“Just that you needed a ride. Why?”
I pinch my forehead and blow out a breath. “I don’t know… it’s just… I don’t know anything and he’s asking me if I’m in trouble and I don’t think I am but obviously I don’t know that since I can’t remember anything for five goddamn years and somebody did just run me and my dad off the road and I don’t know how to act or who I am anymore.”
“Whoa, slow your roll, girl. You’re spinning out of control.”
“Yeah, you’re tellin’ me,” I whisper as I try to focus on calming myself down.
“I think the important question is how much do you want to tell him?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to tell him anything. It’s nice that I can just be around him without worrying about who I’m supposed to be now.”
“Juliette… you don’t need to be anything other than who you are. You’ve always had good instincts so follow them and just do what feels right… hold on, I’ve got another call coming in.”
I nod as I wait for her to check her caller ID, her words churning around in my head. It’s not like I didn’t already know that was the answer but it helped to hear her say it.
“Uh… Jett? Why is Gavin calling me this early in the morning?”
I wince. “Um… probably because I snuck out in the middle of the night.”
“And you didn’t tell him you were leaving?!”
“No, I did… just not in person.”
She sighs. “Explain.”
“I kind of broke up with him in a note I left on the kitchen counter.”
“Jesus Christ!” she exclaims and I let out a huff.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do, Mer?” I ask, shaking my head. “Do you really think he would have just let me leave?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
Sinking back into the couch, I wrap my arm around my belly. “What would you do if someone you loved, who lost all of their recent memories told you they wanted to leave?”
“All right. Fair point.”
“Just don’t tell him anything, okay? I know he’s probably going to find me eventually but I’m serious about figuring out who I am and getting my memory back and I can’t do that in Miami.”
She’s quiet for a moment before sighing. “Okay. I won’t say anything but you have to keep me updated. Are y’all leaving now?”
“As soon as we’re done with breakfast. Sawyer just had to try this diner that proclaims to have the best pancakes in the county.”
“Oh, I love that place. We always hit it up at least once whenever I come to visit and get the banana pancakes.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Really? That’s exactly what I ordered.”
“See, Jett? The memories are there and you’ll get them back.”
“You have no idea how much I needed to hear that,” I tell her, tears stinging my eyes but for the first time since I woke up in the hospital, I feel a spark of hope that maybe my memories aren’t completely lost.
“I’m glad to help but right now, I want to go back to bed.”
I nod. “Right. Sorry. I’ll let you sleep.”
“No worries, babe. Call me from the road, okay? I’ve got meetings until late tonight but we can grab lunch tomorrow. What hotel are you staying at?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know.”
She makes me promise to keep her updated about our trip again before we say good-bye and I sigh as I tuck my phone back into my pocket and look up at my reflection in the full length mirror attached to the wall. My renewed hope is written all over my face and I flash myself a smile before standing up and marching out of the bathroom.
Sawyer looks up from his phone as I approach our table, his brows knitted in concern. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry,” I answer with a nod as I sink into my seat. “I just had to call Mercedes and let her know we’re leaving as soon as we finish eating.”
He nods. “I ordered for you and she said it should be up soon.”
Before I can answer him, our waitress walks up with two steaming plates of pancakes. She sets mine down on the table in front of me and the aroma hits my nose, stirring up something in my mind. It nags at me, begging me to remember but it’s like there is a film over the memory and no matter how hard I squint, I can’t see through it.
“Here you go. Can I get you two anything else?” she asks as she sets Sawyer’s food down in front of him. We lock eyes across the table before he glances up at her and shakes his head.
“No, I think we’re good for now. Thank you.”
Nodding, she turns and leaves us to our food. I grab the syrup from the middle of the table and pour some over my pancakes before glancing up to offer it to Sawyer. He’s staring at me, his brows drawn together and his gaze intense in a way that makes me feel like he knows all my secrets and like he wants to eat me alive at the same time.
“Syrup?” I whisper, my heart thundering in my chest as my skin prickles with awareness. He nods, not taking his eyes from mine as he takes the dispenser from my hand. When he looks away to coat his pancakes, I breathe a sigh of relief but as soon as he’s finished, he’s looking at me again.
“What?”
He shakes his head. “I’m still waiting for an answer to my question.”
“Which question is that?” I ask, dropping my gaze to the table as I buy myself a few more seconds. He sighs.
“Are you running from something… or someone?”
I scowl. “No. Why would you think that?”
“It’s kind of my job to think that. The Devils - we do a lot of work with battered women and children, domestic violence situations and things like that so I have to ask.”
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s nothing like that. I just wanted to go home to Baton Rouge and Mercedes didn’t want me traveling alone.”
“Smart,” he replies as he grabs his fork and cuts into his pancakes. “What brought you down to Miami?”
I shrug as I grab my cup of coffee and take a sip. “It’s complicated.”
“Well, lucky for you that you’ve got my undivided attention for the next thirteen hours then, huh?”
“Okay,” I breathe, seeing no way to get out of giving him at least some kind of explanation. “So, I was born in Baton Rouge and we lived there until I was nine before we moved to Miami. I ended up going to school back in Louisiana but wanted to be closer to my dad so I moved back here about five years ago.”
“So why are you leaving now?”
I suck in a breath as tears sting my eyes. “My dad passed away a little over two weeks ago.”
“Oh, Juliette,” he breathes, my pain mirrored in his eyes and I can’t look away. “I’m so sorry.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“What about your mom? Is she back in Baton Rouge?”
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head and dropping my gaze to the table. “She died when I was nine which is what prompted the first move to Florida. Mercedes is pretty much the only person I have left and this place…” I look out of the window and sigh. “It just doesn’t feel like home anymore.”