Remember Me: Oakville Series:Book Two (9 page)

Before I can get very far, a car slams into me from the side. All of a sudden, every happy feeling I’ve ever associated with this ride vanishes, replaced with a fear I’m all too familiar with. I freeze, encompassed by the sounds that haunt me in my nightmares. Tires squealing, metal crunching, glass shattering, and me crying out for Kyle to help me. I squeeze my eyes shut as tightly as possible, hoping to get the sounds out of my head. Instead, flashes of myself crashing through the windshield of Beau’s truck invade my mind. My entire body begins shaking and drops of sweat drip from my brow. As I open my eyes, the world begins to spin and I can’t seem to focus on the man in front of me. How long have I been sitting here like this?

“Amber! Sweetie, what’s wrong? What happened?” Strong hands grip my arms and gently shake me. I’m still frozen. I want to respond, but I just can’t. I feel him pick me up in his arms. My body feels limp, almost boneless. He places me on a bench and kneels down in front of me. Finally, everything stops spinning and I’m able to focus on Beasley’s face. The absolute worry and fear on his face breaks me. Ugly uncontrollable sobs rip through me. Beasley wraps me in his arms and gently rocks me. I feel so foolish for acting this way. Nothing happened that would cause this reaction. Is my brain still just fucked up? The tears are flowing so hard and I can’t seem to stop them.

After a few minutes of a full-blown snot-cry, I’m finally able to calm down some. Lifting my head, I see a make-up and tear stained mess on Beasley’s white t-shirt. What a mess. He follows my eyes down to his shoulder and sees the mess I’ve made of his shirt. A warm, sweet smile graces his handsome face. That smile alone makes me start to feel so much better. But it doesn’t last long. As if the freak out wasn’t embarrassing enough, I start to feel my nose running. Beasley notices too.
Perfect.
Before I realize it, he is using the bottom of his shirt to wipe my nose. I’m not sure whether I should be disgusted or touched. Maybe a little of both. He just shrugs his shoulders as I laugh.

“Being hit in the bumper cars brought back the accident, didn’t it?” Beasley questions cautiously.

“Ye...yes,” I stammer, unable to catch my breath.

“It’s okay. Relax. This is a perfectly normal reaction. You have been through something very traumatic. Have you been talking to someone about how you’re feeling?”

“You mean like a shrink?” Slowly, he shakes his head yes. “No. There’s no reason to, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you are...not emotionally anyway. There’s a lot of shit that’s happened to you. When it’s all over, you put on a smile and life goes back to business as usual. At some point you have to acknowledge that this affects you.”

“There is no point dwelling on something that can’t be changed. Forget and move on is the best way to be rid of it.”

“This little episode is proof that it isn’t forgotten and you haven’t moved on. You need to deal with all of the feelings you have. They won’t just go away because you want them to. They will eat you from the inside out. What about Kyle, can’t you talk to him about any of this?”

“NO! He feels guilty enough. He thinks everything bad that happens to me is his fault. I refuse to make it worse for him.”

“I’m afraid until you start talking through all of the emotions you have bottled up, things like today are going to keep happening.”

“But why something that I have always loved so much? Something I have always associated with happy memories. Why does it feel like even though he’s gone he is still hurting me? It’s not fair!” I cry as I feel Beasley’s arm wrap around me like a security blanket.

“I know. It isn’t fair at all. I wish I could take it all away for you. I would do anything to make it better for you.” I look up at him and smile through my tears.

“You are making it better for me. You’re here. Comforting me. Wiping away my tears...my snot,” I say and I can’t help the laugh that comes along with it. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. “Let’s go get some junk food. That makes anything better.” He takes my hand and helps me stand.

As we are standing in line at one of the vendors, I hear a familiar giggle. Turning, I see Jax and Leena walking in our direction. There’s something strange about their demeanor toward one another. They look more like...like they’re dating rather than cousins. The way they are walking so closely together, the way they look into each other’s eyes as they laugh. That can’t be, though. Can it? I’m the only person who hasn’t been suspicious of him. Until now. Everyone else may be on to something. I wonder why she’s even here. She’s supposed to be back in Atlanta. Neither of them see us as they pass, too caught up in each other. And for that, I’m thankful. I’m going to find out what’s going on there. Just not today. No more drama for today. I want to enjoy the rest of my day with my dad.

After we stuff ourselves with all the fried foods imaginable, we decide to check out the games. The first game we come to is one where you throw the darts and try to pop the balloons. Beasley hands the guy two bucks then gives the darts to me.

“Oh, no. I’m no good at this. I might injure someone,” I say as I try to hand the darts back. He shakes his head.

“Come on. You can do it. Just give it a try.”

“Okay, but don’t say you weren’t warned,” I tease as I line myself up to make my throws. I throw the first dart and pop a balloon. Holy shit! I’m so excited, I do a little victory dance then hug Beasley. I’m sure I look like a child, but I don’t give a damn. I throw the second one and pop another balloon. Excitedly, I turn to look at Beasley and see that he has his phone held up taking a video of me. He has the look of a proud father on his face. I quickly turn back around before I get emotional. Returning my focus, I take a deep breath and watch as the dart flies out of my hand and straight into the last balloon. I squeal and jump a little, over excited by this accomplishment. The guy running the booth hands me the cutest purple teddy bear wearing a black bowtie. I thank the man for my bear then run to show Beasley.

