least she has the decency to look sorry for being pushy about Jake. “When do you want to go and see Charles?” she asks, changing the subject.

  “Now.”

  “Now?” she screeches at me.

  “Yes, now. The sooner I get this over with, th
e better.” I know it is my choice to see Charles, but our relationship wasn’t exactly a happy one from what I remember.

  “Right. Let me just go and get ready and then we can get going.” Lydia stands up and leaves the kitchen, heading down the hallway to her bedroom. I get up and go to my bedroom to retrieve my phone, which I left charging overnight. The battery had completely died seeing as I didn’t have the charger with me whilst I was in the hospital. I pick it up off of my bedside table, turn it on and it soon beeps to notify me that I have a text message.

  Hey, baby girl. How are you feeling? Lydia phoned

  and told me what happened. Are you out of

  hospital yet? Hit me up, so that I can come and

  visit my favourite lady.

  Martin x

  Martin’s text makes me smile. I write back to him whilst I am waiting for Lydia.

  Hi, Mart. Yes, I am home! Come and visit me, and

  help me figure out how my life got so crazy. Are

  you free this evening?

  Stace x x

  I hit send and within seconds I have a reply.

  See you at seven.

  Martin x

  I smile at the thought of seeing him. I haven’t caught up with him for ages. At least, I don’t think that I have. I shake my head at how ridiculous it is that I can’t remember if I have seen Martin since my memory loss has taken hold.

  I look at my phone screen and decide to take a look at the photos on there. Maybe there will be some photos that will shed some light on my life? I press the relevant button and bring them up. There are plenty of Lydia and I together, and I smile as I look through them.

  There are a couple of Martin and I on a night out, and then there is one photo of Jake and I together. I am staring at the camera, and Jake is placing a kiss on my cheek. I look so happy in the photo. Jake’s eyes are closed, and his hand is cupping my cheek. He looks handsome, even if it is only his side profile in the photo.

  One of my arms is around his shoulders and I am obviously using the other to hold the phone at arm’s length so that I can take the photo. Anyone looking at this photo would be able to see that we were a couple. I let out a puff of air at how much the photo has impacted me.

  I feel a sudden sadness sweep over me.

  How can I not know when this photo was taken?

  How can my mind have failed me so badly?

  I blink away tears that sting the backs of my eyes.

  No, I will not cry.

  I need to keep my head in the game.

  I need to get my life back on track.

  And if I really did feel that strongly about Jake, then I owe it to myself to fight to remember what we had.

  Chapter Ten

  Stacey

  Lydia pulls up outside of Charles’ offices and switches off the engine. I look at the building that houses Charles’ offices and feel nothing. I almost feel empty.

  “Are you sure that you want to go in?” Lydia asks me.

  I ponder her question for a few moments. The only reason that I am here is to see if anything jogs my memory. I don’t particularly want to see Charles at all. Lydia has told me all about why we split. I don’t feel the slightest bit jealous that he slept with someone else. Our relationship simply ran its course, I suppose.

  “Yeah. Let’s go,” I say before I have chance to change my mind. I open the passenger door and slowly get out. I am still having slight twinges in my side, but I am getting better with my movements.

  I walk around to Lydia’s side and I stare at the sign that says, “J & M Accounting.” I don’t miss the thought of a life with Charles. At the end of our relationship, and for a while before that, I was just like his personal skivvy.

  Lydia links her arm through mine and we start to walk forward. We are about to enter the building, when I hear someone shouting my name. I turn around to see who it is and am gobsmacked to see that Jake is walking towards me. He is dressed in a navy-blue suit, with a white shirt and a blue tie. He looks good. Too good actually. He exudes confidence, but not in an arrogant way. His eyes travel up and down my body and I feel a little flutter in my stomach.

  Woah, where is this feeling coming from?

  The last time I saw Jake, I was horrible to him, and now, I am getting butterflies over him?

  Jake comes to a stop in front of Lydia and me.

  “Hi,” he says in greeting.

  “Hi,” I say, shyly.

  “Hi, Jake,” Lydia says.

  He turns and smiles at her. “How’s it going, Lyd?”

  “Oh, you know, this one isn’t easy to look after,” she says, playfully patting me on the arm. I roll my eyes at her and Jake chuckles, which gives me goose-bumps.

  “So, what are you two up to?” Jake asks. He looks to the building behind me and he frowns as he registers where we were going.

