Read Online Memory's Edge: Part One by DelSheree Gladden - Free Book Online Page B

was nervous.
    Why am I
still obsessing about it? Shaking his head, John forced those thoughts away
again. Looking more serious than he had ever seen her before, John wondered what
she was thinking about. She said she wasn’t going anywhere, but something was
bothering her.
    “Lynn let
me know the hospital will be releasing you tomorrow afternoon,” Gretchen said.
“Dr. Sanchez had some good ideas about trying to find out who you are and where
you came from, but there’s still the issue of what you’re going to do when you
leave here.”
    That was what was bothering her. John had been avoiding thinking about that very
topic. He didn’t want to think about it at all, but he knew there was no
escaping it.
    “Have you
thought very much about what you want to do?” Gretchen asked. Her hands weren't
just idly rubbing now, they were pressing tightly against each other.
    “Not
really,” John said. “I’ve been trying not to think about it at all, actually.”
    Nodding,
Gretchen stayed thoughtful. She obviously had something to say. John wasn't
sure what it was, but he hoped for a solution he could live with. Actually,
even a solution he couldn’t live with was better than what he had. Nothing.
    “John,” Gretchen
hesitated, “this may be crazy for me to even offer, but I feel like I have to
say it anyway. Please don’t think I'm nuts when I tell you what I’m thinking.”
    What could
she possibly plan to suggest? He doubted it was anything terrible, but she
acted as though she were planning to drop him off at a serial killer’s house
because he was offering free room and board. “Gretchen, whatever it is, I won’t
think it’s crazy. I could use some suggestions at this point. Go ahead and tell
me.”
    “Okay, um,
well, I don’t have any roommates, but I do have an extra bedroom,” she said.
Her face was absolutely scarlet by this point. “I know you don’t really know
me, but I thought that might be okay since you don’t really know anybody. With
your injuries, you probably won’t be able to find a job for a while, so you
won’t be able to pay for your own place. And I’m not asking you for any money.
You’d be free to stay for as long or as little as you want, and I wouldn’t
expect anything from you at all. I just want to make sure you’re going to be
all right. I feel responsible for you. I can’t leave you to fend for yourself.”
    John’s
mouth fell open halfway through her spiel. He couldn’t make himself close it.
The way everything spilled out of her in a mass of embarrassed rambling was a
surprise in itself, but the offer was incredible.
    “Are you
serious?” John asked.
    Her eyes
widened for a second, and then her trembling voice said, “Yes.”
    “Wow,” he
said, “that wasn’t what I was expecting.”
    “What did
you think I was going to say?” Gretchen asked, confusion and curiosity in her
eyes.
    John choked
on his own words. He was not about to tell her his original idea. “I don’t
know, but I wasn't expecting you to offer to let me live at your house. Doesn’t
that scare you?”
    Gretchen
frowned. “Does it scare you?”
    “Living
with you? No,” he said, “not at all.”
    “Then why
would it scare me?” she asked. Her indignant tone mirrored her expression.
    “Because I
could be anybody. I could be a criminal or a drunk or an abusive maniac, for
all we know. You might be putting yourself at risk, Gretchen.” Didn’t that
terrify her?
    Folding her
arms across her chest, her jaw set firmly in an annoyed grimace, Gretchen
launched into her answer. “For your information, I know you’re not a criminal,
unless you’re an extremely good one, because the police ran your fingerprints
the second day you were here and they came back with nothing. As far as being a
drunk, we’ll both just stay away from alcohol for a while, to be safe. And if
you turn out to be abusive, the first sign of it I’ll just scream for my
six-foot-four, oilfield worker neighbor and best