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“I’m fine. There are a lot of memories here.” I wipe my welling eyes and walk toward the treehouse. “We spent so many summers together here. You, me, Alden and Tori.”
He nods and tests the ladder, then climbs up cautiously, poking his head through the bottom of the treehouse to look around. “I don’t think it’s sturdy enough to hold my weight.”
“That’s okay. Just have a look around. What’s still in there?”
“Some crates and a bunch of empty bottles. Beer mostly.”
“Guess the local teenagers know about it.”
“Looks like it.” He stays up there for a couple of minutes while I lean against the tree, trying not to get dragged down by the memories. It may not trigger anything for Oliver, but it sure does for me.
“Do you remember anything?”
He climbs back down. “No, it doesn’t feel like I’ve ever been here.”
We’re already out here, we may as well go a little farther before giving up. “Let’s go to the creek.”
“There’s a creek?”
He follows me when I start through the woods again. “We used to wade and sometimes swim there, though it never got very deep. There were lots of frogs. You and Alden used to come and catch minnows for your dad to use as bait.”
It’s smaller than I remember it. The creek is shallow due to our lack of rain lately. It’s amazing how much a place can hurt. All I feel here is Alden.
I sit down on the bank and Oliver sits beside me. Both of us are lost in thought, taking in the peaceful setting.
He takes his shoes off and sticks his feet in the water. “It’s scary,” he says. “Knowing there are all these thoughts and memories hiding in my head and I might never find them. And some of it makes no sense. Like I knew how to use my phone, and what the bottom of the creek would feel like on my feet, but not that any of this existed.”
“I can’t imagine how awful that feels. Don’t get discouraged. We have a lot of places to see and people for you to meet when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready. I’m ready to do whatever is necessary to remember who I am.” He busies his hands by picking up a stick and dipping it into the creek, drawing patterns along the surface. “I know the doctors said it would be better for me to recall some things on my own, but will you tell me about my family? I know how they died, but not much else.”
“You and Alden were close to your mom. You both helped and supported her as much as she’d allow. Your dad left when you were twelve, and she raised you on her own. She loved you very much. She used to call you Ollie.”
A slight smile flirts with his lips. “Do you have a picture of her?”
“I do. At home. She was beautiful.”
“You said my dad left us. When did he come back?”
“A few years ago, when your mom died. You kept in touch with him over the years, but I don’t know what your relationship was like. You didn’t talk about it because it upset Alden. I know he loved you. He stayed by your side as long as he could when you were in the coma.”
“Were Alden and I close?”
A million memories flash through my head of the two of them growing up. “You fought like all brothers do and had times that you both distanced yourselves a little. You were very different from each other, especially as teenagers. You were the good twin. You did great in school, you were responsible, smart. Alden was wild. A partier, and a risk taker. It made you bump heads more than once but there was no one Alden loved more than you. And you loved him the same.”
“I hate that I can’t remember them.” He sighs and puts his shoes back on. “Or me.” Standing up, he throws the stick into the water and watches it get carried away. “Was I happy?”
“You’ve had a few rough years, too. You broke up with a girlfriend about a year ago, the same time you found out your father had cancer and was terminal.” I pull out my phone and get up to stand beside him. “But you and Alden had become closer, and you built Stokes Brothers into a very successful business.” He watches while I sweep my finger across my phone screen until I find a picture of him and Alden standing under the Stokes Brothers sign. Their arms are slung around each other, and they wear identical wide smiles.
The sight of it sends a spike through me. I remember that day so well. Alden had just made Oliver an equal partner and owner. Pride shone in their faces. We had all went out to celebrate, including Breanna. My night ended with a long, slow fuck where Alden had me begging to come.
He takes the phone from me to study the picture, and I swallow back the lump in my throat. “Yes, I think you were happy.”
After a moment, he asks, “Which one is me?”
It strikes me how awful this has to be for him. It must be that much odder to see a face you can’t recognize on someone else as well. “You’re on the right.” Forcing a smile, I add, “You wouldn’t have been caught dead in ragged jeans and a faded tee shirt. Your style was much neater.”
He hands the phone back to me and we start our hike back through the woods. We’re both quiet until we get back to my house. “Are you tired?” He’s had physical therapy today and now a walk through the woods.
