Tymber Dalton - Pinch Me

Not that he could ever tell any of these people about that aspect of their relationship. “She’s my life. How do I go in there acting like everything’s hunky-dory, when y’all are telling me she doesn’t even know who I am?”

“I’m not saying you pretend everything’s fine. I’m saying you have to be strong and stable right now. She needs to know that you’re someone she can trust.”

“I am .”

“She doesn’t remember that. Right now, she’s terrified of men. She nearly took my head off when she came to.” He pointed at his cheek.

Rob noticed a fresh, deep scratch on the doctor’s face. “She did that ?” He couldn’t imagine his Laura attacking anyone.

Not his Laura.

He nodded. “She was freaked out. She woke up disoriented and combative. Fortunately, Nancy and the other nurses were able to get her calmed down so we didn’t have to sedate and restrain her. She was screaming and swinging like she was fighting someone.”

“From the attack?”

“I’m no psychiatrist, but I’d guess yes. Once she fully woke up she calmed down a little. Having a female uniformed deputy in there with her helped. But right now she’s still very fragile.”

“Laura?” Corporal Dayton stuck her head through the door.

Laura looked up from her bowl of chicken broth. Her hand went up to her throat. She realized she’d been doing that a lot, like a reflexive gesture, but she didn’t understand why.

It almost felt as if something was missing, something comforting.

“Det. Thomas is here to talk with you. I’m going to come in with him. He has to ask you some questions, okay?”

Laura looked at Nurse Russell, who sat in a chair next to her bed. She patted Laura on the hand. “It’s okay, honey. I’ll stay, too.”

Laura gingerly nodded, pain and fear still in control of her body.

Dayton brought Thomas in and he stood by the door. “Hi, Laura. I’m Det. Thomas from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.” He held up his badge holder so she could see it. “I need to talk with you for a few minutes. About what happened. Okay?”

Laura stiffened, but nodded, even though it hurt her neck to move her head much.

He took a few steps closer and pulled a notebook and pen from his back pocket. “Do you know what day it is?”

“It’s Wednesday.” She hesitated. “The nurses told me. I didn’t know.”

“Do you know what happened to you?”

“I only know what they told me. I don’t remember anything. They said I was attacked.”

Thomas slowly moved a chair over and sat a few feet from the end of her bed. Laura relaxed a little when it was obvious he wasn’t getting any closer.

“Do you know where you live?”

She shook her head.

“Do you know where you are?”

“A hospital.”

“Do you know which one?”

“In Pt. Charlotte. They told me that, too.”

He looked at his notes. “Last Friday night, five days ago, around eleven o’clock, someone attacked you at your condo. Do you remember anything?”

She slowly shook her head. “Did he rape me?”

“No. Whoever it was didn’t have time. You said ‘he’? Do you remember it was a man?”

Laura thought about it. “Not really.” She closed her eyes and let her mind drift, grasping at tenuous thoughts that escaped her. “All I remember is thinking it was a man.”

“Do you have any idea what he looked like?”

Her eyes stayed closed. Eventually, she shook her head again.

“Okay. That’s enough for now. I’m going to have a deputy stay by your door for as long as you’re here. It sometimes might have to be a man though, okay?”

Her eyes opened, considering. She looked at Nurse Russell, who smiled and nodded. Finally, Laura nodded.

Thomas looked at Nurse Russell, then back to Laura. “Do you remember anything about your family?” he asked.

She glanced at her left hand, where a pale, narrow strip of flesh circled the finger where she usually wore her engagement ring. When she was brought in, an ER nurse had given it to Rob for safe keeping.

“Am I married?” she asked.

A wave of sadness swept through Thomas. As a widower, he couldn’t imagine having someone who was still alive but didn’t even know you. “No, you’re engaged.”

Laura stiffened. “Did he—”

“No,” he quickly reassured her. “We already know for certain he wasn’t the one who did this. He’s a paramedic. He was working an accident when this happened.” He paused. “He’s very worried about you and he’d like to see you. May I send him in?”

He watched as Laura studied her hands. She didn’t work her fingers together or rub her thumb over her ring finger like someone recently missing a ring.

She seemingly had no memory of Rob at all. If she was faking it, she was faking it very well.

Unfortunately, he doubted she was faking it.

“Okay,” she finally said.

He nodded. “If you remember anything, please tell the staff immediately, all right? They’ll call me and I’ll come to talk with you again.”

She slowly nodded. He’d seen his fair share of domestic violence victims, victims of assault.

Laura Spaulding looked like a walking ghost.

Thomas stood to go when she stopped him. “Detective?”

He turned. “Yes?”

“What’s his name?”

Rob stood in the doorway. He hated himself for thinking it was almost worse seeing Laura conscious. The purple bruises and swollen cheekbones looked out of place on someone sitting up and awake.

At least when she was unconscious, he knew she couldn’t feel the horrible beating she’d suffered. The bandage on her forehead had been removed, exposing the twelve stitches closing the ugly gash. Her upper lip still looked puffy and had been split open. The bruises around her neck were starting to fade from deep purple to an ugly brown that looked even worse.

She used to take pride in bruises he left on her ass from a play session.

But this…

He successfully fought back the rising bile in his stomach. “Hi, honey. Laura.”

She looked at Nurse Russell, who still sat by her bed. The nurse smiled and nodded to her, apparently trying to reassure her he was safe.

Laura stared at him. He wanted to hold her in his arms and stroke her long auburn hair, comfort her, tell her how much he loved her. The walk across the room felt like the longest of his life. Laura’s blue-grey gaze nervously followed him the entire way until he stopped at the foot of her bed. She still hadn’t said anything.

He swallowed hard and tried to maintain his composure. “The doctors told me you’re having trouble with your memory because of the—because of what happened. Do you recognize me?”

Laura was getting pretty good at shaking and nodding her head without causing too much agony, as long as she did it slowly and deliberately. Quick, sudden movements caused her the most pain.

The man looked familiar, but there was no name to go with the face in her mind’s black void. Rugged, but kind. Light brown hair, soft brown eyes. Kind eyes.

Familiar eyes.

He wasn’t built like a brick outhouse, but he looked like he could easily scoop her into his arms and sweep her away. He wore a casual uniform, a navy T-shirt tucked into black slacks with cargo pockets.

Fireman?

No. Paramedic . That’s what the detective had said.

Safety and warmth were the first feelings to come to mind. Kindness, sincerity, tenderness.

Peace.

Love.

Trust.

Her hand went to her throat again, fingers fluttering helplessly, searching for something not there.