Forgotten Memories (I can't remember anything...)

Forgotten Memories. . . Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ebony's POV

I was making a sandwich for Andre when strong arms wrapped themselves around me from behind. I laughed, "Baby, you said you were hungry."

"Yeah, but I didn't say for what," Andre whispered in my ear with his sexy Spanish accent.

"Yes you did. You said you were in the mood for roast beef."

"Well, my taste buds changed their minds." He grazed my ear lobe with his teeth.

I fought a shiver, "Let me finish." He groaned in frustration and pressed his lips to my neck. "Andre," I said, exasperated. He just smiled against my neck and kissed down to my collarbone. While he was doing this, I was making his sandwich. As soon as it was finished, he'd be hungry for something besides me.

Just as he was getting to the edge of my oversized t-shirt, I put the piece of bread on top. I picked the plate up, and he grabbed it and brought it to the table. He took a bite and moaned. "You're the best, babe."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. My phone rang and it was an unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

"Hey Ebb, it's me, Scott." Wow, I haven't talked to him in years. We were never very close, he hung out with Adrian and I hung out with... Angel. It still almost brought me to tears to think about her.

"Oh! Hi, what have you been up to?" Andre gave me an inquiring look. He wasn't abusive, but he was very possessive. When he got mad, he got really mad. He's never hit me, but it was scary to see him lose his temper. I gave him a reassuring smile and he was satisfied.

"This and that. I have to tell you something. I'm not sure how you're going to take it, though, so brace yourself."

I knew something was up. He always just did things without thinking, so this must be serious. I walked to the living room and sat on the couch. "What's this about Scott?"

"It's about Angela."

I gasped. This could either be really good, or really bad. Of course, I feared the worst. "Please, please tell me she's not dead!"

"No!" Oh, thank God. "No, no, no. It's good news. Sort of..."

What the hell? It's either good news or bad news. "She's not dead?"

"No. She's fine. I found her."

I let myself absorb it, then burst into tears. I was so relieved. Not knowing whether she was alive or dead all of these years was worse than if she was dead. Honestly, I thought she was dead. Thank God I was wrong. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

Then I remembered what a prankster he was back in high school. "Please say - you're - not joking." I tried to talk evenly, but it just wasn't possible.

"I'm not joking, I swear." He sounded so serious, I cried harder. I'd missed her so much.

Andre walked in and saw me crying, "Baby? Ebony! What's wrong?!" he said, panicky. I tried to tell him I was happy, but the words were too distorted. He sat down and brought me in his lap sideways, hugged me tightly, and grabbed the phone out of my hand. "Who the fuck is this?!?!" he yelled at Scott.

I tried to calm down and get my breathing even. "What the hell did you just tell her to make her cry you stupid piece of shit?!?!"

"Andre, he didn't say anything bad," I told him as calmly as possible.

He put his hand over the phone and asked me, "Then why are you crying?"

"I just found out my best friend is alive after 5 years of thinking she was dead," I said quietly. He kissed me softly and gave me the phone back, but didn't let go of me. "You'd better not be playing some kind of joke," I said. I wanted to believe it so badly, but it would crush me if he was lying.

"I wouldn't joke about this."

"Where is she?" My voice was shaky. Where had she been the whole time? Why hadn't she called?

"In Baltimore."

"What is she doing there?" We had lived in the Upper East Side in New York, how did she get to Maryland?

"I don't know. She doesn't remember anything about her life before she disappeared." I started crying again. She didn't remember me or our other friends or her brother. What had happened to my best friend? "Do you want me to call you back?" he asked gently.

"Y-yeah. Thanks."

"No problem." He hung up.

Andre's POV

She started crying harder. I put my arms around her tighter and put her head to my chest. Once she finally calmed down I asked her, "Who was that guy?"

"He's a... friend from high school." I didn't like the way she hesitated.

"Just a friend?" Obviously, such a beautiful girl would have ex-boyfriends, but why did this one have her cell number?

"He wasn't my boyfriend if that's what you think."

She wouldn't lie to me about that, I knew, but I wanted to be sure, "So you were just friends then?"

"Not even. I was best friends with Angela," her voice cracked on the name, "and he was friends with her brother Adrian."

"That's the friend you were talking about?" She nodded. "What happened?" What kind of shitty best friend would go 5 years without calling, letting her think she was dead?

"She's apparently in Baltimore with no memory of anything that happened before she disappeared. She doesn't remember me or her family or childhood."

Ebony started crying again. I picked her up and brought her to the bed so she'd be more comfortable. I lay down next to her, turned her so she was facing me, and rubbed her back. "Do you want to go to Maryland?" I asked her.

She nodded her head a bit timidly. I hated that she was afraid of my reactions. I loved her, I'd never hurt her, but my temper was definitely a problem. It hasn't been as bad since I'd met her, though. Something about her voice kept me calm. But if anything threatened to come between us, the outbursts were even worse.

I tilted her chin up so she looked me in the eye. "You know I want to make you happy, right?" She smiled and nodded, and I kissed her. "Since I love you so much, if you want, I offer my mad detective skills to try and find out what happened to her."

She laughed, and I loved that sound so much. "Mad detective skills, huh? Gee, don't doubt yourself or anything."

"Not for a minute."