Come Back To Me

15

The next morning, I headed straight for Alex's place. Last night, when I got home, my mom and I had a long talk about Alex and how he'd most likely remember sometime soon. We'd talked for almost two hours. I appreciated her trying to reassure me, but I knew she wasn't believing a single word she was saying. And neither was I.

I wanted to believe her. But everything else pointed otherwise.

I tried the door, but it was locked. It was a good thing Alex had given me a copy of the key a few months ago when he and Matt got the place. They were both so forgetful with things. Both of them were constantly calling me, asking me to come and let them into their apartments. You'd think they'd keep better tract of the keys to their house. But no. I pulled out my key and let myself in.

"Goodmorning, babe-" I started as I walked into the living room. I realized it was mildly inappropriate to call him 'babe' until we were actually together again. "Um, Alex. Goodmorning!"

"Oh, hey." He said, too engrossed in the TV to even spare me a look. Yep, just like he'd always been. "I didn't realize it was ten already."

"Well, it is." I laughed and headed for the kitchen to pour a glass of water. All the cups were already dirty again. Why had I even bothered to wash them in the first place?

"I gotta get a shower, then I'll be ready to go." He rose from the couch and headed to the bathroom. I couldn't even help but check out his butt as he walked away. Okay, that was even more inappropriate than calling him 'babe'.

I headed into the living room and parked it on the couch with my glass of ice water. He'd been watching the news; it was one of the Doc's reccomendations for getting him back in the groove of things. To get him caught back up with the world. I didn't bother to change the channel; I just left it where it was.

"A gas station outside of Lancaster was held at gun point this morning," The news lady started. "There were only two people working at the time, and thankfully they weren't injured. Witnesses say the suspect was male, about six feet tall, with brown hair and a scruffy beard. Police are currently reviewing video footage from other businesses in the area, as the station does not have security cameras. We'll let you know if anything turns up. For now, let's talk to William Gray, the owner of the station." The camera turned to a man standing next to her, who looked flustered and confused. He said a few things about how thankful he was that nobody was hurt, and hopefully the criminal was apprehended soon.

Just then, a sleepy Matthew came waddling into the room. "Hey, Matt," I said, picking up my feet so he could sit on the other side of the couch.

"Hey, Han," He rubbed his temples as he placed himself on the couch.  His eyes remained closed for a few seconds. "How ya been?"

"Pretty good, I guess. Alex and I had a good day yesterday." I forced a smile and glanced back to the TV. They'd already moved on to some other story.

"I know. He told me about it. You were all he talked about the entire time we were hanging out." I lost my smile and looked into my glass of water. I wiggled my toes and blinked a few times; a couple of the nervous ticks I had. "Maybe he's going to remember something Hanna. Maybe he's trying to remember. Maybe something's going to come back."

"I know, Matt. Maybe you're right. Maybe he will remember something. But I can't get my hopes up yet. Because what if he doesn't? Then I'm just going to be more disappointed than I already am." I looked over at Matt, back at the TV screen, and then back into my glass. "I miss him, Matt. I miss me and him."

"I know you do. And I miss seeing you guys so happy. Believe it or not, I always wanted what you guys had. You two were so perfect. I alaways hoped I'd end up with what you guys had. Maybe he'll remember, Han. Maybe he'll remember if you just tell him-"

Alex reappeared, dressed and with wet hair. Matthew and I immediately paused the conversation and looked back at the news. They'd moved on to  completely different issues.

"Oh, hey, Matt. Hanna, you ready to go?" He asked, nodding toward the door. "I know I am."

The first stop was the store where I worked. I had to pick up my paycheck. Alex waited in the car for me, since I wasn't going to be too long. My boss asked me how I was doing, and if I was okay. I'd explained what was going on to him when everything first happened, and he'd suggested that I take some time off. Of course, I didn't. I was saving that time for when our group was supposed to be going on vacation over the summer.

Then we had to deposit my check at the bank. Alex waited in the car again. I put half of it into my checking account, some in my savings, and got the rest in cash. The teller knew Alex's family, and asked me how he was doing. I gave the same generic answer that I was giving to everyone else.

Finally, we headed toward the local public swimming pool. Alex had figured out where we were going when I told him he'd need swim trunks, so it wasn't as much of a surprise as it had been yesterday. But maybe he'd remember how to swim or something. I chose to wear the bikini he'd bought me last summer, trying to jog his memory a bit. Okay, I was also trying to show off. I was pretty in shape, and I'd be damned if I couldn't get him at least physically attracted to me all over again.

"Okay, let's hit the water," I said after we'd both spreaded out our towels.

"I don't remember how to swim, I don't think." Alex said in response.

"Of course you do. You'll get used to it again," I grabbed his arm and forced him to follow me toward the water. "Put your feet in, little boy," I teased. I had to stop myself from wincing at the slightly cold temperature of the water. I could smell the chlorine all around us.

"Hanna, stop it," He was laughing, though. "It's cold."

There were kids laughing and splashing all around us. Occasionally we were in the middle of a splash zone, and we'd be out of one if Alex would just man up and get in the water.

"Come on, Alex," I tugged on his hand and pulled him into the water. He followed me out into the four foot section. He looked so uncomfortable. "See, it's not that bad."

"No, it's just weird." He shook his head and looked right into my eyes. "I remember swimming before. Kind of."

I smiled. A big, real smile. "Do you remember anything else?" I squeezed his fingers tight between mine.

"I just remember that I like swimming." He pulled his hand out of mine and dove underwater. His big arms cut through the wayer and propelled him forward. Looking at him, he seemed so at peace for a moment. Finally he turned around and swam back to me. "That feels good." He said, shaking out his hair. Water droplets flew and hit me on the nose. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Thanks for hanging out with me today." I smiled at him again. "I'm really having a lot of-" But then Alex grabbed me and quickly dunked me underwater.

My eyes were still open when I went under. Chlorine never bothered me. I got a good view of his perfect abs. He had a tight, toned six pack, although it was slightly less defined since he'd spent two weeks in the hospital and not working out.

I was pulled back to the surface just a second later. Even though my body was cold all over from the water, the place where his hands were on my arms was warm.

"Hey!" I said, shaking out my hair. "What'd you do that for?" I scrunched up my nose.

But he didn't answer. We just stayed like that for a second, with his eyes meeting mine. I could see his baby blues with tiny flecks of gray in them. I could get lost in his eyes so easily. The butterflies were back. His hands were still on my arms, and we were closer than I'd first thought. There was only maybe eightteen inches between us. It would be so easy for me to just kiss him. "Gotcha," He smirked and dropped his hands to his sides. He swam away from me, leaving me clueless as to what just happened.

What in the hell just happened?