The second chance love

Not what I wanted to hear

Tristan

It's her. I know this is my Carley, but she doesn't seem to know it, or to even remember me. But there is no doubt in my mind that the woman, because she is no longer the girl I knew, is Carley. For years, I have been looking for her corps, been searching for ways to find her body in the ocean, when she wasn't even there. For a second, I was angry at her, filled with relief at knowing that she is alive and not at the bottom of the ocean, but still angry, because that had to mean that she just didn't want to come back to me, but then I realized that it was surprise I saw in her eyes, not recognition. Riley. Why that name? Where has she been all this time? Was she on Ibiza while I was there? If she was, then how did I miss her?

I have so many questions that I am dying to ask her, but I know that if I sound too interested in her private life, she will freak out and any hope I have of getting to know this new version of her, will disappear right with her. Carley is only here for weekends, that will be the only time I will get to know her. I have no idea how long they plan on staying, but I know I will take every second I can get with her. I need to get to know her again, find out if there is any hope that she will remember me.

After showing Macy and Corbin to their office, I lead Carley, or Riley, to my office. I am quiet as we walk, trying to get my thoughts together. As we walk into my office, I look around the room, looking at it through new eyes. Everything I have been doing for the past five and a half years, is try and find a way to bring Carley home. Now she is here and it isn't because of everything I have done. Not because of all the hours I have worked on building new equipment that can go deeper, explore more ground in one sweep. Every penny I have spent on my studies, all the days I forgot to eat, all of it was only to end up looking for her in the wrong place.

"Where are you from, Riley?" I let her name run off my tongue, testing it, but it feels strange.

"I am not sure really, but my home is in Ibiza." She says, her eyes taking in every detail of the room. Her answer is vague, but it just confirms what I already know. This is really my Carley, but at the same time, it is not her. At least not the girl I loved. I wonder how much of Carley is in Riley, if she is in there at all.

"Any family back home?" I ask her, curious as to what has happened to her the past few years.

"What is with the twenty questions? Can my personal life not stay out of my professional life?" She shounds nervous, but her back is straight, her eyes sharp. She clearly doesn't appreciate me digging into her life and I need to respect that, even when I am burning to ask question after question.

"Just tryingto get to know the person I will be working closely with on occasion." I tell her, trying to sound casual and not as desparete as I feel. f**k, I want to wrap my arms around her, and hold her tight, and never f*****g let go.

"Alright, who is Carley then?" SHe asks me, surprising the hell out of me. I didn't expect her to ask a question in retunr, much less one so personal.

"She is mine." I say without hesitation, but then I remember that the girl I love, might not be the girl that is standing in front of me. Sure, she looks like Carley, in every possible way, but my Carley might have died that night after all and this could be someone else entirely. "She was mine. she is gone." I says, turning my attention to the equipment and charts in front of me.

"I am sorry to hear." She says, sounding truly upset for my loss. Maybe, just maybe, my Carley might still be in there.

"It happened a really long time ago." I tell her, trying to lighten the serious mood. Riley nods her head, taking a step closer to my table.

"What do you need me to do?" She asks, getting back to business. For the next four hours we hardly talks. Riley listenes to my every instruction, following my orders. The entire time that seems to be calm and collected, I feel like I am falling apart, rethinging every action I have taken in the last five years. I have to remind myself that everything I did do, everything I accomplished, lead me to that island, lead me to Macy that had in the end, lead Carley right ot me. Everything I had done wasn't for nothing.

"Tristan?" Carley asks and my entire body reacts to the way my name sounds, coming from her lips. My c**k hardens in my pants, my knees going weak while my heart starts to pound.

"Yes, Riley?" I ask her, not turning away from my current project, pretending to focus on it, when all I can focus on is her. f**k, it was probably a bad idea to have her alone in my lab, where I can smell her, feel her warmth and crave to give in and just tell her that she isn't Riley.

"My lunch break is now. Can I leave of do you need me for anything else?" She asks, her voice filled with nerves. I turn my wrist to look at my watch, seeing that it is two minutes past twelve. I am tempted to keep her here, but I know that is just asking for trouble. Besides, I need to call a doctor, find out everything I can about people that have amnesia and how to recover their memories. I need to find a way to make her remember me.

I take out my phone the second Carley prectically runs out of the room. I call my doctor, knowing he will pick up any time of te day. "Mr. Grey, how can I help you today?" Dr Harrison asks as soon as he answers his phone.

"What are the possibility of a patient with amnesia to remember their past?" I ask him, not bother with being nice.

"Well, that depends. How long aago did the patient lose all memory of their past?" He asks and I quickly answer him. "Five years is a long time, son. Usually, a patient will remember glimpses, and slowly it will turn into more. In a case where the paient has forgotten all memory and haven't regained anything in that time, it is more than likely that they will never got those momories back." He says and my heart sinks. This is not what I was hoping to hear.