Time Will Tell

I start panicking.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate. I throw the covers off myself and get up out of bed. I’m in a hotel room. My clothes are strewn about the room and I’m only wearing my underwear and a tank top.

I run to the window and pull the curtains back, gasping at what I see. Holy hell, I’m at the beach. What the fuck could I possibly be doing at the beach?

I rummage around through the drawers and just find normal hotel shit. Finally, I notice a note stuck on the door of the mini refrigerator.

It says: Hey, sweetie, we’ll be back soon. Get some rest, you scared the hell out of us last night.

I don’t know who left the note. Who am I here with? My parents?

I’ve got a killer headache. I find my bag and search through it until I find some aspirin. I swallow them, not bothering to get a glass of water, and I gag a little as they go down. I grab my things and head to the bathroom. I quickly shower and blow dry my hair, I brush my teeth and then get dressed. Next I search for my cell phone. I find it but its dead and my charger is nowhere to be found.

Sliding into my flip flops, I grab a hotel key from the coffee table in the living room and head down to the lobby. Stupid resort doesn’t have phones in the room. I know where I am now, because I’ve been here before, but I still have no clue why.

The desk clerk guy smiles at me and says good morning. No, no it’s not, I think as I smile weakly back at him.

I feel like I’m going to throw up. I step into the computer lounge and sigh in relief as I find the room empty. I close the door behind me and pick up the phone, sitting down in the chair in front of the row of computers.

I dial the number and wait.

Right when I think he’s not going to answer he clicks on. “Hello?”

“Noah,” I sigh, relief flooding through me just at the sound of his voice. I lean back in the chair and pull my knees to my chest.

“Teagan? Honey, what’s wrong? It’s five in the morning.”

“I’m at the beach,” I say. He doesn’t respond. I hold my breath, hoping he’ll be the first one to break the silence.

“I know?” he finally responds, unsure.

“What do you mean you know?” I beg, scared. “Why? Why am I here? Who am I here with?”

“Sweetie, calm down,” he says soothingly. “You’re there to get some space remember?”

“Space?” I ask, confused. “Space from what?”

“Space from me,” he says slowly.

“Why would I need space from you?” I demand.

The door creaks open and I glance up. “Oh thank God,” I say, getting up and throwing myself at Kim and Erin.

“Hey, honey, we saw you through the lobby. You feeling okay? You scared the hell out of us last night. First, you start to leave with that skeevy guy and the next we know you’re lying on the floor unconscious. How many drinks did you have?” Kim says, sounding more like my mom than my sister.

I sigh in relief and turn back to the phone. “I’ll call you later, baby,” I say and then hang up, not waiting for a response because I’m pretty damn sure he just heard everything Kim said.

“Ugh,” I moan, hugging both of them again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I say as they start leading me towards the elevators. “Why are we here?”

“What do you mean why are we here?” Erin asks.

“I mean, why are we here? I wake up in a hotel room all by myself and so of course I freak out. I called Noah and he said I’m here because I need space from him. What would I need space from him for? Why am I really here?”

They just look at each other and then glance at me, and then they glance at each other again, their mouths hanging open. Then, right there in front of the elevators they both start squealing like pigs. I blush and look around to find a few people giving us weird looks. The elevator doors open and I usher them inside.

“What the hell is wrong with y’all?” I demand.

“You remember!” they both shouted at the same time, jumping up and down.

Kim pulls me into a hug while Erin just grins at me like an idiot.

“You guys are freaking me out. What in the world are you talking about? What do I remember?” I demand, putting my hands defiantly on my hips, pouting at them like a child.

“Sweetie, you lost your memory and you were going to leave Noah, but now you don’t have to because you remember! Which is great!” Erin tells me emphatically.

I just stare at her like she’s speaking a complete different language than I am. “I lost my memory?” I ask, dead-pan.

“I know it’s a little unbelievable, but it’s true. Noah’s ex slammed your head into the mail slot of our front door and you got amnesia.” Kim tells me.

I flinch as the memory creeps up on me. That’s the last thing I remember.

I look up at her, scared. “What do you mean I was going to leave Noah? What happened with me and Noah? Why does he think I need space from him?”

“Remember how all you used to want was to leave? You talked about going to California or Maine or Washington. You just wanted out? Well yesterday that was all you remembered and you were so confused because you really liked Noah, but not enough to stay and be with him. Actually, you two are sort of broken up right now.”

I stare at Kim, pained.

“But—” Erin jumped in, noticing my expression. “You broke up with him. He’s only trying to be ‘just friends’ with you because you asked him to. He still loves you and he’s just trying to give you a little time to think.”

That makes me feel a little better. “So we’ll be alright?” I ask them.

They both nod at me. We reach our floor and decide to go hit the beach. I don’t call Noah for the next three days, not even to talk to Grace – I don’t know why, I’m just scared, I guess. How do I talk to him, knowing that I broke up with him but not even remembering doing it? I mean, what do I say to him now? Sorry I dumped you, but it would be really great if we could forget all about breaking your heart and treating you like crap the last few weeks? I think not.