Stay With Me

Chapter 3

"You - You remember me?" Chloe leaned back a bit while looking at Anthony wearily.

"You recognize me?"

The way he was looking at her unnerved her a bit. He seemed so....so....happy to see her!

He's medicated for the pain. Don't get ahead of yourself.

"I heard him call you by name," Anthony rasped, as if words were scratching his throat. "Luke, he called you Chloe".

Chloe fought back some very strange feelings. It was odd, this loss of his memory. And the way he seemed now, it was almost as if he wanted her here! But Anthony hadn't wanted her in years.

"I thought you remembered me," she said, trying not to sound as disappointed, as her stupid heart fluttered in her chest.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Chloe's eyes widened and she felt the heat creep into her cheeks as Anthony continued to look at her.

"Who's Luke?" he asked and Chloe had to shake her head to clear it.

"Sorry?"

"Who's Luke?"

Chloe exhaled a pent-up breath. "Luke is...." Collecting her thoughts, she shook her head. "I'm not supposed to be filling in the gaps for you, Anthony. You're supposed to recall them on your own. Doctors orders."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess it's necessary for your getting better? All I know is that I don't want to hamper the process Dr Allistair mapped out for you."

Anthony seemed to think that over. "Dr Allistair" he repeated after a long time. "The one with the beard and big ears."

Chloe's lips parted in surprise. Anthony was many things, but rarely was he an observer of small things such as the appearance of others."That sounds like him, yes," she admitted.

"Well, I think he's dead wrong in his diagnosis. I've tried to remember what happened and it's all a fog, which frustrates the hell out of me. I can't see any reason not to be told my own history. I want you to clue me in."

Now that sounded like the old Anthony. "I can't. He'll have to make the decision."

"I don't want him. I want you," Anthony said in a way that warmed Chloe's blood even while her brain was sending her warning signals to not let it sway her.

Still, she could help the soft smile that formed on her lips. "You don't want me, Anthony." Regret tinged her tone, and hearing it, Chloe cleared her throat and moved to the windows, away from him and the wave of emotions that were spurring inside her.

"You're my wife."

Silence fell between them. Chloe couldn't find anything to say to him.

"Aren't you?"

She inhaled deeply, wishing some flippant comment would come to mind, as it often did during their conversations together. But for once, her quick wit failed her completely.

"Well aren't you?" he demanded with less patience.

"Yes."

"Then, come here."

Come here? Come here? Chloe instantly bristled, hearing the request as if it were an order. But when she met his gaze, she saw nothing in his blue eyes except an emotion that she never thought possible when looking at her husband again.

This is Anthony Hale. Don't forget.....

A bit reluctantly, Chloe returned to his bedside, but when his hand reached for hers, she flinched and couldn't meet the searching gaze in his eyes. She jumped when his hand snaked the distance and grabbed hers. She looked down at their joined hands, hers limp within the warmth of his own. Her heart thudded unevenly as his fingers tightened around hers.

"What is it?" he asked with genuine confusion.

Her breath came out in a short laugh. She shook her head.

"Something's wrong. Tell me."

"The doctor said to wait."

"Screw the doctor. I don't want to wait. You're using that as an excuse. Tell me." he pleaded, causing Chloe to look at his face curiously.

"No, I told you. You're supposed to remember on your own."

"Why are you afraid of being next to me?"

Chloe jerked. Her mouth hung open and her eyes searched his own. And those soul-searching blue eyes were glued to her face, gauging her response.

"Because you're kind of scary," she said lightly.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Are you scared of me?"

A beat passed. "No."

This much was true, though she'd never thought of it in those particular terms before. Anthony had never frightened her, even at his worst moments. There had been times when she wanted to throw a drink in his face or beat her fists against his chest or kick him in the shins or do something equally as infantile, but she'd never felt actual fear. He'd angered her and hurt her and made her feel inadequate, but she knew he would never do anything to her that would cause her true harm.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, watching the play of emotions cross her face.

"I'm thinking we should have this conversation when you're better. It's a little unfair with you in a hospital bed."

"You mean you've got the advantage?"

"I guess so."

He paused for a moment. "Is our life together such a tragic thing?"

"Mmm..." Chloe refused to even go there. It eclipsed with tragedy, but it was a battle falmostrom the get-go. Almost from the moment they had met and fallen in love. Or at least when she had fallen in love.

"How did it end up like this?" he asked.

" Please don't make me say anything I shouldn't."

"Was it an accident? It must have been. What happened?"

"You're alive, that's what matters." she answered, partially casting a glance towards the doorway.

"I'm alive," he repeated softly. "That's good, right?"

"Well, of course it is."

