10

And now… now I’d lost ten months of memories.

And the distance between me and Ezra felt bigger than ever.

Ashleigh

“Are you sure about this?” Mom asked for the third time that morning.

“It’s just the store, Mom.”

“I know, sweetheart.” She gave me ‘the look.’ The one she cast my way every time I didn’t react the way she expected, as if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for me to break down.

But the truth was, I was going stir crazy.

I’d been home three days and hadn’t seen outside the four walls of our house. Besides, it was a trip to the store with my mom.

It seemed like a safe option.

“Okay.” She breathed. “Okay.”

“Mom.” I let out a weak chuckle. “It’s the store. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“You’re just… you’re so calm about all of this.”

Oh, I wasn’t. But I couldn’t let those feelings consume me. Because every time I gave them even an ounce of space, fear put me in a chokehold. And I didn’t have the luxury of sitting around, waiting to see if my memories returned. Not