Talania - a Trip Down Memory Lane... (4 page)

Yeah, I can’t talk right now. She does not remember me. She does not remember us. She was alone going through all that.

“We were what? We were a couple? You were serious when you said that back there?” She points to the hallway looking from him to me then back to him. Drake nods and Ev shrinks further into Adella.

“I’m still into photography and stuff,” she whispers. “I was into it before those years so it’s still there, but I’m sorry I don’t remember you guys or…or the band part. What did I do in this band?” Her sweet voice asks.

I can’t do this. I can’t do this at all.

“You sang and were pretty good at the keyboard. We were teaching you,” Drake mumbles.

“I can’t sing,” she squeaks.

But she can sing like a goddess.

“You can,” I mumble out, downing another shot.

“I can?” she asks incredulously.

“Yes, you can, and you’re very good,” Drake answers for me. He must sense all of this has thrown me off balance.

She gets a huge grin on her face. “Well, if you know me, when is my birthday?” She folds her hands.

“July fourth, you’re a fireworks baby,” I whisper.

Fuck me. I need to get in the game. My wits are all over the place.

“Uh, where did we meet?” she asks.

“On the beach. Dumbass hit you in the head with a volleyball when he was fifteen. He was ogling you down at Laguna.” Drake laughs.

“We have a beach house in Laguna. Is that where we all met?”

“Yes.” I answer.

“And we were together for three years?”

I only nod. I can’t do anything else but nod. I shake my head in frustration.

“And why did we break up?” she whispers.

There is the million-dollar question that I have asked for years and now have my answer to.

“We didn’t— you just never came back, not even during holidays. You just never came back.” I look her dead in the eyes.

“I never came back,” she whispers and I nod. Tears start to form in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Once the memory loss started happening my parents were advised to let me just lose those years so I wouldn’t dwell on them while I was fighting cancer. I didn’t mean to forget you or to leave you!” she chokes out the words.

Don’t cry Ev. Don’t cry!

“I think we all need some more shots, right?” Adella chimes in.

Thank God! This is too much to take in at once!

“Yes, that would be nice.” Ev wipes her tears away.

Drake holds his hands up. “Nope, I’m done. I’ve got a two hour drive.” He gets up and pats his pockets for his keys.

“Why do you have a two hour drive?” I ask him.

“I’m going to get the Evelyn trunk. It’s full of our memories.” He says, matter-of-factly.

Our Ev trunk! All our memories, pictures, videos and memorabilia from our times together are in that trunk.

“Bring it to me. She doesn’t need to see it all at once, and I don’t want her to get overwhelmed.” I growl.

“I know, but I’m sure Ev would like to see it. Am I right, Ev?” He looks over to her and she looks happy.

“We have a trunk full of memories? Like my lost memories?” The tone in her voice is a happy one.

“Yes.” I look at her, and when she looks back at me, she gives me that Ev smile that was always reserved for me. That smile where her eyes sparkle and her dimples show.

There goes my chest again.

“Go get them. I can have some of my memories back even if someone else has to show them to me. I can get some of them back,” she cries and claps as Adella hands her another shot, which she downs happily.

Drake leans down and gives her an awkward hug before leaving to retrieve my most prized memories of her.

“So, more shots everyone.” She bounces.

This is more like the old carefree Evelyn. Why didn’t her parents at least call and tell us what the hell was going on? As if on cue, Ev’s phone starts going off and she scowls at it.

“It’s my parents,” she slurs.

A laugh escapes my throat. She’s about to answer the phone drunk.

“Well, hello Mommy dearest,” she purrs evilly into the phone. “You know how you shipped me off to this college so I could heal and live my life again? Well, turns out my first night here I have run into some old friends. How old of friends you ask?” She looks over at me and I smile.

“Well, apparently there is this guy I dated for like, what, three years?” She looks to me for more confirmation. I nod again. “Yes Tristan. Umm, I don’t know his last name.” She looks to me for help.

“Monroe,” I say.

“Yes, his name is Tristan Monroe. Imagine my surprise when he didn’t know what happened to me. You said you contacted everyone Mother. You said everyone!” She yells into the phone. “I understand you had to keep my memories away from me. But did you honestly not clue in the people that freaking cared about me Mom? Huh? Because that probably broke them, you know. They thought I just left and never came back. What if I had died? Would you have told them then?” She is crying into the phone. “No, it’s okay. I don’t need you to tell me my memories of him or those summers or holidays!” There’s a pause. “Why? Because THEY saved my memories for me!” And with that, she hangs up.

