They both nod.
“As I was trying to say, I cannot help you because I don’t remember anything from the last five goddamn years of my life so yes, maybe I saw something but I can’t remember what it is.”
“You have amnesia? Seriously?”
“Yes, she has amnesia,” Nico snaps, standing up from her chair. “She woke up three days ago and didn’t recognize me or her fiancé but hey, here’s an idea, why don’t you two do your damn jobs and tell us what you know about the accident?”
They share a look before Detective Mason steps forward. “Please forgive us, Ma’am. We didn’t get a chance to speak to the doctor before we came in here and we didn’t realize that your memory is gone.”
“It’s fine,” I answer with a nod as Nico flashes me a look that I ignore. “Can you tell me what you know?”
“Honestly, Ma’am… not much. We were really counting on your account of what happened. We did find white paint on the driver’s side door but there were no witnesses and no surveillance cameras caught the accident.”
I nod, my mind racing with new information. “Where did it happen?”
“About a mile and a half from your father’s estate. The other driver ran a stop sign and t-boned your father’s car. He was behind the wheel and took the brunt of the impact.”
“Are you thinking it was a drunk driver?” I ask and Detective Bennett shakes his head.
“It’s possible but there is just no way to be sure at the moment.”
“This is my card,” Detective Mason says, stepping forward and handing me a business card. “We’ll leave you be but if you think of anything or your memory returns, please give me a call.”
I nod. “I will. Thank you.”
We watch them leave before Nico turns back to me and plucks the card from my hand before setting it on the table.
“Don’t worry, Jules. I’m sure they’ll find him.”
Not feeling as confident as her, I give her a half-hearted nod and lie back into the pillows with a sigh. Someone knocks on the door and I turn as Dr. Wilson walks into the room. He flashes me a kind smile and I force myself to return it.
“Good news, Miss Shaw. You just might get to go home tomorrow.”
My cheeks ache as I force an even bigger smile to my face and my heart thunders in my chest, fear creeping up my spine. Here in the hospital, it’s so easy to pretend like everything is okay, like my life isn’t completely falling apart but what happens when I leave here? What happens when I have to go back to being a Juliette that I’m not sure exists anymore?
Chapter Four
Juliette
Sunlight beams down on me through the car window as we race down the interstate toward an apartment that everyone keeps telling me will help me get pieces of my life back but my stomach is in knots. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and feel the heat seeping into my skin. There was a park in Baton Rouge that was about a block from the apartment I shared with Mercedes all through college. I loved to go there and just sit by the river while I soaked up some sun. It always made me feel so peaceful and grounded, something I’m desperate for right now. When Dr. Wilson walked into my room right after breakfast this morning and told me that I was going home today like it was the greatest news I’d hear all week, I had to force a smile to my face and pretend like the thought of going home excited me but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I wish I was truly going home right now but the more I think about it, the more home feels like that amazing apartment in the heart of downtown Baton Rouge.
Mercedes and I first met when we were paired up as roommates freshman year and with our similar backgrounds, we hit it off right away. She quickly became the sister I’d never had and I was the same for her so when she went through a really bad breakup right before our sophomore year, we made the decision to live together again. I guess it’s no surprise that I can still see our place so clearly in my mind. For me, it was just the other day that I was living there and I miss its exposed brick walls, dark wood floors, and high ceilings. Living with Mercedes was the very best years of my life and I’m almost certain that I’m not just saying that because I can’t remember anything else.
“Here we are,” Gavin says, pulling me out of my thoughts and I open my eyes as he slows down and pulls into an underground parking garage.
Oh, fuck.
My belly does a little flip as my heart thunders so loudly in my chest that I’m surprised Gavin can’t hear it in the confined space of the car. We drive past a line of very nice cars, each one with a number painted on the concrete wall in front of it, before he slows again and pulls the car into a spot marked “penthouse”.
“Wait for me to come help you out,” he instructs as he turns off the car and I nod, remembering how wobbly I felt just from the walk between the wheelchair and the car when they released me from the hospital. The accident and lying in a bed for the last week and a half have really taken it out of me.
I watch him as he climbs out of the car and rounds the back before opening my door and holding his hand out to me. Sucking in a breath, I take it and swing my legs around before letting him gently pull me up out of the car. My body aches with each little movement but I push through it as I suck in a breath through clenched teeth. A bout of dizziness sets in and I wobble for a second before righting myself and forcing a smile to my face. Gavin beams at me and as he wraps a firm arm around my waist and pulls me into his side, I can feel his body vibrating with his excitement.
“I’ll come back down after I get you settled upstairs and get your things.”
I nod. “Okay.”
He closes the door with his free hand and we begin our trek from the car to what I assume is our private elevator twenty feet away. It’s slow going but Gavin is patient as he holds me up safely in his arms and guides me to the elevator. It opens right away when he pushes the button and he ushers me inside before hitting the only button on the panel. It prompts him for a code and I watch him as he punches it in.
0503 - my birthday.
I commit the code to memory as the door closes and the elevator starts going up. The closer we get to the penthouse, the faster my heart races and the more my belly flips. As I suck in a quiet breath, I squeeze my eyes shut and count to ten in an effort to calm my erratic nerves.
It’s going to be okay.
No matter how many times I silently repeat the mantra to myself, it doesn’t seem to do any good. I have no idea what is waiting for me once those elevator doors open and I barely know the man at my side but what other option did I have? I could have gone to my father’s house but just the thought of walking in there and knowing that I’d never hear his voice again or see his smile was too much to bear. So that left me with only one option since the place I truly want to be is damn near one thousand miles away.
“Welcome home, baby,” Gavin says with a smile as the elevator glides to a stop and I suck in a breath as I open my eyes. The elevator doors open to a wide, round foyer with white marble floors and a large wooden table in the center. A vase of roses sits in the middle and I resist the urge to wrinkle my nose. I’ve never really been a fan of roses and I can’t imagine why I would have them in my house. Gavin leads me through the foyer as it opens up to a large open floor plan. To my left is the kitchen which is also all decked out in white marble and to my right is the living room. There’s a cream colored sectional positioned in front of a gas fireplace and large windows along the back wall allow the entire space to be flooded with light. It’s gorgeous but a little sterile and not my taste at all.