Oblivion

“That explains it,” I mumbled out loud. Her words made sense and it helped me realize something else.

“Explains what?”

I looked at her sheepishly and felt a tinge of guilt of what I was thinking. “Can I tell you something?”

A smile curled onto A

I laughed as I was again reminded of how well A

“Oh.” I could tell this was the last thing she expected me to say.

“Well he was cocky, confident, and way too forward with me. At first he didn’t even seem to care when I said I was engaged.”

“So what happened?” A

I told A

“So have you talked to him since the night he helped you look for Scooter?”

I shook my head. “No. He texted a few times to check to see if everything was okay, but besides texting him back to let him know that Scooter was home and safe, I’d been avoiding him.” I paused, feeling guilty about what I was about to admit. “I’ve been trying to distance myself from him, but—”

“But you can’t seem to get him out of your mind?” A

“God, I’m an awful person, A

“Liv, you’re not an awful person.” Her voice was soft and compassionate as she gently rubbed my shoulder to console me. “Maybe you’re just confused about your feelings. I mean, I can’t imagine how it feels to wake up one day being engaged to someone you can’t remember and have people tell you that you loved him when you don’t have those feelings. That has to be a lot of pressure.”

“Thanks,” I said gratefully.

“For what?” She gave me a small smile.

“For listening to me without passing judgment; for being so supportive and understanding.”

“Liv, I love you, sweetie. You may not remember everything about our friendship, but you’re like the sister I never had, and I’m pretty sure you felt the same way.” She gri

I smiled, feeling thankful to have a friend as supportive as she was.

“I know things will work out the way they should. At the end of the day, do what feels right to you, and I’ll be behind you the entire way.”

“Thanks, A

“Liv, there may be things you don’t remember, but at the very core of who you are, you haven’t changed one bit.” She reached for my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “You are still the same caring, selfless, and loyal person.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” She beamed at me. “So what do you think you’re going to do?”

I took a big sip from my Bloody Mary and thought about her question. “Co

“That makes sense.” She flashed me a sympathetic smile.

“So I need to just focus on my relationship with Co

“That’s probably a good idea.” She raised her nearly-empty glass of Bloody Mary in the air in front of us. “A toast! To your birthday! I hope you have a blast spending it with the love of your life.”

“I’ll drink to that.” I gri

“Speaking of which, what is Co

“We’re going to Milburn Orchard and then a romantic di

“Oh that sounds like so much fun! I love going apple picking there. Sounds like Co

A

***

It wasn’t until I got home later that afternoon that I noticed I’d missed a few calls and a voicemail from Co

“Hey, babe. I’m jumping into another meeting but wanted to give you a call before I did. So it looks like I can’t make it back tonight as pla