Chapter 12.

EPISODE 12

The afternoon sun streamed through the open curtain into the small kitchen of Megan's apartment. She sat at the small table in the middle of the room, her feet propped up on the second stool that used to be Nick's favourite. It was the weekend and the coffee shop had closed early so she had some time to herself.


Her face was closed in a frown as she peered down at her finances. She had been meaning to sort it for the past weeks, but there wasn't much she could go by with her missing memory. But she had finally found her financial journal in her wardrobe though and she was starting to get a scope of just how poor she was.

Yes, she now had a stable job with good pay, but the pay was still average. And she could see from what she had written that she had splurged big time just before her memory loss. Not only had she gotten a room at the Four Seasons, but she had also gotten a Zara dress and expensive Victoria's Secret lingerie. Just what had she been thinking?

And despite that she had now paid for her monthly rent on the apartment and had successfully avoided eviction, she wasn't sure she could keep paying without feeling a heavy strain in the future.

Besides, she wasn't comfortable in the apartment anymore. It was filled with memories of her and Nick, and even Camille. She also didn't like living alone and worrying endlessly over her three weeks worth of missing memories and the pregnancy. She didn't even like to think about the pregnancy.


Sighing, she picked up her cell phone and dialled her mother, Elise's line. Elise picks on the third ring

"Sweetie!" She says warmly
"Hey mum. How are you?"
"Oh, it was the most wonderful night. You won't believe it, Jonah, my boyfriend booked out a whole restaurant for us to have dinner and he-"

Megan quickly cuts her short "All that is wonderful mom, but I am calling to ask you something real quick."

"What's that, sweetie?"

"Well...I was wondering if I could move into your place. I don't think I can afford my place, especially with a baby on the way in a few months."

"Oh, that would be great Megan. Of course."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure. I don't mind. You can have your old room back, I have hardly touched a thing there. Besides, you need someone to keep your company, I have been so worried about you."

Megan relaxed in her chair, glad at the enthusiasm dripping from her mother's words. She had been a bit worried that her mother might say no.

"Thank you so much, mom! I will start packing as soon as possible."

"Alright. Let me know if you need any help. We can just chuck your stuff up in boxes while you pack regulars in a bag, it's not like you will be staying with me till the baby arrives so it should be easy."

"Huh?"

"Darling, don't tell me you were thinking to stay here till you have the baby. That's impossible, you need to find yourself a new place before then so you can pick up your life."

Megan thanked her mom and they chatted a bit before she hung up on the phone and released a sigh. She decided to focus just on the fact that she had somewhere to go for now. Besides, the woman was right. She couldn't stay there for long, she and her mom were very different and didn't get along so well. But it still would have been nice if she wasn't ushering her in and chasing her out in the same breath.

The next day was a Monday and Megan woke up feeling terrible. She had started to feel the infamous nausea from time to time in the past week but this was worse than she had ever experienced. She could smell everything, including the smell of paint and she wondered briefly if one of her neighbours was remodelling.

She went to the kitchen with a frown on her face. She picked up a box of saltine crackers and started snacking on them and the nausea subdued. She rinsed the glass and noticed as she stretched out her hand to return it on the shelf that her bruises from the accident were all fading very fast. It was remarkable that her memory was the only thing choosing to stay stagnant, she thought bitterly.

After her quick bath, she opted for a tight wine blouse she had bought for a work dinner years ago and black pants. She noticed there was a slight pouch showing in the blouse though. It was barely noticeable but still...Megan wondered if it was the pregnancy starting to show or if it was just a pouch from too much Mexican food the night before.

She should join a yoga class, she thought. She had read online once that yoga was for pregnancy and stress management. It was about time she started dealing with the pregnancy. There was nothing she could do about her situation and now that work was in control, pregnancy yoga classes could help her slowly connect to her condition and the baby inside her. She decided she would look into yoga studios that fit in with her work hours.


