Tony looked at me, shocked. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” he questioned softly.

I was a bit taken aback at first, I thought he would have been happy that I wanted to go home with him but then I saw it, in his face. He was happy but he was also scared. I suddenly understood his uncertainty. This would be a huge step, going back to our place and I almost shuddered at the thought of how many memories could hit me. As much as I wanted to remember everything, I didn’t want to remember it all at once and have it all come crashing down on me.

“I guess, I mean, I thought,” I stammered. “I don’t know,” I finally sighed.

He gave me sad smile. “Look Rori, I know this is hard on you, I mean it’s hard on me and I remember everything, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. But maybe your mom had a point; you should take it slow and try not to take on too much. As much as I want you to come home with me, I don’t want you to freak out and then push me away again, I,” I frowned as a pained look came across his face again. “I don’t want to lose you again Rori.” he said quietly, glancing down at his feet.

“I just want to remember.” I admitted softly, my voice giving away the fact that I was trying to hold back tears.

“You will Rori,” he said and I don’t know how but he sounded certain in his assumption.

“What if I don’t? You don’t get it Tony, when I get these flashbacks, I can feel everything, when I remember you in them, I can feel the love that I felt for you, I can feel everything, I can remember how you smelled, how your hand felt in mine, how your lips tasted, and then, I come back, and I feel nothing. Nothing and I hate it, I hate feeling like I am two different people. It’s as if I’m watching someone else’s life!” I cried, the tears flowing down my cheeks.

“Rori,” Tony said softly, coming closer to me.

“I just want to remember you,” I sobbed, staring into his eyes.

I saw the tears forming in his eyes. “You will baby, you will, you just have to give it time.”

I closed my eyes as he placed his hands on either side of my face, his thumbs caressing my cheeks and wiping away my tears. I took a step toward him and practically fell into his arms as I continued to cry into his chest. His hands went up and down my back as he held me and I was almost positive I felt his own tears hitting my shoulder. We stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms as I tried to calm myself for what seemed like hours.

I finally pulled away from him, wiping my arm across my face as I sniffled and I gave him a pained smile as I watched him wipe his own eyes.

“I um, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, can you, I mean, will you come?” I asked quietly.

He managed to smile. “If you want me to, I’ll be there.”

I nodded my head. “My mom will be there.”

He sighed and nodded. “I figured, well, she’ll just have to deal with it I guess.”

I let out a strangled laugh. “From the sound of things, it will definitely be interesting.”

He grinned and then shook his head as he sighed. “Definitely, I mean, probably not as interesting as it will be when I drop you off right now. Speaking of, are you ready to go?”

“No, not really,” I admitted but I turned around and started to walk toward his car parked along the curb.

He chuckled behind me and I heard him start to follow me. The car ride back to my mother’s house was silent, but not awkward. I watched Tony as he drove and I noticed that way his right hand was rested on the clutch and every now and then I would see him start to move it toward me before he would catch himself and then he would bring it back to the clutch where he would fiddle his fingers, almost in a nervous way. I got the feeling that he used to drive with his hand on my knee and the more I thought about it, the more I swear I could actually remember what it would feel like if his hand had been resting on my leg, touching me.

I bit my lip and turned to look out the window. It was a strange feeling, having memories and knowing that you had shared thousands of touches, of kisses, of intimate moments with someone who was now a stranger. I couldn’t help but blush as I felt my body heat begin to rise as I thought back to the memory I had before the fight with my mother and I rolled down the window slightly and then cleared my throat.

“You okay?” Tony asked, noticing the way I was sitting rather stiffly, trying to focus on the breeze coming in through the cracked window.

“I’m fine,” I muttered and I cringed when I noticed the way my voice sounded strained.

“You sure?” he asked, confused by my tone.

“Yup,” I answered, popping the “p”.

He chuckled, shaking his head back and forth and I was thankful when he still seemed confused because I was already embarrassed enough with the thoughts floating around in my head and if he knew, well, I would probably just open this door right now and roll out to be honest. I continued to blush as I tried to remember something that didn’t involve me being naked with the man sitting next to me.

“Can I ask you something?” Tony suddenly said and I started to panic.

“Sure,” I said, relieved when my voice sounded normal.

“You said that I’m really the only one you’ve been having flashbacks about, can I ask you what they were?”

I sighed and my eyes widened slightly. “Well, um, I remember the first day we met, obviously, um, we jumped a fence one time and went swimming in your neighbors pool, we watched a movie with my mom before, and I uh,” I blushed deeper as I thought about the other memories and I was more than thankful that it was too dark in the car for him to notice. “I remember talking about the wedding.” I said quietly, deciding not to go into too much detail.

“Oh, wow, that’s actually a lot more than I thought,” he mused quietly and then something clicked. “Wait, you said wedding, you remember that?”

“I mean, kind of, I noticed I was wearing an engagement ring and considering some of the other memories, I kind of just assumed that we were getting married.” I said with a small shrug.

“Other memories?” he asked confused.

“Well yeah, I mean, you know, what we were doing in the memories, like taking a shower together and stuff,” I muttered quietly, my face once again flaming hot.

“Oh.” Tony said, finally understanding what I meant and I noticed the way he smiled – even though he tried to hide it.

I fiddled with my hands in my lap nervously and I had to work hard to hold back the sigh of relief I wanted to huff out as my mother’s house came into view. Even though I was happy to be able to get out of the car that was quickly starting to become uncomfortably hot – or maybe that was just me – I still sighed as Tony pulled into the driveway because I didn’t want to face my mother again.

“Hey,” Tony said from beside and he finally placed his hand on my knee and I was surprised at how I immediately felt calmer with his touch. “Do you want me to come inside?”

