Free Unforeseen Danger by Michelle Perry Page A

and shrugged at her best friend helplessly.
    “Refresh my memory, Darce .   Was that when he was going through his biker stage?”
    Darcy put her head in her hands and moaned.   “I swear, Nik , when you get your memory back and remember just how dorky Tommy Miller is, I am going to kill you for this!”   
    Nikki felt an instant bond with this girl and was profoundly glad that she was here.   It was so nice to see Jake laughing and teasing.   She knew instinctively that this was the Jake she’d fallen in love with, the way he’d been before…
    Before what?
    Her intuition told her that Darcy knew her secrets.   Maybe if she knew what she’d done to Jake, she could figure out a way to fix it.   She had to get Darcy alone to ask her about it.
    She managed to eat half her hamburger and most of her fries and though it made her stomach churn, she managed to feign a craving for chocolate.
    “I’ll go down to the vending machines,” Jake offered.   Nikki thanked him and waited until the door shut behind him to grasp Darcy’s hand.
    “Darcy, do you know what’s going on between me and Jake?”   She could tell from the other girl’s expression that she did.
    “ Nik , I think you need to ask Jake—” Darcy began.
    “He won’t tell me!” Nikki said.   “He just looks at me, so hurt and confused and angry, and I don’t know why.   He just gives me vague answers that we had different expectations, but I know that I’ve hurt him somehow.   I don’t want to lose my marriage and not even know why.”  
    The other girl sighed.   “I’m not sure you want to hear the truth from me, Nik , because I can’t defend what you did,” she said finally.
    “It doesn’t matter to me if I was the one who was wrong.   I just want to know what happened so I can try to make things right.   If I was wrong, I need to find some way to make Jake forgive me.”
    Both women quieted as the door creaked open.   Dr. Carver came in, smiling at them.
    “Well, Nikki, how would you like to get out of this cracker box tomorrow?”
    Nikki was speechless.
    “Your last batch of tests looked good and you’ve started retaining a little information now.   Other than your amnesia, you made it through the wreck with remarkably few injuries and I think you can complete your recovery at home.   It might speed your memory to be among familiar surroundings.   We’ll send a therapist to your house daily to do your memory exercises and you’ll have another also coming daily for awhile to help with your physical therapy.”
    “That would be great!” Nikki said, hoping that being among her own things would get her closer to remembering what her life had been like before the accident.   Just then, Jake came back in, and Dr. Carver told him the news.   Nikki saw a shadow of apprehension cross his face, and knew that the thought of taking her home wasn’t an altogether pleasant one for him.   Dr. Carver clapped Jake on the back and went off to finish his rounds.
    ***
    A cold wave of dread seeped into Jake’s bones, drowning his light mood.   The thought of being alone with Nikki, truly alone, filled him with uncertainty.   He handed Nikki her candy bar and sat down, half-listening to Darcy’s chatter.   He looked into Nikki’s pale eyes and wished that he were the only lover she’d ever known.   With a start, he realized that – for now, anyway – he was.
    Jake felt sorry for Darcy as she attempted to regain the same light mood, but now there was a strange undercurrent in the room that her banter couldn’t disguise.   Eventually, she looked at her watch and announced that she had to go.   She leaned to hug Nikki goodbye, and Nikki squeezed her hand.
    “Hey, Blue Eyes.”   She punched Jake’s arm affectionately, “Walk me to the parking garage?   It’s probably dark outside now, and there could be some creepy guy hanging around down there, just waiting to ravish a stunner like myself.”
    “Couldn’t be any