“Hey, I’m going to protect you, okay? Quick and Nasty will be there in a few minutes, and I’m not far behind. Are you with me now?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. Whether I like it or not, we’re going to have a come to Jesus meeting tonight. I close my eyes. I’d just gotten used to being here. The job was good, people were nice, and I was getting used to life without him.
Liar. Well, I was trying my damnedest. This is going to set me back to square one.
“All right, I’ll get my things together.”
“Stay on the phone with me until they arrive. I need to know you’re okay.”
I try not to read too much into his tone. I’m his property. If he can’t keep me safe, he looks weak. Nothing more, nothing less. I keep the phone pressed to my ear as I pack a small bag of essentials.
“So, how you been?”
“Good. I like the shop I work in.”
“Yeah? What about friends?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“You been there for a few months.”
“Starting your life over from scratch is pretty damn time consuming.”
“I never asked you to leave.”
“No, you didn’t need to.”
“Fuck, come on, Nev.”
The nickname makes me want to rejoice and scream at the same time. “Come on, what, Wizard?”
“I didn’t ask to lose my memory.”
“No, but it sure as hell doesn’t make it any easier for me to swallow. So, I left. I did us both a favor.”
He sighs. “I don’t want to argue with you.”
“So don’t.”
“Do you have to be such a bitch about this?”
Yes, because I’m battling to save what’s left of my heart and my sanity.
“What do you expect, Wizard? You want me to pretend like this doesn’t bother me? I’m polite and respectful. It’s all you can ask of me. We can’t go back to the way we were before. There’s too many emotions involved.”
“We can’t even be friends?”
I close my eyes. “Of course, Wizard. I hope you always consider me your friend.”
“Then lighten up and we’ll ride this out together. It’s not set in stone that I’ll never remember.”
“No, but maybe by then, it’ll be too late.”
“You got something you want to tell me?”
Someone knocks on the door.
“There’s someone at the door, Wizard.”