“Was she upset when you were driving back?”
Megan frowned. Then looked down at the floor. “No, actually. We were laughing.”
“Laughing?” A hint of relief washed over him. He found himself longing to hear her laugh again. Heck, at this point, he would take a sneer if it came from his wife.
“Yeah,” she let out a short laugh. “I can’t remember exactly what was so funny, but we were laughing. And then….” she trailed off. Her eyes focused on a spot on the carpeted floor. Matt almost wanted to see what it was that had her attention. But he knew it had to be something else.
A wash of unmistakable guilt grazed her face. Matt frowned. This was a new one for Megan. He’d never seen her express much emotion, and this would top any of them. He noticed her swallow hard. Was it possible? Megan was fighting tears.
“Megan?” Matt took a small step toward her.
She quickly snapped back into the present and brushed her face, briskly. “Thanks for checking on me, Matt. I know Ben asked you to before he left.”
That wasn’t true. He was sure his brother didn’t want Matt anywhere near Megan.
“Actually, he didn’t ask.”
She nodded, understandingly. “You wanted to ask me about Ben and Liz?” her voice was low.
She had the wrong idea. He truly was concerned. That and he wanted to know what happened on their way home. Maybe a significant part that the police report had left out. Anything to help him understand why his wife was in there with no memory of her life. But he couldn’t tell her all this. She would just assume that he was trying to find another person to blame.
“I can only conclude from your reaction, or lack of—that you already knew?” he asked her, with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes,” she answered without looking away.
“When did he tell you?”
She thought for a moment. Her eyes immediately shifted up and to her left. A visual of a real event, he identified. He had recently read countless articles online, while in the waiting room about how to tell when someone is recalling true memories…or making them up.
“It was Thanksgiving,” she started, her eyes now searching. “We had started dating earlier that summer and he invited me to ‘meet the family’. Liz and I got along great that night.” She glanced at him. “You two had already set a date for your wedding by then. By the end of the night I told him I had a great time and his family was very warm and welcoming. Then Ben stopped me when we were walking back to his car.” She half smiled to herself. “He told me he really liked me and before it went further, he wanted me to know what happened between him and Liz when you two were…separated.”
He nodded. “He told you right away.” Fighting his anger.
She gave him a thoughtful look, even for her. “Matt you have to understand, it wasdifferentfor me and Ben. He and I had just started getting serious and I had absolutely no relation to anyone involved,” she paused. “Matt,” she waited until he looked at her to continue. “It was a lot easier for Ben to tell me than for either of them to tell you.”
“Yeah. I know.” He slipped his hands in his pockets. “Thanks, Megan. Oh and hey, if you remember what happened after all the laughing, let me know, I’ll be next door,” he said it lightheartedly with a smirk, but he wanted to know what had gotten Meg so upset moments ago. Something told him she was holding back. He was getting really tired of people keeping things from him.
* * *
On Sunday, Matt arrived at the hospital early for Liz’s discharge. Since there was nothing really wrong with her other than vanished memories, the doctors had told him there’s no reason for her to spend any more time in the hospital when the best medicine for her would be surroundings of familiar objects, people and places.
Home was the best place for her. Of that he was sure.
He filled out the necessary paperwork and took the remaining forms for Liz to sign. She’d convinced him the night before that she didn’t need him to stay the night again and insisted that she had his phone number if she needed him.
Matt understood to an extent that forcing his presence would only push her away and overwhelm her, so he didn’t put up too much of a fight. He was sure that she was either still annoyed, or embarrassed for stripping down to near nudity, needing a reaction from him.
He supposed hecouldhave kissed her. But that would be too intimate for him at the moment. He couldn’t kiss her just to satisfy her doubts. He wasn’t willing to do that. Not even if it made her feel better in the moment. What if she could sense his anger? He was still angry, wasn’t he? He had to be. Although the past few days, he’d felt nothing but fear and tension. That combination overpowered the anger. But he knew it would soon return. He shrugged off the trailing thoughts and focused on the man standing outside of Liz’s room.
Marcus.
What’s he doing here this early?
Everything about the way Liz’s brother stood in front of that room made Matt uneasy. He looked like an angry bully waiting for school to let out so he can confront the kid that sold him out.
“Marcus!” he called.
“Hey,” Marcus pushed away from the door, as Matt headed right for it, with no intention of stopping.