"Don't lie to me. I might not be at the top of my game right now, but I can definitely see you don't feel comfortable with me. Why? Did I do something to you? No, wait!" he called out with urgency when Chloe automatically jerked her hand away and turned towards the door.

"Please, don't leave."

It took all the strength she had to turn back towards him and stand once more beside his bed. He reached to grasp her hand again and she swallowed hard as his fingers gripped her hand tightly once more. She felt dizzy and slightly faint.

"A detective tried to talk to me but the doctor kept him away."

Detective Grant had called and left a message at her office. Chloe knew it would be related to Anthony's plane crash, but she hadn't called him back yet. She knew nothing about the accident - almost as little as Anthony himself - and she didn't want to consider the whys and hows of that tragedy and the resultant death of a longtime friend.

"Anthony, don't do this. I want to do what's right here."

"Are we still in love?"

"Oh, for God's sake, Anthony!"

"Chloe...."

A shiver ran down her spine at the soft use of her name. How long had it been since he'd sounded so tender? How long - if ever - since his voice held such yearning for her? The air in her lungs burned when she realized she was holding it in. Slowly releasing it, another wave of unsteadyness washed over her as she felt herself sway a bit. Shaking her head, she bit her bottom lip before looking down at her feet while trying to avoid the gaze that felt like it was burning a hole in her.

"We're not living together right now. I've moved out."

He shifted a bit, rustling the sheets a bit, making her gaze lift up to watch as his eyes lowered and his jaw grew taunt.

"Oh. How long now?"

"It was a mutual decision. We just couldn't make it work."

"How long now?"

"Three years."

"Three years?!"

She flinched as his voice pitched with shock. "Yes, well, neither of us ever took that next step."

"Divorce?"

Chloe nodded.

"So what is happening now?" he asked. "Are you going to move back in?"

Chloe choked on the breath that came with the shock of his words as it hung in the air between them.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I'm..." he furrowed his brow a bit and then cleared his throat before stating the obvious - "I'm going to need some help when I get out of the hospital. I was wondering if you would be there."

Be there? Be there? Chloe couldn't even imagine living under the same roof with him, let alone actually caring for him. "Well, you can hire a nurse, I'm sure. I mean, your mother would be sure to make certain you have what is required for your recovery. You can't just be left alone. I can see that. It's bound to be a while before you're back to your old self."

"I'm not sure I want to be my old self."

His eyelids slowly closed as his mouth twisted. Chloe regarded him as he soberly realized, at some stronger level, the depth of his injuries and the ensuing pain that had to accompany them. She wanted to reach out and comfort him while whispering that it would all be okay, but she stopped short. Anthony would never allow such an open display of affection.

"Why not?" she asked curiously.

He reopened his eyes and stared at her. "I don't think you liked the old me very much."

Chloe fought hard not to react. Some part of her still wanted him, and that small part seemed to heat her blood and course through her veins, infecting every inch of her being, making it nearly impossible to hold onto the hate she'd learned to rely on rather than his love.

"Anthony..."

"Yes?" His eyes flickered expectantly. He almost seemed to lean forward, regarding her so intently.

"Anthony, I want to -----"

" Anthony!!"

Chloe almost leaped out of her skin when Annalise Hale suddenly screeched out her son's name. Anthony jerked too. Chloe guiltily stepped back from his bedside, as if she were afraid Annalise would catch them in some nefarious act. Anthony's mother swept forward in a rush, practically shoving Chloe out of the way.

"Oh, my darling! I've been anguished waiting for you to wake up! I just knew I couldn't leave! I had to come back! Your father is still downstairs. He wanted me to go with him but I knew! I just knew you would wake up as soon as I left. Oh, Anthony, my baby boy."

Annalise grabbed the hand that Chloe just held, but this time, it was Anthony's hand that was slack in his mother's. Anthony's gaze was one on his mother's thin, cosmetically perfect face. Recognizing his weariness in the lines by his mouth, Chloe leaned in closer to him, instinctively protective.

"Did you talk to Luke?" Annalise asked tightly.

Surprised, Chloe slid her mother-in-law a look. Annalise couldn't stand Luke. He was the physical reminder of one of her husband's trysts, and Annalise made no secret of her feelings towards him. It frustrated her to no end that she had to put up with him at all, but Anthony had swept Luke into the family business and Luke was now in a position second only to Anthony himself.

"Luke?" Anthony repeated.

"He was here." Annalise glanced around, as though expecting him to materialize. "Your half brother. Where is he? Surely you remember him. He works with you at Hale industries."

"Annalise, we're not supposed to tell Anthony anything," Chloe pointed out.

