Page 52 of Don't Regret Me
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ELIZABETH
Every time the anger ebbed, it returned with the ferocity of a raging tide.
Liz hadn’t been able to stop replaying everything Nick said to her, the way he’d dismissed her so easily. That wasn’t the man she’d gotten to know by the lonely lake. He’d turned into someone different, someone new. Was it his missing memories?
She’d never really considered how memories and experiences shaped a person. When Nick fell into the coma, he was a beloved—if aloof—movie star on the rise. His marriage had fallen apart, but he wasn’t upset. When he woke, he was the drug-addicted criminal, who crashed cars and whose beloved—he was told—wife was pregnant with another man’s baby.
Of course, he didn’t believe Liz. How could he? Nothing had gone right for him, and he blamed himself, his troubles. He was only in Gulf City for community service because of a crime he thought he committed.
He didn’t. She knew that with her whole heart.
A sigh pushed out of her as she finished packing the twins’ suitcase and sat back on her heels. This weekend would be good for them, for her. The lake house once meant the world to her father, and she couldn’t wait to bring him back there. It was a rental now that had been completely renovated, but she worried what it held. Would there be echoes of Nick? Of the two of them?
At the very least, she could put this entire question to rest. Had it all been just a dream? She’d refused to ask herself that question for so long, adamant everything she’d experienced was real. But if she was the only one to remember that time, how did she know for certain?
“You ready to go?” Booker asked from the doorway. He and Jasmine were tagging along with the family. They all needed the break. Booker had been working so hard for so long, and she hadn’t been a very good friend to him since Nick showed back up. Whether or not she reciprocated his feelings, it didn’t change the fact that he’d been there for her through so much.
Taking his extended hand, she pulled herself to her feet. “Everyone else loaded up?” They were taking two cars on the long drive.
He nodded. “Just need you.”
At least someone did.
“Then, let’s get going.” She offered him a smile, trying to erase the last few days from her mind. She owed it to her kids to enjoy this trip. When she returned, it would be back to the world of long days and longer nights at the restaurant.
Booker took the suitcase from her and carried it out to the car. It was the last one, so he shut the trunk.
“Where’s Jas?” she asked.
He pointed to where Jasmine was around the side of the porch, phone pressed to her ear. “Sure, sure,” Jasmine said. “I know. I was just hoping…” She listened for a minute. “I get it. Thanks. Bye.” She hung up and saw Liz approaching. “Bad news.”
Liz expected bad news these days. “Your brother couldn’t get the video.”
“Actually, he did. It wasn’t much of a problem, though his dramatic self said it took too much effort.” She rolled her eyes.
“Then, what’s the bad news?”
“The video itself.” She pushed a hand over the top of her tightly coiled hair. “It didn’t show anything.”
“What? How?”
“The way the camera was positioned, it didn’t show the VIP lot where Nick got into that car.”
Another dead end. Their last. “It’s over, isn’t it?”
Jasmine closed her eyes for a brief moment. “I… Yes. I don’t know what else to do. We’ve used every one of my contacts, every tactic I know. You and I know Sherrie and Franklin were responsible, but there’s no way to prove it.”
She’d thought she would feel relief when all of this was finally done and she could move on, but all she experienced was a profound disappointment.
Jasmin’s dark brows drew together. “I’m sorry, Liz.”
“So am I.” She couldn’t explain how much she’d wanted this, or why. Nick didn’t even believe someone had set him up, had tried to harm him. If he didn’t care, why should she? “Because I love him,” she whispered.
“What?” Jasmine cocked her head.
“Nothing. We should go.” Liz walked back to the cars with a sick feeling in her gut. She wasn’t sure if the version of Nick she loved still existed, but she couldn’t stop tears from pooling in her eyes. Not wanting the kids to see, she wiped them away and climbed into the front seat next to her dad.
