The One Left Behind (The One Series)

by Lena Nicole

  I look around to see who this man is talking to. When I see no one is around me, I realize he is speaking to me. I look at him for a minute and immediately appreciate his attractiveness. His dark hair is slicked back indicating he just got out of the water. My eyes travel over his face and take note of his chiseled jaw that has a light stubble, his full lips, and his perfectly straight nose. He’s shirtless and there is no doubt in my mind that he works out. A lot. He has a body to die for: sculpted pecs, well-defined abs, and the sexiest V-cut that leads into his board shorts. I’m staring at the water dripping down his chest and suddenly feel thirsty and have the urge to lick up the water off his body to quench said thirst.

  Whoa, where the hell did that come from? I need to get my head out of the gutter. I have more important things to think about than Mr. Sex on Legs. I don’t need one more thing to add to my clusterfuck of issues right now.

  He clears his throat and is looking down at me in amusement as he watches me shamelessly ogle his body. I clear my head and mentally chastise myself, “Sorry, but believe me, if you give me a penny and I spill my current situation, you will be asking for a refund.”

  He lightly chuckles at my response and it’s a nice sound that makes me relax and gives me the first genuine smile since I woke up in the hospital. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can talk to this person. He has a kindness in his eyes that makes me feel secure in sharing my problems with him. And feeling something at this point makes me happy.

  “I’m Addison, Addison Ramsey.”

  He takes my hand and returns the gesture. “Pierce Whitmore. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Addison. It’s a good thing you don’t charge by the hour since you haven’t started talking yet.” He points to the penny in my hand with an alluring grin as I look slightly confused. “I only have so many pennies in my pocket, but if you need more I could always run to my car.” I like that he’s teasing me and it provides me with a much needed distraction.

  “Oh, right. My thoughts. Are you sure you want to hear about my problems? You don’t even know me. You will probably run for the hills afterward.”

  “Well, I can’t make you talk to me, but I’ve been told I’m a good listener. I’ll even let you keep the penny if I decide to run for the hills.” He sits down next to me and waits patiently for me to start my story. I don’t know why, but he puts off this vibe that I can trust him. So I take a deep breath and decide to unload my problems on him.

  “Okay, but if at any time you get bored, tell me and I’ll stop.” I’m fidgeting with my hands and avoiding eye contact.

  He gently puts his hand on top of mine to still them before saying, “Addison, I have a feeling nothing about you is boring.” He has a serious look on his face as he stares into my eyes which makes me pause for a moment. He doesn’t know me. How would he know if I’m boring or not? Is he flirting with me? I shake off the questions and start.

  “Well, about two weeks ago I woke up in the hospital. Apparently, a drunk driver hit the car I was in and the car flipped over three times.” I pause because a haunted look takes over Pierce’s face. He looks far away like he’s zoned out. Maybe I shouldn’t be unloading my problems to a total stranger. I take the penny and place it in Pierce’s hand and get up to walk away.

  “Wait,” Pierce says as he gently places his hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. Here I am telling you how I’m a great listener and I space out on you not even a minute later.” His eyes have changed and no longer look distracted. He’s completely focused on my face, pleading for me to continue.

  Smiling, I say, “It’s okay, Pierce, I shouldn’t be talking about my problems to someone I don’t know. It was stupid. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.” I look down at the ground, kicking my foot into the sand slightly embarrassed for thinking I should open up to him.

  Pierce still has a hold of my wrist and I look down at it hoping he’ll get the hint and let go so I can walk back home. Mortified, of course.

  Pierce takes hold of my hand, turning it palm up and places the penny in it. He wraps my fingers around the penny and continues to hold my hand. “Addison, I stopped to talk to you on the beach because you had a lost look in your eyes. One I’ve seen many times on my face before. I can see you are hurting and struggling with something. So please, let me help by listening.” There’s a brief pause but it looks like he wants to say more, so I wait for him to finish his thought. “My father died about six months ago. He was hit by a drunk driver and killed. It’s still a fresh wound so I’m sorry for spacing out on you.” My face becomes void of expression as my eyes slowly widen. I can’t imagine losing my parents like that. “If you don’t mind, I’d like it very much if you continued,” he says softly.

