AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Finn’s gaze darted from face to face. His brows drew together, panic flashing in his eyes. “How old do you think I am?” His voice trembled.
“Thirty-three.”
He swallowed.
The doctor shone his flashlight over his pupils. “Amnesia can be common with head injuries like this. Your memories may come back to you in time.” He continued explaining tests they would run and listing Finn’s other less serious injuries. But all Charli could do was stare back at the man she’d given her heart to when she was sixteen. Her husband, who looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.
She placed her hand over her belly growing a child they’d made in love. His panicked gaze followed her movement. His eyes widened.
His body trembled and he shook his head. “No. This isn’t real!”
“I need you to try to calm down, Major Reed,” the nurse said.
Finn struggled to sit up, pulling at wires. “No, this isn’t—I’m not—”
“Pull yourself together, soldier!” the doctor ordered.
“Finn, sweetheart, just breathe.” Claire came to his side.
“Maybe it’s best if you wait outside.”
Charli had no idea the nurse was talking to her until she tapped her shoulder. “But he’s my husband.”
The red-haired nurse looked at her with sympathy. “This is a lot for him to take in at the moment. Just give him some time,” she said, leading Charli out of the room.
Charli leaned against the wall in the hallway, refusing to go farther. She collapsed to the cold, hard ground, pulling her knees as close to her chest as she could get them. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking into the grey leggings she wore.
Finn had forgotten sixteen years of his life. He’d forgotten her. He’d promised she’d never have to be alone. He’d sworn after his last deployment his service obligation would be up, and they’d raise a family. He’d made so many vows, and now he’d forgotten every single one.
Pain sliced through her heart as overwhelming grief shook her body in a violent sob. Flashes of moments shared, the life they’d built, gone in an instant.
All that was left was the unknown. For the first time since she’d married Finn, she felt alone. Stranded. Lost in a sea of shattered promises.
Will he remember me?
Would he come back to her?
Or was this the end of their fairy tale?
2
Finn
Thirty-three years old. Sixteen years gone in an instant. No. It can’t be. This is a dream. Or a sick joke.
Charli placed a hand over her belly. He gulped down the fire and panic, his eyes widening at the small bulge. There was no mistaking it. Charli was pregnant. A hurricane of emotion rippled through him, cast in a haze of confusion. The room shuddered and wavered. This was a nightmare. He shook his head. “No. This isn’t real!”
His eyes flicked to his hands. It wasn’t the room that trembled; it was him.
“I need you to try to calm down, Major Reed,” the nurse said.
Finn struggled to sit up, pulling at wires. “No, this isn’t—I’m not—”
“Pull yourself together, soldier,” the doctor ordered.
I’m not a soldier!
“Finn, sweetheart, just breathe.” His mother’s voice cut through the fog as she stepped to his side. But he couldn’t tear his wide eyes away from his wife.
