Page 68 of Don't Regret Me
“I wouldn’t expect you to?—”
“It’s not only that. He didn’t go for you first.”
“What?”
“It was like he knew.” He seemed to be talking to himself now.
“Knew what?” she asked, barely able to breathe.
Booker’s back stiffened, and he turned, anguish plain on his face. “That the only thing you’d care about was if Evie and Owen got out. He loved you, and he went for them first. That’s how I figured it out.”
She held her breath, not ready to hear any of this.
“He knew you. Not only because you recently met in Gulf City. He’d seen into the deepest parts of you. It all happened, didn’t it?”
Liz nodded, tears breaking free to roll down her face.
Guilt shone in her friend’s eyes. “You tried to tell me, and I all but called you a liar. Then, you found that script as if you’d seen it before. It’s not possible, and yet, there’s no other explanation. Trust me, I spent all night trying to find one.” He dropped into the chair again. “I love you, Liz. But I don’t love you like he does. That kind of feeling doesn’t exist, just like the world where you met him doesn’t exist.”
“I wasn’t completely sure any of it was real myself until we went back to that house. I’d wondered if I was truly losing my mind, and then it was there. The script. Now, it’s gone.”
He stood without a word and walked out into the hall.
Liz wasn’t sure what had happened, what she’d said to make him leave. She stared after him in confusion, worried she’d ruined everyone once again.
Then, he was back, standing there like he’d never left her side, like there’d never been a rift between them. In his hand was a book, one she’d have recognized anywhere. She’d seen it in Nick’s hands a hundred times during their time together at the lake house. He’d read it over and over, burning the story into his mind.
Booker looked down at the book. “I found this in the room where I was staying. I don’t know what made me grab it as I ran out, but I couldn’t leave without it.” He held it out to her, and when her fingers touched the worn surface, her breath quivered.
She ran her fingertips over the wordsDon’t Forget Me, imagining them as a portent. The book told her what was going to happen before she knew it did. He’d forgotten her.
And then, he remembered.
“Please,” she said through her tears. “Book, please take me to him.”
He didn’t hesitate to help her from the bed, one arm wrapping around her, avoiding the bandaged burns. Her body ached with each step, but she had to get to him, to tell him… what?
She wasn’t sure, but she knew as soon as she looked into those clear eyes, all her swirling thoughts would settle and there’d be calm.
Out in the hall, Jasmine pushed away from the wall. “Should you be up?”
Liz leaned most of her weight on Booker, wishing she had that wheelchair again. In the distance, she saw Nurse Haes running down the hall to get to her. She didn’t stop. She couldn’t.
For a moment, she was back in Gulf City Memorial, back in that hallway full of beeping monitors and so much doubt. She’d struggled to get to Nick, to be by his side. The end of that road was filled with nothing but pain.
But this time, she had Booker on her side instead of against her. Jasmine was no longer pretending to be a nurse. They didn’t have to sneak or avoid guards, and Nick knew who she was.
They reached his room, and Booker shifted to open the door. But the room was empty. Liz’s heart pounded in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. Gone.
Nurse Haes reached them, slightly out of breath. She slid her stethoscope over the back of her neck. “We need to get you back in bed.”
Liz shook her head. “Where is he?”
Nurse Haes’ expression fell. “He left against medical advice.”
“He left?” She couldn’t comprehend the words.
“About an hour ago.”