  I take a minute to think if I should. I mean here I am about to bitch about my problems when he lost his father in a car accident. Suddenly, my problems don’t seem that big in the grand scheme of things. “I don’t know, Pierce.”

  “I insist.”

  I look down at our joined hands and I sit back down beside him. “Okay, so after the accident I was taken to the hospital. I woke up not remembering what happened to me. I had very bad head injuries that caused bleeding in my brain. There was a lot of swelling and I was put into a sedated sleep until the swelling went down. Then I woke up.” I shrug my shoulders preparing to tell the rest of my story.

  “Well, it sounds to me like you’re lucky to be alive. So forgive me if I sound rude, but what has you so bothered? You survived and you look healthy to me.” He’s looking at me with his eyebrows drawn in trying to piece me together.

  “Ah, here is where it gets complicated. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember anything about the accident. I still can’t remember anything. I think I’m okay with that because, if I have to be honest, I don’t want to remember being T-boned and rolling in a car. What I do have a problem with is this.” I pull the engagement ring out of my pocket and hand it to Pierce. He looks at the ring with one eyebrow raised.

  “Now I don’t know much about jewelry, but this looks like an engagement ring. A nice one too. My sister is always going on about how big a ring is supposed to be. I tell her it’s not about the size, but the thought put behind it. You know, like it should suit the personality of the hand it’s supposed to go on.” He pauses before saying, “Sorry, I’m rambling. Anyways, what’s so bad about it?” He hands the ring back to me.

  “Well, nothing technically. It’s a beautiful ring. The only problem is I don’t remember the person who put that ring on my finger. I can’t remember meeting him, dating him, him proposing. Nothing.” I’m looking down at my hands as the reality of it hits me in the stomach again. I look at Pierce from the corner of my eye and see his eyes widen and his mouth form an “o” as what I’ve told him sinks in.

  “What do you want to do about it?” He makes it seem like a decision can be easily made. I wish it was. This is the first time someone has asked me what I want and not try to tell me what they think I should do. It feels nice to have that option.

  “I don’t know. I mean, how can you just forget someone who clearly had a huge impact on your life? Someone you loved enough to move in with and marry. It just doesn’t make sense to me.” I’m playing with a seashell that is resting in the sand beside me and then chuck it into the water.

  “Nothing in life ever makes sense. That’s part of life, figuring it out. You have to take what life throws at you and make the best of the situation. Throw life a curve ball of your own. Fight back.”

  I consider what he is telling me while chewing on my bottom lip. Life dealt me a shitty hand and he was right. I can’t force my memories to come back. They will on their own. I need to take this shitty situation and turn it into something I can be proud of.

  “You know, you’re right. I can’t force my memories to come back, but it doesn’t mean I have to stop living my life until they return. It’s time to take back control of my life.” A sense of calm washes over me in regards to my future. It’s the best I’ve felt since I wok
e up from the accident.

  Pierce gives me a slight smile at the change in my attitude. We turn our attention back to the sunset and watch the amazing sight in front of us.

  “Well, I just got out of the water and wanted to watch the sunset before I go home. I just moved back from New York so if you ever need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to call me. I know how a drunk driver can take your life and flip it upside down.” I look up into his eyes and an understanding passes between us. He hands me a business card from his wallet with his information on it. I take a minute to read it.

  Pierce Whitmore, CEO

  Whitmore Enterprises

  He looks a little young to be a CEO, but that will be a question for another time. If there is another time. I have so much going on right now I don’t know if I need a new friend to throw into the mix.

  I give Pierce a smile. “Thank you for everything, Pierce. It was nice having someone to talk to who didn’t have any stake in the situation. You really helped me today and I appreciate it.”

