“I didn’t want to hope too much.”
“From what you’ve told me you’re already on the road to recovering your memories. I know your neurologist can’t promise you anything and neither can I. But from what you’ve told me, I think you will at some point recover a bulk of your memories. Maybe not of the attack itself, and maybe not in the next few days, but hopefully soon and everything up until that point.”
“What do I do now?”
“Are you open to trying hypnosis?”
“At this point, I’d dance naked in the middle of US 41 during morning rush hour if it’d bring my memory back.”
Dr. Collins laughed. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Let’s see how you respond to hypnosis.” Laura consented to the doctor making an audio tape of the session.
Laura felt more relaxed reclining on the sofa. The doctor turned the lights down and sat in a chair next to the sofa. After twenty minutes, Laura was relaxed and responding to the doctor’s questions.
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.”
Chapter Twenty-One
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.”