Ecstasy

Johnson

"Jack, wake up."
I roll over and groan, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Today marks the three month anniversary of the time I've spent in the hospital. Dr. Young lets me go out a lot with Jack, but she usually goes with us if I leave the hospital, or an assistant does.
I let my eyes flutter close again, drifting back off to sleep.
"Jack, I'm being serious! Wake up! Your boyfriend is going to be here in twenty minutes to take you on your date!"
I sit up, my eyes flying open. I had completely forgotten about that! Jack and I were going on a date. Anita, the woman who woke me up and who was going with us, smiles at me and holds up clothes.
I jump off the bed and run over to the shower.
I get in, washing my body quickly.
These past three months have been hard for me. I've gotten to know Jack all over again, and I'm in love. I guess I was before, too. I've remembered a few things, and he's told me a lot, too. Apparently I'm famous. I remember writing the song Tides, though, coincidentally. My friend Sam and his boyfriend visit less often now that they're busy with each other. Nash is dating some guy named Cameron, which apparently is big. Nash is the guy with the pretty eyes.
And then there's Andrew. The first day he visited with flowers in hand, I recognized him immediately. The memory slid into place, but the funny thing was that I couldn't remember anything else about it. I couldn't remember what I had for breakfast that day, or what happened after I found Andrew. I just remember Andrew... I don't even remember what we talked about.
Three months later, I still don't know my last name. That's okay though, I'll just take Gilinsky.
I hop out of the shower and towel dry my hair, pulling on a pair of khaki coloured skinny jeans and a white t shirt with a blue alien head on the front and the word "Johnson" on the back. I put on my socks then slide out of the bathroom.
Anita laughs when she sees me, then hands me a pair of white vans.
I sit down and put them on as Jack knocks on the door and walks in, smiling and holding a bouquet of roses.
I run over to him, slamming into his chest. He laughs and wraps his arms around me, swaying to and fro.
"Hi, Jack," I say, burying my face in his chest.
"Hey. You ready?"
I nod. "Mmhmm. Come on," I tug him out the door, Anita following us and closing the door behind her.
The three of us head down to the parking lot, where Jack's car is. Anita stays a little behind us, and takes her own car to follow us.
I've only been in Jack' car twice, but I'm sure in my past life I've been in it tons more. That's what I started calling it; the blank space in my memory. It's become my past life, because this me, the me that doesn't remember, is a new me. A different me than the me before.
I'm so lost in the thought of before that I don't notice Jack hand me a napkin. I stare at it, my brows furrowing.
"What's this for?" I ask.
"Your lip is bleeding," Jack flicks his eyes down to my lips and he licks his own.
I swipe my tongue across the soft skin, tasting the metallic tang of blood. I put the napkin to the cut. I wasn't aware I had bitten my lip that hard.
Jack pulls up to a large airy restaurant on the beach. It was no walls, just a few pillars holding up the roof, which is made of the dried leaves of palm trees. The floor is a smooth stone with sharp edges, sand blowing in and covering it. The tables are hand carved wood, and they all have bowls with rocks filling the bottom half with a candle on top of those rocks.
This place is beautiful.
My jaw drops open as my mouth spreads into a smile. Jack laughs when he sees my expression.
"Uh... we can go to my- our- place after we eat and watch movies if you want," he says.
I nod, still at a loss for words.
A waitress leads us over to a table. Jack pulls out a chair for me, and I smile and sit down. Again my mind itches and tickles, so close to a memory, yet so far from acquiring it. I sigh and decide to let go of it, instead relishing in the moment I have with Jack.
The waitress comes back with our food about thirty minutes later, and Jack and I talk while we eat. I'm really glad of all the people who could've claimed to be my boyfriend, it was him.
I spot Anita on the beach and wave slightly. She smiles and waves back. Jack pays the waitress then takes my hand and stands up. I smile and follow him back to his car.
He drives to a large luxurious looking house, and strangely a memory pops into my head of being here before. But the awe of seeing it for the first time is still there. I follow Jack up to the door, and the closer I get to the house, the more foreboding it becomes. I get this really sinister feeling from it. It's like something really bad here happened in my past life.
Jack leads me over to the couch. The farther into the house I get, the worse the feeling becomes. Jack sits down across from me and sighs, rubbing his sweaty palms on his thighs. I get the feeling that something is terribly amiss.
"Jack," he says, drawing in a breath after saying my name. "We need to talk."