The Stella I Remember

14| Making Promises

"Here you go." 

I looked at the mug of hot coffee Stella offered. "You got anything a little stronger?" 

She lifted her other hand and showed me a bottle of whiskey. We both chuckled before I took it from her. I watched closely while she took a seat across from me on the loveseat. 

Stella was here. She was right in front of me. 

But she didn't remember me. 

She had no idea who I was. My mind was still reeling over the fact that she had been in an accident. While I was waiting at that airport, she was fighting for her life. 

Christ. If I had known...

"So how did we meet?" She held up the photo. "And how long after we met did this picture get taken?" 

I poured some of the whiskey in the two glasses she brought over. I handed her one and I started sipping the other. 

"We actually met the day that picture was taken." 

She glanced down at the Polaroid. "Really?" 

"Yeah. It was at a music festival for the Warped Tour in New Orleans. It was May 31, 2001." 

I remembered everything about that weekend. Anything that involved Stella. 

"I was outside on the phone with my best friend. I was bitching at him because he bailed on the concert for a girl and I paid quite a bit of money for his ticket. Then I saw—well, I heard you." I smiled when I pictured the memory in my head. "You were yelling at the attendant who let people in and out. You'd already been inside and they stamped your hand. But when you came out to use the restroom, I guess it washed off. That's when I heard you tell them your name was Stella Amherst." 

Stella's brows drew together. "Why would I say that? My last name is Reed." She looked up at me. "Isn't it?" 

I didn't answer her question. I had a hunch as to what may have happened; and if I was right, her world was probably going to come crashing down. I couldn't do that to her. 

I knew I would have to at some point—but not tonight. 

"I offered you my extra ticket. It included a meet and greet with the band and backstage access." A corner of my mouth lifted. "You called me a weirdo and accused me of hitting on you." 

She laughed and tucked her feet underneath her body. "That definitely sounds like me." 

I poured some more whiskey into my glass. "You finally accepted the ticket from me. To be honest, it would have been insane if you didn't. You would've missed out on meeting your favorite band." 

"My favorite band? What's their name?" 

"Swallow Me Whole." 

She scrunched her nose in confusion. "That's a weird name." She shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know that band, though." 

"What? Yes, you do." I grabbed my cell phone and opened one of their concert videos online. "Come here and look at this." 

She got up from the loveseat and came to sit beside me on the couch. "Let's see how good a band called Swallow Me Whole can be." 

I pressed play on the video, and while Stella's eyes were on the band, mine were on her. I wanted to see her expression when she first heard their music. Well, not first heard it, but because she got in that...fuck. I couldn't even say it. 

"Wow. They're really good. You said they were my favorite band?" 

"Yeah. You were just as die-hard as I was."