Forget Me Not

“Fuck.” I turn my head into the pillow and immediately my stomach rolls at the smell.

When the hell did Olivia start wearing…what the hell is this, peach? I throw the pillow away from me, the smell making me even more physically ill when I hear a chuckle. Even in my hungover state I know that giggle does not belong to my wife. “I made coffee.” I hear the mysterious voice speak and then my eyes fly open. I’m met with blue eyes and a fresh face with long blonde hair pulled over her shoulder. A strange woman wearing a Florida State t-shirt over bare legs is staring at me with a faint smile ghosting across her lips. She holds a mug out for me and my eyes ping-pong back and forth between the cup and her and my naked body underneath the sheet.

“What…what the fuck?” I’m immediately up and off the bed and I note the time on her nightstand reads just after 5 AM. “What…how? Who…?” I look at my left hand, wondering briefly if I’d dreamt Olivia up. If I’d somehow dreamt that I’d married the perfect girl. If I was back to my life of random women and faceless one night stands. Otherwise, my life was about to become a nightmare. My eyes find the platinum ring on my left finger and I fight down the bile rising up my throat. How could I have done this? “I—married.” I shake my head. “No. No no no.”

“Relax, deep breaths.”

“DEEP BREATHS?!” I roar, and immediately regret it when it feels like my head explodes.

“Bennett—”

“Don’t say my name. I don’t know you. You don’t know me,” I growl as I pull my briefs and my jeans up over my pelvis.

“Well…we sort of do in the biblical sense.” She giggles and the sound is like nails on a chalkboard.

“I didn’t fuck you,” I snarl. “I would never cheat on my wife,” I tell her as I pull on my t-shirt and leather jacket.

“Yes, you said that quite a few times last night.” I don’t miss the roll of her eyes that makes me want to scream, you don’t know me. You don’t know how much I love my wife. I’d never do this. I would never hurt Olivia.

“And your response to that was to take me home?!” I grab my phone and my heart sinks when I don’t see anything from Olivia. She didn’t even care that I didn’t come home.

“You kissed me.” She bites her bottom lip. “You said…you said you were broken.”

“What?”

“That you wanted to feel something. So you knew you weren’t dead inside.”

I shake my head. “I wouldn’t cheat on my wife to fucking feel something. Screw you.”

Her eyes well up with tears and she takes a step back. “Stop yelling at me.”

“I…why did you let things go this far? Clearly you were more sober than I was if you can remember all of this.”

“I was pretty drunk. I just didn’t black out. And I’m sorry that I didn’t do more to protect your marriage,” she snaps as she shoots daggers out of her eyes.

“Fuck. I’m going to be sick.” I rub my forehead. “She’s never going to forgive me.”

“Livi?”

My eyes snap up to hers and I stalk towards her, backing her into a corner of her room. “Don’t you ever fucking say her name. How…how do you even know her name?”

“You…” she clears her throat, “you called her name when you…umm…came.”

I take a step back. “What?”

“Yeah…it…wasn’t my finest sexual moment.” She shrugs sadly.

“Jesus. I have to go.” I shake my head. “Look…” I point at her in question and she crosses her arms and shakes her head.

“Amanda.”

“Amanda, this never happened.”

“If that helps you sleep at night.”

I press a hand to the mirror, trying my best to get air into my lungs slowly.

Inhale.