"Oh honestly, Chloe." She kept her gaze on her son, turning one shoulder towards Chloe in an effort to ostracize her daughter-in-law, even while she spoke to her. "Dr Allistair only wanted to make certain Anthony was ready for all the information."

"He told me to let Anthony recall everything on his own."

"You're taking him too literally," Annalise argued crisply

Chloe had half a mind to search out Dr Allistair herself and drag him to Anthony's room. She turned to do just that when Anthony suddenly spoke up.

"What happened to me?" he asked his mother.

Annalise didnt even hesitate. With no regard for anyone's orders but her own, she said, "Well you crashed a plane on the banks of the Columbia River."

"Annalise!" Chloe gasped at her in frustration. She wanted to kill her mother-in-law.

"I crashed a plane?" Anthony questioned, visibly shocked. " You mean....I was the pilot?"

"Yes, your own Cessna." Her impatience magnified at Anthony's show of absorption of these facts. "Although nobody had the slightest clue as to why you were headed that direction. The flight plan was to Portland, but you never made it there. Something about the gas line, I think."

Annalise leaned in close to Anthony. "Darling, there are serious decisons to be made at the company. We need your approval and signature."

"Annalise, I think that's enough for now. He needs his rest." Chloe gently but firmly linked her arm through her mother-in-law's and steered her to the door. Annalise yanked her arm from Chloe's and gave her a scorching look. Behind them, Anthony said in a slow drawl, "I don't think I'm able to sign anything at this point." Chloe shot him a look. He lifted one puffy, bandaged hand and Chloe couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or cry. She did share a twinkling moment of repressed humor with Anthony, however, Annalise glanced swiftly from her son to Chloe and then back again, a frown forming between her perfect brows.

"The signature is going to have to wait" Chloe told Annalise, who gazed down her nose at her daughter-in-law.

"My dear, you don't know anything about our company. You never have and you never will, and you have no right to tell me what to do with my son.

"He's my husband," Chloe pointed out.

Behind Annalise, Anthony's mouth slanted into a smile. He's enjoying this! Chloe thoought with amusement.

"You know where I stand on this Chloe. You're no kind of wife if you can't even share your husband's bed!" Annalise mocked.

Anthony made a protesting sound and seemed to want to jump to his feet. Chloe moved to stop him, automatically shifting closer to place a reasuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Anthony darling," Annalise pouted, as it belatedly recognizing how badly she was behaving. "I'm kind of undone, you know. I've been so worried about you. So awfully worried about how the company will cope in your absence." She smiled down at him indulgently. "But you're going to be okay. Everything will be back to normal very soon."

Anthony stared back at his mother, as if he were taking stock of her. "Chloe is my wife," he said.

Appreciating his effort, Chloe had to bite her tongue not to add her own furious rejoinder she wanted to hurl at Annalise. She actually had to press her lips together to keep from smiling. Annalise's nostrils flared in defiance. She drew herself up to her full height, which was still several inches shorter than Chloe's five foot ten.

"His memory will come back you know," Annalise felt the need to point out. "And when it does, nothing you can say will makes things the way you obviously think they are."

"I don't want to argue with you, Annalise."

"Oh, honestly, child. You always say the things to pick a fight with me at every chance you get." She glanced to the bed. "I'll be back later, darling. Your father would be so pleased to hear that you're awake. Get some rest."

Annalist shot Chloe another glare before turning on her heels and tip-tapped away. Chloe felt a familiar, long-nursed frustration boil up inside her. Her mother-n-law brought out the worst in her. Just as Anthony did. There was no escaping the past, no matter how much she wanted it to evaporate. She was about to turn to pour Anthony a glass of water when he spoke.

"A plane crash?" he muttered from beside her. Slowly she turned around, steeling herself. "Yes," she said wearily. "It's a miracle you survived.

"I was piloting the plane."

She nodded, a wave of cold chills suddenly spanning down her back as she rubbed her palms against the material of her slacks. Anthony watched her closely before continuing.

"Was I.....alone?" he asked the million dollar question.

A heartbeat passed. She thought back to the grave site and the last glimpse of Alex's coffin going into the ground. For a moment, she simply couldn't move.

"Chloe....?"

She opened her mouth and shut it several times without speaking. Her throat was closed up. No amount of effort could bring forth words.

"Oh, God," Anthony muttered.

Tears swam in her eyes. Her head spun.

"Are they alright? Please, I need to know. Are they recovering as well?"

"Anthony...."

"Chloe...please, I beg of you. Tell me." Guilt lay like a ton of bricks as she watched him, eyes pleading. She struggled, unable to look at him. "Someone died," she finally said.

"Alex Taylor...a friend. I just came back from his funeral...."

The silence was defening...