“We were dating, but not dating.” She laughs and my shoulders relax.
“Pretty much. We never talked about it. We didn’t label it. We were just… us.”
“You said you came to see me. When?”
“I tried calling you for a few weeks. Calling, sending text messages, but you didn’t reply. I went to your parents’ place to ask for your address at school. I was coming to you. I couldn’t stand the silence. I couldn’t stand the fact that you thought I didn’t want you. It was my fault. I let my worries and my fear keep me from you, and then you were gone back to school.” I go on to tell her the conversation I had with her mom about her moving on and moving in with her new boyfriend. “It wasn’t two weeks later the moving trucks rolled in and your parents moved away. It was… I assumed from what your mother told me, to be closer to you and your fiancé.” I’ll never forget that day and the way her mother’s words affected me. As if I’d been punched in the gut.
“This is a lot to take in. I have you sitting here showing me this picture and answering questions without hesitation, and then I have the version of what my mother told me about you and our relationship.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I think we should have a paternity test done, but I’m pretty sure I know what the results are going to be. Kendrix looks just like you.”
“Except for your baby blues,” I say softly. “She’s mine,” I say with conviction. “I can feel it, Delaney.” She smiles gently, and I can’t imagine what she’s been going through, thinking I didn’t want her. “What did they tell you? About me?”
“How much time do you have?”
“All night. I have some chili in the Crock-Pot. Are you hungry?”
“Is that what smells so good? It smells amazing.”
“Come on, let’s get you fed, and you can tell me your story.” Standing, I hold my hand out for her and she doesn’t hesitate to take it, allowing me to help her stand from her corner of the couch. Not willing to let her go just yet, I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her to the kitchen. She takes a seat at the small table, and I commit the image to memory. It’s been too long since she’s been here. Not just in my condo, but in this town. I just hope I can convince her to stay. If not, I have a big choice to make. I don’t want to miss anymore time with my daughter.Chapter 5DelaneySitting across from Kent at his small kitchen table, I feel more at home than I have ever been. I don’t remember this place, so it must be him. About six months after my accident, I started to see him in my dreams. We never spoke, but he was always there, offering me his hand, trying to get me to come with him. To follow him. I always wake up before I see where he wants me to go. It’s frustrating as hell.
“So…,” he says, letting that one word hang between us. We’re strangers, yet from our conversation earlier, we’re not. It’s all very overwhelming.
“My accident happened when I was driving back to school; at least, that’s what they tell me. I was in a coma for two weeks, and when I woke up, the doctor informed me that I was pregnant. I didn’t know my family. I didn’t know anyone. I had no recollection of my life before that day.”
“I can’t begin to imagine what that felt like.”
“Scary, overwhelming. I was lost and defeated. My parents brought in photo albums and told me stories, but it was like I was talking to strangers.”
“Did you ever remember them?”
“Yeah, about a month after the accident, I woke up and it was like a lightbulb came on inside my head. I remember everything up to my high school graduation. After that, those years are lost.”
“Do they know why?” he asks.
“The doctors have a theory.” I’m biding my time. Kent seems like a great guy, and what I say next will hurt him if my suspicions are correct. However, I owe him the same honesty that he’s given me.
“Is that something you can share with me?”
“I can.” I nod. “I’m just not sure that I should.”
“You can trust me, Delaney.” The deep timbre of his voice seeps into my soul, and I can just feel that the words he speaks are true.
“It’s not about trust. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m a big boy. I can take it.”
“The doctors think that I’m suppressing the memories because they’re too painful.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Before today, yeah, I did.” They had me convinced, and I didn’t know otherwise.