“She’s ‘Lost Love’, isn’t she?” Shawn mumbles.

It’s the first time he has spoken since this whole thing started.

“Yeah man, she’s ‘Lost Love’,” I whisper.

She wipes the tears from her eyes again and pours us all another shot.

“So what’s in this trunk?” she asks me.

“Everything,” I say simply.

“Everything; like what?”

“Photos, videos, concert tickets, anything and everything from our three years together are in that trunk,” I say.

“Videos of what?”

Man, she really hasn’t changed all that much.

“Videos of you and me, and of our band.” I down my shot.

“It can be like a trip down memory lane. I can show you things in order. I don’t want to show you all of it at once. I don’t want you to get overwhelmed. What we had was very intense.” I look away.

So much more than intense: she is my soul mate; the reason I breathe, the reason I make music.

She leans over Adella and gets straight in my face. Her scent automatically consumes me. It’s the closet I have been to her since she was sixteen. Her beautiful chestnut eyes twinkle in mischief and she smirks. “How intense?” she breathes.

All the air leaves my lungs. How intense?

Oh fuck, here it goes.

“I was your first and you were mine.” There, I said it.

“I was your first and you were mine,” he whispers.

And I smile. I finally found the one person who has touched me. “So you’re the only guy who’s touched me.” I say simply.

He looks dumbfounded.

“I was back then, yes,” his deep voice comes out shaky.

“No, you’re the only guy who’s touched me.” I tap on his chest, trying to make him understand. “I mean, unless you shared me those three years we were together or we fought and broke up before I got sick.” I shrug.

His eyes go hooded and he leans into my face. “We never fought. You and I didn’t work that way. If you were pissed at me, you ignored me and I made up for it. We never broke up. You just didn’t come back for that Thanksgiving.” He breathes against my lips and I feel myself shiver.

“Ah, I still have that effect on you then,” he mumbles, his beautiful green eyes twinkling.

“What effect do I have on you?” I whisper back.

“Everything and all,” he says simply.

“Everything and all, huh?” I lean back and grin at him.

Adella shakes my arm. I drag my gaze away from this beautiful man and look over at her.

“So you were one another's firsts?” she asks.

“Apparently. I mean, he says so.” I gesture towards Tristan and bite my lip.

“Yes, I was.” he growls.

“Whoa, Trist. Jesus, what’s wrong with you?” Adella laughs.

She turns closer to Tristan. “So what was your first time like?” She bats her eyelashes at him, causing him to laugh as he looks at me and smiles.

“Amazing and messy,” he answers.

“Amazing and messy. I get the amazing part, but why messy?” She pours us another shot.

“Well we did it on the beach. She was fifteen and I was sixteen, and the sand ended up in places sand shouldn’t end up in.” He smirks, shaking his head.

“She,” he gestures towards me, “actually recorded before and after,” he smiles.

“What?” I squeak.

He gestures around the club. “Why do you think I named my club 'Before and After'?”

“How is this your club? If I’m twenty, then you’re only twenty-one.” I answer. “'Before and After' seems like such a strange name.” Then, it dawns on me just which before and after he’s referring to. I can’t help but squirm in my seat.

He nods. “Yes. Before and after, babe.” He smirks.

“Oh shit.” I slap my hand over my mouth. I never curse.

“What?” Adella and Tristan ask at the same time.

“I don’t curse,” I say sheepishly.

Tristan barks out a laugh. “Oh, you fucking curse alright, at least you did back then. You were worse than Drake and I put together,” he smiles.

“Oh!” is all I can manage to say.

“Tristan, you ready?” Blondie comes back, purring.

“Go away. I’m visiting friends,” he says, not turning in her direction at all.

“Tristan baby, are we still on for tonight?” She twirls her fingers around a strand of her hair.

He looks at me, but I’m not sure why.

“No, not tonight. Maybe another night,” he says quietly.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” I spit out. “After all, Blondie is waiting.”

What is wrong with me? This is not me. Or is it? Why do I feel this way? Why do I feel like he belongs to me?

I feel chemistry with this man, but I don’t remember him so the feelings can’t really be there. Or are they? His eyes go wide. He turns back to the Blondie.

“You know what? Yeah, I’ll be over later,” he gives Blondie a panty-dropping grin.