Work was very busy, there seemed to have been an IT conference at the building nearby and people wouldn't stop pouring in to get coffee. She had had to put on an apron and join her staff so that they could catch up with the traffic.

At noon, she finally caught her breath and was sitting at the entrance of the coffee shop to get away from the overwhelming smell of coffee when Anthony walked in. He looked really good in a blue sweater and chinos and his curly ginger hair was styled to touch his brows, making him look cute. He didn't order coffee, just walked up to where she was sitting with a smile.

"Hey beautiful, you look stressed. Busy day, huh?"

Megan looked down at herself, realising she must look a mess. She ran a hand through her messy hair.

"Yeah, I think there was an event nearby or something."
They chatted a bit about his freelance work.

"You know, it's so easy with you Megan. This is what I liked from the start. We have such good chemistry."
Megan said nothing, but she agreed with a shrug.

"I know you feel it too. I want you to let me into your life so we can grow even closer. I really really like you Megan."
"But I am pregnant, Anthony."
"I don't care whose baby it is. I just want to be with you."

Megan would ordinarily have found that sweet but there was the unavoidable issue of her memory. Something had happened in those three weeks and until she found out, she wasn't getting involved with anyone, including Anthony. She couldn't trust anyone, at least not when it seemed like a lot had happened in those few weeks.

"I am sorry Anthony, it won't be fair to either of us to start anything."

"There's so much going on!"
She added.

Anthony nodded, disappointment clear on his face. Megan felt so bad and mentioned to him that she would be moving in with her mother. Anthony soaked up the information like a sponge and pleaded with her to let him help her pack. Unable to turn away from his enthusiasm, Megan said yes. After a while, Anthony bought a cup of coffee and left with it.


********


Roman laughed at a joke Mike cracked and raised his glass of Johnnie Walker Black to his lips. His Hublot wristwatch glinted under the flashing club lights.

It was Wednesday and as it was their ritual, he and his friends had scouted for a new high end club to have some casual drinks. While he, Prince and Phillp worked at the same place, Christian was a hotshot attorney at Pearson and Bradley. They were accompanied by two girls. Prince had actually brought the girls, a redhead named Lexie and a pretty tall girl named Sally. And by silent agreement, the guys had all decided to pin Sally on Roman, afterall Phillip was in a on and off relationship with his Russian girlfriend. All night long, they had sat and chatted but Roman found himself continuously distracted.

Sally's curly hair, though blonde, reminded him of another time with a different person and his mind's betrayal annoyed him. He wanted to enjoy Sally's company but he just couldn't stop his thoughts from straying to the last night he had seen Megan before the accident.

She had been so beautiful in shorts and a blue t-shirt and her hair packed up in a bun. They had agreed to meet up for a bit that evening and had shared jokes in his car close to the park at her place. They had even casually held hands. He remembered how enamoured he had been with her. Even though they had had sex several times, he was still very attracted to her. He loved her mind and her laughter and wanted to know more about her.

Before he could help himself, he asked her if she wanted to go on a date with him that weekend. Her beautiful face had lighted up and she tightened her hand on his and whispered a yes.

But before the planned weekend, the accident happened. And now, everything was a mess.

"Roman!"

Roman drew his gaze to look into Phillip's concerned face. He noticed that both Sally and Lexie were now missing from the table.

"Where are the girls?"

Phillip gave him a bewildered look "You didn't hear them say they were going to the bathroom?"

Roman shook his head, embarrassed he was being a terrible company.

"What's really going on, Roman?"

Frustrated, Roman spat it out. "It's...her. You know, Megan. I just can't help but think about her. Perhaps because we met for the first time at a club like this."

"I thought you said you guys haven't spoken in a while."

"We haven't. But I just can't get her off my mind and it's worse tonight. I don't know why."

Prince and Phillip glanced at each other and sighed.

"Maybe it's time to call her, Roman. I mean, nothing is settled. You really may be the father of her baby."

Phillip patted Roman's shoulder to console his friend. Prince soon drew them into an argument about the stock market.