Faithful (27 page)

As our lips parted, I said, “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I love you, Amanda. I love you so, so much, and I’m so sorry…” He trailed off as he began crying.

I took his hand and placed it on my stomach, and the moment he touched me, the baby gave a big kick.

Brad cried harder as he fell to his knees. He put his face right up to my stomach. “I’m so sorry. Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

I ran my hands through his hair as he calmed himself down and started talking to our baby. My heart was beating so fast, and I couldn’t believe how much she was moving around. She knew it, too…

Your daddy is finally back, baby girl.

I walked into my apartment and looked around. Almost everything was packed up and ready to be moved. I glanced to the counter and saw a picture of Heather and me. I went over, picked it up, and smiled. In the photo, Heather was sitting on my lap, and we were both laughing. It looked like we were out in the country—maybe at Gunner’s or Jeff’s place.

I sucked in a deep breath, tucked the picture under my arm, and sent Heather a text message, letting her know I was at the apartment. I wanted to hurry, so I could get back to her.

When I heard a knock on the door, I let out a small laugh, thinking it was Heather.
She must be feeling the same way I am.
I hadn’t wanted to leave her this morning.

I started to open the door as I laughed. “You couldn’t stay away either, could…uh…Victoria?”

Victoria was standing in front of me. I eyed her up and down. She looked terrible.

“Is everything okay?” I noticed the black eye she had from Ari knocking the shit out of her.

She was holding a giant bottle of water.

“You thirsty?” I asked.

She glanced down at the water and smiled. “Something like that. Do you mind if I come in? I’ve been waiting for you to get here.” She pushed past me and walked into the apartment.

What the hell does she mean she’s been waiting for me?
“Um…listen, Victoria, I don’t think it’s such a great idea for you to be here. I mean, with everything that has happened, it’s probably best if you just leave.”

She spun around. “What’s wrong, Josh? Scared by a little temptation?”

I rolled my eyes as I walked by her. “No. I’m just saying…I don’t think we really have anything left to talk about, do you?”

She opened the water bottle and lifted it to take a drink. As I turned around to set the picture down on the counter, I heard Tori yell.

“Son of a bitch, look at this!”

I spun around and her light blue shirt was drenched in water. “What the fuck happened?”

“I’m such a klutz. I went to get a drink, and it all poured out on me. Shit! I have to meet my mother in thirty minutes for lunch. Can I borrow a T-shirt and put this in the dryer?”

“Yeah, sure, but I’m not really sure where all my shirts are.”

She smiled and tilted her head. “Thanks! I really appreciate it. Damn, I can’t believe that happened. Be right back.”

I started to move some of the boxes. Then, I pulled out my phone and called my dad.

“Hey, Josh! You at your place or still with Heather?”

“Nah, Heather is running some errands in Fredericksburg, and I’m at my apartment.”

“How is she running errands when her car is here?”

What?
“Oh shit! Neither of us thought about that this morning. Ah hell, let me call her real quick. I’ll call you back, Dad.”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

Son of a bitch. I left her stranded.

I was just about to call Heather when there was another knock on my door. I walked over and opened it to see Heather standing there.

“Hey!” she said with a smile.

“Hey, I was just about to call you! My dad said your car is at their house. I thought I left you hanging.”

She started to walk in, but she stopped as she looked past me. “Oh my god…no…”

I turned around to see Victoria. She was wearing nothing but my white button-down shirt with half the buttons undone.

“Oh, hey there, Heather.” Victoria was looking at Heather with an evil smile on her face.

When I looked back, Heather had tears in her eyes.

Motherfucker.
“No, wait! Heather, wait…before you go jumping to conclusions, this is not what it looks like!”

I spun back around to Victoria. “Tori, what the fuck are you doing?”

When I turned back to Heather, she was gone.
Oh Jesus. This is not happening.

I looked back at Victoria. “Put your fucking clothes back on, and get the hell out of my apartment now!”

I took off after Heather. She was just about to get into a car.

“Heather! Please wait!”
Wait…whose car is that?

She started the car and locked the doors.

“Heather, please wait! You have to let me talk to you. You have this all wrong! Heather, I was just calling you!”

I was banging on the window as she put the car in reverse and started backing up. As she began driving off, I ran after the car, yelling for her to stop. After she pulled out into traffic, I turned and ran back to my apartment.
I am going to kill Victoria.

When I walked into my apartment, Victoria was sitting on a bar stool, still dressed in only my white shirt.

“Get the fuck out! Now!”

I ran into the laundry room and took her shirt out of the dryer.
Where the hell are her pants?
I went into my bedroom, and when I saw them on the bed, it all became clear to me. She must have heard Heather at the front door.
She did this on purpose. Fucking bitch!

I came back into the living room, and she was still sitting at the bar.

I threw her clothes at her. “Leave.”

“Josh, wait! Don’t you remember what it was like? We were so good together, baby. Let me give you something to relax a bit, and then I’ll take care of you like I used to.”

I just looked at her. Just the sight of her turned my stomach. “Get the fuck out of my apartment, or I’ll call the police and have them remove you.”

