AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sawyer looks over at Oliver, then back to me and rubs a hand over his chin. “Unlock the door now. We can talk about it. My backup will be here shortly, and this isn’t going to go well if we can’t resolve it first. Let me in.”
Oliver’s head suddenly jerks up and his face goes stone white. “We were wrong. They were wrong. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.” He bends over and vomits into the trashcan by the counter, takes a stumbling step backward, and sits down hard. He slumps back against the rack of candy and for a second I think he might have passed out.
“Oliver!” I cry.
Sawyer curses and bangs on the door. “Open it! Now, Ella! Let me help!”
Oliver doesn’t lose consciousness, but he won’t look at me or respond. He’s in his head somewhere, trying to come to terms with whatever he remembered.
I’m not sure what to do anymore, so I unlock the door. Sawyer accompanies me back to Oliver’s side.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to scare him,” I say, nodding to the clerk who hovers at the door. “Oliver’s memories have been coming back and he wanted to come here to see if we could trigger them.”
Sawyer frowns as Oliver stares at the floor. “Well, you picked a hell of a night. There’s a blizzard on top of us.”
“I know.”
Oliver lifts his head and looks around.
“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” Sawyer asks me. “Does he need help?” He doesn’t mean physically. Taking him to a hospital isn’t going to make anything better. He needs time to process things.
“No,” Oliver answers before I can, getting to his feet.
Sawyer turns to me. “I’ll handle things with the clerk. You need to go. Now. Get him out of here.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, relieved we aren’t going to be arrested. We didn’t break in exactly but I’m sure they could’ve gotten us for trespassing at the minimum.
Oliver doesn’t speak when I grab his arm, only follows me out the door. “I’m sorry,” I tell the clerk, who gives me a cautious nod.
Fat snowflakes fall in a thick curtain. Everything will be covered in a matter of minutes. I’m glad we’re right around the corner from my place.
“You’re going to stay with me tonight,” I tell him, getting into the car. He doesn’t reply, only buckles his seatbelt. The headlights reflect off the snow, making it hard to see. Not one other car passes me while I drive the few blocks back to my place.
Once we’re parked in my garage, I look over at Oliver. He stares at the dash, and when he turns to look at me, his expression is strange. Dazed.
“Hey, it’s alright. Whatever you saw or remembered, it’s going to be okay. Let’s go in and get warm. Then you can decide if you’re ready to talk.”
“It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. I remember…I can’t believe…”
“I know that, Oliver. I never thought that you hurt Alden.”
“You don’t understand. My god, Ella!” He grabs my face and looks me in the eye. “It’sme. Not Oliver. I’m Den. I’m Alden.”
His statement is so monstrous, it takes a second for me to comprehend.
“Let go of me!” I jerk away and fumble with the door handle. Rage fills me as my feet hit the garage floor. “That’s not funny!” I shout, backing away from my car. “Why would you say that?” The hysteria in my voice scares me.
He gets out of the car, pauses his steps when I retreat, and holds up his palms. “I’m sorry. Listen. Please, just listen to me. I know it sounds insane, but I remember. I remember who I am. Who you are. Who we were and—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I scream. After everything I’ve been through, this is my limit. His words are hornets stinging every part of me. I’ve done everything I can for him. Why is he doing this to me?
Swallowing, I take a deep breath and fight to get control of my anger. He’s confused. That’s all. He’s traumatized from reliving the robbery and he’s confused.
Despair clouds his face. My voice trembles when I manage to speak. “Alden is dead. Don’t you ever say that to me again.”
“El,” he whispers, taking a step toward me.
“No.” My neck cracks with the ferocity of the shake of my head. My chest is so tight that drawing a breath hurts. “I need a minute.”
