Page 94 of All The Ways to Miss You

Fred clears his throat. “My client will consider your terms.”

“Fine,” her mom says and looks at me. “But you can’t visit her until after an agreement is finalized.”

“We’ll get back with you.” Fred gathers his papers, signaling the conclusion of the meeting, and I realize my chances of seeing Cait anytime soon have narrowed to the size of a pinprick.

“I don’t have time for that,” I tell him. I grab the agreement and pen, frantically scribble my name on the dotted line, and rise.

“No!” Linden yells, reaching out to stop me.

It’s too late. I’m already out of my seat, circling the table, and racing out of the room. I don’t want to be without Cait for another second, and I’m thrilled to have any reason to stay away from those assholes.

At the hospital, the elevator can’t move fast enough. When the doors part into her wing, I launch down the hall and past the nurses’ station. Several people yell to stop me, but I keep moving, anxious to see and hold her again without restraints.

Inside Cait’s room, I halt in my tracks. There’s only an empty bed with no sheets. She’s gone. My heart clenches, and I turn in a circle before stepping outside to confirm the room number.

“Sir, you have to sign in,” a nurse yells as she approaches.

“Cait London? Did you move her to another room?”

“She was transported this morning.”

“What! Where?” I’m frantic.

When the nurse shrugs, I backtrack to the nurses’ station. I stop, gripping the counter, and bark the question again to anyone who might be able to help. They look at me with blank stares. Either they don’t know or they can’t tell me.

“She was transported into private care this morning,” a familiar voice says.

I spin and find Linden. He’s caught up with me.

I grab my head, taking the info like a punch in the gut. “Where did they take her?” I clench his shirt, getting in his face, ready to fight him for the details. Being without her is making me insane.

“Evan.” Linden places his hands on both my arms, but no matter how tight his grip, he won’t calm me now. I’ve been fucked around with too much.

His expression turns somber. “They took her home to Maryland.”

forty-three

Retrograde amnesia. That’s what they believe Cait has, though it will take months of tests to verify. This is the unbelievable bullshit Linden is force-feeding me as we sit in his office at work. As far as we can glean from the nurse who was willing to talk, Cait woke earlier this week and she remembers nothing. Yes, I knew the longer she was out, the worse it would be, but I had no idea. I had no clue she could face this.

“She’ll remember me.” I’m positive. I cross my ankle over my knee and bounce my foot. I can’t sit still.

“She might,” Linden says. He leans back in his chair.

“I have to see her.” I take out my phone, but my hands are jittery.

“The issue is the document you signed. From what I gather, they’re hiring in-home care. She’ll have a long road of physical therapy. Her dad is retiring to aid in her recovery.”

“So he’ll be by her side 24/7?” I smack the arm of the chair. “I should be with her, not him.”

Linden gives me a woeful look.

My face drops into my palm. “Fuck me.”

Why am I such a colossal fuckup? Why couldn’t I have waited to sign the papers? Would it have mattered? From the moment Cait woke up, her parents knew they could write me out of Cait’s life and reprogram her. Did I even have a chance under the new circumstances?

“We’ll fight it.” Linden leans forward, his elbows on his desk. “And she could pop out of it this next week and remember everything. None of this will mean anything when she returns.”

“What if she doesn’t?” Uncomfortable, I shift in my seat.