  “I’m glad I could help. Can I walk you to your car?”

  “That’s really nice of you but that’s me there.” I point to my condo behind us and turn to walk away.

  “Okay, then I will walk you to your porch.”

  I look over my shoulder, “Oh, that isn’t necessary. You have done so much already.”

  He raises his hand to stop me. “I insist. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t make sure you got home okay. Besides, you might forget where you live on the walk up.” He has a playful grin on his face.

  I laugh at his joke and we head to my place. I thank him again as we part ways and I go inside to start unpacking the boxes in my condo.

  Looking at my whole life packed away in boxes, I can’t help but think, “How did my life come to this?” I start to second guess the part of myself I can’t remember. I stop and remember what I told Pierce at the beach. I’m taking control of this situation and that starts with unpacking. I’ll call Colby and invite her over for a girl’s night in, AKA helping me unpack my boxes while drinking and watching movies. It will be a nice way to unwind after the day I just had.

  MAN, THIS SITUATION just gets shittier and shittier. I’m sitting on my leather couch in my house with a beer in my hand. My house isn’t anything glamorous. It has three bedrooms and two baths, but it was the view that sold me. It’s not an oceanfront property, but if you stand on the balcony upstairs, you can see the ocean over the houses. It’s a nice, quiet spot to think. Too bad I haven’t moved from this couch since I got home other than to get more beer out of the refrigerator.

  I think back to how my life got to where it is. I’m shocked by the way Addison pushed me away. It looked so easy for her to do it too. I’m contemplating what the best course of action is to get her mind to come back to me. I need her in my life in some way. I refuse to let her shut me out completely. I can’t go from being engaged and getting ready to move in together to not seeing her at all. I think it would kill me if she cuts all ties.

  I finish my beer in a long swig, go to the refrigerator, and pull out my seventh one from the case. Damn, I’m almost out. Maybe I’ll call Jeremy and see if he wants to come over and bring me some more. No. I just want to be alone. Hell, at the rate things are going now it looks like I’m going to end up alone anyway. I might as well get used to it.

  Then I come up with a temporary solution. I’m going to suggest we be friends. With any hope, the more time we spend together, maybe the more familiar it’ll seem to her. Then, just maybe, something will snap her out of this and she’ll remember me. Remember us. Then we can get back to living our lives.

  Yes, she’ll eventually remember and love me again.

  I WAS TOO tired after returning from the beach, so I decided to just go to bed. As I wake up this morning, I feel refreshed and ready to conquer my day. But first I need to call Colby. Looking for my cell phone, I spot it by the back table right next to the sliding glass door that leads to my back porch. On top of my phone is the business card Pierce gave me the night before. I program his number into my phone, although I don’t think I’ll be using it anytime soon. After programming his number, I scroll through the phone and locate Colby’s number. I hit her name and smile as her picture pops up on my screen. The picture was from a night we had gone out for drinks after I finished nursing school and we were both laughing at something funny. It’s one of those candid shots that was taken at the perfect moment.

  “Well, well, look who it is! I was starting to think your mother was holding your phone captive and allowing no phone calls.” Colby knows how overbearing my mother can be. She’s been trying to loosen my mom’s belt for a while now.

  “Hey, Cole, sorry I’ve been meaning to call you. Things have been nonstop since I got home and I just needed some time to relax by myself.” I sit down on the couch with a huff.

  “No worries, Addison. You have a lot on your plate right now, I get it. So what’s up?”

  “Well, I wanted to see if you would have time to come over tonight and have a girl’s night at my place.”

  “Do you even have to ask? Should I pick up a movie or do you want to just rent something off the demand channel?”

  “I was actually hoping you can help me unpack my boxes. It sounds tedious, I know, but I’ll supply the wine and we can still rent a movie after.” There is a minute of silence on the other end. “Colby?”

