Free Don’t Forget to Remember Me by Kahlen Aymes

hasn’t changed, okay?”
    My heart clenched inside my chest. I knew he
was important. I’d felt it since I first laid eyes on him. I nodded
but still wouldn’t meet his eyes. He bent and brushed his mouth on
my temple. “We take care of each other and I will always be here
for you, Julia.”
    I turned my head slightly so my nose rested
against his cheek. He smelled of soap and cologne. Absolutely
delicious and strangely familiar. His hand came up to the side of
my neck and cupped the back of my head. “Okay,” I answered
softly.
    “Now…how about that walk?”

 
     
     
~3~
     

    The last few days had been joyous, painful,
amazing and freaking long . Julia was progressively improving
and I was spending as much time with her as I could. They’d taken
out the IV’s and the catheter and she was eating pretty well
considering her aversion to hospital food. She still stumbled at
times when she did her walking, but they’d moved her out of ICU the
morning after she woke up.
    Her memory hadn’t improved, but I kept
telling myself it would over time. We’d talked and joked around and
it was bittersweet when she asked questions that she already knew
the answers to. It felt like it had when we first met, instantly
connected but not voicing or showing the real feelings.
    I took a deep breath and tried to convince
myself; she will remember. When she did, would she remember
losing the baby, too? It scared the shit out of me. Julia was so
strong, but this was more than she’d ever dealt with. Dr. Moore,
Dr. Brighton and my father all agreed that the loss of the
pregnancy was most likely the thing triggering the memory loss. The
consensus was still not to push her memories. There was no physical
reason. Her brain tissue looked completely normal and all of her
other cognitive skills were perfectly intact. I was thankful for
that, at least. It could have been so much worse.
    The past week felt like a year and I was
literally exhausted. I hardly went home and my bed had become a
stranger because I spent every night at the hospital with Julia.
While it was awkward at first, she soon came to accept it. When
Marin or Ellie offered to stay, I only left to shower, get food or
work.
    In the evenings, when everyone else had
left, I brought my laptop and studied from the chair in her room.
Julia would spend the time reading or drawing, and once in awhile,
ask me questions about what I was doing. Sometimes, we’d talk; play
cards or a reverse type of twenty questions. She asked me things
about my past and hers. It was fun and we laughed a lot, but
I struggled not to tell her more than I should. Just as always, she
was genuinely interested in everything I had to say. The bright
side of the situation became spending lots of time with Julia and
that Liza wasn’t stalking me when I was in Julia’s room.
    I rushed around to pick up the apartment
before bringing Julia back later that afternoon. Jen wasn’t much of
a housekeeper and Aaron was a complete slob. The sink was filled
with dirty dishes and the bathrooms were gross. I cringed. My
mother was here working to help get the place in order, and she
would not be happy with the state of things. She went into my room
to get my laundry, leaving me to wish I’d beaten her to it.
    “My God, Ryan! You boys live like pigs! Is
this how it always was when Julia came to visit?” she asked in
disgust.
    “It’s worse now because I haven’t been
around. Jen cleans up some, but mostly I do it and I’ve been with
Julia every minute, Mom! Can you cut me some slack?”
    “Considering you’re graduating with honors
and you’ve been so good to Julia, I’ll let you off with a warning,”
she smiled as she came out with her arms laden with clothes. “Aaron
and Jenna’s room is worse than yours.”
    Ellie called awhile earlier and she and
Harris were on their way over to help clean. The apartments she’d
shared with Julia were always spotless. Aaron and I still lived
like we did back at