“Logan.” With that single utterance, she strode toward him. He stood up from the small sofa with a questioning look. I wanted to rip her away when she put her arms around him in a hug. Instead, I just clenched my hands into fists. Logan patted her on the back, obviously confused by the affection from a stranger. She finally pulled back, but that gave me little comfort as her hand grabbed his.
“I got here as soon as I could. I can’t believe
you were in another car accident. What awful luck.”
I was gratified when Logan pulled his hand out of hers, but he had a polite smile on his face.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure who you are.”
Kristina shook her head in dismay. “I heard that you were having memory problems. That’s why I came as soon as possible. You need someone to take care of you while you recuperate.”
Logan glanced at me, and Kristina followed his gaze. I had been beginning to feel like I didn’t exist, but Kristina’s hostile expression as she stared at me wasn’t much better.
“There was no need for you to come,” I said, finally finding my voice. “Logan already has someone to take care of him. Me. His girlfriend.”
Kristina’s eyes narrowed, her mouth twisting. “I wouldn’t call you his girlfriend considering he doesn’t remember who you are.”
I laughed, although there was no humor in the sound. “He doesn’t remember you, either. Fortunately, my memory is excellent and I remember him telling you that your relationship was over months ago. I can guess what your agenda is for coming here, but it won’t work.”
She shot me a hateful look as she stalked closer to me. I stood my ground, willing myself not to punch her. The last thing I needed was to get kicked out of the hospital. I had once felt an immense amount of guilt towards Kristina. After all, I had been with Logan while they were still together. But that was in the past. Logan was mine now.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re on a level playing field now,” she spat out. “And I intend to remind Logan of how amazing our relationship was before you got your hooks into him.”
My anger propelled me closer to her, but before I could yell at her or shake her, or both, Logan stepped between us.
“I’m not sure whether I should be flattered or offended that I’m being fought over like a piece of meat, but I don’t think brawling in a hospital is a good idea.”
I stepped back, annoyed that Logan wasn’t defending me or telling Kristina to get out. Despite his amnesia, we had shared an incredible kiss today. Yet, he wasn’t immediately telling his ex-girlfriend to kick rocks.
“I’m sorry,” Kristina said, her expression changing from anger to simpering adoration. “I just want you to know the truth. You and I had something real before she came into the picture. You told me you loved me, and wanted to marry me and have kids with me. The only reason you got back together with her is because you felt guilty since she was so depressed about killing her best friend.”
“You bitch!” I lunged towards her to scratch her eyes out, but before I could make contact, Logan grabbed me and swung me away from her. I pushed on his arm around my waist, trying to get him to release me, but it was like an iron manacle.
An anger like I had never felt before overwhelmed me. It was bad enough that she was here to manipulate Logan, but I couldn’t bear to hear her speak about Cassie.
“You stupid pathetic bitch! You can’t accept the fact that Logan chose me, not you. And don’t you ever talk about Cassie again. You know nothing about her!”
I screamed in frustration, angry that Logan was still holding me back. I felt out of control and wanted to hurt Kristina as much as her words about Cassie had hurt me. Logan turned around so his back was to Kristina, and she was no longer in my line of sight.
“Shhh, calm down,” he said softly. “Calm down, Maddie.”
I froze at his words. It was the first time he had called me Maddie since waking up from the accident. Could he possibly be regaining his memory?
I twisted my neck to look at him, my heart blooming with hope. He had a concerned expression on his face as he looked down at me.
“Logan?” My voice was hesitant but hopeful. “Do you remember me? Is your memory back?”
He frowned and my heart sank. “No. Why do you ask?”
All the fight went out of me and I went limp, turning back around so I wasn’t facing him. “You called me Maddie,” I whispered.
Logan dropped his arm so he could turn me around to face him. His brows were furrowed. “Is that significant?”
I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to go into it in front of Kristina. “That’s just what you always used to call me. You haven’t called me that since you lost your memory.”
Before Logan could reply, Kristina interrupted us. “Just because he’s calling you by a nickname doesn’t meant anything,” she said scathingly. Her voice turned gentle as she walked closer to Logan. “I want to help you, Logan. She duped you once into taking her back. I’m not going to let her do it again. You deserve to be happy. We were happy together.”
Logan took a step back from both of us. “Listen, this is a little too much for me right now. I’m really not in the mood to be in the middle of a tug-of-war. I want help getting my memory back, but not if it’s going to result in a cat fight.”