Page 49 of Don't Forget Me
“I think I’m here.” Nick set his fork down calmly. “And I think you are too.”
“Nick.” She sighed. “Can we just ignore everything I said? This place is messing with my head.”
“Oh, you mean you didn’t expect to be playing house with a movie star in a weird world where no one else exists?”
She couldn’t help laughing at that. “Not exactly on my five-year plan.”
He lifted his fork but paused before taking a bite. “What is on your five-year plan?”
“Surviving.” The word popped out before she could think about it, and she smiled like she’d just told a joke.
His lips turned down as he studied her, trying to figure her out. “Liz—”
“Joke, Nick. It was a joke. I don’t really know. Serve some epic coffee and make sure my kids don’t burn down the house.”
“Goals.” He laughed, and she was glad for the end to his scrutiny.
“And you? When we wake up, what’s next for you?”
“I have a movie to finish.” His eyes dimmed. “And I supposed I’ll have to face the consequences of whatever I did.”
She’d almost forgotten what was hanging over them. Neither of them knew why she crashed her car, but she’d heard people talking about the substance in Nick’s system.
“Are you ready for that?” She supposed it didn’t matter if he was ready. He’d done something monumentally selfish, and she wouldn’t say he hadn’t, though she had yet to tell him the true consequences he’d go back to face.
Sucking in a breath, he looked down at his plate, not meeting her gaze. “I am. I…” Lifting his eyes, he exhaled. “Liz, I need to know what I did.”
She stared at him for a moment longer, letting herself imagine a world in which things were easier for both of them.
It didn’t exist.
Reaching across the table, she put one hand over his. “Nick, a man was injured in your crash, a father. I don’t know if he pulled through.” No words could make him feel better, maybe no words should. But whatever he felt, whatever he feared, she was there.
For now.
17
NICK
The water taunted Nick, calling to him with its depths.
He knew it wasn’t deep near the dock, maybe only about five feet, but that didn’t make it look any less intimidating.
After the tense dinner with Liz, they’d spent the evening drinking wine and playing a quiet game of Upwords—which she won handily. By the time he kissed her goodnight, his head was hazy from the wine. He wanted her to join him in bed, to let him hold her all night long, but he hadn’t asked.
And now, as dawn broke on the horizon, he stood barefoot on the dock, staring down into his greatest foe.
The lake itself.
“It’s not as scary as it seems.” Stephen’s voice was a welcome interlude to his thoughts.
“Says the guy who let it defeat him.”
Stephen sighed, his shoulders rising and falling with great effort. “You can’t blame the water forever, bro. Maybe I was to blame for my own fate.”
“Were you?” He looked sideways at the man whose very appearance caused an ache in Nick’s chest.
“I don’t know, man. It’s all a bit hazy. But whatever happened, water isn’t a living thing. It didn’t come after me maliciously. You don’t need to avoid the lake or even the ocean.”
