Page 77 of The Overdue Kiss

“You and me both. I just feel...ugh... groggy.” She lifts a finger to her temple.

“Don’t overdo it,” Tristen says, scooting his chair closer.

“I’m literally lying in bed. I don’t know how to do less.”

“You need to recline more.” He presses a button on the bed remote, and her feet start to rise.

“Tris.” She snatches the remote out of his hand. “Don’t touch anything. You’re going to catapult me out of bed.”

“It’s not my fault. There are a hundred buttons on this thing. How am I supposed to know?” He snatches the remote back. “Let me try this one.”

When the TV turns on, I stifle a laugh.

“It’s good to see some spunk in her.” Des covers a smile with his hand, letting the two of them argue it out until the doctor arrives.

An older man in a white doctor’s coat whips back the curtain like he owns the place. His mouth is curled downward, adding more wrinkles to his jowls. Two officers follow closely behind him, nodding when we make eye contact.

“Ms. Brooks, glad to see you’re awake. I’m Dr. Cooper and I’ll be taking over for Dr. Ming, so let me just check over her notes in the computer. How are we feeling?”

Reese shoots Tristen a look. “Could be better.”

Dr. Cooper types a few things on the rolling computer. “Pain level? One through ten?”

“Five? I have a bit of a headache. When can I go home?”

“Headaches are common with head traumas and are to be expected with that large knot on your head. Are you sure you don’t want any stronger pain medication?”

She glares at the doctor. “Absolutely not. I suffered through excruciating months of recovery, and I don’t need any other addictions in my life. I’ll wait out the pain.”

“I understand. Now about going home, since you do have a concussion, we want to keep you around a bit longer until some of your symptoms subside. Good news is your CT scan came back normal, so no internal bleeding or broken bones.”

Her eyes flick to the officers. “Um, am I in some sort of trouble?”

One of the officers steps forward and flashes his badge. “Hi, Ms. Brooks. I’m Officer Miles and this is Officer Rodriguez. We are from the Golden Police Department, and we’d like to ask you a few questions about your ex-boyfriend. We have a Drake ‘Burns’ Welton in our custody and are trying to construct a timeline for what happened earlier this morning. This is a normal police procedure, so don’t worry.”

Reese sighs wearily. “Ask away. Everyone knows my business at this point. What is privacy in a small town?”

“I already gave you my statement,” Tristen interrupts, shooting to his feet. “Why do you need to bother her?”

“You were there?” Reese asks, blinking up at him as she thinks. “I don’t remember.”

“Post-traumatic amnesia is expected considering your circumstances,” Dr. Cooper states as he types into his computer. “Your memories may or may not return as you heal.”

“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be then, officers.”

“Any information you have is helpful. Just answer to the best of your ability, Ms. Brooks,” the officer with the notepad says.

She pinches her lips and nods.

“Can you please tell me what you remember from the incident, starting from when you first saw Mr. Welton?”

“Burns showed up unannounced, waiting for me at the tool bench. He tried to convince me to leave with him, telling me how much he had changed and that he still loves me—blah, blah, blah—it’s his usual spiel. When that didn’t work, he resorted to force. Then... it all gets blurry. I remember swinging a wrench at him and then he knocked me into the car, but otherwise it’s just fuzzy shapes and sounds.” She glances between the doctor and the police.

One of the police officers jots notes on his pad while the other crosses his arms, watching all our faces carefully. I press closer to Des, who grabs my hand.

“Around what time do you think that was?”

“Um, I remember it being at least past midnight. I’ve been pulling a lot of late nights, sneaking in some extra hours since I’ve been helping my friend with her library project.” She nods to me.

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