I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think my mom has noticed you yet, you should probably escape while you have a chance.”

“Rori, your mom doesn’t scare me,” he said with a small chuckle.

I laughed quietly. “I know, I just, I’d rather not have another breakdown right now and I know you two probably wouldn’t be too civil if you saw each other at the moment so maybe it will be best to wait until tomorrow, where we’ll be out in public.” I said and bit my lip.

He laughed again before he nodded. “You’re probably right.”

I laughed quietly before I sighed again and turned to look at him. “Tony, thank you, really. I know you said you can’t imagine what it’s like for me but I can’t even fathom how it must be for you, I mean, I really am sorry that I don’t remember you. I’m trying.”

“Rori, I’ll be fine, I just care about you and want you to be okay. Even if you don’t remember me, I’m still getting to spend time with you which is more important to me than you realize.” He assured me but I could still see the sadness in his eyes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked hopefully as I popped the door open.

He smiled at me. “I’ll be there; it’s at nine, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I answered, surprised. “How did you know that?” I questioned, knowing that I hadn’t said the time.

“Oh, right, sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I forgot, I’m still listed as your emergency contact for the hospital and I got a reminder call this afternoon.”

“Oh, okay,” I said and then gave him another smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Rori,” he promised as I got out of the car.

“See you later Tony,” I answered as I closed the door and I waved to him as he started to back up before I made my way towards the front door.

---

“Mom! Do we have any milk?” I called out as I rummaged around in the fridge even though I was positive there wasn’t a gallon of milk hiding behind the ketchup bottle.

“No, I made breakfast this morning and used the last of it, sorry hunny.” She shouted from her study.

I sighed and shut the refrigerator door, looking back at the bowl of dry cereal I had already poured on the counter.

“Mom, I’m going to make a quick run to the store!” I yelled and quickly grabbed my keys and shoes before she could protest.

I slammed the door as I left – making sure she would be able to hear it – before I made my way to my car, patting my back pocket to make sure I had my license and some money. I quickly got in and started it, just in case my mother decided to run out of the house and try and stop me. Tony had dropped me off only about an hour ago and it was almost nine at night but I was hungry and had a huge craving for cocoa puffs and I needed milk.

My mother had thankfully seemed to let the fight we had earlier go and I wasn’t sure if it was because she knew that I had been right or if it was because she had nearly a hundred papers to go through and grade. Either way I was thankful because I wasn’t prepared for another shouting match, especially when I knew that there would definitely be one tomorrow when I told her Tony would be at the hospital.

I saw the small convenience store and pulled into the lot. It was still surprisingly busy for being so late at night and I got out of my car, locking it behind me before I made my way inside. This was actually one of the few places I remember – though some parts were still blurry and I realized it must have been because I didn’t remember the people I had been with – so I still knew where the dairy section was. I quickly made my way toward the back of the store, wanting to get home and eat my cereal as quickly as possible.

I was just turning a corner when I ran into someone, causing them to stumble back and nearly drop their case of Corona.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” I blurted out, reaching my hand out to try and steady them, even though the guy was really tall and lanky and I wouldn’t have had a hope to catch him even if he hadn’t steadied himself.

“It’s alright, I’m –“ he started to say and then he paused, his eyes widening when he saw me.

“Are you okay?” I asked, confused by his behavior.

“I, uh, yeah, no, I’m fine, thanks.” He said, furrowing his eyebrows and frowning.

“Okay, sorry again,” I muttered, and then scurried away from him and I tried to shake the uneasy feeling that had started to form.

I let out a sigh as I came to the dairy section and I smiled before grabbing a gallon of milk and making my way back up to the front. I paused just before the checkout lanes as I stopped at the candy section and I wasn’t sure why but I had an overwhelming urge to grab the small bag of gummy bears I saw on the shelf. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at myself as I started walking again, and took my place in a line. I set the milk down on the belt and then I yawned and bounced my leg impatiently as I tried to ignore the woman who was arguing with the cashier and holding up the entire line.

I heard a slap beside me and looked over at the belt to see that the guy behind me had placed his case of Corona on the belt, right behind my milk and I turned around slightly to see that it was the same guy I had bumped into earlier. I gave him a small head nod when I saw him looking at me before I turned back around. I suddenly started to feel uncomfortable as the guy started moving closer to me until he was literally only inches behind me, I could practically feel his breath on my neck. Then, just as I was about to take a step forward, to try and put some distance between me and this very friendly stranger, I heard another slap and looked over to see that he had put a bag of gummy bears right next to my milk.

“Do you mind?” I hissed angrily as I stepped away from him and turned to face him.

He smirked, causing his medusa piercing to glint in the light. “Not really, but trust me, you want those.” He said, and nodded at the gummy bears.

“Excuse me? What makes you think that?” I countered, my voice slightly raised; I couldn’t believe the audacity of this man.

He smirked again. “Because I know. You and I used to fight over them all the time; you even gave me a black eye once when there was only one red one left.” He said and then raised his eyebrow.

“What?” I asked with a surprised laugh. “I don’t even know you.”

“You sure about that?” he challenged, cocking his head to the side. “Maybe you should think real hard.” He muttered cockily.

I scoffed at him, still not believing how he could be so blunt and inconsiderate. Just before I told him off, already knowing a few harsh words I was going to say to him I finally caught sight of his neck and I saw that it was covered in a very familiar looking tattoo. I just stared at it for a second before something finally clicked and I remembered. I fucking remembered.

“Mike?” I gasped out and I wasn’t sure who was more surprised, me or him.

Notes

Another chapter up and sorry for the huge cliffy but I have to go to bed because I have work in the morning :( I'll try and update again tomorrow but I can't make any promises but please let me know what you guys think of this story so far :)