  “I was going to see Charles,” I answer. Jake raises his eyebrows and I quickly continue to speak so that he doesn’t get the wrong idea. “I just thought that seeing him might help me to remember something, seeing as my last memory is of him and I going to the Bowden Hall.”

  “The Bowden Hall?” Jake asks.

  “Yeah. We were going to some sort of event for his company. I remember getting out of the car when we got to the Bowden Hall, and then it all goes blank.” I shift uncomfortably. I almost feel the need to explain myself which is a contradiction of my earlier feelings about not having to justify to anyone what I am doing.

  “Oh, right. Well, if you think it will help then you should see him,” Jake says. He might be saying words to encourage me, but I can tell that he doesn’t believe them. I can see his jaw ticking. I presume this is something he does when he is pissed off.

  “I hope it will help.”

  “I would say have fun, but seeing Charles Montpellior is probably on the opposite end of the fun scale.” Jake is trying to keep things light-hearted, but I can see that the thought of me seeing Charles is hurting him. I don’t want to be the one to make him feel like that. “Anyway, I better be going. I have a meeting that I need to get to. Bye, ladies.” Jake turns and starts to walk in the direction that he came from.

  “Bye, Jake,” Lydia calls after him.

  The photo on my phone suddenly pops into my brain, and I feel a sudden panic at the thought of him walking off. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea about me seeing Charles. I owe it to Jake, as well as to myself, to figure all this out.

  Before I know what I am doing, I call out to him.

  “Jake,” I shout. He turns around and I unlink my arm from Lydia’s and start to walk towards him. He stays where he is and puts his hands in his trouser pockets. Lydia doesn’t follow me, which I am quite glad about.

  When I reach Jake, I stand in front of him and start to speak before I can change my mind. “Jake, I know that this last week has been tough. I know what I said to you in the hospital hurt you, and I am sorry for that. I wasn’t being fair to you, and I know it is no excuse, but I was so confused in there. I still am really, but I want to do everything I can to change that.” Jake nods but he doesn’t go to speak.

  I take a deep breath and continue with what I need to say. “I was wondering if you might be free tomorrow night? I thought it might be a good idea for us to talk?”

  Jake stares at me as I fidget on the spot, waiting for his answer. I would completely understand if he didn’t want to see me again after the way I was with him.

  “Just me and you?” he asks.

  “Well, yeah. But, if you don’t want to then––” I don’t get to finish my sentence as Jake interrupts me.

  “What time?”

  “Um…. What time is good for you?”

  “I will be finished with work about five-ish. Do you want me to pick you up when I am done?”

  “Okay.”

  “We can go to my house.”

  “Your house?”

  “Yeah. Is that okay with you?” he asks, seeming somewhat unsure of himself.

  “Sur
e.”

  “Great. I will text you when I am on the way to yours.”

  “Okay. I will see you tomorrow then.” I give Jake a little smile which he returns, and I turn to walk back to Lydia.

  “Bye, Stace,” I hear him say as I start to walk off.

  I see Lydia is just staring at me, clearly waiting to be told what just happened with Jake. As I get closer to her, she can no longer contain her curiosity.

  “Well?” Lydia asks me.

  “Well what?” I reply. Lydia rolls her eyes at my casual response.

  “Don’t act coy with me, missy. What was that between you and Jake just now?”

  “If you must know, I am seeing him tomorrow night when he has finished work.”

  “Really?” She doesn’t hide the surprise in her voice. I suppose with the way that I have been acting about the whole Jake situation, it is a bit of a turnaround.

  “Yes, really. You can grill me about it later. Right now, I need to go and see Charles.”

  “Ugh, can’t wait,” Lydia says, her tone full of sarcasm. I link my arm back through hers and we start to walk to the entrance of Charles’ offices. Lydia pushes the door open and we walk inside to be greeted by the most ridiculous looking receptionist that I have ever seen. The girl doesn’t look a day over twenty. She has her hair up in a sleek ponytail, she is wearing an obscene amount of make-up, and her blouse shows off her cleavage.

  Is this really the look Charles wants when people walk in here?

  She doesn’t look professional in the slightest. The gum she is clearly chewing doesn’t help either. I clear my throat and am about to ask if it is possible to see Charles when I hear him behind me.

  “Stacey?” Charles says. I turn around and see him stood there, his mouth dropped open at the sight of me.

  “Hi, Charles.”

  “Charles,” Lydia says. I can hear the distaste in the way she says his name. Lydia never did hide her dislike of him.