The front door swung open and Matt froze at the door when he saw Liz on the floor.
“Hi,” he said tentatively.
“Oh hi.” She sat up. “I’m sorry, I’ll move the table back, I just needed room.”
Matt shook his head and closed the door behind him. “I’ll move the table back. I’ll move anything you want in here for you Liz,” he smiled.
She grinned back. “Thanks. I should put this stuff away now. I’m done for today.”
Matt approached her and knelt, curiously. “What is it?”
“Apparently stuff that’s important to me.” She rolled her eyes. “My scared box.”
Matt made a face and tossed his keys to the side. He sat facing her on the rug, raising his right knee to his chest and placing a hand over it. The other hand outstretched behind him. He positioned himself comfortably, as if he were ready for her to share her findings. “I didn’t know you had one of those.”
“It’s mostly just stationary, playbills and letters,” she said quickly, tossing the items back in the box.
Matt nodded slowly. Then picked up the matchbook and grinned. “From our first date.” He held it up and winked at her, as if he’d just learned something about her.
She stood, flushed, and raced to the den to store away the box. Behind her, she heard Matt moving the table back. When she returned, he was grabbing a beer from the mini fridge by the bar.
“Where’d you find it?” he asked casually.
“What?”
A grin slowly formed from the corner of his mouth. “Your sacred box.”
“In the storage unit.”
Matt’s face went white. “The what?”
“The storage unit. Marc took me.” She reached for her iced tea, ignoring the sudden tension. “By the way, do I have a key to that? I might go back.”
Matt broke, shaking his head, and went to the built-in cabinet by the grand piano. He opened the lid of a small white porcelain bowl and pulled a key from it. The look on his face was unreadable.
“I think this is it.” He handed it to her. “But you’ll need to go during the day, I think. I don’t know where the after-hours key card to the building is.”
Liz nodded, surprised he knew as much as he had about the place and their hours of operation. “Thank you.”
Matt placed one hand in his pocket and looked at her. “So, are you okay? It wasn’t…overwhelming for you?” His voice shook.
Liz raised her head slightly, his concern becoming clear. “I’m fine.” She smiled politely.
“Okay,” he cleared his throat. “If you need me to go with you next time…”
“Thanks.”
“Oh and Liz, take it easy. Don’t try to learn your entire history in one day. It’ll all come back when you’re ready, trust me.”
* * *
After a long emotional day, Liz laid back into her bed. She was happy with the day’s progress, but at the same time, hated to admit that Matt was probably right. Taking it one day at a time was better for her. She was so consumed with sentiment and regret that she’d worked herself up emotionally, but she finally drifted into a deep sleep.
Liz drives down a dark icy road. She’s driving with people who strongly resemble the couple in all the pictures. Her parent’s faces are bright with permanent smiles, as if they were having their photo taken.
Headlights shine brightly in front of her. She swerves. All of a sudden, the headlights are gone and it starts to pour. She glances back at her parents who don’t look worried at all. They’ve closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep. The passenger seat is no longer empty. Matt sits in it. His expression is hard to tell. Liz stares at him for a while. She realizes he’s hurt. Shards of windshield glass splattered all over him…and on her as she spots the blood stains through her shirt. Matt seems unfazed, but her parents are still in the back, eyes closed. She looks ahead. How did she not feel the blow against the truck? Then she realizes it wasn’t pouring rain earlier, it was glass shattering.Everywhere. Her parents are gone now, and Matt is unresponsive. She was alone and she was scared.
Liz’s eyes flew open and they were already wet with tears. She sat up, shaken and sweaty. She quieted her sobs as best she could, but couldn’t hold them.
