The Memory of Fate (Book 4)

10. Bad Day

Bennett

"He was cute," Theresa said right after Patrick left.

I shook my head. "I'm not interested in anyone right now. Especially not his type, T." I sat on the edge of the couch, my hands tucked into the front pocket of my sweatshirt. "He brings back guys to have sex with and probably never sees them again. He's not a commitment person and that's the kind of thing I need when I want to sleep with someone. I don't do the quick fling thing, especially not with someone I might end up living with unless we move in together as boyfriends." I honestly couldn't picture myself sleeping with anyone but Tommy. He's the only one I've ever done it with.

She chuckled. "Jeez, I only said he was cute. Not that you had to get with him."

"Sorry." I sighed. "I'm not over Tommy and I don't think I will be for a while."

"You know what they say." She raised her eyebrows at me. "To get over someone, get under someone else."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Yeah, right." I walked around the couch and picked up my empty dinner container. "I think I'm gonna head to bed."

She didn't object, despite the fact that our unfinished episode was still sitting paused on the TV with twelve minutes left. I just wasn't in the mood to do anything other than curl up in bed right now.

And that's exactly what I did.

I changed out of my jeans and into my comfiest pair of sweatpants, then climbed under my covers. I don't know why I was feeling so uncomfortable tonight. I wasn't sure if it was the conversation with Tommy that had me like this or that guy Patrick. Nothing else out of the ordinary happened today, and I was fine until Tommy called and Patrick got here and awkwardly stared me down while I wasn't wearing clothes. Absolutely fine.

*

I woke up with sunlight peaking into my room through the blinds. I yawned, rolling over onto my back. I didn't remember falling asleep last night, but obviously I must have at some point.

I reached for my phone on my nightstand, but it wasn't there, so I fished around my bed for a minute before finding it. The first thing I noticed was the lack of battery my phone had, since I hadn't plugged it in last night. I grabbed my charger and plugged it in, only to then notice the time.

I was going to be late for work.

Tossing the covers off of me, I jumped out of bed, nearly tripping over the corner of the blanket. My hand hit the wall just before my face did and I gasped at the sudden stop. I really hoped my day would end up being better than these last thirty seconds.

Turns out, I wasn't so lucky. It started pouring when I was halfway to work, so I ended up drenched. I'm pretty sure I left a puddle in the doorway when I finally got inside.

Thankfully, I had a spare set of clothes in the locker room that I kept there for emergencies. I definitely wouldn't be able to teach an exercise class in soaking wet clothes, although that just meant I was going to be just a little bit later than I already was.

"Hi everyone," I said, running into the studio. "So sorry I'm late. Let's get right into it."

It wasn't until the second song of the morning that I realized there was someone in the back that I hadn't seen here before. But that didn't mean I didn't recognize her.

My footing slipped and I landed on my ass. "Oh shit," I muttered, standing back up. When I looked back up, all of the woman (and two men) in the class had stopped and were looking at me with concern.

I waved them off. "Sorry. I'm okay. Let's keep going."

I tried to focus on my balance for the rest of the class, not wanting to fall again. At least it helped me take my focus off of her.

That is, until she approached me after the class ended. "Hi, I didn't get a chance to talk to you before class started. I'm Sandra."

I wanted to scream I know before running and hiding somewhere, but a part of me was glad she didn't recognize me. "I'm Bennett. It's so nice to meet you." I hated lying, but to her, I had gotten good at it over the years. "For the record, I don't usually fall when instructing. Today has just been a day, already."

"As long as you're okay. That fall looked like it hurt."

I shrugged. I probably had a nice-looking bruise on my ass now, but it wasn't so bad. "So what brings you to this little studio?" From what I remembered, she hated this kind of thing. She also didn't live in this city, either, but apparently that's changed.

"Oh, just a change in scenery. Moved to the city a couple months ago. I'm actually looking for my daughter."

My voice caught in my throat for a moment. "O-Oh really?"

She nodded. "She's about your age, probably. I know she loved these kinds of classes, and I was hoping to run into her at one of them. You wouldn't happen to know her, would you? Theresa Baxter?"

A shiver went down my spine at my old name. "Can't say she's one of my students. Sorry."

"Of course. Thank you anyway for your help." She was about to leave, but then stopped. "Huh. My daughter has a birthmark just like yours." She tapped the side of her nose, where mine was. "Same spot, too. How odd."

I nodded. "Very odd."

She stared at me for a few more seconds and I was wondering if this was when she'd finally recognize me as her daughter. "You remind me of her, Bennett," she said eventually. "I don't know what it is about you, but you do."

I forced a smile, a mix of emotions flooding my head. "Sometimes you run into the strangest people in a city like this."

"I suppose so." Then she turned and headed for the door, but stopped before she got there and looked at me again. "If you do end up running into her at some point, can you tell her that I'm looking for her? I want my little girl back, whether or not she likes other girls."

My hands curled into fists, and I quickly tucked them into my pockets. "Of course."

After all this time, she still didn't understand. I let her walk out of the studio. I hoped to never see her again.