Page 25 of The Pale Rider
“Cougar wants to meet with us, and then we are headed out.”
“We aren’t leaving as early as before.”
“No, because we aren’t in dangerous territory, and we aren’t going through it. Most of the way to the next stop is abandoned except for Rage Heads, and they aren’t bad. They are mostly half-starved and weak out that way. The closer we get to Los Angeles, the worse it will get.”
“How is Los Angeles?”
“California isn’t doing so bad. We will have to be careful about getting to your apartment.”
“Um, what is your horse going to do in Los Angeles?”
Aeron smirked at me.
“Why are you so concerned with Meremoth?”
“That’s not a normal horse!”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Asshole,” I muttered.
“You know you love me.”
“Excuse me?”
Aeron waved his fork at me.
“You just wait.”
Wait for what? My memories to come back? He certainly wasn’t helping with that. Could he help with that? If my mind would break if my memories were triggered wrong, this was all up to me. Maybe I could make a game of it. Perhaps I could find a way to trick Aeron into answering my questions that I could find out about him without triggering memories.
“Did we know each other before?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Because you wouldn’t have had my blue bat if you weren’t looking for me. You knew where I lived, and you went to my apartment to get things for me. Why would you do all that, and how do you know all this shit about me if we didn’t know each other before?”
“That’s a story for another day. We need to talk to Cougar and get on the road. It’s a long way to Los Angeles, and I’m hoping your apartment triggers some memories for you.”
That was a story for right now. How was answering me if we knew each other in the past going to hurt me? I was getting sick of Aeron’s shit. I stomped out the front door after him. We argued all the way through the town. Aeron kept snapping at me to keep my voice down and drop it. I wasn’t having any of that. It was frustrating not remembering your entire life. Aeron had all the answers, and he wouldn’t even give me hints.
We were still arguing when Aeron knocked on a house with a large door. Cougar opened the door and cocked an eyebrow at us.
“If you need this one, you might want to keep her happy because she looks like she wants to rip your balls off.”
“She does,” I growled.
“Get in here and let’s talk this out like adults.”
I followed her to a beautiful living room and sat on the couch as far away from Aeron as I could. He refused to look at me and scowled at the wall. It was like the way he was when he was drunk never happened.
“Now, what are you fighting about?”
Aeron and I both started talking at once.
“He’s keeping secrets from me.”
“She’s being ridiculous. I’m trying to keep her safe, and she fights me at every turn.”