“See I knew you could do it,” he says proudly.

“That was so much fun. I still can’t believe I did it. I’ve never been able to win a stuffed animal by myself. Kyle and my grandfather always won them for me.”

“You did it and I have the video to prove it.”

We stop and try our luck at a few more of the game booths. By the time we are done, Beasley has also won me a teddy bear. We decide to sit and get a Caricature drawing done of the two of us. I can’t wait to show Kyle. We also take a ride on the Ferris wheel. Before leaving, I buy some cotton candy. I can’t go to the fair and not have cotton candy.

As we drive home, I can’t help but get lost in my thoughts. What he said during my meltdown has stayed with me throughout the day and talking to someone may not be a bad idea. It might just be time to start dealing with it all and stop pretending.

“Okay, you’re right. I need to start dealing with the cabin, the accident, and my memory loss.” I glance over at Beasley. He keeps both eyes on the road ahead and nods a confirmation. “I’ll ask Becky if she can recommend a good doctor. Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? I didn’t do anything.”

“Thank you for being my dad. For being a really good one when I needed it the most.”

“Thank you for letting me. You are the strongest and bravest women I know.” He quickly glances in my direction and smiles.

A
MBER AND
I are on our way to the bar for a night out. She’s having her girl’s night with Holly, Becky, and Taryn and I’m working and playing a set with the guys. It feels so good to get out again like we did before the accident. We need to get back to our normal routines and start living our lives the way we had always planned.

“What are you thinking about over there?” Amber asks as she reaches over and rubs my shoulder.

“Just about how nice it is to be going out and doing things like we used to.”

“I agree. I think it will be good for both of us. I think it’s time I go back to the center too. The sooner we can get into our normal routine, the better.” She smiles at me when I glance over at her. As nervous as I am about not being able to be with her, I know this is what’s best for both of us.

“As long as you feel ready, I’m behind you all the way.”

“I guess we will find out how ready I am on Monday.”

“I feel better knowing Jax will be there to keep an eye out for you. Wow, never thought those words would ever leave my mouth,” I mutter. Amber laughs but it sounds strained. It’s almost as if the mention of Jax makes her uneasy. This is strange. I wonder if they had an argument or if — if he made a move on her again, I will kick his ass. I park in my usual space and grab Amber’s hand before she can get out. “What’s up? Did Jax do or say something to you?” She scoots over closer to me.

“No, he hasn’t done anything that I know of. It’s just...well, I’m starting to wonder if you and Angel haven’t been right to be suspicious of him.” She looks into my eyes and the pain simmering around the edges causes a ping in my chest. She has always been a very trusting and forgiving person; I hate to see that part of her disappear. Hate that Beau took that away from her. Before Beau, she saw the world as roses and cupcakes. All her stories had happily ever after, she never would have imagined that there are monsters lurking waiting in the shadows to steal all the good away.

“What happened to change your mind?”

“I saw him at the Fair. He was with Leena.” Just the mention of that bitch’s name makes my blood boil and my skin crawl. She isn’t even supposed to be in the state, she should be back in Atlanta. “I was wondering why she’s still around too, but that’s not what is bothering me. The way the two of them were acting was odd. It was more like they were dating rather than cousins. I might just be crazy but I have a really bad feeling about all of this. There is something going on with them. I don’t know what or why, but whatever it is, I don’t think we’re going to like it.” She’s right. I don’t like it already. Why would they pretend to be related? What would they have to gain?

“We are just gonna have to find out what they are up to. I will call Beasley in the morning and he can get us in touch with his P.I. friend.” I lean down and lightly kiss her lips, slightly taken aback when she reaches up and grips the back of my head, making the kiss deeper. She moves over, straddling my hips as she slides her tongue along my lips until I open for her. I moan, feeling my cock harden instantly. She grinds herself against me and the heat emanating from her only turns me on more. As much as I want to continue, I know we need to stop. Gathering all of my willpower, I break the kiss. Breathing heavily and avoiding the almost painful need, I curse myself while doing what is right.

“Princess, this is going to have to wait until later when we get home.”

“Sorry. I got a little carried away,” she says with a giggle.

“Don’t apologize.” I push up, needing her to feel how she has affected me. “I want to fuck you. I need to feel your heat enveloping me, but this is your night. We will definitely continue this at home.”

“Promise?”

“Try and stop me.”

Hand in hand, we finally make our way into the bar. It’s pretty busy even for a Saturday night. Paul is behind the bar. I know he sees us coming in because he is starts pulling the ingredients to make an appletini. When we get up to Paul, he has the drink ready for a smiling Amber. She thanks him and lifts the glass to her lips. Her eyes close and a small moan escapes her mouth followed by a flirty smile. She can even make taking a drink look sexy as hell. It is going to be a very long night.