Page 23 of A Lapse in Time

We walked inside the gym hand in hand. The place was packed, and music played loudly over the speakers. I was partially excited but also nervous about how the night would go. Multiple people stopped us as we made our way to our seats. I had no clue who they were, but they all seemed to know me. Nobody made a big deal out of me not remembering them. They just said they'd continue praying for me and went on their way.I was thankful for that because I didn't want to force my brain to remember anyone.

"Hey, I'm glad you two could make it."

"Oh, wow. Evander, you grew up." I laughed when Evander hugged me before hugging Noah.

"Yeah. You look good, Carsyn. How are you feeling?"

"I feel good," I replied, glancing around the gym. "I'm a little nervous too. It looks good in here." I looked around again.

"Thanks. Noah helped out a lot," Evander stated as he looked at Noah. The two of them slapped hands, and I smiled.

"I have to go. The fight will be starting soon. It was good seeing you, Carsyn, and I hope you come back soon."

Evander hugged us again before he walked off. Noah and I continued to our seats, which were apparently ringside.

"Are you good?" Noah asked again when we got to our seats.

It felt like he'd asked me a hundred times since we left the house, but it probably was only three or four. Still, I understood why he asked, so I didn't say anything.

"I'm good." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll let you know if I'm not."

"Make sure you do."

The music cut off, and some guy stepped into the middle of the ring. He told us the fight was getting ready to start before he introduced both fighters. It was two guys I had never heard of, but Noah had told me they were new fighters. They had fought locally before, but this was the first big fight for both.

I twisted my ring as I watched both guys enter the ring.

The bell rang, and they met in the middle of the ring. For minutes, or maybe seconds, they circled each other until one of them swung. His punch connected, then the other dude swung back. The crowd, including Noah, was all into the match, but I wasn't. The more it went on, the more uncomfortable I got. Ididn't like the way I felt because this was my first love, or it used to be, at least, outside of Noah and Nia.

I wasn't sure if it was the punch to the head or the punch to the ribs, but at some point, one of the guys got hit in both areas, and tears streamed down my face. For a minute, I tried to wipe my tears away so I didn't alarm Noah.

Noah was on his feet, clapping and shouting, so it took him a moment to realize I was crying. He looked back, and as soon as he saw my face, he grabbed my hand and led me out of the gym. We stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as soon as we got outside.

"Talk to me. What's going on? Why are you crying?" Noah stood in front of me, wiping my face with his hands.

I inhaled because it felt like I couldn't breathe. Noah's face was so full of concern. He continued wiping my face as the tears continued to fall.

"I… I just got so scared when he got punched in the head. I know the same thing happened to me, and now I can't remember shit, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life anymore, and I just?—"

"Hey, hey," Noah said, cutting me off. "Take a deep breath for me."

I watched Noah's lips as he inhaled then exhaled. When he did it the second time, I repeated his actions. It took a few deep breaths before I was finally calm.

"I don't want you to worry about anything but getting back to yourself right now. Even if you don't remember everything, that's okay. I just want you to be happy. We will figure everything else out as it comes. Let's go somewhere." He wiped my face one more time, then grabbed my hand.

We quietly walked back to the car.

"I'm going to shoot Evander a text so he knows we left," Noah informed me as he opened the car door for me.

"Okay." I got in the car and rested my head against the headrest.

I watched Noah as he texted and walked around the other side of the car.

"Relax, baby. I'm going to drive somewhere, and we can talk when we get there. I just need you to rest a little before you end up with a headache. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes." I did what he said and closed my eyes. I felt bad that I ruined the night.

I wasn'tsure how much time had passed, but Noah and I were parked near the lake by the time I woke up.

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