“Josh, we’re meant to be together. You don’t love Heather. She’s a fucking elementary school teacher. You want someone who’s fun. You want me, Josh. You need me.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. An image of another girl standing in front of me, saying the same damn thing, popped into my head.
Fuck!

“You need me, Josh. You don’t love Heather. You need me.”

Just then, the night of the accident came back to me. Lynda had shown up at my mother’s Christmas party. She had begged me to come back to her. She’d kept repeating how I needed her and how I couldn’t possibly love Heather. I’d turned and left the party to head out to Mason to ask Heather to marry me.

Heather is the only one I need. She’s the only one I want.

Then, it all came flooding back—every memory, every tear, every laughter, every fight, and every time Heather and I had ever made love.

“I remember everything.”

Victoria stood up, looking confused. “What?”

I walked over, picked up her clothes, and grabbed her by the arm.

“Let go of me, Josh!”

“If you just caused me to lose the only girl I’ve ever loved, I’ll make sure Ari gives you a matching black eye.”

I opened the door and pushed her out before I slammed the door in her face. I locked the door and pulled my cell out of my back pocket. I called Jeff and Ari’s home number.

“Hello?”

“Ari!”

“Hey! What’s up, asswipe?”

“I need your help,” I said.

“What’s wrong? Is Heather okay?”

“I remember you saying that Heather has a special spot that was just her and her dad’s. You said she would go there whenever she was upset. I need to know where that is, Ari.”

“What did you do to her? I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt her. Wait…how do you remember me telling you that?”

I shook my head, not wanting to waste any more time. “I remember everything, Ari. Victoria said something that triggered a memory from the night of my accident, and then it all came back to me.”

“Oh my god, Josh! That’s great! But why is Heather upset? Victoria…what did the douche twat do?”

I quickly told Ari everything that had happened. “Then, Victoria started talking shit about how we belonged together and how I needed her. That sparked the memory of Lynda.”

“Oh holy hell. Have you tried calling Heather?”

“No! I called you ’cause I figured that spot might be where she’s going. She doesn’t know I remember everything, so she won’t think of me asking you. Please, Ari…please tell me where she could have gone.”

“Um…okay, you know the gazebo down at Zilker Park? The one that looks out to the river?”

“Yep, I know it.”

“That’s probably where she went.”

Yes!
“I knew I could count on you, Ari.”

“What happened with the bitch?”

I ran and grabbed my wallet and truck keys. “I threw her ass out, dressed in nothing but my white shirt.”

“Ah shit. I always did like you, Josh.”

I laughed as I ran out to my truck. “Ari, can you do me another favor?”

“Will it make my girl happy?”

“I’m praying to God it will.” I took a deep breath and told her my plan.

I pulled up and parked right in front of the gazebo. I looked around the parking lot and saw Heather’s dad’s Lexus. I rolled down all the windows in my truck, hit play on my stereo, and turned up the volume before I jumped out of the truck and made my way over to the gazebo. I saw her standing there, staring out over the water.

When Ed Sheeran’s “Kiss Me” started playing, she spun around. She just stared at me as she started to slowly shake her head.

“Nothing happened between us. I swear to God. She stopped by and spilled water on her shirt. She asked me if she could dry it ’cause she was meeting her mom. She must have heard you at the door, so she put on that shirt with nothing else. I swear, I didn’t ask her to come over. She said she’d been waiting for me all morning. I promise you, princess, I would never hurt you. I love you and only you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Heather. I need you more than the air I breathe.”

Tears were rolling down her face as she walked up to me. “Why are you playing this song?”

I smiled as I wiped away her tears. “Because it’s your favorite song, princess…and it reminds me of one of the most amazing moments of my life…making love to you in the rain.”

She began crying even harder. “Do you remember?” she asked in between sobs.

I placed my hands on the sides of her face and leaned down to kiss her tear-soaked lips. “I could never forget a love as strong as ours.”

She looked so confused. “How much do you remember?”

I kissed her again and poured every ounce of my love into the kiss. I slowly pulled away and rested my forehead on hers. “Everything.”

She reached her arms around my neck, and I lifted her up as she cried. She wrapped her legs around me and held on to me so tightly I could hardly breathe. It was as if she were afraid I would leave her again.

Never. I will never leave this girl.

“Oh my god, Josh! I’ve missed you so much. I’ve needed you so badly!”

I walked over to the bench, and she slowly started to slide her body down against mine. I sat down and pulled her onto my lap. She buried her face into my chest and cried.

“Shh, baby. I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.”

“I was so scared, Josh. You have no idea how scared I was.”

Why the hell was she scared? Scared I would never remember her? Scared I wouldn’t want to be with her?

“Shh…breathe, princess…just breathe.”

She pulled away and looked at me. I wiped away her tears and pushed her blonde hair behind her ears.

“I was coming to your apartment to tell you something. I, um…I was so afraid to tell you. I wanted to wait until you got your memory back, but no one was sure when that would happen. I was going to tell you this morning, but then Amanda called. So, I rushed after you—”

“Heather, baby, slow down. You’re talking too fast. You can tell me anything.” My heart was pounding.
Now, I’m scared. Is something wrong with her? Is she sick?

“Well…um…”

She gave me the most beautiful smile. I smiled back just because she looked so damn happy.