Tymber Dalton - Pinch Me

The psychologist took Laura back to the dreams.

“Do you know the shadow?”

“I think I do.”

“Is it someone you deal with every day?”

“No.”

“Would you know the shadow if you saw it again?”

Laura frowned, concentrating. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Does the shadow ever say anything to you? Do you ever hear anything?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Okay. What did you say to the shadow?” Laura repeated her words from the dreams. “And what did you say to the shadow when he showed up at your door?”

“Hi.” Laura’s eyes snapped open. “I did know him!”

Bill tensed, resisting the urge to say anything.

Dr. Collins looked at Laura. “Do you see a face?”

She closed her eyes again. “Not yet.”

“Does any name come to mind?”

She thought about it. “Dave maybe? I’m not sure.”

“That’s okay. Don’t force it.”

Laura lay there, then suddenly burst into tears. Dr. Collins got her a box of tissue and motioned to Bill to stay still.

“Laura, when I count to three, you’re going to relax and be calm. You’ll remember everything we talked about, but you’ll be relaxed. Okay?”

Laura nodded.

“Okay. One, two, three.”

Laura blew her nose.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m okay.”

Dr. Collins patted her on the arm. “Good. Let’s switch tracks for a while. I’d like to talk about what’s been happening since the attack…”

At the end of the hour, Dr. Collins made Laura another appointment for two days later. “I have some ideas about how we might proceed from here. We’ll talk more at your next appointment.”

Bill escorted her out. Laura couldn’t help but notice how he scanned the parking lot before leaving the building.

“Nervous?”

“About you? Absolutely. I can’t afford to lose you, sis.” He protectively put his arm around her and unlocked the car door.

She had a follow-up appointment with a doctor about her injuries. The only advice he had for her was to take it easy and keep seeing Dr. Simpson and Dr. Collins. There wasn’t anything they could do for her injured ribs but prescribe rest.

Bill drove her back to Englewood. She only spent an hour at the shop before needing to go home and lie down. That also frustrated her. She knew she wasn’t a person who normally sloughed off work.

Not that anyone apparently held it against her now, but she took it personally. The ribs didn’t hurt as badly as they had before, even without the pain meds, but she knew she still had to take it easy or risk re-injuring them.

Fortunately, the only mail awaiting her was bills.

Her brother smiled as he tossed them onto the table.

“What?”

“Never thought I’d ever hear someone happy to say they received nothing but bills in their mail.”

Rob had to work late, so they went to a restaurant in North Port for an early dinner. Despite the place being busy they were able to get a corner booth where they could talk privately.

“How you feel?” he asked her.

She shook her head as she looked over the menu. “Drained. Tired. I didn’t like reliving some of that stuff.”

He sipped his tea. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you. If I’d known—”

She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. “Stop. Right now. You had no idea. I know you would have been here. It’s not your fault this happened any more than it’s Rob’s.”

Bill ordered them appetizers. Laura needed more time to decide on her dinner. Finally, she decided on a salad. She sat back in the booth. “I’m so tired.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Laur. It’s to be expected.”

“I expect more from myself.” He grinned. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing, but that’s something you used to always say. Maybe more of you is coming back than you realize.”

She played with her glass of iced tea. “I can only hope.”

Late Tuesday afternoon, after spending the day at the shop, Bill took Laura home. She fished her phone from her purse and realized she’d missed several texts from Shayla. Once she’d closed herself in her bedroom she opted to call her friend rather than text her.

“I’m sorry,” Laura said. “I’m still getting used to technology.”

“That’s okay. So how are you feeling?”

“I’m…here.”

“Rob told us you were wiped out Saturday. But can we come by tonight? We’ll bring dinner.”

She wanted to see her friend again. “Okay. Rob won’t be here. My brother’s here, though.”

“Oh, good. We’re looking forward to meeting him.”

After a few more minutes, Laura felt exhaustion take over. She got off the phone and went back out to the living room to lie down on the sofa. “Shayla and Tony are coming over tonight.”

