Learning to Remember

12. Shock

He let out a long breath as he unlocked his door and let himself inside, tossing his keys and wallet into a tray on the entry table. He unconsciously led himself to his bedroom as his thoughts were consumed with the woman next door. He suddenly felt exhausted, yet he knew his mind wouldn't let him sleep soon. So he went into his bathroom and decided to take a shower instead, hoping to wash away the sweat and grime from the day but also his thoughts.

He stepped into the water and leaned forward, bracing his hands on the cold tiles as he let the warm water run down his back. Why is it he seemed to find someone he clicked with yet there were obstacles in their way? The most frustrating thing was he didn't even know what all the obstacles were. Once her memories returned, would they be able to move forward and have the relationship he had begun to so desperately want? Did she even want a relationship like that with him? The way she looked at him and leaned into him tonight on the train, he had thought so. But once her memories returned...

He drew in a deep breath as he stood up and brushed his hair back and let the water run over his face. Once her memories returned, she would remember her past with whoever that man was, and she would remember why she had turned down his offer of a date when they'd first met.  Was there a chance they were still together somehow? Was he gone on deployment and would be joining her in their new home when he returned? Maybe she was simply to make the house a home until he was there for them to do it together.

Why had he asked her out in the first place? It wasn't like him to so quickly try a personal relationship with a coworker. He had seen how messy things could get when those relationships ended badly. When he'd asked her out it was because he was physically attracted to her, and they seemed to get along well while they talked. He didn't actually know if they'd be a good match and make any kind of real connection.

But now... now he had spent actual quality time with her, and he was hooked. Yeah, she didn't know her past or details of her life, but she was still her. She was fun and spontaneous yet also vulnerable. Her personality and her quirks seemed to draw him in at every turn.

He turned and lathered his head with shampoo and let the water wash it down his back as his mind continued running through everything. He had to admit to himself, he liked helping her, he liked feeling like she needed him.

He cursed under his breath as he finished washing and rinsing and turned off the water. He stepped out and looked at his blurry reflection in the steamed-up mirror, gripping the counter with both hands. "You're just setting yourself up for heartache, you idiot." But as he released a breath and brushed his teeth, he knew it was no use to argue with himself. For right now, she didn't have anyone else, and he wasn't going to just leave her when she needed help.

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Late the next morning, Archie plopped onto his bed in the corner of the living room with a big humph. He would take a nice, happy nap after the long walk she had just taken him on. She had barely slept last night and when daylight had finally arrived, she decided she couldn't lay there staring at her blank room anymore. Without even realizing it, she had walked aimlessly throughout the town for over two hours before they began their journey home.

She sipped on a glass of water as she spent the next hour going down the rabbit hole of trying to find any information on Evan Edwards online. Since searching for her own name hadn't resulted in anything, she hoped she could get a glimpse of something through him. Apparently, she shared her name with a famous 19th century author so that was all she had found when searching herself days ago. And there were a lot of Amelia Edwards on social media, many of which had very strong privacy settings that she couldn't get by without signing into her account.