Reminiscence

Chapter .17.

"Okay. My main concern right now is finding out who texted me. Texted me saying it was you." I say taking a step back from him.

"Yeah. You still have the number right?" He says, awkwardly shifting his weight around.

I nod and take out my phone. It was an old beat up thing with a few cracks on the screen. I'd never get rid of it though.

I scroll through my contacts and find the number that I labeled 'Aiden?'. I show it to him.

He squints at the number. "Definitely not mine, not like I would know though, since I'm blank."

I groan. "Great. This means I've got a stalker. But the number knew what you used to call me, and that was really private. This is seeming a little dangerous, don't you think?"

He frowns. "What did I use to call you?"

I roll my eyes. "Polaroid. I think it was mainly because my last name is Roid and also because you have horrible creativity."

I could see him try not to laugh. If he did he'd be laughing at himself.

Well, what used to be him.

"Okay I'm not going to comment on the nickname but I'll need to find a better one because there is no way I'm calling you that." He says, holding back a chuckle.

He leans over me to grab something from the shelf behind me and we're awfully close.

He smells nice but unusual. Like...blueberry cheesecake?
What the hell?

He leans back again to reveal him holding a teeny old-as-hell model of a phone. You know, those kind with barely an inch of a screen?

That's when he notices our close proximity. His lips are nearly brushing against my nose bridge. He doesn't move for some reason and I feel my heartbeat speed up. His warm breath blows over my face and soothes the stinging cold skin. It must almost be evening now.

Then he winces in pain and moves back, clutching his head. It must be another wave of pain from his injury.

I reach up and place my cold fingers over his burning forehead. His eyes flash open in surprise.
Fuck. I don't know why I did that. I keep forgetting that he doesn't know me but I can't help it.

I press down gently and move my fingers across his forehead and temples, massaging him to soothe away the pain. His eyes soften and look relaxed, no longer pained. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply.

I can't take it anymore. I've been holding it in. He doesn't remember me. I'm a stranger to him now.

I remove my hands from his forehead and wrap them around his waist. I don't care what he might be thinking of me right now, I just need to let it go. He flinches and his body stiffens. I think he'd push me away but he just puts his warm arms around my body and holds me.

He understands. This hug isn't just for me, it's for us. Maybe like a fresh start.

I move my face and rest it in the crook of his neck. I let out a sigh and his body shivers from the warm air blowing across his freezing skin. He gently strokes my hair as he holds me.

Don't cry don't cry don't cry.

I let go of him and he pulls back. He smiles wryly and brings his hands up and shows me the hunk of metal that supposedly was a phone but hey, I'm not judging.

"This is an old piece of trash I found while digging around this place to get my memory back," he says wiggling it in front of my face. "It actually works so I guess I can contact you if I see anything fishy."

"Yeah. Call me whenever you find something." I say and take his phone and type in my number.

My fingers freeze over what to save it as. Just Renesse would be enough. Yeah.

I save the number and hand it back to him.
If he barely had any money and nothing to eat at home, how's he going to survive for the rest of the week?

"Aiden, if you're running low on cash just come over okay? Because you don't have enough food to last you through the week."

He looks up at me and seems slightly shocked at my offer. "Yeah thanks, I'll let you know when my stuff runs out and maybe I'll stay for a few days until I can get back on my feet again." He shrugs.

It's getting pretty dark so I'll have to head back home.

"Cool. Uh, I'm going to head back now then. I can't make it if it's really dark outside." I jerk my thumb toward the door.

He nods and picks up my backpack and hands it to me. I smile and take it and follow him as he leads me to the front door. 

"Bye Aiden. Remember to let me know, okay?"

"Yeah I will. Thanks for everything." He says looking down.

"Thank you for not calling the cops." I chuckle and walk over to my bike.

He laughs and nods.

I throw my leg over the side of it and start the engine. I look back at him one last time. I smile.

"Wait, Renesse, I just wanted to say. It was nice meeting you. Again."

"Y-yeah, me too." I twist the handle and drive away in a blur.