Her eyes felt ready to cross from all the reading she’d done at the shop, and her shoulders hurt.

Maybe Rob can give me one of his neck rubs.

She froze. He’d never mentioned that to her. Was this a returning memory?

“Laur?” Bill asked. “You all right?”

Frozen, she concentrated, willing more to come. None did.

It was frustrating being teased and tortured by her own brain. Maybe she was a closet masochist and no one had ever caught on before.

She burst out laughing but wasn’t sure why.

Bill stared at her with an odd look on his face. “You’re starting to worry me.”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Then what’s so funny?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m not sure.”

* * *

It felt good to sit down with Shayla and Tony in her own home. She knew, even though she couldn’t remember, that they’d spent a lot of time together doing just this, talking, enjoying each other’s company.

Only the other times it wasn’t Tony and Shayla trying to help fill in the blanks of Laura’s missing memories.

She watched the way Shayla looked at Tony, the love in her eyes as she glanced at him. The way she stood, without being asked, to refill his glass.

The way she obviously doted on him.

The way she leaned into him, his arm around her shoulders, as they sat and talked.

She wanted that with Rob. Maybe she’d already had it with him.

She wanted it back, if she had.

Bill stepped out of the room for a few minutes. Laura found herself saying, “You guys look like you’ve been in love forever.”

Tony smiled down at Shayla. “I’m a lucky man.”

“I’m a lucky p—girl.” Shayla blushed and quickly smiled. “Girl. I’m a very lucky girl.”

Laura wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Shayla had started to say something else. Like she should know what it was Shayla had almost said.

Then Bill returned and Tony asked him about Montana and his job as a bush pilot, and Laura forgot what she was going to ask.

* * *

Sully drove down Wednesday to take her to the gun range again. She’d passed the background check and was able to take possession of the 9mm.

He made her use it to practice. Practice included learning how to draw it, unloaded, from the holsters and the purse.

“I really recommend you carry in a holster, not in a purse. You want it on you at all times.”

She nodded, not liking the idea but accepting it as a fact of life now.

After he was happy with her being able to draw it, he made her load and shoot it by herself.

Her aim was moderately better than it had been the last time. Sully’s praise warmed her as he ran the target back to swap it out with a fresh one.

“Good job. Do it again.” He smiled as he ran the target out.

“How do I know I can use this if I need to?”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “You know what he did to you the last time.”

She nodded.

“Next time, he’ll finish the job. You either shoot him, or he’ll kill you. If you need to pull that gun, you don’t hesitate, and you don’t second-guess yourself. You pull it to shoot it. And you shoot it to save your life. And you figure that out by listening to your gut and staying vigilant.”

“For how long?”

His hard expression softened. “Until either they catch the guy or he tries again. Think about it this way. If he does try again, if you don’t kill him, he’s liable to kill someone else later. So you shoot to kill. You don’t shoot to wound, or shoot to warn. You shoot to kill. Understand me?”

“Yes, sir.” She clamped her lips together as he smiled. “What?”

He shook his head, but he looked amused. “Nothing.”

“I don’t know why I said that.”

His smile broadened. “It’s okay, sweetie. Go ahead and shoot again.”

* * *

Thursday morning, Laura nervously fidgeted with her phone while Bill drove them to Sarasota to meet with her friends. Shayla had texted her a picture taken a few months earlier of all of them together during one of their girls’ days.

It felt like a whole school of fish darting around in her stomach instead of butterflies.

This is going to be fine. At least, that’s what Rob told her several times the night before when she worried.

She had Bill with her. She’d be seeing Shayla again.

It still didn’t quell her nerves.

“It’ll be okay, sis,” he said.

“What if they don’t like me?”

He let out a snort. “They’re your friends. Of course they’re going to love you. They already love you. Stop that.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh my god, Laur, stop that, too.”

“Sor—” She clamped her lips shut on the word.

He glanced over at her and the wry look on his face made her smile.