  “I’m here. I’m just making a mental note of how many bottles of wine we’re going to need to get you through this little dilemma.”

  Rolling my eyes dramatically at her comment, I decide to make the call short so I don’t have to get into it with her now. “Okay then, does five work for you and I can make us dinner?”

  “Five is good and I’ll order take out. It will help the unpacking go faster.”

  We say our goodbyes and I hop in the shower to get ready for the day. I do some cleaning and organizing and search through the boxes labeled “bedroom” to find a comfy pair of sweats. At five, Colby comes walking in my condo carrying a bag of Chinese.

  She holds it up and says, “Hey, I got you some vegetable lo-mien with white rice and an eggroll.” We have been friends for so long we’re able order for each other without asking.

  As we sit down and eat, Colby fills me in on her last three weeks in her fashion design classes and what has been going on with her and her boyfriend, Damon. We finish eating and start to unpack.

  “So, where should we start?” Colby asks rubbing the palms of her hands together.

  I look around and decide the bedroom is the best place to begin. I’m going back to work soon so I’m going to need to know where my scrubs are. “Bedroom boxes,” I say. “It will be nice to grab an outfit from the closet and not dig through a box.”

  As we’re unpacking and hanging up clothes, I’m filling in Colby on my mother’s constant nagging when I pull a picture frame out of a box. It is a picture of me and Colin with a breathtaking sunset behind us. He is standing behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. My arms are on top his with my head resting on his chest. Written in the sand just before our feet is a heart and our initials. I’m studying the photo and notice how happy we both look. Staring at the picture, my stomach once again ties itself into knots as I think back to how I treated Colin the other day. Looking at this picture, I can see he clearly loves me very much. I need to make things right and apologize. I must have been looking at the picture for a while because Colby, speaking up behind me, brings my attention back.

  “Whatcha got there?”

  I hand the picture frame over to Colby and let out an aggravated sigh. Colby puts the picture down and embraces me in a hug.

  “Addison?”

  I shake my head as frustration starts to take over again.

  “How am I supposed to do this, Colby? So far my memory has not come back and all I have done is hurt the people who love me. They are all just waiting for me to remember Colin and get back on track with m
oving in with him and planning a wedding, and every day that goes by I let them down. I am a constant let down.” I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands.

  Colby pulls me out of the hug so she can look at me. “Addison you are not letting anyone down. You didn’t ask for any of this. The accident, the memory loss, nothing. You are not hurting anyone. If anything, we all hurt for you because we can’t do anything to fix this. All we can do is sit back and wait for something to happen.”

  “Colby, I hurt Colin. My mom invited him over the same day I got home from the hospital and it was all too much. I agreed to let him share some of his memories, or I guess I should say our memories. He thought maybe it would help jog something in my memory but all it did was freak me out. I told him I couldn’t move in with him and we needed a break. I didn’t even sugar coat it. I just spit it out. If that wasn’t bad enough, it took my mother, of all people, to make me realize he is struggling with this as much as I am. After speaking with her, I realized I didn’t even give Colin a chance. No offers of a friendship, nothing. I just let him leave and left it at that.” I look down and start plucking at the fabric of my pants.

  “Addison, I’m sure Colin understands. He loves you.” She puts her hand on my knee to reassure me.

  Still looking down, I shake my head, “You didn’t see the hurt in his eyes, Colby. And I’m the one who put that look there and I need to make it right. After talking with Pierce, I decided I need to take control of this situation and I’m going to start by meeting Colin for lunch and asking if we can try being friends. Hopefully, he can forgive me and give me the chance to at least try and be a good friend to him. And when my memories come back, maybe this will make us stronger.”

  “Colin loves you and he would forgive you in… wait a minute. Who is Pierce?” She perks up at the mention of Pierce who I have failed to mention until now. I’ve been so wrapped up with everything going on I didn’t even realize I haven’t told Colby about my meeting with Pierce.